Republicans appear to support a bipartisan bill led by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), but the legislation remains stalled amid reported concerns that giving the Democratic socialist a legislative victory could fuel her presidential ambitions.  
<a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/1837/text">The DEFIANCE Act</a> (Disrupt Explicit Forged Images And Non-Consensual Edits Act) would create a federal civil cause of action allowing victims of non-consensual sexually explicit deepfakes to sue those who create or distribute fake nude or sexual images without their consent. 
Under the bill, victims could recover up to $250,000 in damages in cases involving sexual assault, stalking, or harassment, earning support from leftists, conservative Republicans, and Hollywood figures such as Paris Hilton.
AOC first introduced the legislation last year. In January, the U.S. Senate passed it unanimously.
“I want to thank the Senate cosponsors of this legislation, including my Republican co-lead, Senator Lindsey Graham,” Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) <a href="https://www.durbin.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/durbin-successfully-passes-bill-to-combat-nonconsensual-sexually-explicit-deepfake-images">said</a> at the time. “Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez herself is a publicly confessed victim of explicit deepfakes. I commend her for working to create tools for victims in the fight against this despicable crime.” 
Despite bipartisan support, the bill remains stalled in the Republican-led House. <a href="https://www.politico.com/newsletters/playbook/2026/07/23/paris-hilton-and-the-politics-of-defiance-01009283?nname=playbook&amp;nid=0000014f-1646-d88f-a1cf-5f46b7bd0000&amp;nrid=5c65d8fa-b7c7-44e5-98d0-43e6086e71cd">Politico reported</a> Thursday that some Republicans worry passing AOC&#8217;s legislation could hand the New York congresswoman a political victory as she emerges as a potential 2028 presidential contender. 
“It’s a shame that this bill isn’t law because they are unwilling to give AOC a win,” one person working on the bill told the outlet. “When you look at it, everything is aligned for it to pass, except that they don’t want her to have this.”
“We’re depriving many, many people of the ability to set their lives right just to prevent one member of Congress from being able to pass a bill,” another person said, according to Politico. 
Ocasio-Cortez has blamed the delay on House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH). Earlier this month,<a href="https://x.com/EricMGarcia/status/2077191769477791989?s=20"> she told The Independent</a> that the bill passed the Senate unanimously with Republican support, adding that people should &#8220;ask Jim Jordan&#8221; why it has yet to advance.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) told reporters Tuesday that he supports the legislation but was unsure of its status in committee, according to Politico. 
Earlier this year, President Donald Trump signed the bipartisan <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/house-passes-melania-backed-bill-to-fight-deepfake-revenge-porn">TAKE IT DOWN Act</a>, championed by first lady Melania Trump, into law. The measure criminalizes the non-consensual online distribution of intimate images, including AI-generated deepfakes.
The impasse comes days after a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/a-new-2028-poll-just-shook-up-both-parties?author=Jacob+Wheeler&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=5&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=A+New+2028+Poll+Just+Shook+Up+Both+Parties">New Hampshire primary poll</a> signaled an early shake-up in the 2028 Democratic presidential race, with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) leading the field.
The Granite State Poll, conducted by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center, shows the Democratic socialist leading the hypothetical Democratic field with 22% support, narrowly ahead of former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg at 21%. Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) placed third with 9%. 
“You know polls are polls, and a horse race is a horse race,” AOC <a href="https://x.com/EricMGarcia/status/2080038582211821579?s=20">said</a> in response. “I am, of course, I think very deeply humbled and grateful to you know folks who participate and convey that confidence.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
👀👀👀 AOC on a poll showing her leading in a 2028 primary in New Hampshire:
&#8220;One is that you know polls are polls, and a horse race is a horse race. I am, of course, I think very deeply humbled and grateful to you know folks who participate and convey that confidence.&#8221;
&#8220;I… <a href="https://t.co/fSXAOC0AGO">pic.twitter.com/fSXAOC0AGO</a>
— Eric Michael Garcia (@EricMGarcia) <a href="https://x.com/EricMGarcia/status/2080038582211821579?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 22, 2026</a></blockquote>

Congresswomen Ocasio-Cortez, Tlaib, Omar, And Pressley Hold News Conference After President Trump Attacks Them On Twitter

