We have been hearing for a while that the Department of Governmental Efficiency (DOGE) under the tutelage of Elon Musk has been a giant failure.
We’ve been hearing this from the legacy media, who have been saying that all the cuts are basically fake, that nothing is happening, that it&#8217;s chaos that&#8217;s wrecking the country.
It is true that not one Social Security check has been stopped. The Medicaid and the Medicare checks are also still going out. The government, unfortunately, is still running much as before.
But — much spending has really been stopped. There&#8217;s been an open question as to how much spending will be stopped, how much can be temporarily frozen versus actually just cut. Will firing these employees actually stick?
But Democrats are caterwauling because, as it turns out, DOGE has been quite effective in stopping an enormous amount of spending. Trillions of dollars? No. Is it hundreds of billions of dollars? Yes.
According to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-administration-withholding-43687-billion-approved-spending-top-democrats-2025-04-29/">Reuters</a>:
<blockquote>U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has so far withheld at least $436.87 billion of congressionally approved funding, the top Democrats on the U.S. Congress&#8217; appropriation committees said on Tuesday. The frozen allotments span the federal government, according to the first estimate of the potential impoundments in the project led by Senator Patty Murray from Washington and Representative Rosa DeLauro from Connecticut. Almost $42 billion was frozen or canceled for the State Department, including the frozen support for USAID, along with another $62 billion-plus in competitive grant funding for the Transportation Department, according to the estimate. The Democrats also detailed $943 million frozen for the Head Start early-education program.</blockquote>
Head Start is one of the great failures in federal history. The data on Head Start has been pretty solid for a long time, showing effectively no difference between kids who go to Head Start and kids who do not. There&#8217;s also been some $10 billion frozen and canceled for the Natural Resources Conservation Service as well.
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/bss-ep-2189-member-exclusive?elementPosition=3&amp;row=2&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+Episodes&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Episodes+Carousel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH: The Ben Shapiro Show</a></h3>
Democrats, of course, are very angry about all of this. All of the spending is going to have to be put permanently into the “no-spend” category by Congress. They can do so with a simple 50 vote majority in the Senate. That is presumably the path Congress is going to have to take.
The focus needs to move to Congress, because the truth is that President Trump and DOGE can temporarily freeze a lot of this funding, but unless it&#8217;s rescinded by Congress, it will go right back into place after a certain period of time.
This is the reason why Democrats are freaking out about all of this.
They&#8217;re worried that Republicans are going to start passing rescission bills that would make many of the freezes permanent and then turn the freezes into cuts.
According to Reuters, “The administration has cited Musk&#8217;s Department of Government Efficiency and the undoing of the federal government&#8217;s diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives as reasons for blocking congressionally approved funding.”
The question is how much the executive branch can actually block that funding under the 1974 Impoundment Control Act. Usually the president has to tweak levels by proposing cuts. That would be the rescission. That has not happened so far.
Which brings us to Congress. Right now it would be an act of political magic. Every time you get a Republican majority together, it&#8217;s a bit of political magic. The reason for that is because the Republican House majority is unbelievably narrow.
Even in the Senate of the United States, you have to acknowledge that senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) are likely to go the other way on major legislation. That cuts the GOP majority to 51 votes. There are still holdovers like Mitch McConnell (D-NY), who may vote against something President Trump wants. There are a wide variety of other senators with various interests.
So getting this whole thing together is an attempt to herd cats by Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), as well as Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA).
Can they do it? That&#8217;s the question.

President Trump Holds “Make America Wealthy Again Event” In White House Rose Garden

It’s Up To Congress Now

Ben Shapiro

Congress

Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)

DOGE

Elon Musk

Federal Government

John Thune

Mike Johnson

Opinion

President Trump

President Donald Trump is &#8220;probably messing&#8221; with members of the media when he entertains the notion of a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/a-lot-of-people-would-like-me-to-trump-says-there-are-methods-for-him-to-get-a-3rd-term" target="_blank" rel="noopener">third term</a> in the White House, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) said on Monday.
The top lawmaker played down the idea after Trump <a href="https://x.com/brianstelter/status/1906385585130135968" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> NBC News journalist Kristen Welker he was &#8220;not joking&#8221; about a third term — even though he added that &#8220;it is far too early to think about it.&#8221;
According to a report published by <a href="https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2025/03/31/congress/john-thune-trump-third-term-00261406" target="_blank" rel="noopener">POLITICO</a>, Thune said to reporters: &#8220;I think that you guys keep asking the question and I think he’s probably having some fun with it and probably messing with you.&#8221;
Thune also said Trump could not serve a third term &#8220;without a change in the Constitution&#8221; — as stipulated by the <a href="https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/amendment-22/#:~:text=No%20person%20shall%20be%20elected,the%20President%20more%20than%20once." target="_blank" rel="noopener">22nd Amendment</a>, ratified in 1951 after President Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected to four terms.
Over the years, Trump has mused repeatedly about a third term. In January, Rep. Anthony Ogles (R-TN) actually <a href="https://ogles.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-ogles-proposes-amending-22nd-amendment-allow-trump-serve-third-term" target="_blank" rel="noopener">introduced</a> a House joint resolution to amend the Constitution to allow that to happen.
&#8220;If the man who created the disastrous &#8216;New Deal&#8217; gets more than two terms, then the man who created the &#8216;Art of The Deal&#8217; should get the same,&#8221; Ogles <a href="https://x.com/RepOgles/status/1906783118939283910" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> on X with a &#8220;TrumpThirdTerm&#8221; hashtag.
Amending the Constitution needs a two-thirds vote in the House and Senate — or a convention triggered by two-thirds of state legislatures — followed by approval from 38 of 50 state legislatures or conventions.
Trump told Welker there were &#8220;methods&#8221; to make a third term happen. One hypothetical he acknowledged was Vice President JD Vance running at the top of the ticket and then passing the &#8220;baton&#8221; to him.
But pressed to follow up on whether he was serious about a third term, Trump <a href="https://x.com/WSJ/status/1906765604540846282" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> reporters on Air Force One, &#8220;I&#8217;m not looking at that, but I&#8217;ll tell you, I have had more people ask me to have a third term.&#8221;
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt <a href="https://x.com/cspan/status/1906761640755737071" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> reporters keep asking Trump about it and &#8220;then he answers honestly and candidly with a smile and then everybody here melts down about his answer.&#8221;

U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD)

