Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough invoked the ire of Republicans in Congress on Thursday for rejecting provisions in the &#8220;One Big, Beautiful Bill&#8221; championed by President Donald Trump.
A couple of GOP lawmakers called for MacDonough to be overruled after she ruled against <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/06/26/trump-tax-bill-medicaid-setback-senate/84367717007/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">proposed changes</a> to Medicaid over the view that they do not comply with Senate rules for the budget reconciliation process being used to fast-track the legislation.
&#8220;The Senate Parliamentarian, an unelected staffer, is gutting the House’s OBBB and axing conservative wins. Her word isn’t law — just advice. Senate Republicans: ignore her and deliver on President Trump’s agenda, backed by 77M Americans!&#8221; Rep. Keith Self (R-TX) <a href="https://x.com/RepKeithSelf/status/1938254272216350894" target="_blank" rel="noopener">posted</a> on X.
Others are going as far as to demand that MacDonough be forced out of the role she has held since being <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2012/01/31/politics/senate-female-parliamentarian/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">appointed</a> by then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) in 2012.
&#8220;The WOKE Senate Parliamentarian, who was appointed by Harry Reid and advised Al Gore, just STRUCK DOWN a provision BANNING illegals from stealing Medicaid from American citizens. This is a perfect example of why Americans hate THE SWAMP,&#8221; <a href="https://x.com/SenTuberville/status/1938237688261333020" target="_blank" rel="noopener">declared</a> Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL). &#8220;Unelected bureaucrats think they know better than U.S. Congressmen who are elected BY THE PEOPLE. Her job is not to push a woke agenda. THE SENATE PARLIAMENTARIAN SHOULD BE FIRED ASAP.&#8221;
Republicans are working to pass the bill using the reconciliation process, which allows the Senate to bypass the 60-vote threshold for a filibuster. However, the parliamentarian determined proposals for Medicaid and other programs do not adhere to the <a href="https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/RL30862" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Byrd Rule</a>, which demands they stay focused on the budget.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) indicated that he did not plan to overrule MacDonough, <a href="https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2025/06/26/congress/john-thune-senate-parliamentarian-overrule-00425792" target="_blank" rel="noopener">telling</a> POLITICO, &#8220;No, that would not be a good option for getting a bill done.&#8221;
He also suggested lawmakers will try to work around MacDonough&#8217;s rulings even as the July 4 deadline favored by Trump fast approaches, and changes they make will have to be approved by the House, which already passed a version of the legislation <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/house-passes-one-big-beautiful-bill-in-massive-win-for-trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">one month ago</a>.
&#8220;These are speed bumps along the way, we anticipated those and so we have contingency plans. Obviously, you have to adjust the timing and schedule a little bit, but we&#8217;re moving forward,&#8221; Thune said, per <a href="https://x.com/maxpcohen/status/1938249056846778369" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Punchbowl News</a>.
In years past, some Democrats also called for MacDonough to be overruled or fired after rulings in the reconciliation process did not go their way, like after the parliamentarian <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/02/26/senate-parliamentarian-minimum-wage-overrule/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rejected</a> a proposed minimum-wage increase in 2021 when they controlled the Senate and Joe Biden was president.
But, at the present time, Democrats are in the minority and depend on MacDonough&#8217;s assessments to stymie the GOP&#8217;s agenda.
&#8220;Democrats are continuing to make the case against every provision in this Big, Beautiful Betrayal of a bill that violates Senate rules and hurts families and workers,” <a href="https://www.budget.senate.gov/ranking-member/newsroom/press/byrd-rule-violations-continue-to-mount-on-the-republicans-one-big-beautiful-bill" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> Budget Committee Ranking Member Jeff Merkley (D-OR). “Democrats are fighting back against Republicans’ plans to gut Medicaid, dismantle the Affordable Care Act, and kick kids, veterans, seniors, and folks with disabilities off of their health insurance — all to fund tax breaks for billionaires. Republicans are scrambling to rewrite parts of this bill to continue advancing their families lose, and billionaires win agenda, but Democrats stand ready to fully scrutinize any changes and ensure the Byrd Rule is enforced.”
One GOP lawmaker in the House, Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX), pointed out that Republicans <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/02/26/senate-parliamentarian-minimum-wage-overrule/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">did fire</a> the parliamentarian in 2001 in a similar clash over budgetary matters and encouraged Thune to remove MacDonough from her perch now.
&#8220;This is not about partisanship, it is about rule of law. She has failed to apply the rules of reconciliation accurately on multiple occasions,&#8221; Crenshaw <a href="https://x.com/dancrenshawtx/status/1938264675486925184?s=46" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> on X, adding that &#8220;the current parliamentarian has shown clear political bias, applying ideology and not the rules of the Senate.&#8221;
Crenshaw took particular issue with the parliamentarian&#8217;s ruling against his own proposal.
&#8220;There are many examples of this so far, but today was the final red line for me. She struck my provision that stops federal funding for gender transition procedures, claiming it doesn’t have budgetary impact and therefore is “out of order,&#8221; Crenshaw said. &#8220;The FACT is this provision absolutely has a direct budgetary impact. It amends Section 1903(i) of the Social Security Act, which governs federal payments under Medicaid. So MacDonough’s claim that it’s noncompliant on procedural grounds is absolutely wrong.&#8221;
He concluded: &#8220;This is bigger than one provision. It’s about the sanctity of the rules and laws we follow, and the importance of the position of the Head Parliamentarian, who must be an objective non-partisan who applies the rules with consistency, not ideology.&#8221;

