Several high profile Democrats have responded after Zohran Mamdani, the presumptive Democratic nominee for mayor of New York City, refused to condemn the phrase &#8220;globalize the intifada&#8221; over the weekend.
On Sunday, Mamdani was pressed three times to condemn &#8220;globalize the intifada&#8221; during an appearance on NBC, and each time he refused to do so, but said, &#8220;it&#8217;s not language that I use.&#8221;
&#8220;But do you actually condemn it?&#8221; NBC&#8217;s Kristen Welker pressed, noting that many people hear it as a &#8220;call to violence against Jews.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
“Globalize the Intifada” is a call to violence. Full stop.
Words matter—whether Mamdani cares to believe that or not.
New Yorkers need to reject this lunatic. <a href="https://t.co/xLk9kyR9vQ">pic.twitter.com/xLk9kyR9vQ</a>
&mdash; Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) <a href="https://twitter.com/tedcruz/status/1939490143104360878?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 30, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;I don&#8217;t believe that the role of the mayor is to police speech in the manner, especially, of that of Donald Trump, who has put one New Yorker in jail, who has just returned to his family, Mahmoud Khalil, for that supposed crime of speech,&#8221; Mamdani said.
Mahmoud Khalil was a prominent participant of pro-Palestinian protests and campus occupations at Columbia University.
Also on Sunday, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) demanded Mamdani &#8220;clarify&#8221; his position on the controversial phrase.
“Globalizing the intifada, by way of example, is not an acceptable phrasing,” Jeffries said on ABC. &#8220;He&#8217;s going to have to clarify his position on that as he moves forward.&#8221;
&#8220;With respect to the Jewish communities that I represent, I think our nominee is going to have to convince folks that he is prepared to aggressively address the rise in antisemitism in the City of New York, which has been an unacceptable development,&#8221; Jeffries said.
&#8220;Any mayor, whether you&#8217;re a Democratic mayor, a Republican mayor, an independent mayor, has got to commit to the safety of all of the people of the city of New York,&#8221; Jeffries said.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Hakeem Jeffries on Mamdani: &quot;&#39;Globalizing the intifada&#39; by way of example is not an acceptable phrasing. He&#39;s gonna have to clarify his position on that as he moves forward.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/TA9Hn6lFD9">pic.twitter.com/TA9Hn6lFD9</a>
&mdash; Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) <a href="https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1939322480314724563?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 29, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Jeffries was also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/spin-cycle-how-do-you-solve-a-problem-like-mamdani?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;author=Virginia+Kruta&amp;category=News+and+Commentary&amp;elementPosition=3&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;title=Spin+Cycle%3A+How+Do+You+Solve+A+Problem+Like+Mamdani%3F">hesitant</a> when asked whether he planned to endorse Mamdani, and said his district includes many Jewish Americans.
&#8220;Well, we don&#8217;t really know each other well. Our districts don&#8217;t overlap. I have never had a substantive conversation with him, and so that&#8217;s the next step,&#8221; Jeffries said, adding that he and Mamdani have agreed to sit down and talk.
Meanwhile, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, a New York Democrat came out swinging against Mamdani for refusing to condemn the phrase &#8220;globalize the intifada.&#8221;
“New York constituents I talked to are alarmed. They are alarmed by past public statements. They are alarmed about past public positions, referring to global jihad,” Gillibrand <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/06/26/us-news/ny-dem-reps-suozzi-gillen-distance-from-socialist-nyc-mayoral-nominee-zohran-mamdani/?utm_source=chatgpt.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> during a WNYC interview on Thursday.
“This is a very serious issue because people who glorify the slaughter of Jews create fear in our communities,” she said. “The global intifada is a statement that means destroy Israel and kill all the Jews.”
Other Democrats weighed in as well.
Rep. Laura Gillen, a freshman Democrat representing Long Island who is known as a centrist, <a href="https://time.com/7298136/zohran-mamdani-nyc-laura-gillen/?utm_source=chatgpt.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">accused</a> Mamdani of “a deeply disturbing pattern of unacceptable antisemitic comments.”
“He is the absolute wrong choice for New York,” Gillen said.
Mamdani, a New York assemblyman representing Queens, won the Democratic primary last week in an upset that threw the New York City mayor&#8217;s race into chaos. Current Mayor Eric Adams and former Governor Andrew Cuomo will both likely run as independents, and Curtis Sliwa, founder of the Guardian Angels, will face them all as the Republican candidate.
The general election for mayor will be held on November 4.

Celebrity Sightings In New York – June 29, 2025

Dems Slam Zohran Mamdani For Refusing To Condemn ‘Globalize The Intifada’

Dems Slam Zohran Mamdani For Refusing To Condemn 'Globalize The Intifada'

Elections

Hakeem Jeffries

Kirsten Gillibrand

New York

New York City

Politics

Zohran Mamdani

Trump’s Defense Department nominee, Pete Hegseth, appeared before the Senate Armed Services Committee this week, where female Democrat senators tried to force him to declare that women are fit for combat duty by becoming hysterical and shaking their little fists at him, a man who could crush their skulls between the fingers of a single hand.
Women Democrat Senators like Kirsten Gillibrand, Mazie Hirono and Tim Kaine tried to hammer Hegseth with the mightiest power females have — the power to bully men into lying about women’s capabilities in the hopes it will buy them a few minutes of peace. But the senators’ attacks were dampened by the fact that they were leftists. Because they’re women; they lack the capacity for reason. 
The onslaught by the female Democrats was reminiscent of the playground scene from Alfred Hitchcock’s horror film “The Birds” in which legions of crows and seagulls and other shrill, cawing, vacant-eyed creatures, slowly gather on the telephone lines in what at first seems an innocent natural phenomenon but eventually reveals itself as the prelude to an uncanny assault on humanity itself, with the birds making up for what they lack in logical thought with the sharpness of their talons and a relentlessness that could drive a man almost to madness amidst the cacophony of wild screeching cries from their high-pitched, rage-infused voices — except instead of birds, it was Democrat women, which in some ways was even worse because they didn’t even have the mercy to peck out Hegseth’s eyes so he wouldn’t have to look at them while they tried to rip him to pieces because he refused to lie about women in combat.
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-1214-trump-s-war-for-reality" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH: The Andrew Klavan Show</a></h3>
Kirstin Gillibrand, for instance, demanded that Hegseth answer two questions. One, do you think women can play an essential role in combat? And two, do you think this dress makes me look fat? Hegseth tried to split the difference by saying the dress was very appealing but women would disappear in combat like a faint pencil smudge under the force of an industrial-strength eraser. But Senator Gillibrand would not be satisfied until Hegseth showed himself willing to shower her with flattering deceit so she could continue to live in a dream world of feminine strength and competence rather than in reality, where she just feels so insecure and down on herself all the time.
Mazie Hirono demanded that Hegseth promise he would give up alcohol, women, nights out on the town with his friends and any hobbies that would distract him from her needs and desires. Hegseth, however, refused, saying he’d only met Hirono ten minutes ago and wasn’t yet willing to make that big a commitment.
And Tim Kaine asked Hegseth if it was true that he had had an affair with a woman and, if so, what was that like and were women’s bodies really as soft as they looked and why did they give him such a funny tingly feeling in his no-no places.
The obsession with feminizing combat units while the Chinese marshal their forces for war is part of a new Democrat strategy forming in the wake of Donald Trump’s victory over What’s-her-name in the presidential election. Whereas the old Democrats hoped to overthrow the immutable nature of reality with lunatic academic theories forced on the nation by censorious social structures meant to silence dissent, the new, reformed Democrat party has taken stock of its weaknesses and failed policies and now hopes to overthrow the immutable nature of reality with lunatic academic theories forced on the nation by censorious social structures meant to silence dissent.
So for instance, in California, Democrats made sure the fire department was stocked with women and that water policy was based on environmentalism. Then when Los Angeles burned to the ground while fat lesbian firefighters all named Kristin for some reason ran in helpless hysteria from one empty fire hydrant to another, Democrats sought to stifle criticism by having the mainstream news media write such headlines as “Homophobes Make Politics Out of Fire Victims’ Suffering.”
This same strategy should work really well when the Chinese invade New York and are met by combat units indistinguishable from the Rockettes. The New York Times headline could read something like, “Hong tsow chee qua su lai chu.”
Godspeed, Pete. Deus Vult.
* * *
This excerpt is taken from the opening satirical monologue of “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/show/the-andrew-klavan-show" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Andrew Klavan Show</a>.”
Andrew Klavan is the host of “The Andrew Klavan Show” at The Daily Wire. He is the bestselling author of the Cameron Winter Mystery series. The fourth installment, “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1613165536?ref_=dbs_m_mng_rwt_calw_thcv_3&amp;storeType=ebooks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A WOMAN UNDERGROUND</a>,” is now available. Follow him on X: @andrewklavan
The views expressed in this satirical article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Confirmation Hearing Held For Secretary Of Defense Nominee Pete Hegseth