Republicans Love This AOC-Led Bill, But They Don’t Want To Pass It

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Artificial Intelligence

bipartisanship

Congress

Deepfakes

Democrats

Dick Durbin

Donald Trump

Jim Jordan

Lindsey Graham

Melania Trump

Mike Johnson

News

Politico

Politics

Republicans

President Donald Trump on Wednesday ramped up his pressure campaign against Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), urging supporters to flood his office with calls demanding action on the SAVE America Act. 
“We have to pass the SAVE America Act to defend American elections. And I have to say, Mike Johnson and Congress have done a great job, but we&#8217;re having a hard time in the Senate,” Trump said at a <a href="https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2080034029487685876?s=20">rally</a> in Georgia. “It’s like the Senate is a place where you send things when you want them to die.” 
“We’re not going to take this any longer… I’m trying to be nice, Trump added. “Everybody call John Thune at the Senate, he’s the leader of the Republican party, and tell him to get this stuff approved!&#8221;
The president also renewed his call to eliminate the filibuster, arguing Democrats would quickly abolish the 60-vote threshold themselves if they regain power.
“The Democrats are going to terminate the filibuster as soon as they have a chance, and then they&#8217;re going to approve Puerto Rico and D.C. as a state. They got four more senators. They&#8217;re going to end up with 12 more congressmen. They&#8217;re going to get like 40 electoral votes,” the president said. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
.<a href="https://x.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a>: &#8220;We have to pass the SAVE America Act to defend American Elections… We’re not going to take this any longer&#8230; Right now, Congress is working to get as much of our plan as possible into the budget bill&#8230; everybody call John Thune at the Senate&#8230; and tell him to get… <a href="https://t.co/uBzhGziRSm">pic.twitter.com/uBzhGziRSm</a>
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2080034029487685876?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 22, 2026</a></blockquote>
“But I may be crying when I&#8217;ll be sitting home, and I&#8217;ll say, I told them, they&#8217;ve got to really terminate the filibuster, get everything approved right away,” he added. 
Trump&#8217;s remarks came hours after the House passed a third version of the election integrity measure by attaching it to the GOP-backed Stop Insider Trading Act, legislation that would ban members of Congress from buying and selling stocks.
The combined bill passed 232-198, with 13 Democrats joining Republicans to advance the measure, marking the first congressional stock-trading ban to receive a House floor vote, <a href="https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2026/07/22/congress/house-votes-to-restrict-congress-ability-to-purchase-and-sell-stocks-01008697">according to Politico.</a>
Frustration with Thune isn&#8217;t limited to the White House. House Republicans who have repeatedly passed the legislation have also grown increasingly vocal about the Senate&#8217;s inaction.
“If John Thune has shown that he does not want to put the SAVE America Act on the Senate floor, he should step aside,” Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN) <a href="https://x.com/RepOgles/status/2080028930518495258?s=20">said</a> on social media. “There are plenty of other options in the Senate capable of securing our elections as Majority Leader.” 
Republicans have also pointed to New Jersey&#8217;s recent admission that a &#8220;software error&#8221; led to thousands of non-citizens being registered to vote, arguing the situation shows the need for stronger election safeguards.
New Jersey Democratic Gov. Mikie Sherrill revealed Tuesday that the state’s Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC) mistakenly registered roughly 6,600 non-citizens despite their indicating they were not U.S. citizens while applying for IDs and driver’s licenses between June 2023 and June 2024, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/new-jersey-registered-thousands-of-non-citizens-to-vote-due-to-software-error?author=Jennie+Taer&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=2&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=New+Jersey+Registered+Thousands+Of+Non-Citizens+To+Vote+Due+To+%E2%80%98Software+Error%E2%80%99">The Daily Wire reported. </a>
“These individuals answered ‘no’ when asked on a keypad whether they were a U.S. citizen when applying for drivers’ licenses and identification cards, but through no fault of their own, the system registered them anyway,” Sherrill <a href="https://x.com/GovSherrillNJ/status/2079602942722662725">wrote</a> in an X post.
Trump administration officials have said the non-citizens who illegally voted could face prosecution and deportation. 
&#8220;People need to see the consequences of voting when you&#8217;re not allowed to,” Harmeet Dhillon, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, <a href="https://x.com/bennyjohnson/status/2079992093800280377?s=20">told</a> conservative podcast host Benny Johnson. 
Back on Capitol Hill, Democrats argued the stock trading ban didn&#8217;t go far enough, but ultimately opposed the bill because it included provisions from the SAVE America Act.
“Republicans have corrupted their so-called stock trading bill with a decaying piece of the SAVE American Act corpse,” Rep. Joseph Morelle (D-N.Y.) Morelle said, according to <a href="https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2026/07/22/congress/house-votes-to-restrict-congress-ability-to-purchase-and-sell-stocks-01008697">Politico</a>.
The bill now moves to the Senate, where it faces an uncertain path forward.

Donald Trump/John Thune

Trump Turns Up Heat On Thune Over SAVE Act

2026 elections

Elections

Executive

Filibuster

Georgia

Insider Trading

John Thune

President Trump

Rally

SAVE America Act

Trump

U.S. Senate

House Republicans have released the outline of their $95 billion reconciliation package, earmarking billions of dollars for conservative initiatives before the midterm elections. 
Democratic lawmakers have been using the filibuster to stall legislation such as the SAVE America Act in the Senate, forcing Republicans to resort to reconciliation to pass conservative budget measures. This is the third major reconciliation bill outlined of the Congress, and it has consequently been dubbed “Reconciliation 3.0.”
The <a href="https://docs.house.gov/meetings/BU/BU00/20260716/119471/BILLS-119pih-LegislativeText.pdf">resolution</a> allocates $60 billion to the House Armed Services Committee for defense spending, $13 billion to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence for financing the war in Iran, $12 billion to the House Committee on Agriculture for farm subsidies and grants, and $10 billion for a grant program encouraging states to implement SAVE America Act provisions.
A reconciliation bill <a href="https://usconstitution.net/budget-reconciliation-explained/?utm_source=adw-23686928355&amp;utm_medium=194171841279&amp;utm_campaign=what%20is%20a%20reconciliation%20bill&amp;utm_term=Cj0KCQjw39zSBhDhARIsANammDt_yr5eI8Msq2C1lUbLW6WqJVxSdgZ3YxRvHpgJI2_H_Idzm29pxiMaAnu1EALw_wcB&amp;gad_source=1">requires</a> only a simple majority vote to pass the Senate, bypassing the filibuster and cloture rules.
 The $95 billion is not expected to be offset by spending cuts. Despite the increase in the deficit, many Republicans still plan to back the reconciliation bill. 
Rep. <a href="https://thehill.com/people/chip-roy/">Chip Roy</a> (R-TX), a strong fiscal hawk, <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5968330-republicans-reconciliation-bill-midterms/">said</a> that he is “getting a little hung up” on the spending, but said that the situations America is facing require emergency funding.
“If it’s a reasonably targeted amount on defense, and we’re dealing with these — you know, trying to force the Senate’s hand on SAVE America, then we’ll see if we can get it done,” Roy said.
“I’m not one that wants to swallow lack of offsets,” Roy added. “When you have a three-seat majority, you got to figure out how to move. So we’re working through that as we speak.”
Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL) expressed similar sentiments. “Adding to the deficit is clearly something I don’t want to do, but we have to look at what the consequence is if we don’t do it,&#8221; he <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5968330-republicans-reconciliation-bill-midterms/">said</a>. 
Speaker Mike Johnson has been working to hammer out the budget resolution, meeting with Republicans on the House Budget Committee and White House officials at Camp David on Monday. 
He stated that he has been “building consensus one step at a time” by making agreements such as shrinking farm aid down from $20 billion to $12 billion, Politico <a href="https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2026/07/14/congress/house-republicans-80-billion-reconciliation-00997839">reported</a>. 
The reconciliation bill will remain under consideration for the rest of the week, with the House expected to vote on the budget resolution next week.

