WASHINGTON—The State Department is rolling out a &#8220;pro-family&#8221; exemption to the federal hiring freeze for the families of diplomats working abroad, according to an internal memo obtained exclusively by The Daily Wire.
The exemption will allow diplomats to staff key embassy posts with eligible family members, known as EFMs. Eligible family members are often the spouse of the State Department employee assigned to the overseas station, and have traditionally been used to temporarily staff certain positions. 
“This is a commonsense, pro-family policy to keep the family members of our diplomats together as they work toward implementing the America First agenda at our overseas posts,” a senior State Department official told The Daily Wire. 
On his first day in office, President Donald Trump signed an executive order mandating a freeze on hiring new federal employees. At the same time, Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been overhauling the State Department. As part of this reorganization, the State Department has begun mass layoffs for bureaucratic positions, largely based in Washington, D.C.
The State Department said in the unclassified memo that the exemption would help support families and “support the operational readiness of U.S. Missions&#8221; and that it would be &#8220;a critical step forward in supporting our overseas staffing needs and family member employment opportunities.&#8221;
The memo, which will be sent out later today, authorizes overseas posts to start hiring eligible family members into empty positions that were previously occupied by someone with similar status. The freeze exemption will not allow for new positions to be created and cannot be used to fill vacancies previously filled by non-family member employees. 
“This exemption to the hiring freeze for EFMs makes available a pool of highly qualified candidates who can quickly fill both temporary and long-term positions that support operational readiness,” the memo says. “These will include positions in human resources, finance, security, political/economic, community liaison, medical, and consular services, ensuring that overseas posts function smoothly.”
The memo says that the policy reflects “the Department’s commitment to operational readiness, workforce morale, and the well-being of [Foreign Service] families” and that employees are encouraged to &#8220;prioritize&#8221; the hiring of eligible family members. 
The exemption will also allow eligible family members to join the Foreign Service Family Reserve Corps, meaning that they will have an active security clearance allowing them to fill “domestic and overseas positions quickly when needed.”

MALAYSIA-US-ASEAN-DIPLOMACY

EXCLUSIVE: State Department Rolls Out ‘Pro-Family’ Exemption To Hiring Freeze

federal workforce

Marco Rubio

State Department

Trump Administration

WASHINGTON— The State Department will inform employees on Thursday evening that it will soon begin mass layoffs, a document obtained by The Daily Wire shows.
Over 1500 employees will receive &#8220;Reduction in Force&#8221; (RIF) notices, a State Department official shared with The Daily Wire on Thursday.
The move comes after the Supreme Court <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/24a1174_h3ci.pdf">lifted a lower court order</a> on Tuesday blocking President Donald Trump from laying off federal workers at almost two dozen agencies, clearing the way for the president to move forward with his plans for reorganizing and downsizing federal agencies.
The State Department email, sent Thursday evening from Deputy Secretary for Management and Resources Michael Rigas to State Department staff, says that once employees have received their RIF notices, State will enter its final stage of reorganization and focus its attention on delivering &#8220;results-driven diplomacy.&#8221;
<div id="attachment_945573" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/?attachment_id=945573" rel="attachment wp-att-945573"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-945573" class="wp-image-945573 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-2223713664-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-2223713664-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-2223713664-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-2223713664-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-2223713664.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" /></a>US Secretary of State Marco Rubio deplanes upon arrival at Subang Air Base, outside of Kuala Lumpur, on July 10, 2025.  (Photo by MANDEL NGAN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)</div>
“Secretary Rubio, at the direction of President Trump, has undertaken a historic reorganization of the State Department, which was thoughtfully and deliberately executed by department leadership,&#8221; a senior State Department official told The Daily Wire. &#8220;The America First State Department will better serve the American people.”
More communications and guidance will be distributed in the coming weeks, Rigas told the State Department employees.
&#8220;On behalf of Department leadership, we extend our gratitude for your hard work and commitment to executing this reorganization and for your ongoing dedication to advancing U.S. national interests across the world,&#8221; he concluded.
The move is part of Secretary Marco Rubio&#8217;s effort to conduct the largest reorganization of the State Department in decades, focusing resources on policy priorities and eliminating &#8220;redundant functions,&#8221; as Rigas noted. Rubio had reviewed and approved plans to target reduction in the department&#8217;s domestic workforce in May.
Rubio said at the time that State&#8217;s domestic operations had grown exponentially, &#8220;resulting in more bureaucracy, higher costs, and fewer results for the American people.&#8221; He elaborated on the plan submitted to Congress, saying it was the result of thoughtful and deliberative work by senior State Department leadership.
&#8220;Since my first day as Secretary, I have said that this Department must move at the speed of relevancy and, in April, announced a broad reorganization of the Department to better achieve that goal,&#8221; he noted. &#8220;Today, we took the next step in that process by notifying Congress of how we plan to do that.&#8221;
&#8220;The reorganization plan will result in a more agile Department, better equipped to promote America’s interests and keep Americans safe across the world,&#8221; he promised.