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

GOP Furious As Unelected Bureaucrat Yanks Conservative Elements From ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’

GOP Furious As Unelected Bureaucrat Yanks Conservative Elements From 'Big, Beautiful Bill'

Congress

Dan Crenshaw

John Thune

Politics

Tommy Tuberville

U.S. Senate

Republicans are taking aim at the Government Accountability Office (GAO) after lawmakers say it injected politics into its role in favor of Democrats.
Republicans in Congress and the Trump administration have targeted the GAO in recent weeks as the agency stands to <a href="https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2025/04/29/congress/trump-administration-ignores-watchdogs-amid-39-funding-investigations-gao-says-00315459" target="_blank" rel="noopener">issue</a> findings on dozens of Trump administration freezes on federal spending. Republicans say the mission of the GAO has been corrupted by politics and the agency has sacrificed its integrity make favorable rulings for Democrats.
“Just so we are all clear over the next several months. The Government Accountability Office or GAO is a quasi-independent arm of the legislative branch that played a partisan role in the first-term impeachment hoax,” said Russ Vought, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, in a Friday post on X.
The GAO had just issued a finding that the Department of Transportation lacks authority to freeze funding for a Biden-era electric-vehicle charging program.
“They are going to call everything an impoundment because they want to grind our work to manage taxpayer dollars effectively to a halt. These are non-events with no consequence. Rearview mirror stuff,” Vought added.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Just so we are all clear over the next several months. The Government Accountability Office or GAO is a quasi-independent arm of the legislative branch that played a partisan role in the first-term impeachment hoax. They are going to call everything an impoundment because they… <a href="https://t.co/5HWCPnQZFY">https://t.co/5HWCPnQZFY</a>
&mdash; Russ Vought (@russvought) <a href="https://twitter.com/russvought/status/1925893303834116475?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 23, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The GAO is an independent body that sits within the legislative branch. The agency&#8217;s typical duties involve answering procedural and financial questions posed to it by Congress, and seeking out waste and fraud in the federal government. Its findings are non-binding.
Last week, Republicans said the GAO attempted to derail Congress from revoking California’s special emissions standards under the Congressional Review Act (CRA). House Republicans passed the disapproval resolution with assistance from dozens of Democratic votes. The Senate passed the resolution in a largely party-line vote except for Michigan Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin, who sided with the GOP to block the emissions rules.
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The California standards would have banned new gas-powered engines in the state by 2035, and had the potential for a much wider impact on the United States’ car market because of California’s size and other states’ propensity to follow the deep blue state’s lead.
The GAO issued a finding that the California emissions rule under the Clean Air Act is not subject to the CRA.
“For the first time ever, the Government Accountability Office has decided to insert itself into the process and affirmatively declare that an agency rule submitted to Congress as a rule is not a rule,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4856qr2PN0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> during remarks on the floor.
“It’s an extraordinary deviation from precedent for an agency that should be defending Congress’ power instead of constraining it,” he continued. “And frankly, Mr. President, I think we need to act to ensure that this intrusion into the Congressional Review Act process doesn’t become a habit, and that the Senate doesn’t end up transferring its decision-making power on CRA resolutions to the Government Accountability Office.”
Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) said in an op-ed in <a href="https://www.wsj.com/opinion/the-gao-tries-to-save-a-bad-biden-rule-california-emissions-regulations-waivers-2b0434ca" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Wall Street Journal</a> that the GAO was “sacrificing its credibility to oblige Democratic attempts at preserving economically disastrous Biden-era regulations.”
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“GAO has lost credibility as an independent body,” Lee <a href="https://x.com/BasedMikeLee/status/1926361212884771273" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> last week in a post on X.
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Earlier this month, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) sent a team to the GAO to work with the agency on cutting waste and downsizing. GAO officials rebuffed DOGE, saying that the GAO is part of the legislative branch and not under authority from the White House.
“As such, we are not subject to DOGE or Executive Orders,” the office <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2025/05/16/gao-rejects-doge-attempt-to-land-at-congressional-watchdog-00354799" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in an internal bulletin sent earlier this month.