Trump ‘Probably Messing With You’ About 3rd Term, Thune Tells Reporters

Donald Trump

Elections

Politics

U.S. Senate

On Monday, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) called out a &#8220;double dose of Democrat hypocrisy&#8221; when it came to a push to pass the GOP-backed stopgap bill that <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/senate-officially-sends-funding-bill-to-trumps-desk-after-dems-cave" target="_blank" rel="noopener">averted</a> a partial government shutdown earlier this month.
In remarks on the Senate floor, Thune alluded to how just nine Democrats and one independent helped the upper chamber <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/senate-clears-key-hurdle-to-avert-shutdown-after-schumer-surrenders" target="_blank" rel="noopener">overcome</a> the three-fifths filibuster threshold and proceed with a continuing resolution that provided funds to various federal agencies and programs through the end of September.
&#8220;The rest preferred to filibuster the bill and shut down the government. It was a double dose of Democrat hypocrisy,&#8221; Thune said. &#8220;Democrats who had campaigned to abolish the filibuster enthusiastically embraced it now that it served their purposes and Democrats who had decried the evils of government shutdowns now embraced shutting down the government.&#8221;
Illustrating how Democrats have changed their tune depending on the situation, Thune shared quotes from some of his colleagues from across the aisle who voted against invoking cloture on the latest funding patch after decrying shutdowns in a political fight last year over keeping the government open.
Without naming anyone, Thune appeared to read a <a href="https://x.com/MarkWarner/status/1771335406493020212" target="_blank" rel="noopener">post</a> on X from Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) in March 2024 that called shutdowns &#8220;as devastating as they are stupid&#8221; and <a href="https://x.com/maziehirono/status/1762485328789504444" target="_blank" rel="noopener">another</a> from Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) in February 2024 that said, &#8220;Even a partial shutdown could disrupt supply chains, hurt small businesses, risk travel delays, and increase food prices for millions of Americans.&#8221;
Thune quipped: &#8220;Democrats are changing their position so abruptly it could give you whiplash. The only thing that doesn&#8217;t look likely to change is the Democrats&#8217; willingness to change their principles when it suits their political purposes.&#8221;
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) was one of the Democrats who voted in favor of moving forward with the continuing resolution last week. He warned that a shutdown would empower President Donald Trump to keep cutting programs as part of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) effort led by Elon Musk. However, some on the Left have argued that Schumer abdicated to Republicans and went as far as to call on him to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dem-lawmakers-begin-calling-schumer-step-aside" target="_blank" rel="noopener">step aside</a>.
Looking to what comes next, Thune said, &#8220;I hope the Democrats will manage to move past the fact that they weren&#8217;t able to shut down the government, but whether they accept their defeat or decide to throw a tantrum about it, we&#8217;re going continue to do the job that we were elected and sent here to do.&#8221;
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Thune: Senate Republicans Are on a Roll" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Tjq83JkwNTo?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>

Senate Majority Leader John Thune

Thune Calls Out ‘Double Dose Of Democrat Hypocrisy’ On Filibusters And Shutdowns

Democrats

Filibuster

Government Shutdown

Spending Bill

President Donald Trump scored a majority victory on Monday evening when the Senate, led by Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), confirmed his <a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-cabinet-labor-secretary-lori-chavez-deremer-decd9cff41794205bd06223f939f9e7b" target="_blank" rel="noopener">union-backed</a> nominee to lead the Labor Department.
With members voting <a href="https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1191/vote_119_1_00111.htm#position" target="_blank" rel="noopener">67-32</a> in favor of former Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (D-OR), the upper chamber has given its blessing to all secretaries in Trump&#8217;s second-term <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/the-cabinet/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cabinet</a>. Trump now has 21 Cabinet-level nominees <a href="https://x.com/SRCC/status/1899231627131109453" target="_blank" rel="noopener">confirmed</a>, leaving only Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), who has been tapped to become U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations but has yet to get a floor vote as Republicans <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/senate-republicans-slow-walk-elise-stefanik-confirmation-un-ambassador-rcna192129" target="_blank" rel="noopener">contend</a> with a slim majority in the House and New York Democrat Governor Kathy Hochul is <a href="https://www.semafor.com/article/03/10/2025/hochul-expected-to-slow-walk-election-to-replace-stefanik" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly</a> expected to slow-walk the election to replace her.
Seventeen Democrats joined with the majority of Republicans in supporting Chavez-DeRemer while Sens. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Rand Paul (R-KY), and Ted Budd (R-NC) banded together with the rest of the Democrats and independents in voting against her.
&#8220;I’m deeply honored to be confirmed as the 30th [Labor] Secretary under President [Trump],&#8221; Chavez-DeRemer <a href="https://x.com/LChavezDeRemer/status/1899232928393265221" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a post on X. &#8220;As promised, I’ll work tirelessly to put American Workers First by fighting for good-paying jobs, safe working conditions, and secure retirement benefits. Let&#8217;s get to work.&#8221;
All 21 positions in Trump&#8217;s &#8220;formal&#8221; Cabinet have now been approved by the Senate in the seven weeks since Inauguration Day, according to Fox News&#8217; Chad Pergram, who also <a href="https://x.com/ChadPergram/status/1899211995507032212" target="_blank" rel="noopener">noted</a> that former President Joe Biden did not have his Cabinet completed until March 22 of 2021 — when the Senate confirmed Marty Walsh as labor secretary.
The Trump 2.0 Cabinet includes: Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins, Energy Secretary Chris Wright, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought, Small Business Administration Administrator Kelly Loeffler, Education Secretary Linda McMahon, and Chavez-DeRemer.
Some of the confirmation votes have been very tight while some nominees have breezed through. The closest vote happened in January when Vice President JD Vance cast a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/vance-breaks-tie-to-confirm-pete-hegseth-for-pentagon" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tie-breaker</a> to confirm Hegseth. Gabbard was confirmed in a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/senate-confirms-tulsi-gabbard-as-director-of-national-intelligence" target="_blank" rel="noopener">52-48</a> vote and Kennedy Jr. in a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/senate-confirms-robert-f-kennedy-jr-as-hhs-secretary" target="_blank" rel="noopener">52-48</a> vote. Rubio, himself a former U.S. senator from Florida, received the most bipartisan support among all the nominees with a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/senate-votes-unanimously-to-confirm-marco-rubio-as-secretary-of-state" target="_blank" rel="noopener">99-0</a> vote. Other top officials not in Cabinet positions have also been confirmed, including FBI Director <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/senate-confirms-kash-patel-as-fbi-director" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kash Patel</a> and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche.