Speaker Johnson Holds A Press Conference On Capitol Hill

House Republicans Reveal $95 Billion Spending Plan To Sidestep Dem Filibuster

House Republicans Reveal $95 Billion Spending Plan

Chip Roy

Defense Spending

House Republicans

Randy Fine

Spending Bill

House Speaker Mike Johnson&#8217;s (R-LA) successful fundraising going into the midterm elections has handed House Republicans a massive war chest to fight back against radical leftist policies — but they are still staring down a brutal historical buzzsaw.
The Louisiana Republican just announced a powerhouse second-quarter haul of $19.1 million, surging his hard-dollar total for the year past $53 million. Over the course of this election cycle, the speaker has raked in a jaw-dropping $135 million. It is a historic, record-shattering high-water mark for any Republican leader in congressional history. And that’s to say nothing of the hundreds of millions more sitting in his endorsed Super PAC, the Congressional Leadership Fund.
Since taking the gavel over two and a half years ago, Johnson has generated a mind-boggling $200 million-plus to protect the thin line of defense holding the House.
&#8220;While Democrats lunge further into disarray and to the far-left, House Republicans are united, well-funded, and on offense to win the midterms,&#8221; Johnson said, drawing a stark line between Republican common sense and the Democrats&#8217; &#8220;embrace of crazy and Communism.&#8221;
He is putting his money where his mouth is, distributing $80 million across the party, including $38 million to the National Republican Congressional Committee, $21 million to protect battle-tested incumbents, and $3.9 million to fire up red-wave challengers.
Despite Johnson’s historic financial muscle, the GOP is up against a deeply entrenched Washington landscape.
The battlefield math is incredibly tight. Republicans hold a narrow 218–212 majority with four vacancies, meaning Democrats only need to claw back a few net seats to reclaim the speaker&#8217;s gavel and resume their far-Left agenda.
History is also a major hurdle. The party holding the White House has lost House seats in 90% of midterms since 1946. Liberal forecasters and mathematical models are already gleefully predicting a standard &#8220;referendum&#8221; backlash that could cost the incumbent party roughly 28 seats.
Compounding the challenge is a wave of early exits from Capitol Hill.
Congress is experiencing a near-record exodus, with 68 lawmakers <a href="https://www.quorum.us/blog/2026-midterm-tracker-key-retirements-and-open-seats/#:~:text=Republicans%20currently%20hold%20a%20220%E2%80%93215%20majority%20(with,favored%20to%20do%20so.%20The%20Toss%2DUp%20Battleground.">calling it quits</a> — the second-highest number since 1992. Crucially, the departures are lopsided: 36 House Republicans are stepping down compared to just 22 Democrats. This breaks the previous single-party retirement record set by the GOP back in 2018, right before a punishing midterm cycle. Defending these newly opened seats without the advantage of an active incumbent is a statistically steeper climb.
With <a href="https://www.realclearpolling.com/latest-polls/2026">recent generic congressional</a> polls showing Democrats clinging to a 2-to-6 point edge in surveys from Echelon, YouGov, and Morning Consult, the stakes couldn&#8217;t be higher.
Mike Johnson has successfully built an unprecedented financial fortress. The real test this November is whether that historic mountain of green can permanently break the iron law of midterm history.

Trump’s Weaponization Fund Hits Republican Backlash In Senate

Can Mike Johnson’s Record Fundraising Smash The Midterm Curse?

2026 Midterms

fundraising

U.S. House of Representatives

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) sounded a fiery alarm on Capitol Hill Tuesday, warning that the United States is facing an existential showdown against a radical, Godless Marxist threat — and it’s happening right on our doorstep.
&#8220;The barbarians are in the gate,&#8221; Johnson declared during a tense press conference, giving a blunt, high-stakes wake-up call to the American public.
He continued, &#8220;There&#8217;s a small number of times in the history of America where the actual experiment in self-governance was on the ballot. The idea that we would preserve a constitutional republic: One nation under God, a government of, by, and for the people. All that is in question right now. For the first time, really in my lifetime, this is a real question the American people have to decide in November, in a midterm election for Congress and Senate. It&#8217;s not something that we would have projected. I hoped and prayed it would never come to this, but here we are. The barbarians are in the gate.&#8221;
The Louisiana Republican and constitutional law attorney argued that the upcoming November midterms are no longer just a standard political squabble over tax brackets or government regulations. Instead, he said, the nation is locked in a &#8220;philosophical war&#8221; to save the soul of the country from a Left-wing nightmare.
Invoking the ghost of Ronald Reagan, Johnson reminded the room that freedom is always just &#8220;one generation away from extinction.&#8221; But while the Gipper fought the Soviet Union on distant shores during the Cold War, Johnson warned that the radical socialist agenda has breached the domestic perimeter.
Pointing to the &#8220;In God We Trust&#8221; motto inscribed in the House chamber — originally put there in 1962 as a direct rebuke to Soviet communism — Johnson slammed the radical Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) for trying to tear down America’s foundations.
According to Johnson, the DSA’s terrifying, real-life platform includes:
<ul>
<li data-path-to-node="10,0,0">Packing the Supreme Court and abolishing the Senate to create a Marxist-run legislature.</li>
<li data-path-to-node="10,1,0">Abolishing all borders and granting mass amnesty to everyone, including dangerous criminals and terrorists.</li>
<li data-path-to-node="10,2,0">Emptying the prisons and completely defunding the police.</li>
</ul>
“This is not a game,” he warned. “Everybody needs to understand: These crazy little mini-Mamdanis, who are popping up all around the country, they are a danger to you and your family. This is not a game.”
He continued: &#8220;We are here as the Republican Party to stand on the founding principles of the greatest nation in the history of the world. It is our duty to do that. And we&#8217;re doing it on behalf of all of you, even the journalists who don&#8217;t agree with our policies all the time. You&#8217;d better agree on these principles because that&#8217;s what keeps you free. &#8230; This is essential for your well-being, and your family. This is not a game. This is not our father&#8217;s Democrat Party. We&#8217;re not arguing over marginal tax rates anymore. We&#8217;re arguing over whether or not freedom is going to survive. And that&#8217;s why we&#8217;re so serious about this.&#8221;
Though he calls himself a &#8220;happy warrior,&#8221; Johnson made it clear that the time for pleasantries is over.
&#8220;Our rights come from our creator, God. They do not come from the government,&#8221; he said. &#8220;The communists believe the opposite. They believe that the government, the state, is God. The state is the one that gives you all your rights. And you know what? The state can also take those rights away. And that&#8217;s exactly what happens. It&#8217;s inevitable. Communism and this philosophy has led to the murder of tens of millions of innocent people in the 20th century alone. It is a nightmare. It is a trail to certain death.&#8221;
<iframe loading="lazy" title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kcj8U1tmU6M?si=kHLWnSlL7QPaWI6E" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>