‘GAO Has Lost Credibility’: Republicans Focus Fire On Congress’ ‘Independent’ Auditor

Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)

On Thursday, the GOP-led Senate voted to overturn a Biden administration move that powered California&#8217;s green energy agenda for cars and trucks that 11 other states have <a href="https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/our-work/programs/advanced-clean-cars-program/states-have-adopted-californias-vehicle-regulations" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sought</a> to adopt.
Fifty Republicans and one Democrat <a href="https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1191/vote_119_1_00277.htm#position" target="_blank" rel="noopener">banded together</a> to revoke the Clean Air Act waiver the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) <a href="https://www.axios.com/2024/12/18/epa-california-electric-vehicles-waiver" target="_blank" rel="noopener">granted</a> in December to the Golden State that allowed it to proceed with a plan to ban the sale of new gas-powered light-duty vehicles by 2035.
Because the Republican-controlled House already <a href="https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2025114?Date=05%2F01%2F2025" target="_blank" rel="noopener">passed</a> the resolution of disapproval, the measure now heads to President Donald Trump. California has signaled that it is prepared to file a legal challenge.
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), who is the chairwoman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, spearheaded the effort in the upper chamber to repeal the waiver.
&#8220;The impact of California’s waiver would have been felt across the country, harming multiple sectors of our economy and costing hundreds of thousands of jobs in the process,&#8221; Capito said in a <a href="https://www.capito.senate.gov/news/press-releases/senate-passes-capito-resolution-to-end-californias-ev-mandate" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a>. &#8220;I’m proud to have led this effort to protect American workers and consumers from this radical and drastic policy.&#8221;
President Donald Trump weighed in on the issue during his presidential campaign at a rally in Saginaw, Michigan.
“When I&#8217;m president, no state in America will be permitted to ban gas-powered cars or trucks, and I guarantee it,&#8221; Trump said.
Senate Republicans used the Congressional Review Act (CRA), which allows bypassing a filibuster to undo regulations, to pass the resolution. Under this process, Lawmakers also voted to strike down waivers related to emissions for heavier-duty vehicles.
The Government Accountability Office (<a href="https://www.gao.gov/products/b-337179" target="_blank" rel="noopener">GAO</a>) and Senate <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/5233436-senate-parliamentarian-says-lawmakers-cant-overturn-california-car-rules-but-republicans-may-try-anyway/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">parliamentarian</a> advised that the waivers are not rules that qualify for CRA, but The Hill <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/5312952-thune-creates-procedure-ev-mandate/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> on how Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) used a series of procedural votes to alleviate concerns by some of his GOP colleagues.
On X, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) accused Republicans of trying to &#8220;appease the fossil fuel industry.&#8221; He also <a href="https://x.com/SenSchumer/status/1925290705502577129" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> they were &#8220;hijacking the CRA process in a way that’s never been done before&#8221; and warned: &#8220;What goes around when you’re in the majority comes around when you’re back in the minority.&#8221;
The one Democrat who joined with Republicans and spurned California was Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI).
&#8220;Today, I voted to prevent California and the states that follow its standard from effectively banning gas-powered cars by 2035,&#8221; she <a href="https://x.com/SenatorSlotkin/status/1925590423944257939" target="_blank" rel="noopener">declared</a> in a statement. &#8220;Michigan is the auto capital of the world, and as Michigan&#8217;s U.S. Senator, I have a special responsibility to stand up for the more than one million Michiganders whose livelihoods depend on the U.S. auto industry.&#8221;
California Attorney General Rob Bonta, a Democrat, <a href="https://x.com/AGRobBonta/status/1925624592481026347" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> his state was ready to fight in court.
&#8220;Since the Senate is caving to the Trump Admin’s demands, we will sue to protect California’s longstanding authority to maintain clean vehicle standards,&#8221; Bonta said. &#8220;President Trump may be playing partisan games with lives and good paying jobs on the line — but California won’t back down.&#8221;
Jayden Jelso contributed to this report.