President Trump Holds Cabinet Meeting At White House

Following SCOTUS Win, State Department Informs Employees That Mass Layoffs Will Begin Soon

DOGE

Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Malaysia on Thursday, seeking to push Russia toward peace with Ukraine through “a new and different approach.”
Following the talks, Rubio did not specify what exactly was said, but told reporters, “I think it’s a new and a different approach. I wouldn’t characterize it as something that guarantees peace, but it’s a concept that I’ll take back to the president,” the Associated Press <a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-russia-ukraine-rubio-lavrov-tariffs-trump-asean-ca7569c363260b1a63bae12153fa7dd3">reported</a>. The meeting between the United States and Russia took place at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum, where 10 nations, including Russia, China, and the United States, gather for their annual meeting.
Despite the Trump administration’s continued efforts to mediate peace between Russia and Ukraine, Russia has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/clear-escalation-of-terror-russia-hits-kyiv-with-another-major-missile-and-drone-attack?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=1&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;title=%E2%80%98Clear+Escalation+Of+Terror%E2%80%99%3A+Russia+Hits+Kyiv+With+Another+Major+Missile+And+Drone+Attack">launched</a> two massive missile and drone <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/russia-launches-largest-drone-and-missile-attack-yet-against-ukraine?author=Jayden+Jelso&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=1&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Russia+Launches+Largest+Drone+And+Missile+Attack+Yet+Against+Ukraine">attacks</a> on Ukraine this week after President Donald Trump expressed disappointment in Russian President Vladimir Putin. Putin’s escalation has frustrated President Trump, who said earlier this week, “We get a lot of bulls*** thrown at us by Putin.”
Rubio acknowledged Trump’s displeasure with Russia, telling reporters after the 50-minute meeting, “We need to see a roadmap moving forward about how this conflict can conclude. And then we shared some ideas about what that might look like. We’re going to continue to stay involved where we see opportunities to make a difference.”
Russia’s Foreign Ministry called the discussion with Rubio a “substantive and frank exchange of views.”
“Both countries reaffirmed their mutual commitment to finding peaceful solutions to conflicts, restoring Russian-American economic and humanitarian cooperation, and unimpeded contact between the societies of the two countries, something which could be facilitated by resuming direct air traffic,” Russia added. “The importance of further work to normalize bilateral diplomatic relations was also emphasized.”
Russia’s latest attack on Kyiv included 18 missiles and 400 drones, some of which targeted residential areas. Two people were killed in the attack, a 68-year-old woman and a 22-year-old police officer. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called Russia’s attack “a clear escalation of terror by Russia.”
“This demands that we speed things up. Sanctions must be imposed faster, and pressure on Russia must be strong enough that they truly feel the consequences of their terror,” Zelensky added. “There’s a need for quicker action from our partners in investing in weapons production and advancing technology.”
The Trump administration said earlier this week that it would send more defensive weapons to Ukraine amid Russia’s increased aggression. Trump is also reportedly considering hitting Russia with sanctions.

TOPSHOT-MALAYSIA-US-ASEAN-DIPLOMACY

Rubio Meets With Russia, Pursues New Approach After Deadly Attacks On Ukraine

Donald Trump

Global Politics

Politics

Russia

Ukraine

Ukraine-Russia War

Vladimir Putin

Volodymyr Zelensky

The United States is imposing sanctions on United Nations Human Rights Council special rapporteur Francesca Albanese over a “campaign of political and economic warfare” against the United States and Israel.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the sanctions on Wednesday in a post on X. Albanese is the UN rapporteur on Palestinian rights and has a long history of downplaying Palestinian terror and mischaracterizing Israeli military and defense operations.
“Today I am imposing sanctions on UN Human Rights Council Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese for her illegitimate and shameful efforts to prompt [International Criminal Court] action against U.S. and Israeli officials, companies, and executives,” Rubio wrote.
“Albanese’s campaign of political and economic warfare against the United States and Israel will no longer be tolerated. We will always stand by our partners in their right to self-defense,” he continued. “The United States will continue to take whatever actions we deem necessary to respond to lawfare and protect our sovereignty and that of our allies.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Today I am imposing sanctions on UN Human Rights Council Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese for her illegitimate and shameful efforts to prompt <a href="https://twitter.com/IntlCrimCourt?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@IntlCrimCourt</a> action against U.S. and Israeli officials, companies, and executives. 
Albanese’s campaign of political and economic…
&mdash; Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) <a href="https://twitter.com/SecRubio/status/1942998936874054046?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 9, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Last week, Albanese released a <a href="https://www.un.org/unispal/document/a-hrc-59-23-from-economy-of-occupation-to-economy-of-genocide-report-special-rapporteur-francesca-albanese-palestine-2025/">report</a> on “the corporate machinery sustaining Israel’s settler-colonial project of displacement and replacement of the Palestinians in the occupied territory.” The report, titled “From Economy of Occupation to Economy of Genocide,” identified nearly 50 corporate entities that it accused of war profiteering for working with the Israeli government.
Last month, Albanese <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/vicious-anti-israel-un-special-rapporteur-calls-for-un-to-expel-israel">called</a> for Israel to be expelled from the United Nations after Israeli forces bombed the headquarters of the UNRWA in Gaza City. Israel carried out the strike after learning that Hamas had set up a military base inside the headquarters after it had been evacuated.
Over the course of the war, close links between Hamas and the UNRWA have been revealed, including members of the UNRWA taking part in the October 7 attack and also being members of Hamas.
Albanese has been a supporter of the antisemitic Boycott, Divest, Sanction (BDS) movement targeting Israel. She has also been an outspoken opponent of Israel’s military operation in Gaza. In February, Albanese <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/un-official-duped-by-fake-rabbis-invite-to-speak-on-morality-of-intifada-at-anti-israel-protest">said</a> that Israel did not have the “right” to invade Gaza after Hamas militants and Palestinians killed around 1,200 people and took hostage hundreds more in the October 7 terror attack.
“It didn’t have the right to act in self-defense, meaning waging a war because it couldn’t wage a war against the people it maintains under occupation,” Albanese told an audience of students at Harvard University. “What Israel had to do was to repel the attack on its own territory, arrest and detain and treat humanely the people who had been arrested and ensure justice.”
Albanese has also appeared to benefit from her close ties to Palestinian groups. In 2023, Albanese took a trip to Adelaide, Australia, that was funded by a cohort of Palestinian groups, including The Australian Friends of Palestine Association and Australia Palestine Advocacy Network.
The trip sparked concern from a watchdog group, UN Watch, that <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/anti-israel-un-official-takes-expensive-trip-funded-by-palestinian-lobby-groups-report">sent</a> a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres calling for Albanese&#8217;s removal. In the letter, UN Watch pointed out that “independence and impartiality are basic requirements for UNHRC Special Procedures under Article 3 of the <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/HRBodies/SP/CodeOfConduct.pdf">Code of Conduct</a>, which requires them to be ‘free from any kind of extraneous influence … either direct or indirect.’”