Hegseth Faces Onslaught Of Hysterical Female Senators

Andrew Klavan

Donald Trump

Elizabeth Warren

Humor

Pete Hegseth

Satire

U.S. Senate

It now appears to be all but certain that Pete Hegseth will be confirmed as the next Secretary of Defense. Republican leaders in the Senate have said as much. And it&#8217;s not hard to see why that&#8217;s the case. After weeks of telling us that Hegseth is unqualified for the job, Democrats spent several hours trying — and utterly failing —  to land a single meaningful blow against his nomination.
Instead, Hegseth came across as a Christian who&#8217;s very aware of his own past personal failings, but he was also able to put those failings in context. Under the leadership of former Raytheon board member Lloyd Austin, the Pentagon carried out political purges in the military. It oversaw a catastrophic withdrawal from Afghanistan. It terminated thousands of soldiers who didn&#8217;t want to take the experimental COVID shot. Those are colossal failings that no one in the Pentagon has ever atoned for. Pete Hegseth is not a perfect man. Who is? But he is a saint compared to the people who ran the old regime. And after <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hegseth-kicks-ass-confirm-him-now" target="_blank" rel="noopener">yesterday&#8217;s hearing</a>, no reasonable person can deny that.
Throughout the hearing, Democrats discredited themselves, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/talking-points-assemble-democrat-women-launch-dishonest-but-coordinated-attack-in-hegseth-hearing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">one after another</a>, with botched gotcha-moments and non-sequiturs. And the optics could not have been worse, as women kept screaming at Hegseth, all while trying to make the argument that women are just as capable of serving in combat roles as men. If there was a way to weaponize nagging so that you could literally nag your enemies to death, they may have a point. These women could create a weapon of mass nagging destruction and kill thousands of enemy combatants at once, if that was possible.
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/mws-ep-1515-member-exclusive" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH: The Matt Walsh Show</a></h3>
Before we get into that particular part of the hearing, it&#8217;s important to set the stage with some of the many blunders I&#8217;m referring to.
Here for example is Senator Gary Peters of Michigan, attempting to make the point that Hegseth has no business running the Defense Department, because he has never, &#8220;driven innovation&#8221; in any organization in his life. Here&#8217;s how that went:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="001 Peters gotcha" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wD_wP3ynsTM?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>
&nbsp;
Obviously, he asked a question he didn&#8217;t know the answer to. That&#8217;s the first mistake. He then made it clear that didn&#8217;t really care about the answer to his question, either. And total humiliation was the result.
Even aside from that, what&#8217;s extraordinary about his question is that Lloyd Austin had exactly the kind of experience that Gary Peters is talking about. Austin was in charge of the war effort in both Iraq and Afghanistan for many years. According to Democrats in Congress, that made Austin qualified to be Secretary of Defense — even though both of those wars ended in complete disaster. This is what &#8220;box-checking&#8221; looks like. These people cannot comprehend the idea of hiring someone who hasn&#8217;t made money in the defense industry, and who hasn&#8217;t overseen two failed wars. They see that as a mark against Hegseth, instead of the primary reason to confirm him.
Not to be outdone, there was Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island, coming in hot with his own takedown. Watch:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="003 jagoff" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PrVVZnySgUg?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
The implication is that Pete Hegseth is a terrible guy because he&#8217;s used the word &#8220;jagoff&#8221; in the past. I think that Hegseth throwing around insults like that does open him up to the charge of being a Boomer. I’m not sure it says anything more than that, however. Then, when Hegseth answers the question, Jack Reed looks stunned. One might even say he looked like a jagoff.
I do want to highlight one moment of substantive discussion, however, to the extent anything in this hearing could be described as &#8220;substantive.&#8221; Several senators took turns berating Hegseth over his stance on women in the military. In particular, Hegseth says he’s generally fine with women in combat roles, but at a minimum, he wants the fitness standards to be equal across genders. Effectively, as I&#8217;ll explain in a moment, that actually means he doesn&#8217;t want women to serve in combat roles. You aren’t going to say it as directly as that in a hearing like this, because the whole point is that you need to be confirmed. If Hegseth had just come out and said plainly that he doesn’t want any women in combat, that would have given squishy Republicans all the excuse they need to not confirm him. So instead he focused on the fitness requirements, which was strategically smart.
In response to his position on fitness requirements, various senators adopted the bizarre (and clearly false) position that the standards between men and women in the military are already the same. Watch:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="008 Pete Hegseth Response" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VzQnY2jdJqM?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>
Before we look at Hegseth&#8217;s response to this line of question, it&#8217;s important to point out that nothing Kirsten Gillibrand just said is true. The standards of physical fitness, across every branch of the armed forces, are much lower for women than they are for men. 
Let&#8217;s start with the fitness requirements at the Navy.
<div id="attachment_859191" style="width: 798px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-859191" class="wp-image-859191 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/xLUFoxE-Imgur-788x576.png" alt="Navy Physical Readiness Program. Guide 5. Physical Readiness Test (PRT). January 2023." width="788" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/xLUFoxE-Imgur-788x576.png 788w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/xLUFoxE-Imgur-300x219.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/xLUFoxE-Imgur-768x562.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/xLUFoxE-Imgur.png 971w" sizes="(max-width: 788px) 100vw, 788px" />Navy Physical Readiness Program. Guide 5. Physical Readiness Test (PRT). January 2023.</div>
As you can see, their physical readiness test <a href="https://www.mynavyhr.navy.mil/Portals/55/Support/Culture%20Resilience/Physical/Guide_5-Physical_Readiness_Test_PRT_JAN_2023.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">consists</a> of some variation of push-ups, forearm planks, a 1.5 mile run and a 500-yard swim. So let&#8217;s take the run as an example — which by the way, the Navy refers to as a &#8220;Run/walk&#8221; section, because they expect applicants won&#8217;t be able to run the full distance.
For men aged 17 to 19, a &#8220;satisfactory&#8221; time on the 1.5 mile run is 12 minutes and 15 seconds. For women in the same age group, a &#8220;satisfactory time&#8221; is 14 minutes and 45 seconds. So they get a full 2 minutes and 30 second extra to complete this run. And by the way, you can technically get even worse times than this, and still pass — because there&#8217;s a whole &#8220;probationary&#8221; level below &#8220;satisfactory.&#8221;
For push-ups, the difference is even more stark. Men aged 17 to 19 have to hit 46 pushups for a &#8220;satisfactory&#8221; rank. Women only need to hit 20. Meanwhile, the minimum &#8220;outstanding&#8221; score for men is 86 pushups, while it&#8217;s only 47 pushups for women.
If you go to the Army&#8217;s website, you&#8217;ll find similar numbers across their <a href="https://www.army.mil/acft/">physical fitness test</a>.
