California&#8217;s federally funded Medicaid program pays for exorcisms, herbal medicines, meal deliveries, and housing, among other services that don&#8217;t appear to be medically essential, Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) pointed out this week.
Kennedy brought up California&#8217;s strange Medicaid payments during a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee hearing on Tuesday as he questioned Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. The Trump administration is engaged in a nationwide effort to root out fraud and has zeroed in on Democrat-run states, including California and Minnesota.
During Tuesday&#8217;s hearing, which focused on the DOJ&#8217;s 2027 budget, Kennedy pointed out that for every $1 that California spends on Medicaid, American taxpayers spend $9 to prop up the system.
&#8220;California will actually pay a healthcare provider, I didn&#8217;t know this was a medical expertise, to pay for exorcisms,&#8221; Kennedy said.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Taxpayer-funded exorcisms? The Medicaid debate just got WILD" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/w_sTmE-3zeI?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>
The Wall Street Journal editorial board brought attention to California&#8217;s exorcism coverage in an op-ed <a href="https://www.wsj.com/opinion/california-medicaid-payments-fraud-jd-vance-cms-mehmet-oz-0fdb051e?mod=opinion_lead_pos1">published</a> last week. In the piece, the Journal pointed out that exorcisms and tribal prayers are covered by Medicaid, along with activities “that support an eligible member’s inclusion in the community.&#8221;
&#8220;California Medicaid program will pay for herbal medicines, meal deliveries. They&#8217;ll pay for housing. I don&#8217;t know what housing has to do with healthcare,&#8221; Kennedy added. &#8220;Is that correct?&#8221;
&#8220;Yes,&#8221; Blanche replied.
&#8220;Were you aware that the Medicaid program, using federal taxpayer money, will pay for an in-home chef?&#8221; Kennedy asked.
&#8220;Yes, if it&#8217;s a family member,&#8221; Blanche said.
&#8220;They&#8217;ll even pay for gymnasium fees in California. They&#8217;ll pay for bicycles, scooters, gym memberships. Did you know that?&#8221; Kennedy asked.
&#8220;Yes,&#8221; Blanche said. &#8220;Several states do, but California does for sure.
California has also used Medicaid funds to repay qualifying individuals&#8217; student loans &#8220;to encourage them to become a healthcare provider,&#8221; according to Kennedy.
&#8220;I was not aware of the student loans repayment,&#8221; Blanche said.
California&#8217;s Medicaid payments have come under the microscope, and the Trump administration froze $1.3 billion in federal funds for the program earlier this month. Vice President JD Vance blasted the state&#8217;s leaders last week, saying, &#8220;The state of California has not taken fraud very seriously.&#8221;
The state&#8217;s Medicaid fund has more than doubled since 2019, currently sitting at $220 billion, which is more than the entire general fund budget of any other state, according to the Journal.
Vance&#8217;s anti-fraud task force has also focused on the Republican-led state of Ohio, following an <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/inside-ohios-home-health-empire-7-buildings-288-medicaid-companies-250-million">investigation</a> by Daily Wire reporter Luke Rosiak that uncovered billions of dollars in dubious “personal services” payments, allowing individuals to be paid to spend time with their own family.