Francesca Albanese

Rubio Sanctions UN Official Waging ‘Political And Economic Warfare’ Against U.S., Israel

Israel

United Nations

United States

An impostor is using an artificial intelligence voice changer to impersonate Secretary of State Marco Rubio and contact foreign and domestic officials, according to a July 3 State Department cable obtained by the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/07/08/marco-rubio-ai-imposter-signal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Washington Post</a>.
Authorities have not identified the individual behind the attempts, but claim that he was probably trying to gain access to information or accounts.
So far he has contacted at least five officials, “including three foreign ministers, a U.S. governor, and a U.S. member of Congress.” It is unknown if they responded to the AI generated messages.
The impersonator first used a fake email address to create a Signal account. Signal is a secure encrypted messaging app that is <a href="https://apnews.com/article/encryption-apps-government-transparency-sunshine-week-ad26ecdee91c8f99f15228bbe7989ede" target="_blank" rel="noopener">widely used</a> by government officials. Then, he used the phone numbers associated with the officials’ accounts to contact them.
“The actor left voicemails on Signal for at least two targeted individuals and in one instance, sent a text message inviting the individual to communicate on Signal,” according to the cable. He also impersonated other State Department personnel using email.
The FBI had <a href="https://www.ic3.gov/PSA/2025/PSA250515" target="_blank" rel="noopener">warned</a> government officials in May about an “ongoing malicious text and voice messaging campaign” targeting them and their contacts with voice generated messages in an attempt to gain funds or information.
“If you receive a message claiming to be from a senior U.S. official, do not assume it is authentic,” they said.
That month, someone breached the phone of White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and impersonated her in numerous calls to high ranking officials.
The State Department says they will “carry out a thorough investigation and continue to implement safeguards to prevent this from happening in the future.”
Hany Farid, a professor at the University of California at Berkeley who specializes in analyzing deepfakes, told the Washington Post that phishing schemes targeting government officials do not require sophisticated knowledge and are often successful because officials can be careless about data security.
The rise of AI has made classic phishing schemes much easier. Using an AI voice generator, all you need is 15-20 seconds of audio to “clone” someone’s voice and record them saying whatever text you specify.
New AI-assisted cybersecurity schemes are popping up all over. In June <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/scammers-now-impersonating-senior-government-officials-and-ceos-to-swindle-canadians/ar-AA1HrYCS" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Canadian</a> agencies warned citizens of similar AI phishing schemes targeting government officials and CEOs. Ukraine also issued a warning that Russian intelligence agents were impersonating its Security Service to recruit civilians for sabotage missions.
Over 50% of phishing emails are now generated by AI, according to a recent <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/daveywinder/2025/06/20/ai-is-behind-50-of-spam---and-now-its-hacking-your-accounts/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">study</a> by Barracuda and researchers from Columbia University and the University of Chicago.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio testifies on the 2026 Budget In House Hearing