House GOP 7/14/26

‘A Trail To Certain Death’: Speaker Johnson Warns Against Rising Socialist Trend

Democratic Socialism

Democratic Socialists Of America

Zohran Mamdani

When we talk about the Founding Fathers, we’re usually just talking about the Big Five: George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton.
Of course, these men deserve our veneration. But Jefferson, Madison, and Washington are synonymous with the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and presidency, respectively. Adams and Hamilton both have award-winning Broadway musicals and popular 20th century biographies that keep them top of mind.
But what of the other Founders, the men who thought, fought, and wrote this country into existence? In honor of America’s 250th birthday, The Daily Wire asked lawmakers, writers, and historians to draft a new Founding Father starting lineup. The only rule: they couldn’t choose one of the Big Five. Here are their picks.
<h3>Mike Johnson, Speaker of the House of Representatives</h3>
Frederick Muhlenberg was elected to serve as the very first Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives by the First Congress in 1789, and was the first signer of the Bill of Rights. An ordained Lutheran minister, Pennsylvania delegate to the Continental Congress, and former 3rd Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, he was well prepared to accept the great privilege and challenge of leading and establishing a brand new institution.
Shepherding our great deliberative body through its formative days was no small task and required tremendous vision, skill, and patience. Muhlenberg was up to the task, and effectively crafted the rules, procedures, and protocols of Congress while actively serving in it. Because he and his colleagues had to travel treacherous or nonexistent roads on horseback, he was forced to delay the first meeting of Congress by a month until a quorum was reached. In August 1789, he cast the deciding vote for the location of the nation&#8217;s new capital.
While the speakership has changed considerably since Muhlenberg wielded the gavel, his efforts to construct a Congress capable of governing itself, debating openly, and exercising a check on the other branches of government were essential. As we celebrate America’s 250th, we do well to remember the wisdom and invaluable contributions of our founders and the unsung heroes who set our nation on its course to become the greatest in history.
<h3>Ben Shapiro, editor emeritus, The Daily Wire</h3>
Robert Morris was the greatest entrepreneur of the Founding generation. He bet his entire fortune — the largest in the country — on the riskiest startup the world has ever seen: the United States of America itself. Morris lived out the saying “freedom isn’t free”: you can proclaim your self-evident truths, but if you can’t pay your army, the British win.
Morris had every reason in the world to sit the Revolution out, hedge his bets, and stay rich. Instead, he became one of only two men to sign the Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, and the Constitution. Morris risked it all because he understood the American experiment was worth more than his own fortune, or even his own life. That’s not a businessman’s calculation. That’s closer to love than anything else.
<h4><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ben-shapiro-show-mini-doc-robert-morris?utm_campaign=founding&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_source=iterable&amp;utm_content=email_blast_creative00098_na">WATCH: BEN SHAPIRO ON ROBERT MORRIS</a></h4>
<h3>Dr. Ben Carson, president, American Cornerstone Institute</h3>
George Mason doesn’t come off the bench; he’s a starter. Mason’s thinking about liberty and the best way to structure government had an outsized impact on the Founding. To take just one example, the Virginia Declaration of Rights might be the most important but least appreciated document from the time. Too few Americans have even heard of that document. If you have never read it, take a minute and do it now; you’ll see that it was basically the first draft of both the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. True, Mason did not support the Constitution, but his objections to the Constitution — based on concern about too powerful a federal government — seem prescient given how much power Washington has aggregated for itself. George Mason isn’t the B-team; he should be talked about in the same breath as the other giants of the Founding.
<h3>Dr. Larry P. Arnn, president, Hillsdale College</h3>
You could no more put together an alternative starting five for the American Founding than you could for the 1991 championship Chicago Bulls. But if asked what secondary founders deserve attention, Benjamin Rush and Robert Morris come to mind. Rush, a Philadelphia physician, was a leading opponent of slavery and a great advocate of education in addition to being an ardent revolutionary. Morris, a wealthy Philadelphia merchant, took on the impossible job of Superintendent of Finance during the Revolution and played a critical role in getting arms to American troops in the field. But these men themselves recognized the superiority of those on the starting team. Rush said of Washington, “There is not a king in Europe that would not look like a valet de chambre by his side.” Morris, when asked by Washington to serve as the country’s first treasury secretary, declined and recommended Hamilton.
<h4><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/could-donald-trump-finally-dismantle-the-deep-state-ronald-pestritto-thinks-so">READ MORE: HILLSDALE PROFESSOR EXPLAINS HOW DONALD TRUMP COULD KILL THE DEEP STATE</a></h4>
<h3>Daniel McCarthy, distinguished fellow in conservative thought at the Heritage Foundation</h3>
No one can replace the greatest of our Founding Fathers, but if we lost all record of them tomorrow, we might try to approximate the effect of their ideas and sensibilities in combination by looking to James Otis and Samuel Adams in place of Jefferson; Robert Morris, who was Washington’s first choice for Treasury secretary, in place of Hamilton; Roger Sherman, a wise constitutionalist, in Madison’s or John Adams’s stead; and James Wilson instead of Benjamin Franklin to supply some Pennsylvania principle. No one can compare to Washington, but John Marshall might occupy the place of a great Virginian profoundly committed to the Union. These less appreciated figures would give us a strong sense of our founding, though they would also remind us of what we were missing without the most renowned names available.
<h3>Richard Brookhiser, author, The Hero Returns: Lafayette and the Legacy of Revolution</h3>
For all the brilliance of the founders, not many of them understood economics. Tench Coxe, a Philadelphia merchant, did. He assembled facts and figures for Alexander Hamilton&#8217;s “Report on Manufactures,” and might have filled his shoes had Hamilton not existed. He later became a supporter of Thomas Jefferson, so he was also adroit politically. Nathanael Greene was also widely acknowledged for his military brilliance, losing every battle he fought against Cornwallis in the Carolinas yet driving him to Virginia and ultimate defeat at Yorktown. Georgia awarded Greene a plantation for his services, where he died of heat stroke after the war. Had he lived he might have made an excellent Secretary of War.
<h3>Troy Senik, author, A Man Of Iron: The Turbulent Life And Improbable Presidency of Grover Cleveland</h3>
Because he didn&#8217;t sign the Declaration of Independence, John Dickinson is always portrayed as a coward, the jittery man blind to the glory of the moment. The irony is that he walked into the Second Continental Congress arguably the most prominent advocate for colonial rights in America.