US President Donald Trump

Senate Confirms Last Of Trump 2.0 Cabinet Secretaries

Cabinet

Executive

The GOP-led Senate will take up legislation that aims to protect women’s sports leagues by trying to keep male athletes who identify as females from competing.
After journalist Megyn Kelly first <a href="https://x.com/MegynKellyShow/status/1894845495756882426" target="_blank" rel="noopener">broke the news</a> on her podcast, Majority Leader John Thune&#8217;s (R-SD) office confirmed to The Daily Wire that the Senate will file cloture on the bill on Thursday. Then, a cloture vote — which requires a three-fifths majority to cap debate ahead of a final vote sometime in the future— is expected Monday.
Called the &#8220;Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act,&#8221; the <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/9/text?s=1&amp;r=1&amp;q=%7B%22search%22%3A%22Protection+of+Women+and+Girls+in+Sports+Act+of+2025%22%7D" target="_blank" rel="noopener">bill</a> seeks to &#8220;provide that for purposes of determining compliance with title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 in athletics, sex shall be recognized based solely on a person&#8217;s reproductive biology and genetics at birth.&#8221;
If enacted, the bill would amend Section 901 of the Education Amendments of 1972 by adding two provisions to the end:
<blockquote>(1) It shall be a violation of subsection (a) for a recipient of Federal funds who operates, sponsors, or facilitates athletic programs or activities to permit a person whose sex is male to participate in an athletic program or activity that is designated for women or girls.
(2) For purposes of this subsection, sex shall be recognized based solely on a person&#8217;s reproductive biology and genetics at birth.</blockquote>
Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), who introduced the bill in January, has been joined by Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL) and 36 other <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/9/cosponsors?s=1&amp;r=1&amp;q=%7B%22search%22%3A%22Protection+of+Women+and+Girls+in+Sports+Act+of+2025%22%7D" target="_blank" rel="noopener">co-sponsors</a> — all GOP senators. It remains unclear how Democrats and the independents who caucus with them will vote on the legislation. As it stands, the Senate GOP has a 53-47 majority.
&#8220;79% of Americans agree: men don’t belong in women’s sports,&#8221; Tuberville said in a <a href="https://x.com/SenTuberville/status/1894846092828713262" target="_blank" rel="noopener">post</a> to X on Wednesday, citing the findings of a recent New York Times/Ipsos <a href="https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/documenttools/a66cc1cd29a9ea2c/41386e22-full.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">survey</a>. &#8220;I hope EVERY SENATOR will join me to PERMANENTLY restore Title IX protections and protect women and girls everywhere.&#8221;
Back in January, the GOP-controlled House <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/house-again-passes-bill-to-protect-womens-sports" target="_blank" rel="noopener">passed</a> its own version of the &#8220;Protection of Women and Girls Act.&#8221; That bill, which came from Rep. Greg Steube (R-FL), got the support of two Democrats: Reps. Henry Cueller (D-TX) and Vicente Gonzalez (D-TX).
If enacted, the House bill <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/28/text?s=1&amp;r=9&amp;q=%7B%22search%22%3A%22Protection+of+Women+and+Girls+in+Sports+Act%22%7D" target="_blank" rel="noopener">would</a> &#8220;amend the Education Amendments of 1972 to provide that for purposes of determining compliance with title IX of such Act in athletics, sex shall be recognized based solely on a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth,&#8221; adding language that says it would be a violation for recipients of federal aid to allow a person whose sex is male to participate in a sports program for women or girls.
Also included in the House legislation is a provision directing the comptroller general to conduct a study that would look at &#8220;the adverse psychological, developmental, participatory, and sociological results to girls of allowing males to compete, be members of a sports team, or participants in athletic programs, that are designed for girls.&#8221;
Opponents argued the House bill would have <a href="https://x.com/MicaSoellnerDC/status/1879179579895709876" target="_blank" rel="noopener">invasive</a> consequences and is supported by <a href="https://x.com/cspan/status/1879228470900765057" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&#8220;bigoted folks.&#8221;</a>
If the Senate passes its own version of the bill, the House would need to pass it, too. Or both chambers of Congress would have to compromise on legislation that might integrate aspects of each bill.
The House previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/zero-democrats-vote-for-house-bill-to-protect-womens-sports">passed</a> its version of the bill in 2023 with no Democrat support. However, it <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/734?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%22Protection+of+Women+and+Girls+in+Sports+Act%22%7D&amp;s=1&amp;r=7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">never got a vote</a> in the Democrat-led Senate in the last Congress.
Ultimately, a bill that passes both the House and Senate will go to the White House where the president can sign it into law or issue a veto.
President Donald Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/surrounded-by-young-female-athletes-donald-trump-bans-men-from-womens-sports" target="_blank" rel="noopener">signed</a> an executive order in February geared toward keeping men out of women’s sports at schools that receive federal funding. In the face of some opposition, Attorney General Pam Bondi has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pam-bondi-fires-warning-shot-at-maine-over-womens-sports-cannot-ignore-federal-law" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sent letters</a> to officials in Maine, Minnesota, and California, warning the administration &#8220;will leverage every legal option necessary to ensure state compliance with federal law and President Trump’s Executive Order protecting women’s sports.&#8221;

U.S. Capitol

Senate To Consider Bill To Protect Women’s Sports

Sports

U.S.

Women

Women Sports

Senate Republicans are rallying against a Democrat effort to undo the national emergency designed to unlock American energy that President Donald Trump declared on the first day of his second term.
Earlier this month, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee ranking member Martin Heinrich (D-NM) introduced a &#8220;privileged&#8221; joint resolution that seeks to <a href="https://www.kaine.senate.gov/press-releases/kaine-and-heinrich-unveil-legislation-to-terminate-president-trumps-sham-energy-emergency" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&#8220;terminate&#8221;</a> Trump&#8217;s national emergency declaration that ordered agencies to boost energy domestic production and infrastructure, claiming it would &#8220;benefit big Oil&#8221; while killing jobs, raising costs on families, and weaken economic competitiveness.
The measure is expected to get a vote this week. Republicans, who have a 53-47 majority in the upper chamber, can defeat it with a simple majority — if they stay largely united. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Mike Lee (R-UT) has been working to make that happen.
&#8220;Senate Democrats are yet again attempting to block President Trump&#8217;s efforts to secure cheaper, more reliable energy — just when America needs it most. Their message to families is clear: pay more, expect less,&#8221; Lee said in a statement. &#8220;Luckily, President Trump is committed to unleashing American energy and rescuing the country from the energy crisis that they have perpetuated. Senate Republicans won&#8217;t let Democrats delay and obstruct any longer and will ensure the President has the tools necessary to deliver the results the American people expect.&#8221;
The vote comes on the heels of the Senate <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/senate-passes-late-night-budget-bill-focused-on-border-defense-spending" target="_blank" rel="noopener">passing</a> a $340 billion budget resolution last week that, according to Chairman Lindsey Graham&#8217;s (R-SC) office, aims to <a href="https://www.budget.senate.gov/chairman/newsroom/press/chairman-graham-statement-after-senate-agrees-to-budget-resolution-to-secure-the-border-revitalize-our-military-and-unleash-american-energy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&#8220;unleash&#8221;</a> American energy by facilitating production through on- and offshore lease sales and stopping the national gas tax implemented during former President Joe Biden&#8217;s administration. All Democrats and one Republican — Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) — opposed the measure.
Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) delivered <a href="https://www.thune.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=16CE64C2-25A8-410C-9190-D124E6E5BADD#:~:text=%E2%80%9CThanks%20in%20substantial%20part%20to,face%20huge%20new%20power%20demands." target="_blank" rel="noopener">remarks</a> on the Senate floor on Tuesday in which he cited news articles that discussed how the United States is careening toward a situation in which it cannot meet growing power needs. He questioned why his Democrat colleagues do not see an emergency when the electric grid is on the edge.
&#8220;Thanks in substantial part to a movement to shut down fossil-fuel-fired power plants before reliable sources of clean energy are available to replace them, America is running out of power even as we face huge new power demands,&#8221; Thune said.
He added: &#8220;I realize this is an inconvenient truth to my Democrat colleagues. Why? Because it interferes with their plans to force the United States off conventional energy. If Democrats acknowledge that we are rapidly approaching an energy crisis, they might have to actually consider the consequences of their energy plans. &#8230; If we don’t take action, we are going to be facing some very serious problems in the very near future.&#8221;