Exorcism

Taxpayer-Funded Exorcisms? The Medicaid Debate Just Got Wild

Fraud

John Kennedy

Medicaid

Senate

Todd Blanche

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) only allowed four hand-picked companies to bid on a $200 million ad campaign, including a brand new company that later subcontracted the work to the spouse of a top department official, a document reviewed by The Daily Wire shows.
The records raise questions about the testimony by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to the Senate on Tuesday, in which she told senators that contracts for a television ad campaign starring herself &#8220;went out to a competitive bid and career officials at the department chose who would do those advertising commercials.”
Procurement records show that the anti-illegal immigration ad work was awarded using &#8220;other than full and open competition.&#8221; A <a href="https://sam.gov/workspace/contract/opp/73477226ef6b4bd093263512124126e9/view" target="_blank" rel="noopener">justification</a> for that decision says, &#8220;The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Office of Procurement Operations (OPO), on behalf of the Office of DHS Public Affairs office intends to limit competition to three contractors.&#8221;
The competition waiver suggested the department used internet research and &#8220;industry publications&#8221; to identify Safe America Media LLC as one of only four companies capable of quickly doing a successful $200 million ad campaign, even though Safe America Media was only incorporated days earlier. A Google search brings up little web presence or industry publications about the firm.
&#8220;DHS reviewed industry publications, analyzed recent DHS initiatives, and evaluated vendors specializing in hyper-targeted media and advertising services. Targeted sources included government websites, industry articles, vendor platforms, and subject matter expertise. Given the immediate action to significantly reduce illegal immigration and border crossings, DHS identified four companies that specialize in domestic and international advertising campaign development, media buying, and media production. These companies are positioned, based on available resources and capabilities, to respond to this immediate need,&#8221; the justification said.
Three of those four companies &#8220;expressed, in writing, an interest in the acquisition.&#8221; The first was Safe America Media, which ultimately got the contract, and which later subcontracted a portion of the work to Strategy Group. That company is run by Ben Yoho, the husband of Noem&#8217;s first Assistant Secretary of Public Affairs, Tricia McLaughlin.
After Noem was grilled on Capitol Hill about the contracts, Strategy Group <a href="https://x.com/StrategyGroupCo/status/2028931636314710113">posted</a> a response on X, confirming they were subcontracted through Safe America and were paid more than $200,000 for five film shoots and 51 advertisements.
Safe America Media LLC was registered by Mike McElwain, who has worked in the conservative ad industry through the firm DMM Media, though that firm also has little online presence.
Safe America Media LLC was incorporated in Delaware on February 6, 2025. The contract was awarded one week later, on February 13. That leaves just seven days for &#8220;government websites&#8221; and &#8220;industry publications&#8221; to have been written about the firm, to have led DHS to conclude that it was one of the only companies that could do the work, to approach the firm, and for it to write back with its interest.
People Who Think LLC, the second company suggested for the contract by DHS, is based in Louisiana and is linked to Innovative Advertising LLC. Its website is just an empty <a href="https://peoplewhothink.com/lander/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">landing page</a>. As of 2022, it had a federal tax lien against it, and as of 2020, it owed money to the Small Business Administration, according to a database of corporation records. The Daily Wire called for comment, but its number had been disconnected.
Its phone number is also shared by Innovative Politics, which <a href="https://innovativepolitics.com/clients/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lists</a> as a client the Trump 2016 campaign and the Louisiana Attorney General campaign of Jeff Landry. Corey Lewandowski, a top Noem adviser, previously <a href="https://lailluminator.com/2023/09/20/jeff-landry-campaign-hires-ex-trump-adviser-accused-of-sexual-misconduct/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">worked for</a> Landry&#8217;s campaign.
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1053841" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/dhs-contract.jpg" alt="" width="1772" height="736" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/dhs-contract.jpg 1772w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/dhs-contract-300x125.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/dhs-contract-1024x425.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/dhs-contract-768x319.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/dhs-contract-1536x638.jpg 1536w" sizes=" (max-width: 1772px) 100vw, 1772px" /></div>
The third company that was allowed to bid on the contract is redacted in the document, but The Daily Wire has learned that it is Knox Strategies, the firm of Erica Knight, a onetime spokeswoman for now-FBI Director Kash Patel. Knight is the only employee listed on the firm&#8217;s <a href="https://www.knoxstrats.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">website</a>, which does not list ad campaigns as one of its services. Knight told The Daily Wire she received no money from DHS, and has done no work for the department.
Both Safe America Media LLC and People Who Think LLC were <a href="https://www.usaspending.gov/award/CONT_IDV_70RDA225D00000004_7001">awarded</a> <a href="https://www.usaspending.gov/award/CONT_IDV_70RDA225D00000003_7001">lucrative</a> open-ended &#8220;indefinite delivery&#8221; contracts, giving them the ability to keep getting additional work without new solicitations, up to $200 million, through February 2027.
In November 2025, that was modified to raise the ceiling to $240 million. Safe America Media LLC was paid $62 million for work beginning in February 2025, $15 million for work beginning in August 2025, and $65 million for work taking place from August 2025 to February 21, 2026. McLaughlin left the administration in February 2026.
People Who Think was <a href="https://www.usaspending.gov/award/CONT_IDV_70RDA225D00000003_7001" target="_blank" rel="noopener">paid</a> $77 million, according to contract records, with the most recent tranche of $25 million covering from September 2025 to March 25, 2026.
The Daily Mail <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14664625/Kristi-Noem-Corey-Lewandowski-DC-living-arrangement-affair.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">suggested</a> that Noem and Lewandowski are having an affair, saying that they had apartments across the street from each other and that it observed Lewandowski emerging from her apartment. Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-CA) asked Noem during a hearing Wednesday if she had sexual relations with Lewandowski. She did not directly answer the question.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/RepKamlagerDove?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RepKamlagerDove</a>: &#8220;Secretary Noem, at any time during your tenure…have you had sexual relations with Corey Lewandowski?&#8221;
Noem: &#8220;That is garbage and it is offensive that you have brought that up.&#8221;
Kamlager-Dove: &#8220;It is about your judgment and decision-making.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/H7pQywH3g7">pic.twitter.com/H7pQywH3g7</a>
— CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/2029292010633331156?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 4, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Lewandowski has volunteered as a Special Government Employee, a classification that allows people to work in government for 130 days a year without adhering to the financial conflict-of-interest rules that apply to traditional government employees. The <a href="https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/chaos-kristi-noem-homeland-security-f095ac95" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Wall Street Journal</a> said Lewandowski wanted to serve as Noem&#8217;s chief of staff, but that Trump &#8220;rejected the idea due to reports of a romantic relationship between the two.&#8221; DHS&#8217;s leadership webpage currently <a href="https://www.dhs.gov/leadership">lists</a> no chief of staff.
President Trump is considering replacing Noem for dishonesty in telling Congress that he personally greenlit spending hundreds of millions on ads starring herself, National Review <a href="https://www.nationalreview.com/news/exclusive-trump-privately-furious-with-noem-over-senate-testimony-considering-mullin-as-replacement/">reported</a> Thursday. The procurement document, in conjunction with her answers in her testimony, could make that problem worse for Noem.
Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) <a href="https://x.com/ryanobles/status/2029582283145986526?s=46&amp;t=o-U3qwC25WnWaylJ0oeG7Q">told reporters Thursday</a> that he spoke to Trump about Noem&#8217;s testimony, and that &#8220;his recollection and her recollection are different.&#8221;
Noem told Congress that no political appointees were involved in the ad campaign procurement process. Four people signed the document limiting competition, but their names are redacted.
Yet Noem has also said she personally approves all large expenditures, and told the Senate, “I have a policy in place that I review contracts &#8230; My deputy chiefs have the ability to review anything under five million; above that, I evaluate.”
McLaughlin&#8217;s replacement as Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs, Lauren Bis, reiterated that the government is not in control of who a contractor subcontracts with, and said the ads were money well-spent. &#8220;This hyper-targeted ad campaign ran in eight countries and reached over 46 million people. The results show the world heard our message that America’s borders are CLOSED,” she wrote.
The action to direct hundreds of millions of dollars was taken just days after the Trump administration took office, in February 2025. &#8220;Government would be seriously injured unless the executive agency is permitted to limit the number of sources from which it solicits bids or proposals,&#8221; the justification said. &#8220;The immediate action supported by this authority is in response to a national emergency declaration.&#8221;
On Tuesday, Sen. John Kennedy <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/noem-pressed-as-republican-senators-demand-answers-in-heated-senate-hearing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">grilled</a> Noem about the contracts, saying the ads warning illegal immigrants to leave the country — some of which ran on Fox News, and which starred Noem personally — were a costly exercise in personal brand-building.
&#8220;They were effective in your name recognition … to me it puts the president in a terribly awkward spot,&#8221; he said. “The head of that [firm] is married to your former spokesperson&#8230; A fifth to a quarter of a billion dollars in taxpayer money when we’re scratching for every penny.”
The majority of money in ad buys passes through to TV stations that run the ads. Subcontracts are not reported in public records, but Strategy Group — which previously worked for Noem&#8217;s gubernatorial campaign in South Dakota — said this week that &#8220;Safe America paid us $226,137.17 total for 5 film shoots, 45 produced video advertisements, and 6 produced radio advertisements.” Its CEO, Ben Yoho, declined to comment.
This piece was updated with comment from Erika Knight.

Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and senior adviser Corey Lewandowski

Docs Show DHS Specifically Steered $200M Ad Contracts, Raising Questions About Noem’s Testimony

Department of Homeland Security

Illegal Immigation

Kristi Noem

Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) is warning Democrats that the same anti-law-enforcement instincts that fueled the post-George Floyd unrest are now being repackaged as immigration policy, as violent protests erupt once again in Minneapolis.
In a Fox News op-ed published Friday, Kennedy argued that Democratic officials who once flirted with defunding the police are now applying the same playbook to immigration enforcement, dismissing federal agents as racists, undermining the rule of law, and inviting chaos in the process. “As I’ve watched the protests in Minneapolis, it seems obvious to me that America is at risk of falling face-first into another disastrous anti-law enforcement crisis,” Kennedy wrote. 
The Louisiana Republican framed the unrest as a familiar pattern: leftist activists seize on a crisis, demonize law enforcement, and pressure Democratic officials to stand down rather than restore order. According to Kennedy, the results are always the same. 
“There are some people in this world who enjoy hurting other people and taking other people’s stuff,” he wrote. “They’re not sick. They’re not confused. They’re not mixed up. … They’re just antisocial.”
Kennedy argued that the “defund the police” movement exploited a handful of high-profile misconduct cases to push what he called a fundamentally dishonest narrative, that law enforcement officers are worse than criminals and should be replaced with social workers.
Before Floyd died in 2020, Kennedy said, such ideas were fringe, embraced primarily by radical academics and leftist activists. But Democratic leaders in Minnesota, including Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, ultimately chose to appease what Kennedy mockingly labeled the party’s “Karen wing” rather than enforce the law. “They let rioters seek revenge on law enforcement, stood by as police precincts burned and sat in silence as activists defamed the countless good cops who kept their cities safe,” he <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/sen-john-kennedy-democrats-defund-the-police-plan-failed-here-go-again">wrote</a>.
The consequences, Kennedy argued, were measurable and severe. In the wake of the Floyd riots, commercial burglaries surged by 43%, carjackings jumped 93%, and murders rose 44%, according to crime data cited in the op-ed.
Even years later, Kennedy noted, police departments have struggled to recover from the damage. Nationwide, departments remain understaffed compared to pre-2020 levels. In Minneapolis, the police force is still roughly one-third smaller than it was before Floyd’s death, despite ongoing recruitment efforts.
“Maintaining a strong police force is not a light switch you can flick on and off as the woke mob demands,” Kennedy wrote, arguing that years of demoralization drove officers out of the profession altogether.
Now, Kennedy says Democrats appear poised to repeat the same mistake, this time targeting immigration enforcement instead of local police. As federal agents move to enforce immigration laws in Minnesota, leftist activists and Democratic officials have accused ICE and Border Patrol agents of racism and “white supremacy,” rhetoric Kennedy argues is designed to delegitimize enforcement entirely. 
“Instead of arguing that cops are a bigger problem than criminals,” Kennedy wrote, “Walz and Frey have joined the Karen wing of the Democratic Party to say that enforcing immigration laws is racist and vetting migrants is a form of White supremacy.” 
Kennedy warned that activists are once again exploiting unrest in Minneapolis to pressure Congress into defunding federal law enforcement agencies, including ICE and the Border Patrol, a move he argues would repeat the same disastrous errors of the defund-the-police era.
The senator’s warning comes as Democrats increasingly frame immigration enforcement as a civil rights issue, even as violent protests and property damage accompany demonstrations against federal agents in major cities.
Democrats across the country have increasingly made immigration enforcement and reform of ICE a central part of their 2026 policy agenda, particularly in the wake of two fatal shootings of leftist protesters in Minneapolis by federal immigration agents. Party leaders in Congress, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), have tied their support for funding the Department of Homeland Security to a sweeping set of proposed changes aimed at “rein[ing] in ICE,” including requiring body cameras and visible ID for agents, restricting arrests without judicial warrants, banning enforcement near sensitive locations like schools and hospitals, and instituting uniform use-of-force standards. 
Leftist members of Congress and activists have pushed even further, with some calling for abolishing the agency outright or defunding it entirely, arguing ICE has become “beyond repair,” while Democratic strategists warn that hardline abolition language could complicate efforts to build broader support for more moderate reforms. 
For Kennedy, the lesson of the last five years is clear: undermining law enforcement does not produce justice or safety; it creates disorder. “If anyone should recognize the deep-dish stupidity of the defund-the-police movement,” he wrote, “it should be the officials who watched their cities burn the first time.”

Sen. Cotton Holds Capitol Hill Press Conference To Discuss Ongoing College Campus Protests