Dickinson did not oppose independence. He opposed declaring it before the preconditions for sustaining it were in place. No foreign alliance had been secured. The Articles of Confederation were nowhere near complete. The military situation was uncertain at best. His argument was methodical, not ideological: do these things first, then declare.
What happened next proved him right about virtually everything save the final outcome. The country barely survived the early days of the war, and only through a sequence of events so improbable that it would have been folly to plan for them. Had things gone south, Dickinson would have been remembered as Cassandra. Instead, he became a footnote in a story he helped write.
John Dickinson knew he was destroying his reputation by resisting the rush to declare independence. But he did so anyway because he believed the country&#8217;s long-term survival mattered more than the passions of the moment. It&#8217;s a sober patriotism to ask the questions nobody wants to hear rather than to give the hosannahs that everyone expects. Dickinson asked those questions, was overruled, and was later proven right. What had he done in the interim? Put on a uniform and fought for the cause anyway.
We could use more cowards like that.
<h3>Brian Anderson, editor-in-chief, City Journal</h3>
That’s easy: If Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Adams, and Hamilton were unavailable, my first draft pick would be James Wilson. One of the Constitution’s principal architects but now less well-known than the Big Five, Wilson argued that America’s liberties rest on more than individual rights; they also grow out of a moral order discoverable through reason and grounded in natural law.
Big themes: Rights and duties are inseparable, liberty means self-government rather than license, and political authority flows directly from the people because all persons are naturally equal before that higher law. Wilson offers a distinctly American synthesis of natural rights, civic responsibility, and constitutional self-government that in my view deserves renewed attention.
<h3>Ryan Williams, president, the Claremont Institute</h3>
John Quincy Adams was only 11 years old when the Declaration of Independence was signed, but he would go on to a long career as senator, Secretary of State, Minister to Great Britain, Prussia, and Russia, and finally, president. After Washington’s peerless inaugural example, JQA remains, to this day, the greatest foreign policy strategist and diplomat of American history. For a continued restoration of a truly America First foreign policy, all roads lead through JQA.
<h4><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-editor-of-the-most-popular-edition-of-the-federalist-thinks-its-more-important-than-ever">READ MORE: THE CLAREMONT INSTITUTE&#8217;S CHARLES KESLER ON WHY THE FEDERALIST PAPERS MATTER</a></h4>
<h3>Daniel Gullotta, assistant professor at the Ohio State University’s Salmon P. Chase Center for Civics, Culture, and Society</h3>
While I&#8217;m sad most people don&#8217;t know who Gouverneur Morris is, it&#8217;s a lot of fun telling people who he was. Just mentioning he had a peg leg usually gets people&#8217;s attention. But his role in the Constitution, crafting the opening &#8220;We the People,&#8221; is something people should know just as commonly as they know Jefferson was the drafter of the Declaration. He was also arguably the most anti-slavery Founding Father (just read some of his speeches during the compromise debates). He also refused to leave France during the Reign of Terror while serving as our minister, despite the danger. Then there&#8217;s the crazy way he died, trying to clear a urinary blockage with a piece of whalebone from his wife&#8217;s corset. I know everyone says this person or that person needs a movie or miniseries, but come on, there&#8217;s just no part of his life that isn&#8217;t compelling.
<h3>Mark Helprin, author, “Elegy In Blue”</h3>
We&#8217;re sorely in need of Benjamin Franklin, maybe a few dozen of him, to correct the abysmal ignorance and inexperience of today&#8217;s &#8220;Yutes,&#8221; who know virtually nothing and yet are powered by the energy of the young and destined to run the zoo. And it is a zoo. Franklin made use of his long experience and inherent brilliance to take under his wing Adams, Jefferson, and a lot of others, guiding them with practical and long-lasting results. Maybe I say this about the younger generations because I&#8217;m in my 80th year and am falling prey to chasing them off the lawn. But, really, they can hardly speak English, the girls&#8217; speech sounds like frying eggs, and they know so little that they buzz around communism and fascism like moths around a flame. You know what happens with moths and flames.
<h4><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/he-turned-the-royals-into-a-joke-his-take-on-america-is-anything-but?trueLinkId=75JIYEMEAhD1KHqlEouqVfPC%2Fc5LDaS1niXzcEeobct2bv%2FJcUHC%2BLs8PvnWg1HDBGj%2FUEf2tfG%2B%2BQqbHoPtag%3D%3D&amp;trueLinkTs=1782577908&amp;trueLinkExpiry=43200">READ MORE: A CONVERSATION WITH MARK HELPRIN, AMERICA&#8217;S GREATEST LIVING WRITER.</a></h4>
<h3>Brenda Hafera, Assistant Director and Research Fellow, B. Kenneth Simon Center for American Studies</h3>
Mercy Otis Warren was an exceptional woman who contributed to the founding of an exceptional nation. A staunch republican, she depicted the happenings in her native Boston through plays and poems intended to drum up support for the patriot cause. The list of her correspondence was a &#8220;Who&#8217;s Who&#8221; of the Founding generation, including John and Abigail Adams, George Washington, and Thomas Jefferson, enabling her to write the only Anti-Federalist account of the War of Independence. That opus, along with her thoughtful and uncompromising defense of the importance of morals and manners, justly earned her the designation, &#8220;The Conscience of the American Revolution.&#8221;
<h3>Anastasia Boden, Director of Constitutional Scholarship at Pacific Legal Foundation and the host of the In Dissent podcast</h3>
James Wilson has largely been forgotten. He deserves better. Wilson&#8217;s argument that the people, not the government, are sovereign justified not only rejecting Parliament&#8217;s taxes but breaking with Britain altogether. A Scottish immigrant steeped in the Scottish Enlightenment, Wilson helped popularize the radical idea that the people — not kings or Parliament — are the ultimate source of political authority and are fully capable of governing themselves. Wilson also played a leading role in shaping <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/we-can-sue-the-government-right/id1896779544?i=1000772988868">Article II of the Constitution</a>, strengthening the presidency with the counterintuitive goal of protecting liberty. In an era of debates over democracy, federal power, and constitutional government, few Founders have more to teach us.
<h3>James Patterson, author, “Why Postliberalism Failed”</h3>
The Founders we admire today were stark personalities and prolific writers, men who overshadowed impressive figures we tend to forget. One is John Witherspoon, the only member of clergy to sign the Declaration of Independence and teacher to James Madison, who gave both a religious and intellectual heft to the Revolutionary cause. As a Catholic, I have to recommend Charles Carroll of Carrollton, the only Catholic to sign the Declaration of Independence, a major financier of the Revolution, and a fierce advocate for republican politics and religious liberty. And then there’s Roger Sherman, who was something of an unsung workhorse from the start of the Revolution through the early Republic years. He opposed slavery, and he was the chief author of the Connecticut Compromise that gave us the bicameral Congress we have today.