U.S. Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT)

Senate GOP Fights Dems To Preserve Trump’s Day-One Energy Emergency Declaration

Energy

Mike Lee

Tim Kaine

The following is an edited transcript of an interview between Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief John Bickley and U.S. Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) on a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/podcasts/morning-wire/analyzing-trump-s-cabinet-with-senator-mullin-2-23-25" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sunday edition of Morning Wire</a>.
So far, President Trump is batting a thousand on confirmations for his cabinet secretary nominees. Just this week Kash Patel was confirmed as Director of the FBI while Labor Secretary Linda Chavez-DeRemer seems to have secured the support of the Senate. This is the fastest pace since 2001. Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin joined Morning Wire to discuss Trump&#8217;s cabinet nominees, the Senate’s strategic approach to the confirmation process, and the significance of the GOP’s &#8220;Big Tent&#8221; strategy in uniting diverse political factions within the Republican Party.
* * *
JOHN: Joining us to discuss the rapid fire series of confirmations and where the Trump cabinet and agenda stands now is Oklahoma’s Senator Markwayne Mullin. Senator, first of all thank you for joining us.
MULLIN: It&#8217;s my honor. Thanks for having me on.
JOHN: Let’s start with Kash Patel. You’ve been a strong advocate for Patel – why do you believe we need a “disruptor” like him to lead the FBI?
MULLIN: I wouldn&#8217;t describe him as a &#8220;disruptor.&#8221; I would say he&#8217;s someone who chases the facts. He exposed the wrongs, or the hypocrisy, or the cover-ups within FBI. He did this way before he was even being considered to be the director of the FBI. He was a whistleblower before people were even looking into it. You take somebody like him who understands the intel system, understands the mission of the FBI and has been concerned enough back years ago that he was willing to expose it. Why wouldn&#8217;t you want somebody like that? Because he&#8217;s not there to destroy the FBI. He&#8217;s there to get them back on mission focus. He&#8217;s there to support the field agents, to put them back on the mission focus of protecting the American people, not taking directive orders from a Democrat Party that&#8217;s wanting to investigate students for showing up to school board meetings, or classifying Catholics – and I&#8217;m not joking when I say this – as possible terrorists because they disagreed with the Democrat agenda, especially when it came to abortions. That was what that was all about. It&#8217;s concerning that the Democrat Party had weaponized the FBI for political gain and political purposes. What Kash is going to do is put them back on mission focus. That means he&#8217;s going to reform the 7th floor of the Hoover Building and take the politics out of it – and put the American people back in focus.
<div id="attachment_868749" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-868749" class="size-large wp-image-868749" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/GettyImages-2196133096-864x576.jpg" alt="WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 30: Kash Patel, nominee to be Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, testifies in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee in Washington, DC on January 30, 2025. (Photo by Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/GettyImages-2196133096-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/GettyImages-2196133096-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/GettyImages-2196133096-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/GettyImages-2196133096.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images</div>
JOHN: Thus far all of President Trump’s nominees have gotten through the confirmation process relatively smoothly. Is this simply due to GOP majorities – or do you believe that Democrat opposition has been weakened by Trump’s mandate?
MULLIN: I think you’ve got a little bit of both. I think the American people spoke very loud and on November 5th, when he won the popular vote and obviously electoral vote. I think the Democrat Party is trying to reorganize and find themselves, and they can&#8217;t. They keep reverting back to 2017 rhetoric and I hope they stay there — because if they stay there, we&#8217;re going to continue to win elections. But at the same time, what you&#8217;ve seen is a new leader in the Senate with Leader Thune. He is 100% grinding the Democrats down from the get go. He said, “We can do this the hard way or we can do this the easy way. It&#8217;s up to you.” And so once the president got confirmed and sworn into office on the 20th, what we did is we immediately started the clock on these agents and on these nominees, and these nominees haven&#8217;t stopped. What I mean by the clock, just to explain to your listeners, after they get out of committee, which we already had people preset. So, first of all, Leader Thune directed the chairs of the committees to get started on the hearings early, even before Trump was sworn into office. That normally doesn&#8217;t take place. So he preset it. We came in on January 3rd. The president wasn&#8217;t going to get sworn in until January 20th, but we already started hearing so we could get them reported out of committee and onto the floor for the hearing. So starting on January 20th, he started the clock on these nominees. Once they get reported out of committee, it&#8217;s called a 24-hour soak. Then, if they&#8217;re a cabinet position, meaning a secretary, it is a 30-hour debate. So that&#8217;s when we say we&#8217;re invoking cloture. It&#8217;s a 20 or 30 hour debate. So it&#8217;s 54 hours on secretary levels. On directors, like Kash Patel, when you invoke culture on them, you have a two hour debate. So while you still have a 24-hour soak, you only have two hours of debate on that person. So you can move those faster. He has literally kept that clock running 24/7, 7 days a week even when we&#8217;re not here. The Democrats will negotiate and say, “Okay, what we will do is we&#8217;ll continue the clock if you don&#8217;t make us vote on Saturday and Sunday – well, not Sunday.” Like we did with Pete Hegseth on Saturday. They said, ”If you don&#8217;t make us stay over on the weekend, we will allow the clocks to run consecutively, even though we&#8217;re not here.” So, we&#8217;ll go ahead and invoke culture on the next person. When the 30 hours run out, say, it&#8217;s 6:00 in the morning on Saturday, the next 30 hours will start. So when we get back here on Monday, we can confirm two people at once. That&#8217;s why we&#8217;re so far ahead, because Leader Thune has not let up the pressure at all, not one bit, on the Democrats.
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JOHN: Really not wasting a second there. Wednesday was the hearing for Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer. She was somewhat controversial on the Right because of her past support of pro-union policies and her past work for Planned Parenthood. You were one of her key proponents, even suggesting her nomination to President Trump. How do you envision her impacting labor relations in the current political climate?
MULLIN: Well, you have to go back to the coalition that President Trump has built. So, President Trump has brought a unique coalition together, right? Let&#8217;s just look at Tulsi. That conversation started over two years ago between President Trump and I, when he asked how do I get Libertarian and Independents to vote for us? We don&#8217;t have to win their vote, but we need to increase their percentages. I said, &#8220;Let&#8217;s bring Tulsi in.&#8221; Immediately that relationship started. Tulsi&#8217;s relationship with Bobby is what brought Bobby onto the campaign and the President quickly embraced him when he asked us to go to for me to be a surrogate to Indian country for him — even though a Republican hadn&#8217;t won Indian country since Nixon — President Trump wanted to put a special interest towards them. And so he ended up winning 63% of the Native American vote. When he asked, “Do you think we can win it?” I said, “Sir, you won all 77 counties in Oklahoma. There&#8217;s no greater population of Native American tribes in one area other than Oklahoma.