<div id="attachment_859193" style="width: 650px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-859193" class="wp-image-859193 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/tpgAQ93-Imgur-640x576.png" alt="Courtesy U.S. Army. https://www.army.mil/acft/" width="640" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/tpgAQ93-Imgur-640x576.png 640w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/tpgAQ93-Imgur-300x270.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/tpgAQ93-Imgur-768x691.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/tpgAQ93-Imgur.png 1016w" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" />Courtesy U.S. Army. https://www.army.mil/acft/</div>
This is the &#8220;Sprint, drag, carry&#8221; test, for example. It&#8217;s a test that obviously has a lot of relevance to people who want to serve in the Army, in case they need to carry a wounded soldier — and not blame them for being wounded, as they do in the Los Angeles Fire Department. As you can see, men get max points if they finish the test in one minute, 29 seconds. Women get max points if they finish it in one minute, 55 seconds. So they get an additional 26 seconds to &#8220;sprint, drag and carry&#8221; someone.
Just to underscore the real-world consequences of this kind of gender-based testing, <a href="https://x.com/thespearing/status/1879301761082782078" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here&#8217;s a post</a> from someone named Nathan Spearing:
<blockquote>In 2005, I was 22 and had one of the top PT scores in my platoon in Ranger Battalion. One night, one of my mates was shot and completely immobilized. I worked with a small group of men to get him to the casualty evacuation point, while our platoon continued the raid. Dragging him through the streets of Iraq that night I felt like I&#8217;d never worked out in my life. I was one of the most physically fit men in an elite light infantry unit and this combat related task took me well beyond my physical capacities. Women shouldn&#8217;t do these jobs ever. They can&#8217;t without endangering the mission and the men around them.</blockquote>
The military appears to be fine with that. The Air Force, Navy, Marines, Coast Guard and even the Space Force have similar arrangements. Here for example is the Coast Guard&#8217;s breakdown of <a href="https://www.dcms.uscg.mil/Portals/10/CG-1/cg133/pdf/Boat_Crew_Fitness_Test.pdf?ver=2019-08-01-083908-503">fitness standards</a>, explicitly aligned with men on top, and women on the bottom:
<div id="attachment_859195" style="width: 767px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-859195" class="wp-image-859195 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/wFKTyXd-Imgur-757x576.png" alt="Courtesy: U.S. Coast Guard physical fitness standards. https://www.dcms.uscg.mil/Portals/10/CG-1/cg133/pdf/Boat_Crew_Fitness_Test.pdf?ver=2019-08-01-083908-503 " width="757" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/wFKTyXd-Imgur-757x576.png 757w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/wFKTyXd-Imgur-300x228.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/wFKTyXd-Imgur-768x585.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/wFKTyXd-Imgur.png 846w" sizes="(max-width: 757px) 100vw, 757px" />Courtesy: U.S. Coast Guard physical fitness standards.</div>
As you can see, men need to do 29 push-ups if they&#8217;re under 30 years old. Women only need to do 15. Meanwhile, over in the <a href="https://www.marines.com/become-a-marine/requirements/physical-fitness.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Marines</a>, men need to do three pull-ups or 34 push-ups in 2 minutes, while women only have to do 1 pull-up or 15 push-ups in the same time period.
<h3><a href="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?_gl=1*1lail3r*_gcl_aw*R0NMLjE3MzIyMDEyNDkuQ2owS0NRaUEwZnU1QmhEUUFSSXNBTVhVQk9JSkM0VnNsMFVreURxYXUxVWVEVWdOdjZkNzR2Y1pEeEZQeHVBcGl2R3BLaTdBMjVzT1p5TWFBdG1nRUFMd193Y0I.*_gcl_au*NDUxNDQ0NzYwLjE3MzY3ODI2NDY.*_ga*MTc2NzM0NDQ2NS4xNzI4OTA5Nzkx*_ga_CZKR9ZYKJP*MTczNjk1NzYwMy4zNDAuMS4xNzM2OTU3NzE2LjYwLjAuMA.." target="_blank" rel="noopener">CELEBRATE #47 WITH 47% OFF DAILYWIRE+ MEMBERSHIPS + A FREE $20 GIFT</a></h3>
I could go on, but you get the point. There is nothing &#8220;gender-neutral&#8221; about the fitness standards for any branch of the armed services. This is not up for debate. It can&#8217;t be disputed. It is simply a fact that standards are lowered for women, and that’s been the case for decades now. It’s also a fact that the standards for men have also been lowered. There has been an effort to get more women into the military, and also less fit men. These two goals are obviously related to each other. In truth, 46 pushups is not satisfactory for a grown man who wants to join the military. For the Coast Guard the number is 29, which is downright pathetic. We should expect a lot more of the people who are tasked with defending this country from its enemies.
But what Gillibrand was saying is that, at the urging of Congress, certain specialties — like the infantry — have adopted their own, independent &#8220;gender-neutral standards&#8221; on top of the basic requirements. But that hasn&#8217;t been going well, either.
As the Army Times <a href="https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2022/03/23/army-combat-fitness-test-debuts-with-major-changes-to-scoring-april-1/">reported</a> in 2022: 
<blockquote>The Army is moving forward with its long-awaited Army Combat Fitness Test this year, but the service has officially dropped the test’s attempt to set a gender- and age-neutral physical fitness standard &#8230; The leg tuck is no longer an event. &#8230; A 2.5-mile walk has been added as an alternate aerobic event for troops whose medical profiles prevent them from running. &#8230; A total of 48% of active duty enlisted women and 28% of active duty female officers could not pass the test.</blockquote>
In other words, they tried to make the test &#8220;gender-neutral,&#8221; and women kept failing it. So they responded by gutting the test, and making it a lot easier. And after all that, it&#8217;s still not &#8220;gender-neutral.&#8221;
In his answer to Kirsten Gillibrand, Pete Hegseth attempted to make these points. He also outlined his own first-hand observation of lowered standards in the military. And Kirsten Gillibrand responded by shrieking at him:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="004 Gillibrand" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KqsT2jlCVj0?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>
This was the theme of the hearing: Democrats demand an answer, they get one they don&#8217;t like, so they start screaming.
The truth, obviously, is that if men and women were held to the same standard in the military, there wouldn&#8217;t be any women in the military. Pete Hegseth may not want to say that out loud at a confirmation hearing — which makes sense — but it&#8217;s the truth. Including women in the military necessitates, by definition, lowering the standard. That&#8217;s why I say we should raise the standard for everyone, make it the same for everyone, and then let the chips fall where they may. The inevitable result is that they&#8217;ll fall on an all-male fighting force, which is how it should be.
Of course, even aside from the fact that women can&#8217;t do the job as well, they shouldn&#8217;t be serving in combat regardless. A functional society does not send women out to die on the battlefield. They are not equipped for it, physically or psychologically. But our government has been denying this basic fact for years. 
A decade ago, when the defense secretary at the time opened up all combat roles to women, he said, &#8220;They’ll be allowed to drive tanks, fire mortars and lead infantry soldiers into combat.&#8221; He made that seem like it was a sign of great progress. But it’s a sign of decay, not progress. It’s also a sign that we’re going to lose the next major war we’re a part of, unless we turn back from this madness. And after yesterday&#8217;s confirmation hearing, finally, it seems like we&#8217;ll have a defense secretary who understands that.