Marco Rubio Impostor Uses AI To Deceive High-Ranking Officials

Artificial Intelligence

Crime

Washington Post

The Trump administration has officially shuttered the United States Agency for International Development after rolling its operations into the State Department.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the end of the independent agency on Tuesday. Rubio said USAID funds would be better managed and more effective under State Department oversight than they have been in decades.
“USAID had decades and a near-infinite taxpayer budget to advance American influence, promote economic development worldwide, and allow billions to stand on their own two feet,” Rubio wrote in a <a href="https://statedept.substack.com/p/making-foreign-aid-great-again">statement</a>. “Beyond creating a globe-spanning NGO industrial complex at taxpayer expense, USAID has little to show since the end of the Cold War.”
For months, the Trump administration has audited USAID, shrinking its operations and moving it underneath Rubio’s effective control. The Department of Government Efficiency has led the probe into USAID funding, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/06/22/us/politics/usaid-foreign-aid-trump.html">cutting</a> thousands of spending programs worth tens of billions of taxpayer dollars.
What spending is left will be reallocated and closely watched for measurable returns toward the United States’ national interest, according to Rubio. Of the regions and communities that have received funding from USAID in recent decades, American objectives have “rarely been met.” At the same time, “instability has often worsened, and anti-American sentiment has only grown,” Rubio said.
“[I]n 2023, sub-Saharan African nations voted with the United States only 29 percent of the time on essential resolutions at the UN despite receiving $165 billion in outlays since 1991. That’s the lowest rate in the world,” Rubio wrote. “Over the same period, more than $89 billion invested in the Middle East and North Africa left the U.S. with lower favorability ratings than China in every nation but Morocco.”
<a class="c-link" href="https://get.dailywire.com/freedom/?utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=freedom&amp;utm_content=freedomeditorial" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://get.dailywire.com/freedom/?utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=freedom&amp;utm_content=freedomeditorial" data-sk="tooltip_parent" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-2388">JULY 4 SALE: Get Six Months Of DW+ Free</a>
“[USAID’s] expenditure of $9.3 billion in Gaza and the West Bank since 1991, whose beneficiaries included allies of Hamas, has produced grievances rather than gratitude towards the United States,” he continued. “The only ones living well were the executives of the countless NGOs, who often enjoyed five-star lifestyles funded by American taxpayers, while those they purported to help fell further behind.”
USAID funding has elicited complaints from some allies to the United States. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said in February that non-governmental organizations in his country that have been partly funded by USAID have pushed leftist priorities and sought to “topple” his government.
“Now is the moment when these international networks have to be taken down, they have to be swept away,” Orban <a href="https://apnews.com/article/orban-hungary-eliminate-ngos-usaid-aff22b9f9003f4c6c3115a9798c18af6">said</a>. “It is necessary to make their existence legally impossible.”
Under the State Department, international aid will be directed toward “prioritizing trade over aid, opportunity over dependency, and investment over assistance,” said Rubio.
“USAID viewed its constituency as the United Nations, multinational NGOs, and the broader global community — not the U.S. taxpayers who funded its budget or the President they elected to represent their interests on the world stage,” he wrote.
“That ends today, and where there was once a rainbow of unidentifiable logos on life-saving aid, there will now be one recognizable symbol: the American flag. Recipients deserve to know the assistance provided to them is not a handout from an unknown NGO, but an investment from the American people,” he added.

Rubio: USAID Closed After Decades Of Funding Posh Lifestyles Of ‘Countless’ NGO Execs

U.S.

USAID

President Donald Trump issued an executive order on Monday lifting sanctions on Syria, the latest step in warming relations between Trump and Syria&#8217;s new president, Ahmed al-Sharaa.
The executive order, Providing for the Revocation of Syria Sanctions, will terminate various sanctions programs on Syria and the national emergency with respect to Syria, beginning on January 1, according to the Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
“These actions reflect the President’s vision of fostering a new relationship between the United States and a Syria that is stable, unified, and at peace with itself and its neighbors,” Rubio said in a statement. “U.S. sanctions will not be an impediment to Syria’s future.”
The announcement comes after Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/how-trump-lifting-syria-sanctions-could-transform-the-middle-east" target="_blank" rel="noopener">met with Sharaa</a> — who toppled Syria&#8217;s anti-American dictator, Bashar al-Assad — during his visit to Gulf nations in May. After the meeting, Trump described the terrorist turned head of state as a “young attractive guy” with a “very strong past.” The meeting between Trump and Sharaa was the first meeting between an American president and a Syrian leader in 25 years.
“He’s got a real shot at holding it together,” Trump said of Sharaa. “I spoke with [Turkish] President Erdogan, who is very friendly with him. He feels he’s got a shot of doing a good job. It’s a torn-up country.”
<a class="c-link" href="https://get.dailywire.com/freedom/?utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=freedom&amp;utm_content=freedomeditorial" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-sk="tooltip_parent" data-stringify-link="https://get.dailywire.com/freedom/?utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=freedom&amp;utm_content=freedomeditorial">JULY 4 SALE: Get Six Months Of DW+ Free</a>
Al-Assad was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/who-is-syrian-rebel-leader-mohammad-al-jolani" target="_blank" rel="noopener">toppled by Sharaa</a> and his U.S.-designated terrorist organization, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, in December. Sharaa, who was once affiliated with Al-Qaeda and ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, had a $10 million <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c07gv3j818ko" target="_blank" rel="noopener">FBI bounty</a> on his head for almost a decade before it was lifted in 2024.
Rubio said he will also take “appropriate action” with regard to the Foreign Terrorist Organization designation of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham group, and review the Specially Designated Global Terrorist designations of the group and Sharaa.
Rubio will also reexamine Syria’s designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism, enacted in 1979.
“Today’s actions mark the beginning of a new chapter for the people of Syria as they work to shape a future that is safe, stable, and successful,” Rubio added.
The executive order also states that Rubio will determine if the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act, signed by Trump in 2019, should be suspended. The act sanctioned the former Syrian government for war crimes and designated several Syrian industries, but includes a provision for the president to waive sanctions if certain conditions are met.
Sanctions will remain on Assad, his associates, human rights abusers, traffickers, people linked to Syria’s past proliferation activities, ISIS and Al-Qaeda affiliates, and Iran and its terrorist proxies.
The executive order will also relax some restrictions on exports to Syria.
&#8220;This is in an effort to promote and support the country&#8217;s path to stability and peace,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Monday. “The order will remove sanctions on Syria while maintaining sanctions on the former president Assad and his associates, human rights abusers, drug traffickers, persons linked to chemical weapons activities, ISIS and their affiliates, and Iranian proxies.”
According to the order, “the United States is committed to supporting a Syria that is stable, unified, and at peace with itself and neighbors” and a “Syria that does not offer a safe haven for terrorist organizations and ensures the security of its religious and ethnic minorities will support regional security and prosperity.”
It adds that Syria has been transformed in the last six months since Sharaa’s government took over for Assad.
Sharaa has been accused of grave human rights violations and <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/syrias-new-leaders-turn-islamic-law-effort-rebuild-assads-police-2025-01-23/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly plans</a> to impose strict sharia law in the country. But since taking office, he has also sought to reinvent himself as a moderate force for a tolerant Syria.
He has repeatedly denied that he was a terrorist, including in a PBS interview where he said “it’s a political label that carries no truth or credibility.”
Sharaa has worked hard to grow relations with Trump since he took office, including signaling he would be willing to normalize relations with Israel, allow the United States to have access to Syrian oil and gas, and <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/trump-tower-damascus-syria-seeks-charm-us-president-sanctions-relief-2025-05-11/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly stating</a> he wants a Trump Tower in Damascus.