Sen. Kennedy Slams ‘Karen Wing’ Of The Democratic Party Over Defund ICE Rhetoric

Congress

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

Politics

WASHINGTON—Senator John Kennedy says he’s introducing two bills that would withhold paychecks from members of Congress for the duration of the government shutdown.
On the Senate floor Wednesday, the Louisiana Republican said he has “heard a lot of rumors” about being close to an agreement but doesn’t believe they are close.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
BREAKING: <a href="https://twitter.com/SenJohnKennedy?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SenJohnKennedy</a> said he’s bringing 2 shutdown related bills to withhold Congressional paychecks.
He believes we’re going to be in a shutdown “a while longer.”
&#8211; First bill that says as long as we are shut down, members of Congress can’t be paid and they WON’T be… <a href="https://t.co/VkFXT835JM">pic.twitter.com/VkFXT835JM</a>
— Amber Jo Cooper (@AmberJoCooper) <a href="https://twitter.com/AmberJoCooper/status/1986166517143326730?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 5, 2025</a></blockquote>
The Senator said he was hopeful they are, but said he thinks “we&#8217;re going to be in shut down a while longer.” The shutdown hits Day 37 on Thursday.
In the meantime, he filed two bills: the “<a href="https://www.kennedy.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/b/e/beb75d63-916c-4e57-8f1e-2195e5a1c87c/93E308F7D0DD8CA7FC401D74C99AB562F4E869F662D0E6B5746A4EE32C24E954.no-shutdown-paychecks-to-politicians-act.pdf">No Shutdown Paychecks to Politicians Act</a>” and the “<a href="https://www.kennedy.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/6/a/6aa27778-56b0-40b8-b5ac-dd239c55d24f/299BB68CC4F995B9B3C878D1C2629A6C03DA3FDC6BF2235C8C6BFDD621634984.bills-119s3057is.pdf">Withhold Member Pay During Shutdowns Act.&#8221;</a>
The first bill would cut pay for members of Congress during a government shutdown — with no back pay.
The second bill would withhold their salaries during the shutdown by placing the funds in escrow, allowing full payment to be released once the government reopens, he explained.
“Some may say, &#8216;well, this violates the 27th Amendment.&#8217; I don&#8217;t think it does. That&#8217;s why I&#8217;m offering two different flavors of bills,” he explained.
In 2013, President Barack Obama supported similar legislation during a previous shutdown that said &#8220;if you don&#8217;t open up government by this certain date then you&#8217;re going to lose your paychecks,&#8221; according to Kennedy.
“And guess what — members of Congress had an epiphany and they found religion…and they opened up government,&#8221; Kennedy said.
Kennedy previously filed other bills to require the federal government to pay both <a href="https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1191/vote_119_1_00585.htm">federal employees</a> and <a href="https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1191/vote_119_1_00575.htm">military personnel</a> during the shutdown. All were rejected.
On the floor, he said federal workers have &#8220;had to borrow $365 million so far during this 36-day shutdown in order just to pay their rent.&#8221;
“If we can’t do our jobs and fund the government, we don’t deserve a paycheck — plain and simple,” Kennedy said in a statement.
He said he, unlike his Democratic colleagues, doesn&#8217;t see missing paychecks or empty dinner plates &#8220;as leverage.&#8221;
&#8220;That’s why I’ve been working to make sure that only members of Congress feel the pain of a shutdown,&#8221; Kennedy said.
Kennedy was referring to a previous FOX News <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/top-republican-slams-katherine-clark-saying-dems-have-leverage-shutdown">report</a> where House Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-MA) admitted suffering families are &#8220;leverage&#8221; in the shutdown battle.
&#8220;I mean, shutdowns are terrible and, of course, there will be, you know, families that are going to suffer. We take that responsibility very seriously. But it is one of the few leverage times we have,&#8221; Clark said at the time.
Kennedy said his bills “ensure Congress feels the same pain as the folks we’re failing to pay – our troops, air traffic controllers, and federal workers.”
We will continue to monitor Kennedy&#8217;s bills if they advance.

GOP Senator Moves To Withhold Congressional Pay, Believes Shutdown Will Go ‘A While Longer’

Government Shutdown

Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) slammed The Daily Beast on Wednesday after the outlet published a report suggesting he may have suffered a health scare during a TV interview.
During a <a href="https://x.com/atrupar/status/1947763318594159082" target="_blank" rel="noopener">conversation</a> with Fox Business host Larry Kudlow on Tuesday, Kennedy paused mid-sentence after he said, &#8220;I&#8217;m sure Jesus loves him, but everybody else thinks — everybody else &#8230;&#8221; Kennedy then remained silent on camera for a few moments before the show cut away from the senator, and Kudlow suggested there might have been technical issues.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
things are going great on Larry Kudlow&#8217;s show <a href="https://t.co/synJiuE38z">pic.twitter.com/synJiuE38z</a>
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) <a href="https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1947763318594159082?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 22, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
An ensuing <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20250723010513/https://www.thedailybeast.com/gop-senator-john-kennedy-73-freezes-during-fox-news-interview/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a>, written by an intern for The Daily Beast, said that Kennedy froze in what appeared to be a health scare. The story emphasized the fact that Kennedy is 73 years old and compared what happened on Wednesday to Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) struggling to speak during a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/mcconnell-appears-to-freeze-again-during-presser" target="_blank" rel="noopener">couple of high-profile instances</a> in 2023. It also noted that Kennedy&#8217;s office had been contacted for comment, but did not immediately respond.
Other news outlets and some accounts on social media also shared the clip of Kennedy and perpetuated the notion that the Louisiana Republican might not be okay.
Pressed for comment, Kennedy told The Daily Wire in a statement, &#8220;The Daily Beast is wrong. Yesterday, during my interview with Larry Kudlow on Fox Business, there was a malfunction in my earpiece. I heard a loud screeching noise with a lot of static. It sounded like a 747 taking off. The same thing happened with Rand Paul, who was interviewed before me. I stopped talking until the interference cleared up, and thought we were off the air. Once I could hear Kudlow, I started talking again. All you have to do to get the facts is call Kudlow’s producer, which The Daily Beast intern clearly didn’t do.&#8221;
Kennedy later did another interview on &#8220;Kudlow,&#8221; addressing what transpired the day before.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
Sen. John Kennedy clarifies what happened when he appeared to freeze on Larry Kudlow’s show:
“I was just yapping away and all of a sudden my earpiece blew up—this one. It sounded like a 747 was taking off.”
<a href="https://t.co/eDGWMcsVk0">pic.twitter.com/eDGWMcsVk0</a>
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) <a href="https://twitter.com/TPostMillennial/status/1948114176414568764?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 23, 2025</a></blockquote>
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In exchange, Kudlow said, &#8220;I want to clear the air about yesterday and the interrupted interview. A lot of lefty medias are saying things they shouldn&#8217;t say. As I understand it, what happened was your &#8230; wire broke down and you had a lot of noise in your ear and you had to stop talking because you couldn&#8217;t get anything through. Now if there&#8217;s something different there, you tell us, but I think that&#8217;s all that happened. A lot of people are making conclusions about your health that they have no business making.&#8221;
Kennedy replied, &#8220;I was just yapping away and all of a sudden my earpiece blew up. &#8230; It sounded like a 747 was taking off. My ears are still ringing. Anyway, I assumed we were off the air, I just stopped talking and I didn&#8217;t start talking again until I could hear you. And, I don&#8217;t know, some of the rags up here have — they&#8217;ve got all kinds of stories that I had a Brian freeze live on TV, or stroke, or caught an STD live on television or something. I don&#8217;t know. I know this will come as a shock to you, Larry, but not everybody in Washington likes me. And so when they &#8230; see an opportunity to start a rumor, they do. And that&#8217;s what happened. But anyway, I&#8217;m okay. I&#8217;m back here today. I&#8217;m full of piss and vinegar and I&#8217;ll be glad to answer your questions.&#8221;
The Daily Beast has since <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/gop-senator-john-kennedy-73-freezes-during-fox-news-interview/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">updated</a> its report to remove text suggesting that Kennedy had a health scare, but did keep the mention of McConnell as well as a line about how health problems have impacted the Republicans and Democrats over the past year. It also included a comment from Kennedy&#8217;s spokesperson asserting that the senator did not have a &#8220;health episode&#8221; but rather experienced a &#8220;broadcast audio issue on Fox Business&#8217;s part.&#8221;