Nagging Democrats Shriek At Pete Hegseth During Confirmation Hearing

Democrats

Department of Defense

Gary Peters

Opinion

U.S. Army

U.S. Military

U.S. Navy

The Democrat women of the Senate&#8217;s Armed Services Committee were all clearly working from the same playbook during Tuesday morning&#8217;s hearing for decorated Army veteran <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/pete-hegseth" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pete Hegseth</a>, President-elect Donald Trump&#8217;s choice to lead the Pentagon.
While there were a few substantive questions directed at Hegseth, who acquitted himself calmly and rationally throughout, the majority of the time allotted to the Democratic women was devoted to dishonest and repeated attempts to conflate comments Hegseth has made about women serving in direct combat roles with an outright opposition to all women in military service.
Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) pointed out the fact that women currently make up 18% of the United States military — and Hegseth agreed with her that they were a vital part of the mission.
Shaheen then referred to Hegseth&#8217;s comments from a podcast last year, when he said, &#8220;I’m straight up just saying we should not have women in combat roles. It hasn’t made us more effective. Hasn’t made us more lethal. Has made fighting more complicated.&#8221;
Hegseth has also said on more than one occasion that he absolutely respected and valued the women with whom he&#8217;d served, and that his concern was solely related to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/im-not-a-general-pete-hegseth-tomahawks-sen-warrens-attempted-smear-with-just-4-words" target="_blank" rel="noopener">direct combat roles</a> and the fact that in order to ensure more women met the qualifications to serve in such roles, standards were often lowered.
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Still, Shaheen pressed on as though he&#8217;d said there was no place for women in the military at all — and then suggested that he was only agreeing with her that women played a valuable role because he thought it might help his chances at getting confirmed.
&#8220;What I&#8217;m confused about Mr. Hegseth is, which is it?” Shaheen asked. “Why should women in our military, if you were the secretary of Defense, believe that they would have a fair shot at an equal opportunity to rise through the ranks if, on the one hand you say that women are not competent, they make our military less effective, and on the other hand, you say, ‘Oh no, now that I&#8217;ve been nominated to be the secretary of Defense, I&#8217;ve changed my view.’&#8221;
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Sen. Jeanne Shaheen presses Pete Hegseth on conflicting statements regarding his stance on women in the military.
Hegseth: &quot;It&#39;s not about the capabilities of men and women, it&#39;s about standards.&quot;
Shaheen: &quot;I appreciate your 11th hour conversion.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/SURuMFpSHY">https://t.co/SURuMFpSHY</a> <a href="https://t.co/NB8dBjMMko">pic.twitter.com/NB8dBjMMko</a>
&mdash; ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) <a href="https://twitter.com/ABCPolitics/status/1879196923309047874?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 14, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) ripped a page from the same playbook, claiming, &#8220;For 12 years, you were quite open about your views, and your views were consistently the same: women are inferior soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, and guardians. Then on November 9, 2024, just 32 days after your last public comments saying that women absolutely should not be in combat, you declare that ‘some of our greatest warriors are women.'&#8221;
&#8220;I very much appreciate you bringing up my comments from 2013, because for me, this issue has always been about standards,&#8221; Hegseth replied — and every time he attempted to clarify his position further, Warren interrupted, talking over him and substituting her own assessment for his.
Warren also ultimately suggested that Hegseth had only just changed his views upon receiving a nomination to serve in Trump&#8217;s cabinet: &#8220;I have heard of deathbed conversions but this is the first I’ve heard of a nomination conversion.&#8221;
WATCH:
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Sen. Elizabeth Warren questions Pete Hegseth about women in combat roles, telling him &quot;I&#39;ve heard of deathbed conversions, but this is the first time I&#39;ve heard of a nomination conversion.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/auFB1Jif2U">pic.twitter.com/auFB1Jif2U</a>
&mdash; The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) <a href="https://twitter.com/TPostMillennial/status/1879218845224669366?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 14, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) raised her voice, repeatedly scolding Hegseth based solely on the false equivalence between his actual position and the one she and her Democratic colleagues had fabricated for him.
&#8220;In all of these other circumstances, you denigrated active duty service members. We have hundreds – HUNDREDS of women who are currently in the infantry. &#8230; You degrade them. You say, we need moms but not in the military, especially in combat units,&#8221; she complained, adding, &#8220;You&#8217;re basically saying women, after they have children, can&#8217;t ever serve in the military in a combat role. It&#8217;s — it&#8217;s — it&#8217;s a — it&#8217;s a silly thing to say. It&#8217;s a silly thing to say, beneath the position that you are aspiring to. To denigrate LGBTQ service members is a mistake.&#8221;
&#8220;Please explain these types of statements because they’re brutal and they’re mean and they disrespect men and women who are willing to die for this country,&#8221; she demanded.
WATCH:
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Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand yells at Hegseth for statements about not wanting to have women serve in combat roles: &quot;We have hundreds – HUNDREDS of women who are currently in the infantry&#8230;You degrade them. You say, we need moms but not in the military, especially in combat units. <a href="https://t.co/LhNKrD4FoV">pic.twitter.com/LhNKrD4FoV</a>
&mdash; Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) <a href="https://twitter.com/Julio_Rosas11/status/1879198683616719115?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 14, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI), in addition to accusing Hegseth of being willing to shoot protesters and lead a military takeover of Greenland, cited Hegseth&#8217;s &#8220;inflammatory statements&#8221; and demanded to know, &#8220;If confirmed, will you commit to defend, not denigrate our troops?&#8221;
Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), who lost her legs in war, held up her copy of The Soldier&#8217;s Creed as a visual aid and suggested that somehow Hegseth was not up to the same standard she claimed for herself.
WATCH:
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Nauseating meltdowns, down to the prepared remarks and sighs that come off like stage cues from Illinois Democrat Senator Tammy Duckworth, arguing he&#39;s somehow not emblematic of the Soldier&#39;s Creed (unlike her b/c of her own service and war injuries)
Disgusting. <a href="https://t.co/IGJGLyUw5V">pic.twitter.com/IGJGLyUw5V</a>
&mdash; Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) <a href="https://twitter.com/CurtisHouck/status/1879228021392990224?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 14, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Hegseth clarified his position on several occasions during the hearing, but it did nothing to dissuade the Democrats from talking over him — perhaps in the hopes that no one would hear him pointing out how disingenuous they were — and pushing their own agenda in place of his words.
WATCH:
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Incoming Secretary of Defense <a href="https://twitter.com/PeteHegseth?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PeteHegseth</a>: I&#39;m incredibly grateful for the two women who&#39;ve served our military in uniform&#8230; When I&#39;m talking about that issue, it&#39;s not about the capabilities of men and women, it&#39;s about standards — standards that we have seen eroded. <a href="https://t.co/Q4VPYsVFfv">pic.twitter.com/Q4VPYsVFfv</a>
&mdash; Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) <a href="https://twitter.com/TrumpWarRoom/status/1879194242444341431?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 14, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Senate Impeachment Trial Of President Trump Continues