Untitled design – 2026-07-02T135605.449

14 Lawmakers, Writers, And Historians Pick Their Favorite Forgotten Founding Fathers

America 250

Constitution

Declaration of Independence

Founding Fathers

Fourth of July

Heritage Foundation

Hillsdale College

Scott Bessent

Ted Cruz

A popular YouTube star sparked backlash after making a disturbing announcement on social media that he and his wife ended the life of their unborn child after finding out the child may be born with Down syndrome. 
Jesse Ridgway, who has over four million subscribers on YouTube, made the announcement on Wednesday that he and his wife aborted their baby because of the Down syndrome diagnosis. The post prompted a strong response from pro-life activists and even House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), who said the child&#8217;s life had value despite the medical diagnosis. 
“This week, my wife and I made the very difficult decision to terminate the pregnancy due to Trisomy 21,” Ridgway <a href="https://x.com/McJuggerNuggets/status/2062315803177881822">posted</a> on X. “The choice was not made lightly. We really appreciate all of the personal stories that you guys shared with us, especially the unconditional support we received from fans with no matter what we decided.”
<div style="max-width: 728px; margin: 0 auto;"><iframe style="aspect-ratio: 16/9; max-width: 100%; width: 100%; margin: 20px auto 5px; border: 0;" src="https://player.mux.com/4yUkPFSH00sZu53uVt01T3RkLUTgN009H83?metadata-video-content-type=embed_video&amp;metadata-video-id=ceff340c-31e4-4157-9b26-4ca923dcaaec&amp;metadata-video-stream-type=on-demand&amp;metadata-video-title=2026-06-04%20YouTuber%20aborts%20baby%20after%20down%20syndrome%20diagnose&amp;poster=https%3A%2F%2Fdailywireplus-v2.imgix.net%2Fimages%2Fembedded-videos%2F6663f418-d71e-4033-8491-85f45e44605a.png&amp;autoplay=false&amp;accent-color=%23DB3D3B&amp;primary-color=%23ffffff&amp;secondary-color=%23000000" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></div>
&nbsp;
When learning the child may be born with Down syndrome, Ridgway said he first was &#8220;optimistic&#8221; that they could “make it work” if the child was just “a little slow intellectually.” 
“But I just didn’t fully understand what Down syndrome entailed,” he said. “I didn’t realize just how rough it is for the child, let alone the family … more often than not, they would be fully dependent on others for the rest of their life.”
Between 350,000 and 400,000 Americans have Down syndrome, meaning they were born with an extra chromosome. When polled, these individuals <a href="https://lozierinstitute.org/improving-joyful-lives-societys-response-to-difference-and-disability/">consistently say</a> they are satisfied with their life and were happy they were born. 
Studies generally show that at least 67% of babies diagnosed with Down syndrome in the United States are aborted. In Iceland, there are almost no cases of Down syndrome because all those who would have been born with it were killed in the womb. Some Republicans <a href="https://estes.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=5906">have pushed</a> for protections to prohibit Down syndrome-based abortions. 
Back in April, Ridgway posted an ultrasound picture of his child, writing, “first look at the little nugget.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
first look at the little nugget. 😱 <a href="https://t.co/yjtVWzbyhh">pic.twitter.com/yjtVWzbyhh</a>
— Jesse Ridgway (@McJuggerNuggets) <a href="https://x.com/McJuggerNuggets/status/2041974939767480735?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 8, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Ridgway referred to the death of his unborn child as a “difficult decision that we believe in the long-run will be beneficial for our family&#8221; and appeared to make a political statement by adding, &#8220;Thankfully, we had a choice.&#8221; 
In response to that post, many pro-life advocates pointed out the wonderful lives that many of those with Down syndrome live. 
“Because God made us all in His image, it means EVERY SINGLE PERSON has inestimable DIGNITY and VALUE — and our value is not related in any way to the color of our skin, what zip code we live in, what our talents are, our health condition, or any other factor,” Speaker Johnson <a href="https://x.com/SpeakerJohnson/status/2062864877471797445">said</a>. “Our value is inherent, because it is given to us by our loving Heavenly Father.”
“When a culture devolves to the point of depravity where ‘influencers’ can go online and so casually dismiss the deliberate murder of their own precious child, the survival of that culture itself is at risk,” he added. 
Kelsey Pritchard, the communications director for SBA Pro-Life America, told The Daily Wire that she hoped Ridgway and his wife would realize the value of all human life.
&#8220;I hope someday they wake up and realize, and the humanity of the unborn children and the humanity of people who have Down syndrome, because, honestly, we should feel bad for them, because they just robbed themselves of a lot of joy that they otherwise would have had they allowed this child to live,&#8221; she said.
She said that the cultural acceptance of targeting people with disabilities was a result of an abortion-saturated culture.
&#8220;I think it&#8217;s just evidence too of how stripping away the right to life for the unborn, it leads to this stripping away of the dignity of the human being, and bleeds into these other areas, like people with disabilities,&#8221; Pritchard said. &#8220;We know the slippery slope that exists when you start taking people&#8217;s rights away, and you dehumanize a whole class of humans.&#8221;
After the negative response to his announcement, Ridgway <a href="https://x.com/McJuggerNuggets/status/2062706211787571502">said</a> that he had “never seen such hate and vitriol for two people grieving the loss of their unborn child and making an impossible decision” and claimed he had received death threats. 
He also said he was surprised that his announcement of ending the life of his unborn child to his 345,000 followers on X was “newsworthy.”
Many pro-life advocates responded by noting that Ridgway and his wife decided to end the life of their child. 
“My God. You two didn’t suffer a miscarriage or a stillbirth like millions of couples do every year,” <a href="https://x.com/sagesteele/status/2062743081602990214">said</a> former ESPN anchor Sage Steele. “You CHOSE to abort your baby. And then you CHOSE to announce it publicly. YOU ARE NOT A VICTIM. This is narcissism at its finest.”

Foetus ultrasound

YouTube Star Ends Life Of Unborn Child After Down Syndrome Diagnosis

Abortion

Down Syndrome

Pro-Life Movement

MSNOW host Katy Tur, in a stunning display of historical illiteracy, questioned the foundational bedrock of the American republic, targeting House Speaker Mike Johnson, who had dared to repeat the very premise that birthed the United States: that our rights come from God, not the government.
During a segment on her show, Tur referred to Johnson’s speech at the &#8220;Rededicate 250&#8221; rally on Sunday, in which Johnson stated:
<blockquote>
And You gave our fathers the wisdom and faith to establish this new nation, premised on the Biblical and foundational principle that all men are created equal and free before you. Through Your divine providence, our Founders acknowledged and boldly proclaimed this self-evident truth: That every single person is created in your image and that we are endowed by you, our Creator, with our unalienable rights to life and liberty. The pursuit of happiness.  
</blockquote>
To any student of basic American history, Johnson&#8217;s words were a standard recitation of the Declaration of Independence. But to Tur, it was a scandalous theological overreach. A bewildered Tur asked, “What about this passage from Mike Johnson declaring that our rights do not derive from government, they come from You, our Creator and heavenly Father. Is this him putting God over the Declaration of Independence?”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
God talk is SO foreign to MS NOW. Katy Tur: What about this passage from Mike Johnson declaring that our rights do not derive from government? They come from you, our creator and heavenly father. Is this him putting God over the Declaration of Independence? McKay Coppins: I… <a href="https://t.co/sfpykN5bYc">pic.twitter.com/sfpykN5bYc</a>
&mdash; Tim Graham (@TimJGraham) <a href="https://twitter.com/TimJGraham/status/2056471098057744725?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 18, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The irony, of course, is that by asserting our rights come from God, Johnson wasn&#8217;t putting God over the Declaration of Independence — he was literally quoting it.
The Left&#8217;s modern discomfort with this concept betrays a dangerous desire to elevate the State to the position of the Almighty. The American Founders, heavily influenced by John Locke and the concept of &#8220;Natural Law,&#8221; synthesized a radical political philosophy: there is a divine law that supersedes any earthly king, parliament, or congress.
Thomas Jefferson famously encapsulated this in 1776, writing that all men are &#8220;endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights.&#8221; By definition, &#8220;unalienable&#8221; means these rights are inherent to human nature. Because the government did not grant them, the government has no authority to revoke them. In the Founders’ view, the state is not the source of rights; it is merely a trustee — a security guard hired to protect them. If the security guard begins to violate those rights, the citizens retain the moral authority to fire the government.
Whether looking through an orthodox Christian lens or a Deist Enlightenment lens, the Founders united under a singular banner: No human politician has the authority to override divine design.
This distinction is not a matter of semantics; it is the ultimate shield against tyranny. If rights are granted by the state — via a constitution, a dictator, or a shifting democratic majority — then they can be amended, restricted, or entirely voted away by the state. But if they are a gift from God, they remain absolute and permanent.
Katy Tur’s inability to grasp this fundamental truth exposes the Left&#8217;s ultimate goal: a society where the government is the supreme arbiter of human freedom.