&#8221; And I said, “So if you can win it in Oklahoma, you can win it nationally.” When you start looking at the unions, he asked right after Sean O&#8217;Brien, who had him and I had obviously public, very public disagreements. He asked us just a couple of months later. “Hey, I need you guys to work together.” His phone call to me was his [saying?], “Listen, we need the union votes. I want you to make friends with Sean. I believe you guys will get along. I talked to him. You guys actually have a lot in common.” He asked Sean to do the same thing. We got in a room together, and we&#8217;ve been friends ever since that day. And so the coalition that the president&#8217;s brought together is unique. At the same time, we have to understand that we can&#8217;t always use this conservative purity test when the president has got a mandate from the American people that he&#8217;s working for everybody. And that means this new coalition, we have to stay true to our values, but understand we&#8217;re accepting individuals that we may not 100% agree to, but we’ve got to show them some love. And Lori represents that. We have our differences, obviously. We&#8217;re a Right-to-Work state, a very proud Right-to-Work state. That&#8217;s what started the whole confrontation, honestly, between Sean and I. But at the same time, the unions have a place in this country, and I recognize that. There&#8217;s not a successful business that doesn&#8217;t have successful business employees. And there&#8217;s not an employee that has a good job that doesn&#8217;t have a business to work for. So they take both of us. Lori was a great compromise. It was one of those areas that, yeah, we&#8217;re going to give the unions a nod. We won 59% of the union vote, which he&#8217;s the first Republican president to do that in decades. We&#8217;re going, we&#8217;re going to give you a little nod, agree that we disagree on some issues, but we&#8217;re going to find common ground to work for because they&#8217;re looking for a party right now. The Democrat woke agenda doesn&#8217;t fit the workforce that we have in America right now. And so Sean and I spoke, Sean actually brought Lori to me and said, &#8220;What do you think about Lori? I think this is someone that the unions can support.&#8221; And I said, &#8220;I think that&#8217;s a great idea. Let&#8217;s talk to the president about it.&#8221; So we both visit with the president at different times about it. The president loved the idea, and that&#8217;s how it happened. So, I get that some of my conservative friends out there had reservations about it, but if we want to continue to win elections for the Republican Party and not go down this socialist woke agenda road that the Biden administration was trying to move us towards, then we got to understand we&#8217;re gonna have to allow some people in our party that we can welcome in and start working on things we have in common, not just focused on the differences.
JOHN: Well, that Big Tent approach clearly paid dividends in this last election for Trump, winning percentages of demographics we haven’t seen Republicans win in decades, as you said.
MULLIN: That&#8217;s right.
JOHN: Now you&#8217;re a member of the Senate GOP Deputy Whip team, which allows you to influence the legislative agenda significantly. What are your top legislative priorities for the 119th Congress?
MULLIN: Well deregulation is my biggest focus, the deregulation of the business sector. You’ve got to start with certain focuses and my focus is on energy. By the way, President Trump is all on board on this too, not just because it&#8217;s my agenda. He sees it the same way, because we both come from a business perspective. I tell everybody, when you make decisions, it will be based on two things: the way you were raised and your life experience. My life experience is business.  And you understand when you&#8217;re in business that everything that you factor as a cost starts and begins with energy. You can&#8217;t build a product and you can&#8217;t deliver a product with that without factoring in the energy cost because it takes energy to build it and it takes energy to deliver it. So, it&#8217;s always a baseline add-on when you&#8217;re talking about cost. So if you&#8217;re going to bring down inflation, you’ve got to bring down energy. The only way we bring down energy prices is you’ve got to make it conducive that people can trust their long term investment and not just four years at a time. But most energy companies are investing 15 to 20 years at a time when they look at returns. So you’ve got to have stability in the energy market. And that means you’ve got to have deregulation that&#8217;s not just an executive order, but it&#8217;s legislation and made into law. So it can&#8217;t be overturned on day one, like Joe Biden did to the Trump administration. So, stability in the regulatory market is my number one goal.
<div id="attachment_880601" style="width: 873px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-880601" class="size-large wp-image-880601" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/GettyImages-2200061297-863x576.jpg" alt="Elon Musk (L) holds a chainsaw with Argentine President Javier Milei during the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at the Gaylord National Resort &amp; Convention Center at National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland, on February 20, 2025." width="863" height="576" />SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images</div>
JOHN: Final question. Now the big bugaboo for Democrats is DOGE and its leader Elon Musk. How do you and your Republican colleagues in the Senate feel about how DOGE is going about its business?
MULLIN: I can&#8217;t speak for everybody in the Senate, especially my colleagues, but I&#8217;ll take it back to what I said earlier. We all make decisions based on how we were raised and our life experiences. So when you look from a business perspective, not a political perspective, you understand that every successful business out there, large or small, has hired a consultant at some point to come in and overlook their business operations. Not that they don&#8217;t know what they&#8217;re doing, it&#8217;s just that a consultant comes in from an unbiased perspective and just simply looks at numbers. And as a business owner, sometimes you can have pet projects that you just continue to dump money into that doesn&#8217;t make any sense. And there&#8217;s no way for it to be successful, but you&#8217;re so invested in it, you just can&#8217;t find a way out. And when a consultant looks at it and goes, “Hey, this makes no sense,” it opens your eyes up. Well, take politics, for example, you&#8217;ve got someone that&#8217;s been in there for 40 years. They’ve got a project in their state that doesn&#8217;t make any sense to continue because it&#8217;s outdated, but they&#8217;re personally connected to it and they&#8217;re not going to let it pass. Well, you take Elon Musk, who&#8217;s the most successful entrepreneur we&#8217;ve had in our lifetime and he&#8217;s working for the federal government as a free consultant. Consultants are typically expensive — and he&#8217;s doing it for free and giving his resources for free, and he&#8217;s looking at these programs from an unbiased perspective. Just the numbers. Does it work for the taxpayers? Does it make sense? How much waste, fraud and abuse is in the taxpayer dollar right now? And he&#8217;s exposing it at alarming rates. The reason I say alarming is because you think, ”Why haven&#8217;t we seen this?” Just take Social Security alone.You see the amount of people who are over 150 that are still on Social Security. I&#8217;m thinking, “I don&#8217;t remember seeing that report.” We celebrate people when they turn 100, and you typically see those in the paper. 150? I think that&#8217;d be pretty much news. I haven&#8217;t seen any of these individuals, but they&#8217;re still on the books for Social Security. Just simply cleaning up things like that makes a huge difference. That&#8217;s what a consultant can do, and that&#8217;s the role that DOGE is playing with Elon Musk, and I look at it from that perspective. Like I said, I can talk to my other colleagues and see how they look at it. But that&#8217;s what I&#8217;ve been on all these media outlets saying — the same thing that I am saying to you: try and argue with that perspective. You can&#8217;t. Because it does make sense. That&#8217;s why, that&#8217;s why private companies do it.
JOHN: Yeah, it doesn&#8217;t. I think it&#8217;s making sense to a lot of Americans as they watch this, polling shows that Trump&#8217;s approval is higher than it&#8217;s ever been than at any point in his first term. So things are going pretty well. He&#8217;s got a lot of momentum right now.
MULLIN: He has highly favorable numbers in Oklahoma. Literally, the numbers just came out the other day. It just blows my mind that his numbers are that good, and I&#8217;m just speaking for Oklahoma. His numbers obviously are good across the country.
JOHN: Well, senator, thank you so much for taking the time.
MULLIN: Thank you. Appreciate it.
JOHN: That was Senator Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma – and this has been a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/podcasts/morning-wire/analyzing-trump-s-cabinet-with-senator-mullin-2-23-25" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sunday edition of Morning Wire</a>.
***