Talking Points, Assemble! Democrat Women Launch Dishonest But Coordinated Attack In Hegseth Hearing

General

Mazie Hirono

Military

Women

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) rejected a push by her fellow Democrats for the Biden administration to ignore a ruling banning an abortion drug.
Appearing on CNN&#8217;s &#8220;<a href="https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2023/04/16/sotu-gillibrand-full-interview.cnn" target="_blank" rel="noopener">State of the Union</a>&#8221; Sunday, Gillibrand rejected calls from her New York colleague, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-NY), who last week called for the administration to ignore a federal judge&#8217;s ruling in Texas who suspended the FDA&#8217;s approval for the abortifacient drug mifepristone.
&#8220;It&#8217;s hard to ignore the rule of law,&#8221; said Gillibrand. &#8220;And we have a court system and an appeals system for a reason. So I think the Biden administration is correct in actually fighting this in the Supreme Court. Whether we win or not in the Supreme Court doesn&#8217;t mean that&#8217;s our last effort. We will go state by state to guarantee reproductive freedom.&#8221;
At the same time, Gillibrand blasted the Supreme Court over its previous rulings on abortion.
&#8220;When you take away 50 percent of America&#8217;s right to privacy, to say women don&#8217;t have it during their reproductive years, it is such an overstretch and an outrageous statement that I think, when people wake up to the reality of what this means for a conservative court where they believe they should impose their views of the world, their religious beliefs, their views on health care, on the FDA&#8217;s decision of 20 years ago of a drug that has been deemed very safe?&#8221;
Earlier this month, a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/federal-judge-in-texas-suspends-fda-approval-of-abortion-pill-used-in-up-to-half-of-abortions" target="_blank" rel="noopener">federal judge</a> in Texas blocked the FDA&#8217;s approval for mifepristone, claiming it had acted too quickly and without sufficient testing. Appearing on &#8220;State of the Union&#8221; last Sunday, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2023/04/09/sotu-ocasio-cortez-full.cnn" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ocasio-Cortez</a> called for the Biden administration to ignore the ruling.
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“There is an extraordinary amount of precedent for this,&#8221; she told host Dana Bash. &#8220;There is a term known as agency non-acquiescence, and this has been used. And for folks saying this is a first, that this is precedent-setting, it is not.”
&#8220;[T]he courts rely on the legitimacy of their rulings. And when they make a mockery of our system, a mockery of our democracy and a mockery of our law as what we just saw happen in this mifepristone ruling, then I believe that that the executive branch and we know that the executive branch has an enforcement discretion,” she added. &#8220;I do not believe that the courts have the authority over the FDA that they just asserted.”
The Fifth Circuit blocked the Texas judge&#8217;s decision but re-imposed stricter requirements on the distribution of mifepristone. On Friday, the Supreme Court blocked the Fifth Circuit&#8217;s ruling until 11:59 P.M. this Wednesday. According to <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/04/14/supreme-court-temporarily-blocks-abortion-pill-restrictions.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CNBC</a>, the Supreme Court will decide whether to continue to block the rules, or re-impose them, while it hears the Biden administration&#8217;s appeal to the Fifth Circuit&#8217;s ruling. The Supreme Court&#8217;s ruling could significantly restrict access to the drug nationwide.

Gillibrand Rejects AOC’s Calls For Biden Admin To Ignore Abortion Pill Ruling: ‘It’s Hard To Ignore The Rule Of Law’

Gillibrand Rejects AOC's Calls For Biden Admin To Ignore Abortion Pill Ruling

Abortion

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Congress

Courts

State of the Union

The owner of a restaurant in upstate New York blasted U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand for hypocrisy on the state&#8217;s COVID-19 mask mandate, after she entered the restaurant without a mask on.
John LaPosta, the owner and head chef of Innovo Kitchen, based in Latham, New York, made the comments in a post on the restaurant&#8217;s Instagram page Friday.
“The problem with NY politics in a nut shell,&#8221; LaPosta wrote. &#8220;My Senator blowing past my manager before she can even ask her to put a mask on. Walking right past a really big sign that says &#8216;masks required to enter&#8217; The masks are a mandate from the Governor. As good citizens, agree or not, we must follow our leaders. Her guest is graciously wearing one. I guess Senator Gillibrand thinks that the Governor is wrong or she is special and above the rules.&#8221;
LaPosta tagged the CDC, as well as several local journalists and news outlets, at the end of the post. The post included video from a security camera showing Gillibrand walking into the restaurant without a mask on, while the guest, who is wearing a mask, follows her briefly before apparently stopping at the host desk to check in.
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In addition to the signs inside, the home page of <a href="https://innovokitchen.com/">Innovo Kitchen&#8217;s website</a> has a section notifying customers that the statewide mask mandate was reinstated on December 13, 2021. &#8220;All staff must wear masks and all customers must wear masks anytime they are not seated,&#8221; the website reads.
Speaking to the <a href="https://nypost.com/2022/01/15/kirsten-gillibrand-walks-maskless-through-ny-restaurant/">New York Post</a>, LaPosta knocked Gillibrand for her hypocrisy. “Gillibrand is part of the system that put the mask mandate in place,&#8221; he said. &#8220;She thinks she’s above the law.”
“It’s hypocritical to me. The arrogance is just breathtaking. Our politicians should be with us, not against us,” he added.
LaPosta also said that Gillibrand&#8217;s flouting of the mask rules will make it harder to enforce them in the future. “People will say, ‘If Gillibrand is not wearing a mask, why should I wear a mask,’” he said. He added that he believed Gillibrand owed his staff and apology.
Gillibrand issued a statement acknowledging her wrongdoing late Friday. “We all need to do our part to help stop the spread of Omicron and that means following state and local guidance,&#8221; Gillibrand said in a statement, via the New York Post. &#8220;That includes me and I will do better going forward.&#8221;
The Democratic Governor of New York reimposed the statewide mask mandate on December 10, as <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/gestapo-tactics-at-least-13-counties-tell-hochul-they-wont-enforce-her-mask-mandate">The Daily Wire</a> reported. “Governor Kathy Hochul today announced masks will be required to be worn in all indoor public places unless businesses or venues implement a vaccine requirement,” the governor’s office said in a press release at the time.
The New York Post reported that failures by businesses to enforce the mandate would be punished by a fine of up to $1,000.
The order is expected to be &#8220;<a href="https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-hochul-announces-major-action-address-winter-surge-and-prevent-business-disruption">reassessed</a>&#8221; Saturday, per the governor’s office. As of the publication of this article, there has been no decision made publicly available.