Trump al-Sharaa

Trump Lifts Sanctions On Syria In Sweeping Policy Shift

Ahmed al-Sharaa

Sanctions

Syria

The State Department is looking to revoke the visa for Bobby Vylan, a British rap duo whose performance at a festival over the weekend went viral for his virulent anti-Israel lyrics that included a call for death to all Israeli soldiers.
A senior State Department official told The Daily Wire that it is “already looking at revocation” of their visas ahead of a roughly twenty-city tour through the United States, with performances planned in several major cities, including Washington, D.C.
“As a reminder, under the Trump Administration, the U.S. government will not issue visas to any foreigner who supports terrorists,” the senior official said.
Vocalist Pascal Robinson-Foster uses the stage name Bobby Vylan for his punk duo Bob Vylan—a name that nods to legendary Jewish singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, who released the pro-Israel song &#8216;Neighborhood Bully&#8217; in 1983.
While performing at England’s annual Glastonbury Music Festival — which was live streamed on the BBC — Vylan incited his crowd of thousands to chant, “Death, death to the IDF.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
“Death, death to the IDF” chanted from the stage by Bob Vylan in front of 200k people at <a href="https://twitter.com/glastonbury?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@glastonbury</a>.
Tens of thousands singing happily along.
This is coming to NYC <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ZohranForMayor?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#ZohranForMayor</a> <a href="https://t.co/t6vtHVhNQa" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pic.twitter.com/t6vtHVhNQa</a>
— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) <a href="https://twitter.com/StopAntisemites/status/1939051372810240348?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">June 28, 2025</a></blockquote>
“Free, Free Palestine,” Vylan chanted with the crowd at Britain&#8217;s biggest summer music festival. “But have you heard this one though? Death, death to the IDF! Death, death to the IDF!”
After repeating the chant several times, Vylan referenced another violent slogan: “Hell yeah, from the river to the sea, Palestine must be, will be, inshallah, it will be free.”
Following his remarks, StopAntisemitism <a href="https://x.com/StopAntisemites/status/1939324518759116883" target="_blank" rel="noopener">called for</a> Vylan to have his visa revoked ahead of his upcoming concerts in the United States for his Inertia Tour. He currently has concerts scheduled in New York City. Boston, Los Angeles, and Nashville, Tennessee.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/california-epa-employee-charged-with-threatening-jews-attempting-to-provide-guns-and-money-to-isis?author=Kassy+Akiva&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=2&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=California+EPA+Employee+Charged+With+Threatening+Jews%2C+Attempting+To+Provide+Guns+and+Money+to+ISIS" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CALIFORNIA EPA EMPLOYEE CHARGED WITH THREATENING JEWS, ATTEMPTING TO PROVIDE GUNS AND MONEY TO ISIS</a>
“The antisemite must have his visa denied/rescinded &#8211; his hate is not welcome here,” the StopAntisemitism wrote.
The chair of the Department of Justice’s Task Force to Combat Antisemitism, Leo Terrell, said his “first call” on Monday morning will be to Secretary of State Marco Rubio to ensure Vylan cannot enter the United States.
“These abhorrent chants, which included calls for the death of members of the Israeli Defense Forces, are abhorrent and have no place in any civil society,” Terrell said in a statement. “We understand that Mr. Vylan is planning to travel to the United States as part of the Inertia Tour. In response, Mr. Terrell’s Task Force will be reaching out to the U.S. Department of State on Monday to determine what measures are available to address the situation and to prevent the promotion of violent antisemitic rhetoric in the United States.”
Avon and Somerset Police in the United Kingdom <a href="https://x.com/ASPolice/status/1939025011844485405" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said they are investigating</a> the duo’s performance and will determine “whether any offenses may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation.”
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-has-been-clear-for-14-years-that-iran-cannot-have-a-nuclear-weapon?author=Kassy+Akiva&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Trump+Has+Been+Clear+For+14+Years+That+Iran+Cannot+Have+A+Nuclear+Weapon" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TRUMP HAS BEEN CLEAR FOR 14 YEARS THAT IRAN CANNOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON</a>
A spokesperson for Lisa Nandy, England’s Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c33514nryy1o" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said she</a> “strongly” condemned Vylan’s “threatening comments” and demanded “an urgent explanation” from the BBC regarding its vetting process.
United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the chants “appalling hate speech.”
In a statement, the BBC conceded that “some of the comments made during Bob Vylan’s set were deeply offensive.”
“During this live stream on iPlayer, which reflected what was happening on stage, a warning was issued on screen about the very strong and discriminatory language,” the BBC added.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hamas-is-preparing-attacks-on-american-contractors-helping-distribute-aid-in-gaza?author=Kassy+Akiva&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Hamas+Is+Preparing+Attacks+On+American+Contractors+Helping+Distribute+Aid+In+Gaza" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HAMAS IS PREPARING ATTACKS ON AMERICAN CONTRACTORS HELPING DISTRIBUTE AID IN GAZA</a>
Vylan responded to the controversy in an Instagram post on Sunday saying that it is important to “encourage and inspire future generations to pick up the torch that was passed to us.”
“Let us display to them loudly and visibly the right thing to do when we want and need change,” he wrote. “Let them see us marching on the streets, campaigning on the ground level, organising online and shouting about it on any and every stage that we are offered.”
Liora Rez, the executive director of StopAntisemitism, applauded the State Department preparing to take action against the musician who called for violence against the military of one of America’s strongest allies.
<a class="c-link" href="https://get.dailywire.com/freedom/?utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=freedom&amp;utm_content=freedomeditorial" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-sk="tooltip_parent" data-stringify-link="https://get.dailywire.com/freedom/?utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=freedom&amp;utm_content=freedomeditorial">JULY 4 SALE: Get Six Months Of DW+ Free</a>
“StopAntisemitism is committed to doing everything in our power to ensure the United States does not follow the UK’s dangerous descent into institutionalized antisemitism,” Rez told The Daily Wire. “We are grateful to the State Department for swiftly prioritizing this matter and remain confident they will agree that individuals who promote such hatred have no place on American soil.”
Other songs performed at the festival — which was filled with Palestinian flags in the crowd and one on stage, along with the slogan, &#8220;This country was built on the backs of immigrants&#8221; — sent the message that the United Kingdom has already been conquered by immigrants.
&#8220;I hear you want your country back,&#8221; Vylan says. &#8220;Well, shut the f*** up.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
The whole crowd is white. Singing about how they’ve been conquered and need to shut the fuck up. <a href="https://t.co/5W8Pebv0ys">pic.twitter.com/5W8Pebv0ys</a>
&mdash; Brent Scher (@BrentScher) <a href="https://twitter.com/BrentScher/status/1939321880374104557?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 29, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
At the music festival, Irish rap group Kneecap, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/police-consider-criminal-charges-after-rapper-leads-death-to-the-idf-chant-at-festival?author=Daniel+Chaitin&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Police+Consider+Criminal+Charges+After+Rapper+Leads+%E2%80%98Death+To+The+IDF%E2%80%99+Chant+At+Festival" target="_blank" rel="noopener">also performed</a> and chanted “free Palestine,” being embroiled in controversy supporting Hezbollah—including one member who was charged under the Terrorism Act for allegedly waving a Hezbollah flag at a concert in London last November, according to the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/glastonbury-bob-vylan-israel-police-d7faf32c07b2ccadf25b29d57a530486" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Associated Press.</a>