Sen. John Kennedy

GOP Senator Rips Daily Beast Over Report Suggesting On-Air Health Scare

Media

Media Bias

The Daily Beast

U.S.

U.S. Senate

Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) acknowledged on Wednesday that one aspect of the tariff wars had truly surprised him: how many countries the Trump administration said had come to the negotiating table, and how quickly they had done so.
Kennedy made the observation when he joined hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski on MSNBC&#8217;s &#8220;Morning Joe,&#8221; admitting that he &#8220;frankly never saw that coming.&#8221;
WATCH:
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JOE SCARBOROUGH: Some of the smartest minds across the world are betting on a recession.
SEN KENNEDY: With tariffs, an eye for an eye just leaves both people blind&#8230;But then&#8230;an extraordinary thing happened! We have 195 countries in the world. Probably 40% have come forward —… <a href="https://t.co/30WYxnYuQ1">pic.twitter.com/30WYxnYuQ1</a>
&mdash; Townhall.com (@townhallcom) <a href="https://twitter.com/townhallcom/status/1909960194546692390?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 9, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Scarborough set the oppositional narrative with regard to tariffs, saying, &#8220;Some of the smartest minds across the world are betting on a recession. What are you saying to your business leaders when they&#8217;re calling you about where this goes next?&#8221;
&#8220;Well, this is what I&#8217;m telling them,&#8221; Kennedy replied. &#8220;With tariffs, an eye for an eye just leaves both people blind. When a government imposes a tariff, it&#8217;s putting its thumb on the scale. It interferes with people&#8217;s freedom to exchange goods and services.&#8221;
&#8220;Some countries — China, the best example — have used trade barriers as a weapon to hurt the American economy,&#8221; Kennedy continued. &#8220;You said it — God created the world, everything else is made in China. President Trump decided to try to change this, and he, as we know, has imposed dramatically higher American tariffs on these countries.&#8221;
And that, Kennedy explained, was where the pendulum started to swing back: &#8220;But then, at least for me, an extraordinary thing happened. We have 195 countries in the world. Probably 40% have come forward — and instead of bowing up and fighting, they&#8217;ve said, &#8216;We want to lower our tariffs! Will you lower yours?'&#8221;
&#8220;I frankly never saw that coming,&#8221; Kennedy said, noting that he could not speak for what the president might do next, but adding, &#8220;I think it is a wonderful opportunity &#8230; I would pounce on this opportunity like a ninja. And I would use this as an opportunity to reduce or in some cases — Taiwan, Vietnam, European Union — go to zero reciprocal tariffs and then we can have free trade, let the best product at the best price win.&#8221;
Kennedy once again couched his comments by saying he did not know the White House&#8217;s plan and could only speak to what he would do in the current situation.

GOP Sen. Reveals What Surprised Him About Tariff Battle: ‘I Frankly Never Saw That Coming’

GOP Sen. Reveals What Surprised Him About Tariff Battle: 'I Frankly Never Saw That Coming'

Donald Trump

Economics

Morning Joe

MSNBC

Tariffs

Trade War

Senator <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/john-kennedy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">John Kennedy</a> (R-LA) took a brief moment during Thursday&#8217;s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing to throw a little shade at his colleague, Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), over the latter&#8217;s claims that Kash Patel was a &#8220;conspiracy theorist.&#8221;
Kennedy addressed the comments to Patel, who was testifying before the committee as part of the Senate&#8217;s &#8220;advise and consent&#8221; process since being named by President Donald Trump to take over leadership of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
WATCH:
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🚨KASH PATEL A CONSPIRACY THEORIST?
Here&#39;s the epic moment when <a href="https://twitter.com/JohnKennedyLA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JohnKennedyLA</a> mocked Sen. Durbin for calling <a href="https://twitter.com/Kash_Patel?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Kash_Patel</a> a conspiracy theorist.
&quot;Sounds to me like we need to get some new conspiracy theories because all the old ones turned out to be true,&quot; <a href="https://twitter.com/SenJohnKennedy?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SenJohnKennedy</a> said.… <a href="https://t.co/N1goiWHa91">pic.twitter.com/N1goiWHa91</a>
&mdash; Tyler O&#39;Neil (@Tyler2ONeil) <a href="https://twitter.com/Tyler2ONeil/status/1885023700849709102?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 30, 2025</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;My colleague and friend Senator Durbin called you a &#8216;conspiracy theorist,'&#8221; Kennedy said to Patel. &#8220;You remember that?&#8221;
&#8220;I do, Senator,&#8221; Patel replied.
&#8220;You were instrumental in revealing the Trump-Russia election-collusion hoax was a hoax, weren&#8217;t you?&#8221; Kennedy asked.
Patel said that he was, and confirmed that he had been the lead investigator on that particular case. For a moment, Kennedy remained silent, hands folded, and simply nodded his head.
&#8220;Sounds to me like we need to get some new conspiracy theories because all the old ones turned out to be true,&#8221; he observed.
Patel laughed, and added, &#8220;Facts matter, senator.&#8221;
&#8220;I mean, conspiracy theorists are up something like 37 to nothing,&#8221; Kennedy said, prompting more laughter, before pivoting to a more serious line of questions: &#8220;You&#8217;re not saying everybody at the FBI is bad, are you?&#8221;
&#8220;I&#8217;ve never said that,&#8221; Patel replied. &#8220;I&#8217;ve overwhelmingly said, multiple times, that 98% of the FBI is courageous, apolitical warriors for justice. They just need better leadership.&#8221;
Patel&#8217;s hearing included a series of contentious exchanges with Democrats like Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), who used her allotted time to make several attempts — all of which failed — to walk Patel into a rhetorical trap.
Also on Capitol Hill for hearings on Thursday were Health and Human Services nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and former Rep. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/tulsi-gabbard-spits-fire-in-opening-statement-i-refuse-to-be-their-puppet" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tulsi Gabbard</a>, who was nominated to be Director of National Intelligence.

