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

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

It’s Up To Congress Now

Ben Shapiro

Congress

Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)

DOGE

Elon Musk

Federal Government

John Thune

Mike Johnson

Opinion

President Trump

On Monday, the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) announced it would cover travel costs for House Democrats to visit Kilmar Abrego Garcia in El Salvador amid his wrongful deportation lawsuit — on one condition.
&#8220;The NRCC is offering to pick up the tab for any House Democrat eager to hang out with their new poster child in El Salvador, a confirmed illegal immigrant, MS-13 gang member, and alleged domestic abuser,&#8221; the statement said. &#8220;We just have one condition: Livestream the whole thing. Snap plenty of selfies with your MS-13 buddies — the same violent criminals you’re trying to reimport into American neighborhoods to rape, kill, and terrorize law-abiding citizens.&#8221;
NRCC&#8217;s statement linked to a <a href="https://x.com/KatiePavlich/status/1912616487744950580" target="_blank" rel="noopener">post</a> on X about Abrego Garcia, whom the Trump administration <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/facilitate-not-effectuate-wh-responds-to-scotus-ruling-on-mistakenly-deported-salvadoran" target="_blank" rel="noopener">accuses</a> of being a member of MS-13. Abrego Garcia&#8217;s attorneys <a href="https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69777799/1/abrego-garcia-v-noem/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">deny</a> the claim, but the government has released <a href="https://www.justice.gov/ag/media/1396906/dl?inline" target="_blank" rel="noopener">documents</a> to substantiate the affiliation. A 2021 restraining order <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/deported-illegal-immigrant-who-dems-have-championed-accused-of-beating-wife-court-docs?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;author=Amanda+Prestigiacomo&amp;category=News+and+Commentary&amp;elementPosition=1&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;title=Deported+Illegal+Immigrant+Who+Dems+Have+Championed+Accused+Of+Beating+Wife%3A++Court+Docs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shows</a> Abrego Garcia was accused of beating his wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, who now says they worked through the incident.
“If out of touch House Democrats are so desperate to cozy up to violent gang members, the least they can do is let Americans watch the show. We’ll pay for the plane tickets, they just can’t forget to smile for the camera while they sell out their constituents,&#8221; said NRCC spokesman Mike Marinella.
The NRCC released its statement on the same day that four House Democrats <a href="https://x.com/AnthonyAdragna/status/1914298706561552550" target="_blank" rel="noopener">arrived</a> in El Salvador to &#8220;pressure&#8221; the Trump administration to abide by a Supreme Court order to &#8220;facilitate&#8221; Abrego Garcia&#8217;s return to the United States. C-SPAN&#8217;s Craig Caplan <a href="https://x.com/CraigCaplan/status/1914337664402079985" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> the Democrats&#8217; offices said their trip &#8220;is not being financed by taxpayer dollars&#8221; after House Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-KY) <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/gop-leaders-deny-taxpayer-money-for-dems-to-make-el-salvador-prison-trip" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rejected</a> a <a href="https://robertgarcia.house.gov/media/press-releases/congressman-robert-garcia-and-congressman-maxwell-frost-demand-oversight-codel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">request</a> for a Congressional Member Delegation (CODEL) to El Salvador.
&#8220;We have arrived in El Salvador. [President Donald] Trump is illegally arresting, jailing, &amp; deporting people with no due process. We must hold the Administration accountable for these illegal acts and demand Kilmar’s release. Today it’s him, tomorrow it could be anyone else,&#8221; Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL) <a href="https://x.com/MaxwellFrostFL/status/1914321852920479774" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> on X.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) took a swipe at Frost and his Democrat colleagues who made the journey to El Salvador.
&#8220;Today, House Democrats travel to El Salvador as part of their obsession to bring a violent illegal alien and member of MS-13 BACK INTO the United States,&#8221; Johnson <a href="https://x.com/SpeakerJohnson/status/1914390276266975378" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> on X. &#8220;Could the contrast be more clear? House Republicans remain committed to doing everything we can to protect American families and keep dangerous gang members OUT of our country.&#8221;
Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) travelled to El Salvador last week to check on Abrego Garcia, whom he claims is a Maryland &#8220;constituent.&#8221; A <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/sipping-margaritas-dem-senator-finally-meets-deported-illegal-immigrant-in-el-salvador" target="_blank" rel="noopener">meeting</a> took place on Thursday evening. Van Hollen later <a href="https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/1913954303418474622" target="_blank" rel="noopener">conceded</a> during an interview on &#8220;Fox News Sunday&#8221; that his trip to El Salvador was funded by taxpayer dollars.

Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL)

GOP Offers To Pay For Dem Trips To El Salvador — On One Condition

Democrats

El Salvador

Illegal Immigation

Politics

U.S. House of Representatives

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) stated on Sunday that protecting Medicare, Social Security, and Medicaid is a &#8220;top priority&#8221; for the White House and congressional Republicans.
In an interview on Fox News&#8217; &#8220;Sunday Morning Futures&#8221; with host Maria Bartiromo, Johnson discussed the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hold-trump-scores-big-beautiful-victory-house-budget-vote" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recently-passed</a> budget reconciliation framework, which sets the stage for President Donald Trump&#8217;s proposed comprehensive bill to advance his domestic priorities.
&#8220;Well, here&#8217;s the key to all of it. The president has made absolutely clear many times, as we have as well, that we&#8217;re going to protect Medicare, Social Security, and Medicaid for people who are legally beneficiaries of those programs,&#8221; Johnson replied. &#8220;There are a lot of Americans who rely upon those programs, and we have got to ensure that they&#8217;re safeguarded. That&#8217;s a big priority of the White House and the Republicans in Congress.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Today, exclusively on <a href="https://twitter.com/SundayFutures?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SundayFutures</a> with <a href="https://twitter.com/MariaBartiromo?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MariaBartiromo</a>, House Speaker Mike Johnson <a href="https://twitter.com/SpeakerJohnson?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SpeakerJohnson</a> spoke about Congress advancing a blueprint of President Trump&#39;s agenda.<a href="https://twitter.com/FoxNews?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@FoxNews</a> <a href="https://t.co/WbvVwgZwnz">pic.twitter.com/WbvVwgZwnz</a>
&mdash; SundayMorningFutures (@SundayFutures) <a href="https://twitter.com/SundayFutures/status/1911442736827297914?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 13, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
He continued: &#8220;At the same time, we have to root out fraud, waste, and abuse. We have to eliminate people on — for example, on Medicaid, who are not actually eligible to be there, able-bodied workers, for example, young men who are — who should never be on the program at all.&#8221;
Johnson was responding to Bartiromo asking the question: &#8220;So knowing that 76% of the spending goes toward mandatory spending, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, where are the offsets?&#8221;
Democrats have <a href="https://www.democrats.senate.gov/news/press-releases/leader-schumer-floor-remarks-on-republican-attacks-on-social-security-and-elon-musks-call-to-eliminate-entitlement-programs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">warned</a> that Republicans, led by Trump and influenced by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) effort overseen by Elon Musk, are working to dismantle the various programs in a move that would harm millions of seniors, people with disabilities, and other Americans who are reliant on the benefits they offer.
Johnson argued that preserving resources for those who truly need them — such as young single mothers, people with disabilities, and the elderly on Medicaid — requires preventing others from &#8220;draining&#8221; these programs.
&#8220;We have got to protect and preserve that program,&#8221; Johnson said. &#8220;So we&#8217;re going to preserve the integrity of it in this process. We have lots of categories of areas where the government is too large, it does too many things. And the DOGE efforts and others have highlighted that for the American people.&#8221;

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson

Speaker Johnson Outlines Plan To Secure Benefits, ‘Root Out’ Fraud And Waste

Medicaid

Medicare

Social Security

U.S.