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV)

Republicans Set To Block California’s ‘Radical’ Gas Car Ban

Biden Administration

California

Carbon Emissions

Chuck Schumer

Electric cars

Shelley Moore Capito

Transportation

U.S.

This week, the Republican-controlled Senate aims to dismantle the former Biden administration&#8217;s move giving California room to implement a green agenda for cars across the country, Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) announced on Tuesday.
During <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4856qr2PN0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">remarks</a> on the Senate floor, Thune said the upper chamber will take up Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolutions to overturn Clean Air Act preemption waivers the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) granted to California, which <a href="https://www.axios.com/2024/12/18/epa-california-electric-vehicles-waiver" target="_blank" rel="noopener">allowed</a> it to proceed with a plan to ban the sale of new gas-powered vehicles by 2035.
The waivers allowed California &#8220;to dictate emissions standards for the whole country – effectively imposing a nationwide electric vehicle mandate,&#8221; said Thune, who called the state&#8217;s rules an &#8220;improper expansion of a limited Clean Air Act authority and would endanger consumers, our economy, and our nation’s energy supply.&#8221;
A key conflict is whether the CRA, which allows bypassing a filibuster to undo regulations, applies to the waivers. Both the Senate <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/5233436-senate-parliamentarian-says-lawmakers-cant-overturn-california-car-rules-but-republicans-may-try-anyway/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">parliamentarian</a> and Government Accountability Office (<a href="https://www.gao.gov/products/b-337179" target="_blank" rel="noopener">GAO</a>) have assessed the waivers are not rules that qualify.
But the Senate is poised to press forward, as Thune contended the EPA submitted the waivers as rules. He also noted the GOP-led House already <a href="https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2025114?Date=05%2F01%2F2025" target="_blank" rel="noopener">voted</a> to pass a Congressional Review Act resolution of disapproval with the support of 35 Democrats, and did so &#8220;without objection from the House parliamentarian.&#8221;
Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA), the top Democrat for the Committee on Rules and Administration and a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, declared in a <a href="https://www.padilla.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/padilla-places-holds-on-epa-nominees-until-republicans-cease-efforts-to-abuse-the-cra-to-revoke-californias-clean-air-act-waivers/#:~:text=But%20if%20my%20Republican%20colleagues,the%20CRA%2C%E2%80%9D%20added%20Senator%20Padilla" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> that he was placing a hold on EPA nominees until Republicans back off and warned of future consequences if the GOP refuses to relent.
“None of these actions are rules, which is why they’ve never been submitted to Congress as rules,&#8221; Padilla said. &#8220;But if my Republican colleagues open this door and overturn the Parliamentarian’s wise safeguards on this type of abuse, there would be no practical limit, and the Senate could be forced to vote repeatedly on such matters that are clearly not ‘rules’ notwithstanding the plain language of the CRA.&#8221;
Thune suggested there will soon be repercussions for GAO, which <a href="https://www.gao.gov/about" target="_blank" rel="noopener">bills</a> itself as being an independent and non-partisan agency that &#8220;works for&#8221; Congress, because of the stance it took on the CRA in the California waiver debate.
&#8220;It is true that we are facing something of a novel situation,&#8221; Thune said. &#8220;Because for the first time ever, the Government Accountability Office has decided to insert itself into the process and affirmatively declare that an agency rule submitted to Congress as a rule is not a rule. It’s an extraordinary deviation from precedent for an agency that should be defending Congress’ power instead of constraining it.&#8221;
He added: &#8220;And frankly &#8230; I think we need to act to ensure that this intrusion into the Congressional Review Act process doesn’t become a habit, and that the Senate doesn’t end up transferring its decision-making power on CRA resolutions to the Government Accountability Office. That’s why this week I intend to bring the question of GAO’s unprecedented interference to the floor.&#8221;
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Senate Majority Leader John Thune