Twitter Whistleblower Peiter Zatko Testifies Before Senate Judiciary Committee

John Kennedy Mocks Dick Durbin For Calling Kash Patel A ‘Conspiracy Theorist’

John Kennedy Mocks Dick Durbin For Calling Kash Patel A 'Conspiracy Theorist'

Dick Durbin

kash patel

Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) warned President Donald Trump and his fellow Republicans not to waver from their course just because their critics in the Democratic Party and legacy media called them &#8220;crazy.&#8221;
Speaking to Fox News anchor Martha MacCallum, Kennedy argued that the naysayers before the flood had also called Noah crazy — but history eventually proved him right and them inconsequential.
WATCH:
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The naysayers are going to start calling Republicans crazy very soon.
But they said the same thing to Noah, and then the rains came, and all the fact-checkers drowned.
Republicans will stay focused on what we know is right—because we’ll get no help from Democrats. <a href="https://t.co/nZIEjqTqTC">pic.twitter.com/nZIEjqTqTC</a>
&mdash; John Kennedy (@SenJohnKennedy) <a href="https://twitter.com/SenJohnKennedy/status/1881827521869529307?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 21, 2025</a></blockquote>
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MacCallum pressed Kennedy about President Trump&#8217;s first 100 days in office, asking whether the American people could expect to see rapid progress toward fulfilling the president&#8217;s planned agenda.
&#8220;Point one, Martha, one bill or two, frankly you can teach it round or you can teach it flat,&#8221; Kennedy said. &#8220;I don&#8217;t really give a function whether it&#8217;s one bill or two. I care about the final product.&#8221;
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He went on to encourage members of his party not to lose sight of their goals when the attacks inevitably began.
&#8220;My advice to my colleagues and to the president is, number one, don&#8217;t get distracted,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Very shortly the honeymoon will be over. My Democratic colleagues and many members of the media will start calling us, particularly the president, crazy. They said the same thing about Noah, and then the rains came — and all the fact-checkers drowned.&#8221;
&#8220;We need to keep our focus on why we&#8217;re here,&#8221; Kennedy added, noting that Republicans had to push particularly hard on the issues that he said had gotten Trump&#8217;s 2024 presidential campaign over the line: &#8220;Inflation, border security, national security, and the fact that Vice President Harris and President Biden staffed their administration with a bunch of people who majored in online activism and with a minor in puberty blockers.&#8221;
&#8220;All they wanted to do was sit around all day and talk about climate change and whether a man can breastfeed,&#8221; he quipped, noting that he didn&#8217;t expect any help from across the aisle in dealing with those four issues — but that Republicans had to hold the line on them just the same.

Sen. Kennedy Warns Trump To Ignore Democrats And Media Who Say He’s ‘Crazy’

John Kennedy Warns Trump To Ignore Democrats And Media Who Say He's 'Crazy'