InStyle 30th Birthday Celebration

Leftist Host Gives Away The Game: Let Government Replace God

Katy Tur

MSNOW

Following a third assassination attempt against President Donald Trump, House Speaker Mike Johnson and White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt blamed Democratic lawmakers for rhetoric that openly invited violence.
“They’ve incited violence, in my view,” he said. “It’s time to turn down the rhetoric. We’ve been seeing this over and over. I hope that this will be a sobering reminder for everybody about that very important cause.&#8221;
Leavitt, who was already supposed to have begun her maternity leave, hosted an impromptu White House Press Briefing and echoed Johnson’s tone.
&#8220;This hateful and constant and violent rhetoric directed at President Trump day after day after day for 11 years has helped to legitimize this violence and bring us to this dark moment,” she said. “Those who constantly, falsely label and slander the president as a fascist, as a threat to democracy and compare him to Hitler, to score political points, are fueling this kind of violence.”
Addressing the gathered reporters, Leavitt asked what separated the rhetoric wielded by Democratic lawmakers from that contained in the would-be assassin’s manifesto.
The shooter who attempted to attack Trump administration officials on Saturday, for example, claimed that he acted because he was “no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes.”
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), who has repeatedly claimed that Trump is an authoritarian and a threat to Democracy — and, like shooting suspect Cole Tomas Allen, did not hesitate to call the president a “rapist.”
“Wow who would have thought that electing a rapist would have complicated the release of the Epstein Files?” she said in a 2025 X <a href="https://x.com/AOC/status/1943736675877658637">post</a>.
And Ocasio-Cortez was not alone. Even after one assassination attempt on Trump — which left one dead and two others gravely injured at a Butler, Pennsylvania, rally — former Vice President Kamala Harris ignored calls to tone down the rhetoric and referred to her opponent as a “fascist.”
President Trump appears to have had enough of the rhetoric as well, and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-explains-delay-leaving-ballroom-says-he-wanted-to-personally-assess-scene">pushed back immediately</a> when CBS News anchor Norah O’Donnell raised a question from Allen’s manifesto: “I was totally exonerated &#8230; You should be ashamed of yourself, reading that &#8230; You’re a disgrace.”
Since the news broke that yet another would-be assassin had targeted President Trump, a number of Democratic lawmakers have attempted to sidestep the landmines in their own party’s rhetoric and simply issue blanket calls condemning political violence.
Former President Barack Obama sparked backlash when he did so, in part because he <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/obama-claims-shooters-motive-is-unknown-despite-manifesto-raging-against-trump">also claimed</a> hours after the manifesto’s release that “we don&#8217;t yet know the details about the motives.”
Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp (D-WA) was one of the few who stood out, <a href="https://x.com/RepMGP/status/2048232340954943936">saying,</a> in spite of her own personal and political opinions, “Please stop trying to murder the President.”

Secret Service

Republican Leaders Blame Democratic Rhetoric After Third Trump Assassination Attempt

assassination attempt

Karoline Leavitt

California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom sent a fundraising email shortly after former Rep. Eric Swalwell&#8217;s (D-CA) resignation amid sexual misconduct allegations, including rape accusations, using the vacancy to urge donors to help Democrats quickly reclaim the seat.
&#8220;With a very slim Republican majority in Congress, I was not going to give Mike Johnson even a single extra day before filling this seat,” Newsom wrote in the email, which was sent by his Campaign for Democracy PAC, according to <a href="https://x.com/jamesd0wns/status/2044510404596924828?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">National Journal</a>.
Swalwell stepped down Tuesday as multiple investigations were launched into the allegations. He is now under investigation by the Justice Department, the Manhattan District Attorney, and the Los Angeles County Sheriff&#8217;s Department. No charges have been filed against the Democrat, but the disturbing claims led to his resignation from Congress and exit from the California governor&#8217;s race.
At a Tuesday press conference, model Lonna Drewes accused Swalwell of raping her during an alleged 2018 encounter.
“He raped me, and he choked me. And while he was choking me, I lost consciousness,” Drewes said. “And I thought I died. I did not consent to any sexual activity.”
At least one other woman has claimed that Swalwell raped her. Others alleged that the Democrat sent them inappropriate messages over Snapchat, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2026/04/10/us/eric-swalwell-sexual-misconduct-allegations-invs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CNN</a> reported.
Despite the nature of the allegations, Newsom&#8217;s email did not address them directly, instead focusing on the political stakes of the vacancy and the narrow Republican majority in the House.
The message concluded with a fundraising appeal from Newsom&#8217;s political action committee, asking recipients to donate $35.
Newsom has said the special election, scheduled for August 18, is the earliest date allowed under state law.
Republicans criticized the move, arguing Newsom has not shown the same urgency in similar situations.
Besides rape accusations, others alleged that the Democrat sent them inappropriate messages over Snapchat, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2026/04/10/us/eric-swalwell-sexual-misconduct-allegations-invs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CNN</a> reported.
The timing has drawn criticism from Republicans, who argue Newsom has not applied the same urgency in similar situations.
The Daily Wire previously reported that Newsom scheduled a special election for the late to fill the late Rep. Doug LaMalfa&#8217;s (R-CA) right-leaning seat months after his death earlier this year. In another case, the seat of former Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA) remained vacant for nearly a year following his 2020 resignation. can Hunter (R-CA) was left vacant for nearly a year following his resignation in 2020.
“It’s another example of how Gavin Newsom, he doesn’t care about stripping people of their voice and their representation as long as it politically benefits him,” state Assemblyman Carl DeMaio (R-CA) told <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/newsom-accused-of-running-the-clock-differently-depending-on-who-it-helps?author=Cameron+Arcand&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=2&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Newsom+Accused+Of+Running+The+Clock+Differently+Depending+On+Who+It+Helps" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Daily Wire</a>.
Republicans currently hold a narrow 218-213 majority in the House, raising the stakes for quickly filling vacant seats.
The Daily Wire reached out to the Newsom’s PAC and office for comment.