Here&#8217;s a headline that, if you&#8217;ve been making car insurance payments over the last few years, might seem pretty hard to believe. It turns out that average auto insurance premiums actually declined in March, month-over-month. Yes, for many people, premiums have gotten cheaper, even as car prices have remained high. Inflation has seemingly been defeated, at least in this particular industry. The declines were particularly steep in Florida, where insurers like Geico, Progressive and State Farm are cutting rates by as much as 10%. But there&#8217;s no question that this is a nationwide phenomenon. Insurance rates are down by roughly 1% across the board — which might not sound like a lot, but it&#8217;s a big difference from the typical double-digit increases that we&#8217;ve been seeing lately. When you go from 15-point average increases to a 1% decrease, you&#8217;re saving a lot of money, relatively speaking.
So why is this happening, exactly? Ask ten different people and you&#8217;ll probably get ten different answers. And all of them might be right, at least partially. But here&#8217;s one theory. It could be that insurance rates are going down because our roads are getting safer. And maybe our roads are getting safer because two grand Left-wing experiments — the BLM &#8220;de-policing&#8221; movement and the open borders agenda — have both finally come to an end.
Each of these movements clearly made driving significantly more dangerous, in their own way. Beginning in 2020, of course, BLM convinced police departments to stop enforcing laws — including traffic laws. And the effect was immediate. By one estimate, 35% more black people died in motor vehicle accidents in 2021, as compared with 2019. In other words, a lot of black motorists suddenly realized that they could drive however they wanted. They&#8217;d no longer be pulled over for supposedly &#8220;driving while black,&#8221; which was something they imagined was happening all the time. And they took full advantage of the situation. Insurance companies had to deal with the carnage that followed.
Along the same lines, as we&#8217;ve <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ezo_P2uRNWY" target="_blank" rel="noopener">discussed</a> before, the flood of illegal aliens into this country under the Biden administration has led to a lot of drunk-driving collisions, which have wiped out entire families in some cases. Many of these illegal aliens don&#8217;t have driver&#8217;s licenses, and they refuse to obey the rules of the road. In the tiny town of Springfield, for example, one resident recently <a href="https://nypost.com/2024/09/12/us-news/influx-of-wild-driving-haitian-migrants-turning-streets-of-springfield-ohio-into-combat-zone/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">estimated</a> that she sees 8 to 10 traffic accidents per day. Haitian migrants, which now make up around one-third of the population, routinely drive into buildings and onto sidewalks. They&#8217;ve mowed down children and elderly women, with total impunity. One of these Haitian migrants <a href="https://nypost.com/2024/09/12/us-news/influx-of-wild-driving-haitian-migrants-turning-streets-of-springfield-ohio-into-combat-zone/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ran over</a> Kathy Heaton, a 71-year-old grandmother, while she was collecting her garbage cans. She died in the street, after an impact that was so severe that her socks were literally removed from her feet. The driver wasn&#8217;t even prosecuted.
This era of impunity is now over. Police departments are no longer being overrun with BLM mobs. Border security is being enforced again. The result is that the prices that American citizens have to pay — both in terms of dollar amounts, and lives that are lost — are coming down. It turns out that, when you have a society that enforces laws, everyone benefits.
The White House seems to understand this. That&#8217;s why, every other day, we&#8217;re hearing about a new plan to reduce the cost of these kinds of externalities for Americans.
Here&#8217;s the latest example. The New York Times is now <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/10/us/politics/migrants-deport-social-security-doge.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&amp;referringSource=articleShare" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reporting</a> that the Trump administration is canceling the Social Security numbers of foreign nationals who, for one reason or another, were allowed into this country during Joe Biden&#8217;s presidency:
<blockquote>The Trump administration has moved aggressively to revoke the temporary legal status of hundreds of thousands of immigrants who were allowed into the country under President Biden. &#8230; Now, the administration is taking drastic steps to pressure some of those immigrants and others who had legal status to “self-deport” by effectively canceling the Social Security numbers they had lawfully obtained. &#8230; The goal is to cut those people off from using crucial financial services like bank accounts and credit cards, along with their access to government benefits.</blockquote>
According to the Times, thousands of &#8220;convicted criminals and suspected terrorists&#8221; are among the foreign nationals who just had their Social Security numbers revoked. Yes, apparently the Biden administration provided &#8220;convicted criminals and suspected terrorists&#8221; with Social Security numbers, so that they could obtain government benefits. The Biden administration determined that this course of action was preferable to just deporting these people, or throwing them in prison. Now the Trump administration is changing that policy.
Again, this will have the effect of reducing payments by taxpayers to people who shouldn&#8217;t even be here. It will also make our roads and our communities a lot safer, in all likelihood. More than anything else, this is what Americans voted for in the last election. If Republicans are going to remain in power in Washington, and avoid a Democrat takeover of Congress in the midterms next year, then this kind of thing has to continue. And more importantly, Congress has to start supporting it. That&#8217;s how we can ensure that the cost of living will continue dropping.