Democrats

A top <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/fbi" target="_blank" rel="noopener">FBI</a> official insisted on Tuesday that there had &#8220;never&#8221; been any question as to whether former President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/donald-trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Donald Trump</a> was wounded in the ear by a bullet during an assassination attempt.
FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate made the assertion during a hearing in the days after his boss, FBI Director <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/christopher-wray" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Christopher Wray</a>, suggested that shrapnel may have caused the injury.
Sen. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/john-kennedy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">John Kennedy</a> (R-LA) asked Abbate if the FBI, which is investigating the shooting, had any doubt that Trump was struck in the ear by a bullet at a rally in Pennsylvania earlier this month.
&#8220;There is absolutely no doubt in the FBI’s mind whether former President Trump was hit with a bullet and wounded in the ear,&#8221; Abbate replied. &#8220;No doubt, there never has been.&#8221;
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.<a href="https://twitter.com/SenJohnKennedy?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SenJohnKennedy</a> asks if there&#39;s any doubt President Trump was shot in the ear: &quot;It wasn&#39;t a space laser? It wasn&#39;t a murder hornet? It wasn&#39;t sasquatch? It was a bullet&#8230;fired by Crooks that hit president Trump in the ear and almost killed him?&quot;
FBI Deputy Director: &quot;100%&quot; <a href="https://t.co/95SQHC5cpZ">pic.twitter.com/95SQHC5cpZ</a>
&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1818332411572232219?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 30, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Kennedy went on to ask, &#8220;It wasn&#8217;t a space laser? &#8230; It wasn&#8217;t a murder hornet? &#8230; It wasn&#8217;t Sasquatch?&#8221; He also got Abbate to say the bullet was shot by the gunman, Thomas Matthew Crooks.
A Secret Service sniper shot and killed 20-year-old Crooks while other personnel rushed to protect Trump and escort him off the stage, but not before the former president was struck in the right ear.
One rally-goer, 50-year-old fireman <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dana-white-kid-rock-donate-to-fundraiser-for-shooting-victims-surpasses-2-million-in-under-24-hours" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Corey Comperatore</a>, was killed. Two others were wounded and have been <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/second-rallygoer-injured-trump-assassination-attempt-released-hospital-rcna164003" target="_blank" rel="noopener">released</a> from the hospital in recent days.
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Last Wednesday, during a hearing before the House, Wray <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-attacks-fbi-director-wray-question-struck-bullet/story?id=112302959" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cast doubt</a> on whether Trump had actually been hit by a bullet — as the former president had said from the beginning.
&#8220;I think with respect to former President Trump, there&#8217;s some question about whether or not it&#8217;s a bullet or shrapnel that hit his ear,&#8221; Wray said.
He added, &#8220;It&#8217;s conceivable — although as I sit here right now I don&#8217;t know whether that bullet, in addition to, you know, causing the grazing could have also landed somewhere else.&#8221;
Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-TX), Trump&#8217;s former White House physician, <a href="https://x.com/RonnyJacksonTX/status/1816503874783514866" target="_blank" rel="noopener">posted to X</a> that he personally examined the wound and condemned Wray for his &#8220;absolutely irresponsible&#8221; statement.
Trump <a href="https://www.axios.com/2024/07/24/trump-fbi-head-biden-resign" target="_blank" rel="noopener">called on Wray to step down</a>, though he did so citing another issue. He did also react to the bullet comment, <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/112850202227985061" target="_blank" rel="noopener">saying</a>, &#8220;No wonder the once storied FBI has lost the confidence of America!&#8221;
The FBI <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/fbi-confirms-trump-was-struck-by-a-bullet" target="_blank" rel="noopener">released</a> a statement on Friday declaring that Trump was struck in the ear by a bullet shot by the gunman at the former president&#8217;s campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
&#8220;What struck former President Trump in the ear was a bullet, whether whole or fragmented into smaller pieces, fired from the deceased subject’s rifle,&#8221; the bureau said.

FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate

FBI Now Claims There Was ‘Never’ Any Doubt Trump Was Hit By A Bullet

FBI Now Claims There Was 'Never' Any Doubt Trump Was Hit By A Bullet

Christopher Wray

Secret Service

Senator <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/john-kennedy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">John Kennedy</a> (R-LA) delivered a lesson in biology on Wednesday, explaining in scientific terms why biological males had an unfair advantage over females when it came to athletics.
Kennedy ran through a list of physical differences that made males — particularly after puberty — predisposed to perform better when it came to sports. &#8220;Girls’ lungs are 12% smaller than boys’ lungs. Their hearts are 14% smaller. That gives boys a clear edge in endurance sports.&#8221;
WATCH:
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Girls’ lungs are 12% smaller than boys’ lungs. Their hearts are 14% smaller.
That gives boys a clear edge in endurance sports. <a href="https://t.co/cGieBNHDpE">pic.twitter.com/cGieBNHDpE</a>
— John Kennedy (@SenJohnKennedy) <a href="https://twitter.com/SenJohnKennedy/status/1803455655166001581?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 19, 2024</a></blockquote>
&#8220;Swimming, for example. Cycling. Rowing,&#8221; Kennedy continued. &#8220;Girls develop a wider pelvis. That decreases the amount of force their legs exert when they&#8217;re lifting, when they&#8217;re kicking, when they&#8217;re pedaling. That&#8217;s another relative disadvantage vis-a-vis boys or men. When you compare female athletes to their male counterparts.&#8221;
Kennedy went on to add that boys typically had broader shoulders and explained &#8220;that allows them to make more space for upper body muscle mass and gives them a decided advantage when competing against a girl.&#8221;
&#8220;It&#8217;s hard to think — I can&#8217;t think of a sport in which a higher muscle-to-fat ratio isn&#8217;t helpful,&#8221; Kennedy concluded. &#8220;The average boy will grow five inches taller than the average girl, that&#8217;s just a fact. Even when men and women are the same height, men have higher levels of bone density, which helps them move more forcefully and escape more injuries.&#8221;
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Former collegiate swimmer and women&#8217;s sports advocate Riley Gaines responded to Kennedy&#8217;s post, saying, &#8220;A sitting US Senator has to explain the physical differences between girls and boys to other sitting US Senators &#8230; what a time to be an American.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
A sitting US Senator has to explain the physical differences between girls and boys to other sitting US Senators
&#8230;.what a time to be an American <a href="https://t.co/Ub3aUa7xVm">https://t.co/Ub3aUa7xVm</a>
— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) <a href="https://twitter.com/Riley_Gaines_/status/1803636024339206203?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 20, 2024</a></blockquote>
&#8220;Honestly it’s ‘1984’ that we have to say these things, what’s happened to people&#8217;s brains that they can ignore basic biology? There are 2 gametes. One large (female) one small (sperm) there is NO 3rd sex &amp; humans can’t change sex! This is all fact. Even if u don’t like it,&#8221; Sharron Davies added.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
👇🏼 honestly it’s ‘1984’that we have to say these things, what’s happened to peoples brains that they can ignore basic biology ? There are 2 gametes. One large (female) one small (sperm) there is NO 3rd sex &amp; humans can’t change sex! This is all fact. Even if u don’t like it <a href="https://t.co/iotH4PvK8j">https://t.co/iotH4PvK8j</a>
— Sharron Davies MBE (@sharrond62) <a href="https://twitter.com/sharrond62/status/1803843527396503559?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 20, 2024</a></blockquote>

‘A Clear Edge In Endurance Sports’: Sen. John Kennedy Delivers Gender Biology Lesson