Bobby Vylan And Marco Rubio

EXCLUSIVE: State Department Looks To Revoke Visa For British Rappers Who Chanted ‘Death To The IDF’

Hamas

Hezbollah

After CNN, The New York Times, and other legacy media outlets tried to torpedo the success of President Donald Trump’s strike on the Iranian nuclear facilities, quoting a leak claiming the strike only set Iran&#8217;s nuclear program back by months, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth slammed the leakers, calling them “professional stabbers” and revealing an investigation is already underway.
“The US military strikes on three of Iran’s nuclear facilities last weekend did not destroy the core components of the country’s nuclear program and likely only set it back by months, according to an early US intelligence assessment that was described by seven people briefed on it,” CNN <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/24/politics/intel-assessment-us-strikes-iran-nuclear-sites">declared.</a> “Intel Report on Iran Upends Victory Lap Trump Was Hoping for at NATO,” the Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/24/us/politics/trump-nato-iran.html">trumpeted</a>.
Speaking while seated with Hegseth and President Trump at the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Rubio began by attacking the leakers, saying, “First of all, all of this stuff about the intelligence: This is what a leaker is telling you the intelligence said. That’s the game these people play; they read it and then they go out and characterize it the way they want to characterize, and they’re leakers. This is the game they play. So that’s number one.”
He segued to the results of the attack: “ Number two: the conversion facility — which you can’t do a nuclear weapon without a conversion facility — we can’t even find where it is, where it used to be on the map. You can’t even find where it used to be because the whole thing is just blackened out. It&#8217;s gone.”
“It&#8217;s wiped out,” Trump interjected.
“It&#8217;s wiped out,” Rubio repeated. “Then we dropped 12 of the strongest bombs on the planet right down the hole in two places. Everything underneath that mountain is in bad shape. And I refer you to the statement of the IAEA, Mr. Grossi. You know what he said? He said there was Iran the way it looked the day before the attack, and what their nuclear program looks like now. Two very different things. They are way behind where they were just seven days ago.”
“Now, anything in the world can be rebuilt, but now we know where it is, and if they try to rebuild it, we’ll have options there as well,” Rubio asserted. “But all of this leaker stuff; these leakers are professional stabbers. That’s what they are. They go out and they read this stuff and then tell you what it says — against the law — but they characterize it for you in a way that’s absolutely false. There’s no way Iran comes to the table if somehow nothing had happened: This was complete and total obliteration. They’re in bad shape. They are way behind today compared to where they were just seven days ago because of what the president did.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/SecRubio?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SecRubio</a> sets the record straight for the Fake News: &quot;These leakers are professional stabbers&#8230; There&#39;s no way Iran comes to the table if somehow nothing had happened. This was a complete and total obliteration&#8230; They are way behind today compared to where they were just 7… <a href="https://t.co/V3wrIjic8F">pic.twitter.com/V3wrIjic8F</a>
&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1937800084621558011?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 25, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
“When you talk to people who built the bombs, understand what those bombs can do, and deliver those bombs, they landed precisely where they were supposed to,” Hegseth said. “It was a flawless mission. Right down where we knew they needed to enter. Given the 30,000 pounds of explosives, the capabilities of those munitions, it was devastation underneath Fordo. And the amount of munitions, six per location,  any assessment that tells you something otherwise is speculating with other motives. And we know that because when you actually look at the report — by the way, it was a top-secret report — it was preliminary; it was low-confidence, you make assessments based on what you know — ”
“And it said it could be very devastating, very serious —” Trump pointed out.
“Moderate to severe, and we believe far more likely severe and obliterated,” Hegseth echoed.
“Is there a leak investigation?” a reporter asked.
“Of course,” Hegseth replied. “We’re doing a leak investigation with the FBI right now, because this information is for internal purposes, battle-damage assessments. And CNN and others are trying to spin it to make the president look bad when this is an overwhelming success.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
🚨JUST IN: WATCH:?SecDef Pete Hegseth announces criminal investigation into the leaked bad intel to CNN and NYT that the strikes on Iran didn&#39;t destroy the nuclear program
&quot;We&#39;re doing a leak investigation with the FBI right now.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/46Uzfd6qUZ">pic.twitter.com/46Uzfd6qUZ</a>
&mdash; Raylan Givens (@JewishWarrior13) <a href="https://twitter.com/JewishWarrior13/status/1937851760116404715?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 25, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&nbsp;