NY Restauranteur Blasts Dem Senator’s ‘Arrogance’ For Flouting Mask Mandate: ‘Thinks She’s Above The Law’

Face Masks

Although Hunter Biden’s laptop has led millions of Americans to question Joe Biden’s integrity, the president is far from the only politician listed as a potential target for the Bidens’ influence-peddling operation, according to an investigative journalist familiar with the laptop’s contents. Biden’s associates bragged about their close relationship with “senior political figures” in the U.S. and foreign “oligarchs,” including current Vice President Kamala Harris, California Governor Gavin Newsom (D), and many others. Democratic Party royalty on both coasts find their names dropped during the Biden family’s business deals with foreign nations, she says.
And, she charges, when Hunter’s foreign business contacts demanded a list of “deliverables,” then-Vice President Joe Biden sprang into action.
The explosive revelations come from the book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Laptop-Hell-Hunter-Secrets-President/dp/163758105X">Laptop from Hell: Hunter Biden, Big Tech, and the Dirty Secrets the President Tried to Hide</a>, written by <a href="https://nypost.com/author/miranda-devine/">New York Post columnist</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/mirandadevine">Miranda Devine</a>.
Former Biden business partner Tony Bobulinski tried to hammer out a $10 million deal between the China Energy Fund Committee (CEFC) — which was led by an intimate associate of Chinese President Xi Jinping — and the company he and Hunter formed, SinoHawk.
In return for the Chinese agreeing to put up the Americans’ half of the $10 million investment capital, Bobulinski promised that he and Hunter Biden would produce “strong and easily definable relationship[s] between our key U.S. executive(s) and their relations in the target country with the following persons: a. senior political figures; b. royal family and/or aristocracy if they exist; c. dominant commercial/business figures and/or oligarchs.”
Then, Bobulinski named names. A document related to the CEFC deal, titled “Key domestic contacts for phase one target projects,” includes “Democratic luminaries from around the country, including New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand. California Senators Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris are listed,” writes Devine. The document describes Newsom, who was then mayor of San Francisco, as “Hunter’s friend.”
Previous foreign business deals show how far Hunter Biden was willing to go to please his investors, Devine writes — especially his relationship with the owner of Burisma, Mykola Zlochevsky, who paid Hunter $83,333 a month during Joe Biden’s tenure as Barack Obama’s vice president. As a Ukrainian investigation into Burisma heated up in 2015, the company ratcheted up pressure on the Bidens.
Burisma demanded Hunter Biden sign off on “a list of deliverables&#8230;a concrete course of actions, incl. meetings/communications resulting in high-ranking US officials in Ukraine (US Ambassador) and in US publicly or in private communication/comment expressing their ‘positive opinion’ and support of Nikolay [Zlochevsky]/Burisma to the highest level of decision makers here in Ukraine: President of Ukraine, president Chief of staff, Prosecutor General, etc,” wrote Zlochevsky’s lieutenant, Vadym Pozharskyi, in an email on November 2, 2015.
He insisted the “scope of work should also include organization of a visit of a number of widely recognized and influential current and/or former US policy-makers to Ukraine … with the ultimate purpose to close down any cases/pursuits against [Burisma] in Ukraine.”
Faced with an ultimatum, Hunter delivered. Devine writes:
<blockquote>The following month, [then-Vice President] Joe [Biden] flew to Kyiv and again addressed the Ukrainian parliament on December 8, 2015. He slammed the “cancer of corruption” in the country and declared: “The Office of the General Prosecutor desperately needs reform.” </blockquote>
With such a history, Bobulinski’s pitch implies the Chinese will receive powerful advocacy, but the laptop shows that they already had. Jim Biden wrote to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-fall-of-andrew-cuomo-how-an-empire-built-on-fear-came-crashing-down">then-New York Governor Andrew Cuomo</a> (D) to set up a meeting with Hunter and CEFC Executive Director Zang Jianjun. Jim also arranged for Zang’s daughter, Rouqui, to receive prompt admission to New York City’s Horace Mann School, an elite private school. (She opts against attending.)
Aside from domestic Democrats, Hunter Biden also appears willing to milk his connections with foreign political leaders around the world, Devine writes:
<blockquote>Also cited [in the CEFC documents] are “foreign friends” who can be tapped for Belt and Road development projects. They include Colombia’s president, Juan Manuel Santos; Argentina’s president, Mauricio Macri; Ireland’s taoiseach (prime minister), Enda Kenny; and the richest man in India, Mukesh Ambani. 
Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim is listed as “very friendly.” </blockquote>
The document also says that SinoHawk’s partners had already “engaged in-country contacts” in Argentina, Belgium, France, Mexico, and the United Arab Emirates, according to the book.
Zang will ultimately sign the $10 million contract that Bobulinski sends on Biden’s behalf. But CEFC does not fund SinoHawk, as Hunter Biden will step in to offer a side deal that ultimately <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-hunter-bidens-allegedly-lucrative-arrangement-with-china-energy-fund-committee">diverts nearly $6 million</a> into the pockets of himself and his uncle, Jim Biden.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

World Food Program USA’s Annual McGovern-Dole Leadership Award Ceremony

Exclusive: Kamala Harris, Gavin Newsom, And All The Democrats In Hunter Biden’s Laptop