A large part of that equation is reducing government spending, which Congress controls. As we all know, when the government spends trillions of dollars every year, that money is either coming from taxpayers, or it&#8217;s being printed and borrowed (which reduces the value of the money we&#8217;re all holding). Either way, we&#8217;re losing a lot of money in the process. At the moment, it appears that a small contingent of Republican lawmakers in Congress recognizes that this arrangement needs to change, at least to some degree. They just held out for assurances that the next spending bill will slash one-point-five trillion dollars from the budget. And after a lot of hand-wringing, they apparently received those assurances. Watch:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="001 budget framework resolution" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fnwMlNZgVZ8?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
So there were two plans here, for a spending bill to fund the government. The Senate plan, which passed over the weekend, would only reduce the deficit by around four billion dollars. That&#8217;s basically nothing compared to the new House framework, which demands a minimum of one-point-five trillion dollars in deficit reduction.
But here&#8217;s the problem: Even this new framework isn&#8217;t binding. It just sets a broad outline for future negotiations between the House and Senate, which still need to finalize a budget. And several members of Congress — most notably Thomas Massie of Kentucky — believe that this deal is worth about as much as the paper it&#8217;s printed on. Thomas Massie has been in office for more than a decade, and he understands how Congress works. He knows that it&#8217;s one thing for lawmakers to promise spending cuts. But it&#8217;s a completely different matter for them to agree on a bill that actually cuts spending. Here&#8217;s what Massie told a reporter after the framework was announced:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="002 Thomas Massie" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/C5z901MgYh0?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
What&#8217;s surprising here isn&#8217;t anything Thomas Massie is saying. What&#8217;s surprising is that so few Republicans in Congress are agreeing with him. The reason voters elected Republicans to control both chambers of Congress, along with the White House, is that they want government spending and the cost of living to come down. That&#8217;s one of the top issues in every exit poll. And now that Donald Trump is doing that — or attempting to do it — Congress is refusing to codify any of his cuts into law. If a Democrat becomes president, he could override all these DOGE cuts in a day-one executive order.
And by the way, no matter what you think of Trump&#8217;s tariffs, Massie makes a good point. Why hasn&#8217;t Congress held a vote on them? Tariffs are a form of taxation. They have the potential to significantly raise the cost of goods in the United States, among other effects. Under the Constitution, Congress has the power to tax. Even if you approve of the tariffs, you should still want Congress to vote on them, for the simple reason that they&#8217;ll be harder to overturn in a future administration. On the other hand, if you&#8217;re skeptical of tariffs, a congressional vote would allow for a full debate on the issue. Instead of unilateral announcements from the White House, we&#8217;d be able to hear the arguments on each side.
But the GOP leadership in Congress hasn&#8217;t displayed any interest in holding a vote on tariffs. In fact they&#8217;ve blocked a vote on the topic. And they haven&#8217;t held votes on the DOGE cuts or any other significant spending cuts. In fact, they still haven&#8217;t reined in any of the trillion dollars&#8217; worth of spending in the so-called Inflation Reduction Act, which was full of giveaways to environmentalist groups and NGOs. Why exactly hasn&#8217;t any of that waste been rolled back? Why is no one bothered to even talk about it? Really congress has not codified any of Trump’s executive orders at all, which means they’re all susceptible to being overturned with the stroke of a pen by the next administration. Where is congress?
When it comes to spending, if you ask Missouri Congressman Eric Burlison, a member of the House Freedom Caucus, he&#8217;ll say that Republicans aren&#8217;t actually serious about cutting spending. Like Massie, he thinks the spending cuts will never actually happen. Here&#8217;s what he said:
<blockquote>I think that this town has got a lot of snakes in the grass who don&#8217;t want to accomplish it, and anyway that they can they&#8217;re going to stop it from happening. And I want to ensure we don&#8217;t end up in a place where we let the president down in that regard.</blockquote>
Whatever Donald Trump makes of the deal, at the moment, it looks like Republican voters might be let down. We&#8217;re talking about raising the debt ceiling by a historic amount, and potentially spending more than the Biden administration ever did. And we&#8217;re doing it at a time when we&#8217;re initiating a broader trade war, which means that we&#8217;ll have less access to money to borrow. This is not a recipe for a stable economic situation going forward. In separate interviews, Thomas Massie and Congressman Jodey Arrington of Texas outlined what&#8217;s at stake here. Watch:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="003 Massie and Arrington" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NYky0gMHiCg?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Even if you listen to that rhetoric and conclude that it&#8217;s overblown, or that there&#8217;s really no cause for concern, the fundamental point remains: Republicans ran on a platform that involved lowering the cost of living, which includes lowering taxes and government spending. If Republicans cannot deliver on that very simple promise, they will not be in power for very long. And they will be replaced by a party that&#8217;s even more committed to more taxes and government spending. 
This particular spending bill won&#8217;t be finalized for several weeks, in all likelihood. Between now and the moment this legislation is finalized, it&#8217;s hard to imagine that anything in Congress is more important than holding GOP leadership to their promise on these spending cuts — and pushing them further, for as many cuts as possible. If Republicans (and their voters) stay focused on that goal, they will have achieved something that the party has promised for decades, but failed to deliver. They will have permanently reduced the size of the American government, for the benefit of everyone living in this country. The White House is clearly committed to this goal. Now it&#8217;s time for every Republican in Congress — not just Thomas Massie and a few others — to follow suit.