Senate HELP Committee Holds Confirmation Hearing For Lori Chavez-DeRemer

‘Grinding The Democrats Down’: Sen. Markwayne Mullin On Trump’s Cabinet And The GOP Game Plan

'Grinding The Democrats Down': Sen. Markwayne Mullin On Trump’s Cabinet And The GOP Game Plan

kash patel

Morning Wire

Oklahoma

Social Security

Republicans in the Senate <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/senate-border-budget-triumphs-after-all-night-session-while-trump-backed-house-bill-lags">passed a $340 billion budget resolution</a> in the early hours of Friday morning, a narrower resolution than the broad-based bill House Republicans are preparing, but still one that pleased President Donald Trump after an all-night session.
The bill, which passed 52-48, focuses on three issues: immigration and border security, defense, and shoring up development of fossil fuels. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) was the only Republican to vote against the measure, joining all of the Senate Democrats in opposition. Other issues that the House wants to include, such as tax cuts, the Senate plans to add later, figuring that if the House — where the GOP holds a slim 218-215 majority — cannot agree on extending Trump’s tax cuts the three issues will be addressed immediately.
“This particular budget resolution… addresses the president’s priority, top priority, which is securing the border and implementing and putting in place his immigration policies, rebuilding our military, and creating energy dominance for this country,&#8221; Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) said before the vote was taken.
Senate Budget Chair Lindsey Graham (R-SC) <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/02/21/senate-passes-republican-border-security-bill/79409346007/">stated</a> after the bill passed, &#8220;As Senate Budget Committee Chairman, I’m incredibly pleased by the discipline shown by my Senate Republican colleagues to ensure that the most transformational border security bill in history can soon become a reality. I hope we can get one big, beautiful bill in the House, but we need to act on border security and national security now. We&#8217;re running out of time.”
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“Nothing would please me more than Speaker Johnson being able to put together the bill that President Trump wants,” Graham <a href="https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/senate-democrats-use-budget-vote-to-make-republicans-squirm-8937a656">added</a>. “But I cannot sit on the sidelines and not have a Plan B. This nation is under threat—the illegal immigrants who have come here by the millions need to be sent back by the millions.”
Trump had approved the House bill earlier this week, but he praised the Senate GOP, saying on Truth Social, “Thank you to Majority Leader John Thune, and the Republican Senate, for working so hard on funding the Trump Border Agenda. We are setting records, the likes of which have never been seen before, on stopping criminal illegal aliens from entering our Country. Put simply, we are delivering for the American People, far faster and, more successfully, than anyone thought possible. Your work on funding this effort is greatly appreciated!”
RELATED: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/one-big-beautiful-bill-trump-endorses-house-budget-plan-over-the-lindsey-graham-version">&#8216;One Big Beautiful Bill&#8217;: Trump Endorses House Budget Plan Over &#8216;The Lindsey Graham Version&#8217;</a>

Senators Hold Weekly Policy Luncheons At The Capitol

Senate Passes Late-Night Budget Bill Focused On Border, Defense Spending

border security

Budget

Department of Defense

Lindsey Graham

Senate GOP

On Wednesday, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) vouched for giving President Donald Trump &#8220;some space&#8221; to negotiate an end to the Ukraine-Russia war despite his scathing rhetoric about Ukraine.
Trump has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/you-couldve-made-a-deal-trump-blames-ukraine-for-ongoing-war-with-russia" target="_blank" rel="noopener">blamed</a> Ukraine for the ongoing conflict and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/you-couldve-made-a-deal-trump-blames-ukraine-for-ongoing-war-with-russia" target="_blank" rel="noopener">called</a> Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has complained of not being included in peace talks with Moscow and suggested Trump falling for Russian disinformation, a &#8220;dictator without elections.&#8221; During a press briefing at the U.S. Capitol, a reporter asked Thune if he was concerned about Trump&#8217;s comments given the majority leader&#8217;s record of supporting Ukraine and Russia <a href="https://www.barrons.com/news/putin-ready-to-talk-to-zelensky-if-necessary-kremlin-6fc0d3ec" target="_blank" rel="noopener">calling into question</a> Zelensky&#8217;s legitimacy.
&#8220;I think what I&#8217;m in support of is a peaceful outcome and result in Ukraine,&#8221; Thune said in response. &#8220;And I think right now the administration, the president, and his team are working to achieve that. And I think right now you got to give them some space, honestly. This is something — this war has ground on now for three years. There&#8217;s been a lot of cost, a lot of death, a lot of injury associated with it and I think it&#8217;s in everybody&#8217;s best interest — Ukraine, Russia, Europe, the United States — if they can bring about a peaceful conclusion to the war. And so that&#8217;s what this is about right now, and I think most of us want to support their efforts as they move in that direction hopefully to a successful outcome.&#8221;
Another journalist then asked Thune if he would call Zelensky a &#8220;dictator&#8221; as Trump did in a post to Truth Social, to which the Senate majority leader replied: &#8220;Well, like I said, the president speaks for himself. What I want to see is a peaceful result — a peaceful outcome. And I think right now there&#8217;s a negotiation going on and let&#8217;s see where that ultimately leads. Hopefully, it&#8217;ll get to the outcome we all want to see.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
REPORTER: &quot;Would you call Ukrainian President Zelensky a dictator, as President Trump has?&quot;
LEADER THUNE: &quot;The President speaks for himself&#8230;&quot; <a href="https://t.co/b9nbtLec7b">pic.twitter.com/b9nbtLec7b</a>
&mdash; Breaking911 (@Breaking911) <a href="https://twitter.com/Breaking911/status/1892302287990559129?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 19, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Secretary of State Marco Rubio provided an update on talks between the United States and Russia taking place in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.
&#8220;Took an important step forward today to establish enduring peace between Russia and Ukraine,&#8221; Rubio said in a <a href="https://x.com/SecRubio/status/1891984874627559554" target="_blank" rel="noopener">post</a> to X, along with photos of the meeting. &#8220;We are using our global strength to unite countries. The United States wants peace. We want the killing to stop. Thanks to Saudi Arabia and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for hosting.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Took an important step forward today to establish enduring peace between Russia and Ukraine.
We are using our global strength to unite countries. The United States wants peace. We want the killing to stop.
Thanks to Saudi Arabia and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for hosting. <a href="https://t.co/LdP4WzQjiI">pic.twitter.com/LdP4WzQjiI</a>
&mdash; Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) <a href="https://twitter.com/SecRubio/status/1891984874627559554?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 18, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Rubio <a href="https://x.com/SecRubio/status/1891986194444976482" target="_blank" rel="noopener">added</a> that the United States and Russia so far agreed to: &#8220;establish a consultation mechanism to address irritants,&#8221; &#8220;appoint high-level teams to end the conflict in Ukraine sustainably,&#8221; and &#8220;lay groundwork for future cooperation and economic opportunities post-conflict.&#8221;
Instead of focusing on any progress negotiators might be making in ending the Russia-Ukraine war, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) criticized Trump on X over the president&#8217;s remarks on Ukraine.
&#8220;Trump&#8217;s comments about the war in Ukraine sounded straight from a Russian propaganda playbook,&#8221; he said. &#8220;It&#8217;s disgusting. The Ukrainian people did not start this war. Vladimir Putin did. The staggering suffering and destruction they have endured is all because of Vladimir Putin.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Trump&#39;s comments about the war in Ukraine sounded straight from a Russian propaganda playbook.
It&#39;s disgusting.
The Ukrainian people did not start this war. Vladimir Putin did.
The staggering suffering and destruction they have endured is all because of Vladimir Putin.
&mdash; Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) <a href="https://twitter.com/SenSchumer/status/1892317472272810463?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 19, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Thune Shrugs Off Trump’s Ukraine Criticisms, Supports Giving ‘Space’ To Negotiate Peace With Russia