Andrew Cuomo

Dianne Feinstein

Gavin Newsom

Hunter Biden

Joe Biden

Kamala Harris

laptop computer

Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, reportedly called two Republican Senators on their personal phones and lobbied them to support paid family leave. 
According to POLITICO, Markle, who is targeting both Democrats and Republicans, called Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) and Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) to urge them to support paid family leave provisions in the Biden administration’s “Build Back Better” spending bill. 
“I’m in my car. I’m driving. It says caller ID blocked. Honestly … I thought it was Sen. Manchin. His calls come in blocked. And she goes &#8216;Sen. Capito?&#8217; I said, &#8216;Yes.&#8217; She said, &#8216;This is Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex.”&#8230; “I couldn’t figure out how she got my number.”
Collins was equally shocked. “[M]uch to my surprise,” Collins told <a href="https://twitter.com/marianne_levine/status/1455933132805492745?s=20">Politico’s Marianne LeVine and The New York Times’s Emily Cochrane</a>. “&#8230; [S]he called me on my private line and she introduced herself as the Duchess of Sussex, which is kind of ironic.”
“[I] was happy to talk with her. But I’m more interested in what the people of Maine are telling me about it.” 
The calls, according to Politico, were facilitated by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), an outspoken <a href="https://twitter.com/gillibrandny/status/1455921196999094277?s=20">advocate</a> for paid family leave. Gillibrand said she gave the duchess the phone numbers. 
&#8220;I talked to each of the women senators and let them know that she&#8217;s going to reach out, because she only completed two of the calls,&#8221; she said. &#8220;She&#8217;s going to call some others, so I let them know in advance.&#8221;
&#8220;She wants to be part of a working group to work on paid leave long term and she&#8217;s going to be. Whether this comes to fruition now or later, she&#8217;ll be part of a group of women that hopefully will work on paid leave together,&#8221; she added. 
News of the Duchess’s call comes as Democrats have <a href="https://twitter.com/marianne_levine/status/1455933132805492745?s=20">re-inserted</a> a paid family leave provision into the scaled-back $1.75 trillion social spending bill. 
As The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pelosi-asks-for-paid-family-medical-leave-to-be-included-in-spending-bill-hearing-after-cut">reported</a> Wednesday, Pelosi sent a <a href="https://www.speaker.gov/newsroom/11321-3">letter</a> to the members of her caucus, asking them to review the text of the Build Back Better Act, and asking the House Ways and Means Committee to take up the paid family leave provision. The letter reads in part:  
<blockquote>It had been my intention throughout this process to put on the House Floor and pass a bill that would pass the Senate in the same form.  Because I have been informed by a Senator of opposition to a few of the priorities contained in our bill and because we must have legislation agreed to by the House and the Senate in the final version of the Build Back Better Act that we will send to the President’s desk, we must strive to find common ground in the legislation.  As we are reviewing priorities and at the urging of many Members of the Caucus, I have asked the Ways and Means Committee for its legislation for Paid Family and Medical Leave to be included in this morning’s hearing.</blockquote>
Paid Family Leave still faces opposition from Capito’s Democratic colleague, Joe Manchin, also of West Virginia. As The Daily Wire reported Wednesday, Manchin’s opposition has previously forced the Biden administration to lower its paid family leave proposal from 12 weeks all the way down to four, before it was cut entirely from the framework outlined by the administration last week.

US-MUSIC-ENTERTAINMENT-GLOBAL

Meghan Markle Privately Calling Republican Senators, Pushing Paid Family Leave: Report

Meghan Markle

Shelley Moore Capito

Susan Collins

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand called on Democrats Sunday to push forward with President Joe Biden’s partisan infrastructure package without gathering Republican support, calling it a &#8220;misstep&#8221; to wait on Republicans any longer. 
“I think the American people elected us to solve the problem of COVID, to rebuild the economy, rebuilding the infrastructure, and I think it’s the moment to act. I think we need a bold solution that does both the hard infrastructure — of roads, bridges, high-speed rail, rural internet — but also the softer infrastructure, the human infrastructure of paid family leave, affordable day-care, making sure our kids are back to school so that all parents can get back to work,” said the New York junior senator. 
Gillibrand, a former Democratic presidential candidate, refused to answer CNN host Jake Tapper’s question Sunday when he asked whether she believed Republicans have been negotiating an infrastructure deal in bad faith. She responded: “To me, it means we are about to miss the moment that we have to answer the need of this country.”
“People need government to work for them, and so we have to answer that moment with bold reforms. And I think waiting any longer for Republicans to do the right thing is a misstep. I would go forward,” she added. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
&#8220;I don&#8217;t think there&#8217;s necessarily good will behind all negotiations,&#8221; says Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand when asked about negotiating with the GOP on infrastructure. &#8220;I think waiting any longer for Republicans to do the right thing is a misstep. I would go forward&#8221; <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CNNSOTU?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CNNSOTU</a> <a href="https://t.co/LjBQNMWp9c">pic.twitter.com/LjBQNMWp9c</a>
— State of the Union (@CNNSotu) <a href="https://twitter.com/CNNSotu/status/1398997775799525377?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 30, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Gillibrand is one of many Democrats who have expressed frustration with Republicans’ refusal to go along with a massive infrastructure spending plan — particularly as Democrats continue to play loosely with the definition of infrastructure. 
The White House has proposed a $1.7 trillion infrastructure bill; a group of Republican senators have countered with a $928 billion plan. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki thanked the senators for the counter-offer last week but also took issue with other areas, such as the lack of new spending for building rail systems, repairing transit systems, and for so-called green infrastructure. 
Another major sticking point, suggested Psaki, was that most of the money for the Republican proposal was coming from non-new spending. In fact, the plan would create about a quarter of a billion dollars in new spending, far lower than Democrats want. 
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Sunday that the White House wants a &#8220;clear direction&#8221; as to where the infrastructure talks will lead by June 7, suggesting that the Biden administration may want to move on without Republican support, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/white-house-gives-gop-1-week-reach-deal-infrastructure-n1269148">reports</a> The Associated Press.
Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), a lead negotiator on the Republican side, said Sunday that she believes a deal can be reached.

Gillibrand: Push Forward On Infrastructure, Waiting For Republicans ‘To Do The Right Thing’ A ‘Misstep’

Infrastructure

Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), the two senators who represent New York, called on Governor Andrew Cuomo to resign late Friday, becoming the latest Democratic lawmakers to call for him to step down.
“Confronting and overcoming the Covid crisis requires sure and steady leadership. We commend the brave actions of the individuals who have come forward with serious allegations of abuse and misconduct,” said the two Democratic senators in a joint <a href="https://twitter.com/mkraju/status/1370504097145708549">statement</a> Friday night. “Due to the multiple, credible sexual harassment and misconduct allegations, it is clear that Governor Cuomo has lost the confidence of his governing partners and the people of New York. Governor Cuomo should resign.”
Schumer is the highest-ranking Democrat in the Senate, and Gillibrand, a former presidential candidate, was the first Democratic senator to call for former Minnesota Senator Al Franken to resign, back in 2017, following allegations of sexual misconduct. Franken, a Democrat, resigned at the beginning of 2018 and has since said he “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/07/29/the-case-of-al-franken">absolutely</a>” regrets doing so.
More than half of New York&#8217;s congressional delegation has also called on Cuomo to resign, including Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-NY).
“Governor Cuomo is guaranteed due process under law. Although his accusers are credible and the charges against him are serious indeed, the investigations under way by New York State Attorney General Letitia James and the Albany police must be permitted to run their course before we reach judgment about his liability for any alleged criminal act,” <a href="https://nadler.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=394565">said Nadler</a>. “But there is a difference between formal investigations that may end in criminal charges and a question of confidence in our political leadership. The question before us is squarely a political judgment.”
“Governor Cuomo has lost the confidence of the people of New York. Governor Cuomo must resign,” he added.
Cuomo told reporters during a conference call Friday afternoon that he doesn&#8217;t plan to resign, encouraged people to give him due process, and suggested he was a victim of Cancel Culture. “Serious allegations should be weighed seriously, right? That’s why they are called serious,” said Cuomo. “Politicians who don’t know a single fact but yet form a conclusion and an opinion are in my opinion reckless and dangerous.”
“People know the difference between playing politics, bowing to cancel culture and the truth. Let the review proceed. I am not going to resign. I was not elected by the politicians. I was elected by the people. Part of this is I am not part of the political club. And you know what? I’m proud of it,” he said.
Late last month, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-NY) referred to the allegations against Cuomo &#8220;credible.&#8221; At the time of Pelosi&#8217;s statement, two former Cuomo administration employees had come forward with allegations of sexual harassment.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-gov-andrew-cuomo-refuses-to-resign-questions-motivations-of-accusers">Gov. Andrew Cuomo Refuses To Resign, Questions ‘Motivations’ Of Accusers</a>