Senate Gears Up To Stop California’s 2035 Gas Vehicle Sales Ban

Cars

Environment

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

In the face of Democrat resistance, the GOP-led Senate has managed to confirm President Donald Trump&#8217;s civilian nominees twice as fast as it did during the first Trump administration.
As of May 15, the upper chamber has confirmed 67 <a href="https://www.congress.gov/quick-search/nominations?wordsPhrases=&amp;wordVariants=on&amp;congressGroups%5B0%5D=0&amp;congresses%5B0%5D=119&amp;nomCivil=on&amp;pnNumbers=&amp;nomineeNames=&amp;positions=&amp;organizations=&amp;stateTerritories%5B0%5D=any&amp;nominationAction=99&amp;dates=datesReceivedInSenate&amp;dateOperator=equal&amp;startDate=&amp;endDate=&amp;dateIsOption=yesterday&amp;pageSort=actionAsc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">civilian nominees</a>, more than double the 32 civilian nominees the Senate confirmed by the same date in 2017, and it beats the 52 civilian nominees confirmed by May 15 in 2021 during President Joe Biden&#8217;s first and only term.
Senate Republicans, who hold a <a href="https://www.senate.gov/history/partydiv.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">53-seat majority</a>, have confirmed several nominees this week as the House focuses on putting together Trump&#8217;s &#8220;one big, beautiful bill.&#8221; The 67th nominee was Sean Donahue, who was confirmed to become the assistant director of the EPA in a <a href="https://x.com/SenatePress/status/1923047477206261886" target="_blank" rel="noopener">51-46 vote</a> on Thursday.
While the pace may come down to a number of factors, including when Trump is announcing his nominees, Democrats have also sought to slow down the process through various means, including the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/schumer-intervenes-block-trumps-us-attorney-nominees" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&#8220;blue slip&#8221;</a> tradition which allows senators to block home-state judicial nominees.
On Tuesday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/schumer-moves-to-inflict-pain-on-trump-over-400-million-flying-palace-from-qatar" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> that he would place a hold on Trump&#8217;s political nominees for the Department of Justice (DOJ) until more clarity is given on the president&#8217;s controversial <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-defends-400-million-flying-palace-offered-as-gift-from-qatar" target="_blank" rel="noopener">plan</a> to receive a roughly $400 million luxury aircraft known as the &#8220;Flying Palace&#8221; from Qatar.
A hold requires Senate majority leadership to schedule floor votes for nominees, bypassing the faster unanimous consent process that would allow the upper chamber to confirm the president&#8217;s picks in batches, and there have been no voice vote confirmations so far this year.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngpt6czKdiw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a floor speech this week that he hoped Democrats would stop their &#8220;pointless obstruction&#8221; because allowing the upper chamber to confirm nominees would allow lawmakers more room to legislate and spend more time in their states.
“Democrats can drag out nominations all they want, but we’re going to fill out the president’s administration and ensure that his nominees get into place so that … he can do the job that he was elected to do,&#8221; Thune said.
The Senate <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/senate-confirms-last-of-trump-2-0-cabinet-secretaries" target="_blank" rel="noopener">confirmed</a> all of the secretaries in Trump&#8217;s second-term Cabinet back in March. Trump withdrew his original pick for U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), and has since <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-shreds-media-portrayal-mike-waltz-switcheroo" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tapped</a> Mike Waltz, who was his national security adviser, to become the nominee.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD)