NATO Leaders Attend 2025 Summit In The Hague

Rubio, Hegseth Slam Media Over Iran Strike Leak: ‘Professional Stabbers’ Undermining U.S. Victory

Iran Nuclear

leaks

Legacy Media

Media

Pete Hegseth

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, citing the reality that China would be severely damaged by Iran’s threat to close the Strait of Hormuz, challenged the Chinese government on Sunday to tell the despotic Iranian regime not to do so.
“China in particular buys more oil from Iran than any other nation &#8211; with its imports from Iran surpassing 1.8 million barrels per day last month, according to data by ship tracking firm Vortexa,” the BBC <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c056pyv723vo">noted</a>. Iran&#8217;s state-run Press TV reported that the Iranian Parliament had endorsed closing the Strait of Hormuz, but the final decision would be made by the Supreme National Security Council.
“Do you expect Iran to move to close the Strait of Hormuz, to try to disrupt oil transportation across the world?” Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo asked Rubio on Fox&#8217;s &#8220;Sunday Morning Futures.&#8221;
“I encourage the Chinese government in Beijing to call them [Iran] about that, because they heavily depend on the Straits of Hormuz for their oil,” Rubio answered. “If they do that, it will be another terrible mistake; it’s economic suicide for them if they do it. And we retain options to deal with that, but other countries should be looking at that as well. It would hurt other countries&#8217; economies a lot worse than ours. It would be, I think, a massive escalation that would merit a response, not just by us, but from others.”
“So, look, they’re going to say what they need to say, you know,” he continued. “These are the things that need to happen for their own internal politics, and so forth. But in the end, we’re going to judge them by the actions that they take moving forward. We had three objectives; we struck those three objectives with decisive force, and that was the point of this mission. And what happens next will depend on what they do. If they want to negotiate, we’re ready to negotiate. If they want to get cute, and do things that are dangerous, we have responses available that are devastating.”
Rubio&#8217;s words may well have been heard in China; on Monday, it was reported that China warned Iran to back down from its threat to close the Strait.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
China warns Iran after its threats to close the Strait of Hormuz: “The Persian Gulf and surrounding waters are critical trade routes and must remain stable and open.” <a href="https://t.co/xzIrnzkVQd">pic.twitter.com/xzIrnzkVQd</a>
&mdash; Polymarket Intel (@PolymarketIntel) <a href="https://twitter.com/PolymarketIntel/status/1937133481378619475?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 23, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
“We estimate that 84% of the crude oil and condensate and 83% of the liquefied natural gas that moved through the Strait of Hormuz went to Asian markets in 2024,” the U.S. Energy Information Administration has <a href="https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=65504">reported</a>. “China, India, Japan, and South Korea were the top destinations for crude oil moving through the Strait of Hormuz to Asia, accounting for a combined 69% of all Hormuz crude oil and condensate flows in 2024. These markets would likely be most affected by supply disruptions at Hormuz.”
<iframe loading="lazy" title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/APD5gNeIJjY?si=EBFV0xwOmPE7Z-IH&amp;start=1022" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>

Rubio Challenges China: Tell Iran Not To Close Strait Of Hormuz. The Next Day, China Warns Iran.