Chuck Schumer

Marco Rubio

Russia

Ukraine

Ukraine-Russia War

Volodymyr Zelensky

On Thursday, 9 GOP senators who serve in the Senate Finance Committee issued an open letter to President Trump to express their support for his desire to block the expiring provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) and their determination not to “support a tax package that only provides temporary relief from tax hikes.”
If the <a href="https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R47846" target="_blank" rel="noopener">provisions are allowed to expire</a>, marginal rates will return to their permanent TCJA levels of 10%, 15%, 25%, 28%, 33%, 35%, and 39.6%. The TCJA reduced those to 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35%, and 37%. Under the TCJA, basic standard deduction amounts were nearly doubled. They were adjusted annually for inflation after 2018. The TCJA essentially suspended the personal exemption.
“You were elected with a mandate to do big things,” the letter <a href="https://www.daines.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Senate-Finance-Letter-to-President-Trump_Tax-Permanency.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">began</a>. “One of those big things is to provide lasting tax relief for small businesses and families across the country. As members of the Senate Finance Committee, we write to express our support for your position that the expiring provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act must be permanent and not sunset. After passage of your tax cuts in 2017, we had a booming economy with soaring investment, higher wages, increased productivity, and zero corporate inversions. Without action, at the end of this year, taxes will increase for Americans in every income group and nearly six million jobs are at risk.”
“A temporary extension of these pro-growth and pro-families policies is a missed opportunity,&#8221; they declared. “Businesses need certainty while investing in their companies and taxpayers should not fear tax hikes due to Congressional inaction. Congressional Republicans have an historic opportunity to enact this lasting tax relief. Failing to act boldly does a disservice to the American people who entrusted us to deliver in November. Thus, we will not support a tax package that only provides temporary relief from tax hikes.”
“If lawmakers fail to extend these provisions, 62% of filers would see a tax increase,” Faith Jablokow of the Taxpayers Protection Alliance <a href="applewebdata://01E53A68-893C-48FE-939A-5607C37FB243/v">stated</a>. “Additionally, the TCJA fostered a 4.7% increase in corporate investment, a significant achievement. This is due to the TCJA lowering the corporate income tax rate from 35% to 21%. This had the dual effect of making American corporations more competitive globally and allowing them more liquid assets to invest back into the economy.”
GOP Senators Steve Daines (MT), Senate Majority Leader John Thune (SD), Mike Crapo (ID), John Barrasso (WY), James Lankford (OK), Ron Johnson (WI), Roger Marshall (KS), Marsha Blackburn (TN), and Thom Tillis (N.C.) signed the letter.

MixCollage-13-Feb-2025-03-29-PM-4912

‘You Were Elected To Do Big Things’: GOP Senators Urge Trump To Make Tax Cuts Permanent

Economy

Steve Daines

Tax Cuts

On Tuesday, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/u-s-senate" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Senate</a> Democrats blocked legislation that threatens to impose sanctions on the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/international-criminal-court" target="_blank" rel="noopener">International Criminal Court</a> (ICC) after the organization issued arrest warrants against Israeli leaders last year.
The majority of Democrats and the two independents who caucus with them opposed breaking the filibuster, resulting in a <a href="https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1191/vote_119_1_00022.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">54-45 vote</a> that fell short of the 60-vote threshold needed to begin debate on the bill.
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54-45:Democrats blocked the Senate from advancing a House-passed bill to sanction the International Criminal Court for issuing an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu.60 votes were needed. Fetterman (PA) was the only Democrat to vote Yes. Ossoff (GA) did not vote. <a href="https://t.co/oMGSzvZV40">pic.twitter.com/oMGSzvZV40</a>
&mdash; Craig Caplan (@CraigCaplan) <a href="https://twitter.com/CraigCaplan/status/1884328983501959536?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 28, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) was the sole Democrat to vote in favor of the bill. &#8220;The ICC’s treatment towards Israel and equivocating to Hamas was unacceptable,&#8221; he <a href="https://x.com/SenFettermanPA/status/1882928967151485018" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> on X. &#8220;We should absolutely sanction the ICC.&#8221;
Republicans called out Democrats who opposed the legislation, including Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-WY), who said: &#8220;Republicans are holding the ICC accountable with sanctions. Democrats are blocking us. Why?&#8221;
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Criminals in the world today have a friend — the International Criminal Court. 
They target Israel while letting evil regimes around the world off the hook. 
Right now Republicans are holding the ICC accountable with sanctions. Democrats are blocking us. Why?
&mdash; Sen. John Barrasso (@SenJohnBarrasso) <a href="https://twitter.com/SenJohnBarrasso/status/1884328296848187876?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 28, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Democrats voted against protecting American troops from a corrupt kangaroo court. They had 10 months to negotiate this bill, but instead waited until the last minute to demand unworkable changes that would give carve outs to big tech. Make no mistake-Democrats weakened our…
&mdash; Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) <a href="https://twitter.com/SenTomCotton/status/1884331129613742352?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 28, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Senate Democrats are using their new-found respect for the filibuster to effectively endorse the ICC’s illegitimate prosecution of our closest ally in the Middle East. It is outrageous! 
AMERICA STANDS WITH ISRAEL &amp; AGAINST LAWFARE. 
All these Senate Democrats have done is…
&mdash; Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpeakerJohnson/status/1884344446688583879?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 28, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) <a href="https://x.com/AndrewDesiderio/status/1884320663542120601" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly</a> criticized the ICC for how &#8220;their anti-Israel bias has taken over and become too much,&#8221; but also claimed the sanctions bill was &#8220;poorly drafted&#8221; and &#8220;deeply flawed.&#8221;
The <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/23/text?s=1&amp;r=1&amp;q=%7B%22search%22%3A%22Illegitimate+Court+Counteraction+Act%22%7D" target="_blank" rel="noopener">legislation</a> would &#8220;impose sanctions with respect to the International Criminal Court engaged in any effort to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute any protected person of the United States and its allies.&#8221;
Penalties listed in the bill would have the president implement restrictions on transactions of property and interests within the U.S., as well as visas, admission, or parole for anyone linked to offending ICC actions.
Reps. Chip Roy (R-TX) and Brian Mast (R-FL) first <a href="https://roy.house.gov/media/press-releases/reps-roy-and-mast-demand-sanctions-icc-officials-going-after-us-israel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">unveiled</a> the sanctions bill last May, citing reports indicating the ICC was prepared to issue arrest warrants against Israeli officials in response to the war in the Gaza Strip.
The ICC later <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/icc-blasted-over-arrest-warrants-for-netanyahu-gallant" target="_blank" rel="noopener">issued</a> arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant — as well as Hamas terror group officials — a move that got bipartisan criticism in the U.S.
In the last Congress, the House passed the bill only for it to be <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/8282/text" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ignored</a> by the Democrat-led Senate amid <a href="https://x.com/nicholaswu12/status/1797727903175807367" target="_blank" rel="noopener">opposition</a> by President Joe Biden. The House <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/house-again-passes-icc-sanctions-legislation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">passed</a> the bill again for the new term earlier this month.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/netanyahu-will-be-first-foreign-leader-hosted-at-trump-white-house?topStoryPosition=2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">RELATED: Netanyahu Will Be First Foreign Leader Hosted At Trump White House</a>
&#8220;Last year, I committed to putting this bill on the floor when Republicans were in the majority. Today, I’m following through on that promise,&#8221; Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) <a href="https://x.com/LeaderJohnThune/status/1884292120804028914" target="_blank" rel="noopener">declared</a> in a post to X.
Thune also included a forward-looking warning to his post, saying, &#8220;While the ICC is targeting Israeli leaders today, it could easily set its sights on Americans – and American soldiers in particular – tomorrow.&#8221;