Senate GOP Breaks Through Dem ‘Obstruction’ On Trump 2.0 Civilian Nominees

Presidential nomination

WASHINGTON —When Donald Trump announced his cabinet picks at the beginning of the year, there were more than a few skeptics who doubted the president would ever get his nominees confirmed. Trump&#8217;s list featured controversial names like Pete Hegseth, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Tulsi Gabbard. Even some of his staunchest supporters figured they wouldn&#8217;t all make it.
One hundred days into the administration, however, every member of Trump&#8217;s cabinet has been confirmed, save his nominee for ambassador to the United Nations. How was this accomplished? Senate Majority Leader John Thune.
&#8220;We confirmed his cabinet at the fastest rate in 20 years,&#8221; Thune explained to The Daily Wire in a sit-down interview. &#8220;We kept the Senate in session for 10 consecutive weeks for the first time in 15 years, and we hit 200 votes in the Senate for the first time at this point, going back to the Reagan administration.&#8221; 
&#8220;We&#8217;re doing the work,&#8221; he emphasized. &#8220;There&#8217;s a lot more to do. And obviously, making sure that all those key positions are filled in the administration is a big part of that. But then we&#8217;ve gotta start delivering on the legislative agenda, and that&#8217;s where you get into energy independence. It&#8217;s where you get into rebuilding the military, securing the border, providing tax relief for the American people, and reducing spending, and getting our country on a more sustainable fiscal path. Those are the things that the president campaigned on, and we need to deliver on for the American people.&#8221; 
Asked who, or what, presented the biggest hurdle to getting the president&#8217;s nominees confirmed, Thune laughed.
&#8220;Well, you know, it depended on the nominee,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We had different issues and individuals that we were working with&#8230;We just had to make sure, we have 53 Republicans, we had to have at least 50 of them, and then with Vice President Vance in the chair, we can get to 51. And we had that circumstance a couple of times, at least, on a couple of the nominees. But each one was slightly different, and [had] different things that they were responding to.&#8221;
Each nominee had to contend with a variety of questions during the confirmation hearings. Hegseth faced an avalanche of media attacks on his personal life, from allegations of sexual impropriety and accusations of heavy drinking — which he denied — to scrutiny over his tattoos. Kennedy faced criticism of his stances on vaccinations, and Gabbard was attacked for her stances on foreign policy and more.
&#8220;But at the end of the day,&#8221; Thune said, &#8220;we got &#8217;em all in.&#8221; 
The Senate majority leader argued, like many of the president&#8217;s top supporters, that the voters who elected Trump also effectively chose his cabinet. The messaging from the White House has been clear: to buck the president&#8217;s nominees was to buck the will of the American people. On top of that, top Trump supporters warned wavering Republicans that their seats would be in danger if they fought the president&#8217;s cabinet choices.
In December, as the incoming Trump administration geared up for inauguration and their fight for the cabinet nominees, Trump confidant Charlie Kirk said the party should make lawmakers who get in the way of the Trump agenda pay the price, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/charlie-kirk-has-thoughts-on-which-republicans-need-a-primary-challenge">telling The Daily Wire with a grin</a>:  “It’s gonna be primary season sometime soon.&#8221;
From his Senate office on Capitol Hill this week, Thune suggested that Trump&#8217;s decisive victory in November was even more reason for Republicans to get on board with the president&#8217;s agenda. That was, in part, why he fought to get the nominees through so quickly — <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-first-100-days-of-confirmations-in-the-second-trump-administration/">research by the Brookings Institution</a> found that Trump&#8217;s nominees were confirmed at a pace that surpassed three of the past four administrations.
&#8220;I think it&#8217;s important in any administration when a president wins an election, especially as decisively as President Trump won this last election in November, they deserve a lot of deference when it comes to the people that they want in those various agencies and departments and delivering on his agenda,&#8221; Thune said. &#8220;So we work to get &#8217;em all through and, knock on wood, so far been very successful with that. We got a long ways to go.&#8221; 
Vice President JD Vance was also a key player in the fight for Trump&#8217;s cabinet, Thune shared, describing how the vice president was deployed to speak with wary senators and bring them into the fold.
&#8220;The vice president was great,&#8221; the Senate majority leader said. &#8220;Several times we had strategies on each of these people that some of our senators needed to hear from, and Vice President Vance was very helpful in making calls.&#8221; 
Vance, who previously served as a senator from Ohio,  &#8220;developed a high level of trust and confidence with Republican senators,&#8221; Thune said.
The vice president has been credited with persuading Republicans Todd Young of Indiana and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana to support Gabbard and Kennedy, respectively.
Cassidy <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5133547-vance-senate-trump-nominees/">described</a> Vance as an “honest broker” after their interactions, and Young told reporters of the vice president: &#8220;He listened a lot more than he talked, and he, frankly, seemed to be effective on his end in getting from me the concessions that were required to get to a ‘yes.'&#8221;
“He came through,&#8221; added Young. &#8220;He delivered for me, and I’m grateful for that, and that’s why he was able, in the end, to deliver for the president.”
Vance&#8217;s time in the Senate helped him in this effort, Thune reflected.
&#8220;He had been here and knew a lot of &#8217;em to start with, which was an advantage,&#8221; the majority leader said. &#8220;But I also think that he was very committed to helping the president get these folks confirmed and was willing to do whatever we needed him to do,&#8221; he added. &#8220;There were a number of times where we had him engaging in conversations/ We had other senators talking to senators.&#8221;
At the end of the day, however, it was Trump who was the most influential player in getting &#8220;folks to support and vote for his agenda,&#8221; Thune said.
&#8220;It was a team effort,&#8221; Thune said, &#8220;and we&#8217;re all kind of part of that team.&#8221;
&#8220;I think that the President&#8217;s agenda is the one the American people wants to see accomplished,&#8221; he told The Daily Wire. &#8220;They want us to be good partners with him. And I think in the end, if we can succeed on the things the president campaigned on, the American people voted for, they&#8217;re going to want to continue to see Republicans in majorities in the House and the Senate and a Republican in the White House.&#8221;