China

Iran

Strait of Hormuz

Secretary of State and National Security Adviser Marco Rubio delivered a stern retort on Sunday to CBS News journalist Margaret Brennan after she pressed him on whether the United States lacked intelligence on Iran&#8217;s supreme leader ordering weaponization of its nuclear program.
&#8220;That&#8217;s irrelevant,&#8221; Rubio declared in a &#8220;Face the Nation&#8221; interview conducted after President Donald Trump ordered strikes on three of Tehran&#8217;s nuclear facilities this weekend to prevent the Iranian regime from obtaining nuclear weapons.
&#8220;It doesn&#8217;t matter that the order was given. They have everything they need to build nuclear weapons. Why would you bury things in a mountain, 300 feet under the ground? Why do they have 60% enriched uranium? You don&#8217;t need 60% enriched uranium. The only countries in the world that have uranium at 60% are countries that have nuclear weapons because they can quickly make it 90,&#8221; Rubio said.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
MUST WATCH: <a href="https://twitter.com/SecRubio?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SecRubio</a> schools Margaret Brennan on the Iranian regime&#8217;s nuclear program.
&#8220;Why do they have 60% enriched uranium? &#8230; The only countries in the world that have uranium at 60% are countries that have nuclear weapons because they can quickly make it 90%!&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/XO8ol5jBIn">pic.twitter.com/XO8ol5jBIn</a>
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1936797923267809774?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 22, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
He continued: They have all the elements — why do they have a space program? Is Iran going to go to the moon? No. They&#8217;re trying to build an ICBM [intercontinental ballistic missile] so they could one day put a warhead on it.&#8221;
Brennan said that is a question of intent and claimed that an intelligence assessment found that Iran wanted to be a &#8220;threshold state&#8221; and use its leverage.
&#8220;How do you know what the intelligence assessment says?&#8221; Rubio asked.
After Brennan insisted that information came from an intelligence assessment in March, Rubio shot back.
&#8220;That&#8217;s an inaccurate representation of it. That&#8217;s not how our intelligence is read. That&#8217;s not how intelligence is used. Here&#8217;s what the whole world knows — forget about intelligence — what the IAEA knows,&#8221; Rubio said, referring to the International Atomic Energy Agency.
&#8220;They are enriching uranium well beyond anything you need for a civil nuclear program,&#8221; Rubio said. &#8220;So why would you enrich uranium at 60% if you don&#8217;t intend to one day use it to take it to 90 and build a weapon? Why are you developing ICBMs? Why do you have 8,000 short-range missiles and 2-3 thousand mid-range missiles that you continue to develop? Why do you do all these things?&#8221;
Brennan said she &#8220;understood,&#8221; but Rubio was not done.
&#8220;They have everything they need for a nuclear weapon,&#8221; Rubio said. &#8220;They have the delivery mechanisms, they have the enrichment capability, they have the highly-enriched uranium that is stored — that&#8217;s all we need to see, especially in the hands of the regime that&#8217;s already involved in terrorism and proxies and all kinds of things. They are the source of all instability in the Middle East.&#8221;
Brennan said &#8220;no one is disputing&#8221; what Rubio was explaining. She noted that Iran was censured by the IAEA for its uranium enrichment and violating their nonproliferation agreements. She then stressed that she was &#8220;simply asking&#8221; if the United States had intelligence that there was an order to weaponize.
&#8220;We have intelligence that they have everything they need to build a nuclear weapon and that&#8217;s more than enough,&#8221; Rubio said.

Secretary Of State Marco Rubio

‘That’s Irrelevant’: Rubio Shuts Down Margaret Brennan On Iran Nuclear Ambitions Intel

Margaret Brennan

Nuclear Weapons

Iran &#8220;tried to play&#8221; President Donald Trump, which led to U.S. strikes on three of Tehran&#8217;s nuclear facilities this weekend,&#8221; Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Sunday.
Rubio <a href="https://x.com/charliekirk11/status/1936791941653708903" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> anchor Maria Bartiromo on Fox News&#8217; &#8220;Sunday Morning Futures&#8221; that Trump sent a letter months ago to Iran emphasizing how the regime would not be allowed to have nuclear weapons and that he wanted negotiations to achieve a peaceful resolution. But, he emphasized, that did not happen.
&#8220;They tried to play him along the way they&#8217;ve played every American president for the last 35 years and the president told them, &#8216;If we don&#8217;t get a deal&#8217; — which is what we wanted — &#8216;then I&#8217;ll have to handle it differently.&#8217; And that&#8217;s what he did last night. He handled it differently,&#8221; Rubio said. &#8220;But that was an Iranian choice. We didn&#8217;t make that choice. They did by playing games with Donald Trump, they made a huge mistake.&#8221;
Rubio declared that the world now is &#8220;safer&#8221; and &#8220;more stable&#8221; than it was 24 hours ago, prior to the strikes on Iran&#8217;s nuclear facilities.
&#8220;And a bunch of these countries, putting out statements condemning us — privately, they all agree with us — that this needed to be done. They got to do what they got to do for their own public relations purposes, but the only people in the world that are unhappy about what happened in Iran last night is the regime,&#8221; Rubio said.
Rubio <a href="https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/1936792593301385714" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stressed</a> that the United States has bases in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates to protect those countries from Iran and its terrorist network of proxy groups spread across the region.
&#8220;Why does Hezbollah exist? &#8220;Why does Hamas exist? Because of Iran. How do the Houthis exist? Because of Iran. Who built the IEDs that maimed and killed American soldiers in Iraq? Iran. They&#8217;re behind every problem in this region. They are the sole source of instability in the entire Middle East. And the world has been paying a price for this for 40 something years,&#8221; Rubio said.
&#8220;Imagine those people having a nuclear weapon,&#8221; he added. &#8220;Just one. Just one nuclear weapon. Or even the capability to — being on the threshold of having a nuclear weapon. That&#8217;s what the world was facing. That is unacceptable. President Trump did the world a favor last night.&#8221;

Secretary of State Marco Rubio

Iran ‘Tried To Play’ Trump, Rubio Says

Menu