U. S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand speaks at joint press

Schumer And Gillibrand Call For Andrew Cuomo To Resign

Charles Schumer

Sexual Misconduct

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), the failed 2020 Democratic presidential primary candidate, <a href="https://twitter.com/thehill/status/1350879377781829641">suggested</a> Sunday morning that Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) may be the best person “alive in America today” to bring the country together and get things done in Congress.
During a press conference, Gillibrand praised Schumer, who is poised to take the reigns as Senate majority leader, as the ideal Senate counterpart to President-elect Joe Biden to handle the COVID-19 crisis and “the financial collapse corresponding” to the pandemic.
“Chuck Schumer understands states and communities all across this country better than anybody, he’s worked to get people elected in every part of this country — red, blue, and purple — and he understands that this country needs to heal, that we have to bring people together, that we have to get things done,” remarked Gillibrand.
The junior New York senator added: “I don’t think there’s a human being alive in America today that could do a better job than Chuck Schumer in this moment to bring this country back together again, to get things done, to get the economy moving. His life and dedication to public service has prepared him for this moment better than anyone, and so I am so optimistic that in this new Congress, we will be able to govern, we will be able to get resources to our cities, our states, our communities. We&#8217;ll be able to help people who have no jobs get jobs, we&#8217;ll be able to help families that are hungry get food, we&#8217;ll be able to help kids that don&#8217;t have resources, the tools they need to study and learn in school.&#8221;
&#8220;I see everything as possible now because of that one change. And so I just want Senator Schumer to understand that he is the right person at this time for this moment to deliver the relief that hopefully President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris will bring forward,&#8221; she said.
Schumer, who has served in the Senate since 1998, became the highest-ranking Democrat in the body after Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) retired in 2017. In light of the GOP’s senatorial losses in Georgia, Schumer will soon begin his first stint as Senate majority leader, which will mean Congress will be under complete Democratic control.
Biden, who assumes office on Wednesday, has vowed to send a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package to Congress that contains $1,400 stimulus checks, $3,500 child tax credits, and a $400 weekly unemployment benefits boost to last until late September. 
The president-elect also wants the relief package bill to increase the federal minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $15 an hour. Although a $15 minimum wage has been a rallying cry among progressives for years, only states have enacted a $15 minimum wage. 
Back in 2019, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) blocked a House-passed proposal to increase the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour, <a href="https://twitter.com/senatemajldr/status/1151885990862237697?s=20">saying</a> that such an increase would “kill jobs and depress the economy” in the midst of an economic boom. As <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2021/01/15/biden-stimulus-gop/">The Washington Post</a> notes, Democrats would need to gain 10 Republican votes in order to pass a federal minimum wage increase.

U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand with Chuck Schumer (not

Gillibrand: Schumer Can Bring Country Together, May Be Best American Alive ‘To Get Things Done’ In Congress

Freshman Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), currently the youngest representative in the legislative branch, may be looking at even higher office in the future. 
During an interview with <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/10/becoming-aoc-cover-story-2020?utm_source=twitter&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_brand=vf&amp;mbid=social_twitter&amp;utm_social-type=owned">Vanity Fair</a>, the democratic socialist congresswoman revealed that she doesn’t &#8220;know if I’m really going to be staying in the House forever, or if I do stay in the House, what that would look like.&#8221;
&#8220;I don’t see myself really staying where I’m at for the rest of my life,&#8221; she added, which could simply imply seeking a congressional leadership position or moving beyond the House of Representatives. 
Back in January, <a href="https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/01/aoc-first-year-in-washington.html">New York Magazine</a> reported that “people close” to Ocasio-Cortez discussed her possibly running for mayor of New York City in 2021, as a successor to Mayor Bill de Blasio, but the idea was ruled out. 
While Ocasio-Cortez has drawn some buzz as a potential successor to either Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) or Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), comments she made to Vanity Fair suggest a role in a Democratic presidential administration. 
“I don’t want to aspire to a quote-unquote higher position just for the sake of that title or just for the sake of having a different or higher position. I truly make an assessment to see if I can be more effective. And so, you know, I don’t know if I could necessarily be more effective in an administration, but, for me that’s always what the question comes down to,” said the New York congresswoman. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Presenting our December cover star: Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez! Two elections in, the congresswoman is still fighting the fight—and she’s as sure as she’s ever been.
Read the <a href="https://twitter.com/AOC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AOC</a> cover story now. Photograph by Tyler Mitchell. <a href="https://t.co/xAbI0YAekC">https://t.co/xAbI0YAekC</a> <a href="https://t.co/lEeKmw5mGh">pic.twitter.com/lEeKmw5mGh</a>
— VANITY FAIR (@VanityFair) <a href="https://twitter.com/VanityFair/status/1321406402347311110?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 28, 2020</a></blockquote>
Polling data from May 2020 suggests that Ocasio-Cortez could have a difficult time running a successful primary challenge against Schumer in 2022 or Gillibrand in 2024, at least, without a stronger shift in public opinion. 
According to <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/washington-secrets/no-sen-ocasio-cortez-crushed-by-schumer-gillibrand-in-poll">The Washington Examiner</a>, a New York poll conducted by Zogby showed Ocasio-Cortez losing a primary challenge to Schumer 54% to 21%. She fared better against Gillibrand, whose term expires in 2024, but still lost by 17 points. 
“The fact that Ocasio-Cortez is neck and neck with Gillibrand in NYC, and beating the former presidential candidate among younger voters, should be worrisome to the senator since many votes on a statewide level come from downstate, and Ocasio-Cortez has the name recognition to energize younger voters. Gillibrand should take note,” said the pollster, reported The Washington Examiner. 
However, the freshman congresswoman&#8217;s chance could certainly improve over time, particularly if the New York electorate develops an appetite for a candidate with a fresh face and a fiercely radical platform.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/aoc-democrats-must-take-senate-to-avoid-having-to-be-bipartisan-i-will-push-biden-further-left">AOC: Democrats Must Take Senate To Avoid Having To Be Bipartisan, I Will Push Biden Further Left</a>
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ocasio-cortez-progressive-squad-already-making-demands-of-biden-transition-team-weeks-before-the-election">Ocasio-Cortez, Progressive ‘Squad’ Already Making Demands Of Biden Transition Team Weeks Before The Election</a>

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AOC Suggests She May Seek Higher Office

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