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How The Senate Got Trump’s Entire Cabinet Confirmed In 100 Days

Donald Trump

Senate

White House

The Trump administration shakes up its National Security Council, Senate Majority Leader John Thune lays out his plan to advance Trump’s agenda, and a new report reveals the abortion pill is much more dangerous than the FDA admits.
It’s Friday, May 2, and this is the news you need to know to start your day.
Morning Wire is available on video! You can watch today’s episode here: 
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If you’d rather listen to your news, today’s edition of the Morning Wire podcast can be heard below:
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<h2>Security Leadership Shakeup</h2>
<div id="attachment_914959" style="width: 864px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-914959" class="size-large wp-image-914959" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/Mike-Walz-854x576.jpg" alt="" width="854" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/Mike-Walz-854x576.jpg 854w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/Mike-Walz-300x202.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/Mike-Walz-768x518.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/Mike-Walz-1536x1036.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/Mike-Walz-2048x1382.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 854px) 100vw, 854px" />(Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)</div>
Topline: As the Trump administration works to secure trade deals with China and end the war in Ukraine, the president announced a leadership shakeup at the White House.
On Thursday morning, numerous outlets reported that the president was firing his national security adviser, Mike Waltz. But hours later, Trump threw a major curveball, announcing that Waltz would be leaving his role as NSA, but would be nominated to serve as ambassador to the United Nations.
“From his time in uniform on the battlefield, in Congress and, as my National Security Advisor, Mike Waltz has worked hard to put our Nation’s Interests first,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. “I know he will do the same in his new role.”
Waltz’s nomination as UN Ambassador shocked many people, but his removal as National Security Adviser was widely expected. Waltz was responsible for accidentally adding Atlantic Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg to that now-infamous Signal group chat. Trump initially stood by him following the scandal, but the pressure campaign to relieve Waltz reportedly grew as some within Trump’s inner circle expressed concerns that his more hawkish views did not reflect the America First foreign policy. But the fact that he’s staying on as UN Ambassador shows the president still views him as a valuable asset.
In the short term, the president announced that Secretary of State Marco Rubio will take over the role of National Security Adviser. A long-term replacement will likely be promoted from within the Trump administration. Some names that have been floated include Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, National Security Council Director of Counterterrorism Sebastian Gorka, or Special Envoy Steve Witkoff.
This week, the White House announced that after months of intense negotiations, they’d officially signed a long-awaited minerals deal with Ukraine. The agreement will create a new “reconstruction investment fund” managed fifty-fifty by the two countries. Moving forward, half of all revenues from new oil, gas and mineral projects in Ukraine will go into that fund, helping to pay the U.S. back for the billions we’ve sent towards their war effort.
<h2>Morning Wire Interviews Senate Majority Leader John Thune</h2>
<div id="attachment_914961" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-914961" class="size-large wp-image-914961" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/Thune-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/Thune-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/Thune-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/Thune-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/Thune-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/Thune-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/Thune-1800x1200.jpg 1800w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/Thune-1200x800.jpg 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />(Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)</div>
Topline: Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), the most powerful member of the Senate, sits down with Morning Wire.
In order to implement his America First agenda, President Trump will be heavily relying on the new Senate Majority Leader John Thune. Daily Wire White House Correspondent Mary Margaret Olohan sat down with Thune this week to discuss the president’s first 100 days and how the Senate is backing Trump’s agenda.