'A Clear Edge In Endurance Sports': Sen. John Kennedy Delivers Gender Biology Lesson

gender ideology

Social Issues

Transgender

Transgender Athletes

USA Today may have violated its own ethical standards by deleting an op-ed about protecting women’s sports by Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) without his knowledge or explanation to the public. 
While USA Today <a href="https://cm.usatoday.com/ethical-conduct/">promises</a> to provide its readers with “transparency” about its journalistic processes it left its audience and Kennedy guessing for days as to why it deleted an opinion article written by the Republican senator on keeping males out of female sports. 
The op-ed, titled “Is transgender inclusion more important than women’s sports?” was published on May 11 but was deleted from the USA Today Network newspapers by May 14. In the op-ed, Kennedy argued that it was harmful to girls for males identifying as female to be allowed to compete in women’s sports. 
For the first 10 days after deleting Kennedy’s article, audiences were led to believe there had been a technical error. However, after Fox News <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/usa-today-newspapers-quietly-delete-gop-senators-op-ed-trans-athletes-without-telling-him">reached</a> out to inquire about the deletion, USA Today added a note to a link to the <a href="https://www.dailycomet.com/story/news/2024/05/24/john-kennedy-questions-whether-transgender-inclusion-is-more-important-than-womens-sports/73639180007/">article</a> saying it had not met its editorial standards.
The delay in explaining what was going on to USA Today readers and Kennedy appears to fly in the face of one of USA Today’s <a href="https://cm.usatoday.com/ethical-conduct">ethical guidelines</a>, which says that the outlet “will explain to audiences our journalistic processes to promote transparency and engagement.”
Kennedy says the newspaper acted anything but transparently.
“One of America’s largest outlets censored a common sense position that an overwhelming majority of Americans and Louisianians hold,&#8221; a spokesperson for Kennedy told The Daily Wire. &#8220;And they tried to hide the fact that they squelched it. It took the USA Today network well over a week to admit to the public that they had secretly removed the senator’s piece, which raises a lot of questions about some mainstream media’s willingness to be transparent with American readers.”
Initially, the op-ed was published by eight Louisiana newspapers owned by USA Today without any requests to Kennedy for edits. It was then removed, with no opportunity for Kennedy to make changes, and without his knowledge. After discovering it had been removed, Kennedy’s team attempted to understand why the article had been deleted. 
Emails and phone calls show that the process behind the removal was anything but transparent.  
Kennedy’s team was first told that the op-ed had been removed because it hadn’t included any links to citations despite the fact that the version submitted by Kennedy had over a dozen citations. 
After corresponding with one local reporter who they had submitted the op-ed to the paper through, a spokesperson made contact with Misty Castile, the editor of the Shreveport Times and four other Gannett papers. The spokesperson spoke with Castile twice on May 20, six days after the deletion of the article. 
In the first phone call, Castile told a Kennedy team member that the op-ed had been removed because it had no citations. She also said that a “process problem” was what led to the op-ed being pulled without Kennedy’s knowledge, according to a transcript of the call shared with The Daily Wire. 
In a second phone call, Castile added that there were concerns about language used in the op-ed, adding that she was waiting to hear from others about more specific problems. 
“You know, I do know there were some specific questions about language, and, and part of the reason that we&#8217;re talking to standards is I&#8217;m trying to get very specific information on what language they were discussing—if it was just that they didn&#8217;t see citations, and, so, without the citations it, it, it was, it looked worse on the face that it was—I&#8217;m waiting on answers,” she said. 
Later emails from Castile stated that Kennedy’s use of the terms “biological male,” and “biological female,” were “loaded terms” outside of the outlet’s editorial standards. The outlet also took issue with Kennedy saying that men competing against women in sports was similar to NBA star Zion Williamson playing against middle school boys.
Two newspapers that ran the article, including the Houma Today and the Daily Advertiser, both still have the op-ed promoted on their X pages though the links to the article go to the editorial standards explanation.  
USA Today did not return a request for comment.

USA Today May Have Violated Own Ethical Standards In Deleting Op-Ed From Republican Senator Over ‘Loaded Language’

Legacy Media

USA Today

A Republican senator’s opinion column about keeping biological males out of women’s sports was removed from <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/usa-today" target="_blank" rel="noopener">USA Today</a>’s network of newspapers because of his “loaded language.”
Sen. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/john-kennedy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">John Kennedy</a> (R-LA) learned that a column he wrote about protecting women’s sports had been removed from several USA Today Network newspapers because of &#8220;inflammatory&#8221; language out of the paper’s editorial standards, Fox News <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/usa-today-newspapers-quietly-delete-gop-senators-op-ed-trans-athletes-without-telling-him">reported</a> Friday. Kennedy told the outlet that he was not aware that the column had been removed until he was informed of broken links to the article.
Kennedy told Fox that the &#8220;USA TODAY Network apparently does not like the way I express myself.&#8221;
&#8220;They think they are the speech police. Drunk on certainty and virtue, they think they are our moral teacher. This attitude is why so many Americans have lost confidence in the media. The media is not going to win that trust back until they return to neutrality instead of advocacy,&#8221; he added.
The article, titled &#8220;Is transgender inclusion more important than women’s sports?&#8221; had been published on May 11 by several Louisiana-based papers owned by Gannett, the parent company of USA Today.
&#8220;Men and women don’t compete for the same reasons,” the Republican senator said in his column. “Yet transgender activists want athletic institutions to ignore these obvious physical differences so transgender athletes can feel included, even if it hurts biological girls in the process.”
Gannett Opinion Editor and Vice President of Standards and Ethics Michael McCarter said that Kennedy’s column did not meet the company’s “ethical standard” and that he had been given a chance to “revise his language.”
&#8220;We recognize the importance of sharing varying perspectives and the vital role we play convening conversations,” McCarter said. “Sen. John Kennedy’s submitted opinion column did not meet our ethical guidelines, which state we will treat people with respect. After further review, our editorial team removed the column from our website. Sen. Kennedy has been given the opportunity to revise his language &#8211; not his viewpoint &#8211; to adhere with our standards.”
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According to emails with the executive editor of the Shreveport Times, a USA Today Network newspaper, Kennedy’s use of the terms “biological male,” and “biological female,” were “loaded terms” outside of the outlet&#8217;s editorial standards. The outlet also took issue with Kennedy saying that men competing against women in sports was similar to NBA star Zion Williamson playing against middle school boys.

Senator’s Op-Ed On Protecting Women’s Sports Removed By USA Today Due To ‘Loaded Language’

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