62. Munich Security Conference

Following Rape Accusations Against Swalwell, Newsom Fundraises Off His Ouster

2026 election

California

Eric Swalwell

Gavin Newsom

<div>
President Donald Trump voiced his opposition to the bipartisan Senate deal <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/congress-erupts-as-house-poised-to-reject-senate-deal-to-end-dhs-shutdown?author=Cameron+Arcand&amp;category=undefined&amp;elementPosition=3&amp;row=3&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+News&amp;rowType=Vertical+Carousel&amp;title=Congress+Erupts+As+House+Poised+To+Reject+Senate+Deal+To+End+DHS+Shutdown">passed</a> early Friday morning to end the Department of Homeland Security shutdown.
Trump told <a href="https://x.com/JacquiHeinrich/status/2037615753868833269?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fox News</a> on Friday afternoon that “it wasn&#8217;t good. It wasn&#8217;t appropriate,” specifically mentioning how the proposal does not fund ICE and Border Patrol as part of the agreement.
“You can&#8217;t have a bill that&#8217;s not going to fund any form of law enforcement &#8230; This whole thing is about the Democrats wanting to have open borders, no ICE, no border patrol. These people are crazy,” he said, according to the outlet.
The president has repeatedly called for an end to the Senate’s 60-vote filibuster rule to move legislation forward, including DHS appropriations and the SAVE America Act, which is a voter identification bill.
Trump’s comments come after Speaker Mike Johnson and many other House Republicans trashed the Senate proposal and the subsequent departure of senators for a two-week recess for Easter.
Johnson will instead push for a continuing resolution until May 22, which would temporarily fund all of DHS while a longer-term solution for the remainder of the fiscal year is negotiated.
“They’ve gone half the fiscal year without a regular paycheck; we cannot ask that of anyone,” Johnson said in reference to TSA officers, who have dealt with the brunt of both the full federal government shutdown last fall and the current shutdown.
Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-signs-executive-order-to-pay-tsa-agents?author=Cameron+Arcand&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=1&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Trump+Signs+Executive+Order+To+Pay+TSA+Agents">signed</a> an order on Friday to pay TSA agents, as travelers have faced long wait times at airports nationwide due to officer callouts and resignations.
“Republicans will do the responsible and honorable thing, and Democrats will continue to play politics,” Johnson told reporters on Friday.
However, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has already called the possibility of a continuing resolution “dead on arrival.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said his caucus plans to back the bipartisan Senate proposal, saying Republicans have sought to &#8220;create chaos&#8221; at airports nationwide.
</div>
&#8220;House Democrats are prepared to support the bill to end the Trump-Republican shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security,&#8221; Jeffries said at a press conference on Friday afternoon.
<div>
If the House of Representatives passes anything other than the Senate deal without additional amendments, it would have to return to the Senate before it could go to the president&#8217;s desk for his signature or veto.
</div>

Trump Kills Senate Bill To Re-Open DHS Without ICE Funding

homeland security

Immigration

Senate

House Speaker Mike Johnson defied the naysayers on Thursday, telling Daily Wire host Michael Knowles that Republicans will expand their majority in the 2026 midterm elections.
“I’m very bullish about the midterms,” Johnson said during the interview. “I’m absolutely convinced we are going to win the midterms and grow the majority. It will defy historic trend.”
Johnson acknowledged that such a result would break a longstanding pattern. “It’s only twice in the last 90 years that a sitting president has picked up seats in that first two-year cycle,” he said.
Still, Johnson argued the political landscape favors Republicans, pointing to fundraising advantages and Democratic struggles to define a clear agenda.
“We have a fundraising advantage right now because the stakes are so high — Republicans over Democrats for the first time in 10 years,” Johnson said. “Democrats are at historic lows in approval ratings. They have no leadership, no message, no vision for where they’re going.”
“Their whole platform is they hate Donald Trump,” he added. “Well, good luck with that. That’s not exactly something to sell to constituents.”
Of all the issues Republicans are leading on, Johnson stressed election integrity, noting that the House has already passed the SAVE America Act, which would require proof of citizenship and identification to vote in federal elections. Johnson told Knowles the problem is the Senate, where the legislation has been held up.
“We passed the SAVE Act twice, the previous Congress and this Congress,&#8221; Johnson said. &#8220;Now we pass the Save America Act because now it’s voter ID and proof of citizenship together.&#8221; He added that Trump has recently pushed for additional provisions to strengthen the bill, calling the package the “greatest hits” of election integrity measures.
Johnson said the bill now faces a complicated path in the Senate, where Majority Leader John Thune must decide whether to attempt moving the legislation despite procedural hurdles. According to Johnson, Senate rules could allow Democrats to stall the process with a flood of amendments.
“They’re concerned that if they open the talking filibuster … Democrats could flood the field with thousands of amendments,” Johnson said. “There’s no germaneness limitation. They can add any crazy Democrat policy they want.”
He warned that under Senate rules, each amendment must be read into the record in full, which could tie up the chamber. “They could file 1,400-page amendments and tie the Senate floor up for months,” Johnson said. “That’s what they’re concerned about.” 
Johnson said he has discussed the issue directly with Trump and that the president believes Republicans should move forward despite the risks. “Desperate times call for desperate measures,” Johnson said. “I talked to the president about the risks versus the benefits, and he said, ‘Let’s risk it. Go for it.’”
Johnson argued that voter ID and citizenship verification requirements enjoy broad public support and are necessary to restore trust in elections.
“You can’t have a constitutional republic if people don’t have faith in the election system,” Johnson said. “These are basic requirements.”
Johnson also addressed the challenges of managing the razor-thin Republican majority in the House, which has forced leadership to carefully balance competing factions inside the conference.
“I mean, we have the smallest margin in U.S. history,” Johnson said. “I have a one-vote margin. Which means I have to get unanimity because the aforementioned colleague of mine votes no almost every day.”
The comment was in reference to Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), who is in the midst of a feud with President Trump and frequently breaks with party leadership on spending and foreign policy issues.
Johnson pushed back on the notion that internal disagreements reflect a broader ideological divide over the party’s direction on foreign policy, insisting Republicans are not pursuing an interventionist approach.
“We are not in the nation-building business,&#8221; Johnson said. &#8220;We are not interventionists. We are not out trying to be the world’s policemen.&#8221;
He added that fiscal realities also limit America’s ability to pursue large-scale overseas commitments. “In reality, because of our financial situation, we don’t have the ability to do those things even if someone wanted to,” Johnson said.

Speaker Johnson And Leader Jeffries

Mike Johnson Is ‘Absolutely Convinced We Are Going To Win The Midterms’

Michael Knowles

Thomas Massie

Menu