Thune highlighted the importance of getting Trump’s cabinet nominations through the Senate quickly to enact the America First agenda, while also acknowledging the need for the legislature to pass several of the president’s proposed reforms into law.
“We confirmed his cabinet at the fastest rate in 20 years,” Thune said. “We’ve gotta start delivering on the legislative agenda, and that’s where you get into energy independence, where you get into rebuilding the military, securing the border, providing tax relief for the American people, and reducing spending and getting our country on a more sustainable fiscal path. Those are the things that we, the president campaigned on, and we need to deliver on for the American people.”
Thune also told The Daily Wire a few of his priorities for the next 100 days.
“There wasn&#8217;t a single year in the Biden administration where their commitment to the military kept up even with the rate of inflation. So we’ve fallen behind in a lot of areas. And President Trump recognizes that, recognizes that we live in a dangerous world and we’ve gotta be able to defend America and American interests. And so that’s a priority. And the border security, I would argue, is right up there with that, because that’s also, in my view, a national security issue. … On the economy, it’s getting rid of burdensome Biden regulations, extending the 2017 Trump tax cuts, and then creating an energy policy that makes America energy dominant. I think those are all issues that feed into a strong economy that creates better paying jobs and, and makes the lives of Americans more prosperous.”
<h2>Study: Abortion Pill Complications Much More Common Than The FDA Claims</h2>
<div id="attachment_914963" style="width: 875px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-914963" class="size-large wp-image-914963" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/Mifepristone-865x576.jpg" alt="" width="865" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/Mifepristone-865x576.jpg 865w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/Mifepristone-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/Mifepristone-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/Mifepristone-1536x1023.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/Mifepristone-1200x800.jpg 1200w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/Mifepristone.jpg 1600w" sizes="(max-width: 865px) 100vw, 865px" />(Erin Hooley/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)</div>
Topline: The abortion pill is much more dangerous than the FDA claimed, with more than one in 10 women suffering serious complications.
In 2023, about 11.2% of women experienced a “serious adverse event” after taking the mifepristone abortion pill, according to new <a href="https://www.ffroa.com/chemical-abortion-research/">research</a> commissioned by the Foundation for the Restoration of America. That works out to about 17,310 women in 2023 alone. “Serious adverse events” can include hemorrhaging, requiring a blood transfusion, an emergency room visit, and even deadly conditions like sepsis.
Context: This is about 22x higher than what the FDA claimed on its label for Mifeprex (a brand name for mifepristone) in 2023 — the FDA <a href="https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2023/020687Orig1s025Lbl.pdf">cited</a> clinical studies saying less than 0.5% of women suffered “serious adverse reactions.”
“If you had any other drug that was kind of similar in terms of the magnitude of what this thing does, anywhere north of 2% and they’d shut it down,” Doug Truax, founder of Foundation for the Restoration of America, told The Daily Wire. “They’re just hell bent on just increasing the amount of abortions.”
Mifepristone was originally approved by the FDA in 2000. For many years, women had to see a doctor in person to obtain the abortion pill, but a few months before Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022, the FDA scrapped that requirement – now women can get it through the mail. This came as abortion advocates argued that the abortion pill should be more available to order online because some Republican-led states were looking to ban abortion. Medication abortions made up 63% of all abortions in 2023, up from 31% in 2014, <a href="https://www.guttmacher.org/2024/03/medication-abortion-accounted-63-all-us-abortions-2023-increase-53-2020">according</a> to the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute.

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Morning Brief: Mike Waltz Lands On His Feet, Senate Fights For Trump, And Abortion Pill Dangers

Abortion

Media

Mike Waltz

Morning Wire

Taxes

Trump Administration

Ukraine

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

DOGE

Elon Musk

Federal Government

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;

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

Elections

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;
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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;

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