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY)

Senate Democrats Block International Criminal Court Sanctions Bill

International Criminal Court

Israel

John Fetterman

Sanctions

The GOP-led <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/u-s-senate" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Senate</a> is ahead of the &#8220;Obama standard&#8221; when it comes to confirming President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/donald-trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Donald Trump</a>&#8216;s Cabinet nominees, Majority Leader <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/john-thune" target="_blank" rel="noopener">John Thune</a> (R-SD) said on Sunday.
During an interview on &#8220;Sunday Morning Futures&#8221; nearly a week into Trump&#8217;s second term, Fox News anchor Maria Bartiromo pressed Thune about the confirmation process, which Democrats have prevented from being conducted in a more speedy manner by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/senate-republicans-erupt-over-dem-stalling-of-trump-nominees" target="_blank" rel="noopener">forcing procedural votes</a> and employing <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/senate-democrats-put-arbitrary-hold-on-pam-bondi-nomination" target="_blank" rel="noopener">other delay tactics</a>.
&#8220;Why haven&#8217;t we seen more confirmations sooner? It certainly feels like the 53 Senate majority Republicans are allowing the 47 Senate minority Democrats to confirm the confirmation hearing process. Is that right?&#8221; Bartiromo asked, incorporating the 45 Senate Democrats with the pair of independents who caucus with them.
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Today on <a href="https://twitter.com/SundayFutures?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SundayFutures</a> with <a href="https://twitter.com/MariaBartiromo?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MariaBartiromo</a>, Senate Majority Leader <a href="https://twitter.com/LeaderJohnThune?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@LeaderJohnThune</a> spoke about the Senate confirmation process for President Trump&#39;s cabinet nominees.<a href="https://twitter.com/FoxNews?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@FoxNews</a> <a href="https://t.co/J4EY5xIZzw">pic.twitter.com/J4EY5xIZzw</a>
&mdash; SundayMorningFutures (@SundayFutures) <a href="https://twitter.com/SundayFutures/status/1883550655887057007?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 26, 2025</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;Well, actually, we&#8217;re ahead of schedule. We&#8217;re going back to what is the Obama standard,&#8221; Thune replied, adding that former president Barack Obama &#8220;got 12 of his Cabinet nominees through in 15 days. It took Trump 43 days to get his first 12 through back in 2017&#8221; for his first term.
&#8220;So we are pushing hard. And, obviously, there are constraints that are imposed by the rules of the Senate. The minority in the Senate has ways that can slow things down and drag it out,&#8221; Thune said.
&#8220;But we&#8217;re actually, at the current point, ahead of the Obama standard,&#8221; the majority leader continued. &#8220;And so we&#8217;re going to keep moving aggressively, moving quickly, forcing people to stay and to take votes on weekends, which we did this weekend.&#8221;
He added: &#8220;We will get them in place as quickly as we possibly can. But we are on the schedule that we laid out and one that I think enables these folks to get through the process in time to deliver for the president and for the American people.&#8221;
The Senate has so far confirmed <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/marco-rubio" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Marco Rubio</a> to be U.S. Secretary of State, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/john-ratcliffe" target="_blank" rel="noopener">John Ratcliffe</a> to be CIA director, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/pete-hegseth" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pete Hegseth</a> to be defense secretary, and — in a vote <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/kristi-noem-confirmed-as-trump-dhs-secretary-in-bipartisan-vote" target="_blank" rel="noopener">on Saturday</a> — <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/kristi-noem" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kristi Noem</a> to be homeland security secretary.
Scott Bessent, Trump&#8217;s treasury secretary nominee; and Sean Duffy, the nominee to become transportation secretary are expected to get confirmation votes in the coming days.
Thune said that installing &#8220;new leadership&#8221; at federal agencies and departments are needed to implement Trump&#8217;s second term agenda.
&#8220;Of course, we&#8217;re starting with the national security positions, which are critically important with everything that&#8217;s going on in the world and everything that&#8217;s going on at our southern border, which is why it was important that we get Governor Noem in at DHS,&#8221; Thune said.
&#8220;But, as we move forward, we have got Treasury, Bessent coming up, Sean Duffy at DOT, a whole bunch more that we&#8217;re queuing up, teeing up to get done. And it&#8217;s just really important that they get in place, Maria, because you have a window of time. This doesn&#8217;t come along all that often and sometimes doesn&#8217;t last that long,&#8221; he added.
Thune concluded: &#8220;And so we want to make sure the president has his team in place so he&#8217;s able to deliver on the agenda that he talked with the American people about and that they voted for in November.&#8221;

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD)

Senate Ahead Of ‘Obama Standard’ In Confirming Trump 2.0 Nominees, Thune Says

Presidential nomination

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