House Tax Cut Fumble Shows Big Hurdles For GOP

Congress Needs To Act On This Very Important Issue Right Now

Biden Administration

Joe Biden

Matt Walsh

Republicans

Spending Bill

Thomas Massie

President Donald Trump’s &#8220;big beautiful bill&#8221; takes a major step forward &#8212; upping the prospect of making his tax cuts permanent. The FBI is warning Americans about the alarming rise in the sexual exploitation and extortion of kids online. And, a new Daily Wire investigation raises questions about activist judges’ roles in padding the Social Security database with dubious disability claims.
It’s Friday, April 11, and this is the news you need to know to start your day. If you’d rather listen to your news, today’s edition of the Morning Wire podcast can be heard below:
<iframe style="width: 100%; max-width: 660px; overflow: hidden; border-radius: 10px;" src="https://embed.podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/budget-bill-passes-house-rise-of-teen-sextortion-4-11-25/id1576594336?i=1000703130714" height="175" frameborder="0" sandbox="allow-forms allow-popups allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-storage-access-by-user-activation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation"></iframe>
<h2>House Advances Trump-Backed Budget Bill</h2>
<div id="attachment_906413" style="width: 2570px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-906413" class="wp-image-906413 size-full" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2209555558-1-scaled.jpeg" alt="U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) (L) and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) speak at a press conference on the Republican budget bill at the U.S. Capitol on April 10, 2025 in Washington, DC." width="2560" height="1440" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2209555558-1-scaled.jpeg 2560w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2209555558-1-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2209555558-1-1024x576.jpeg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2209555558-1-768x432.jpeg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2209555558-1-1536x864.jpeg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2209555558-1-2048x1152.jpeg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px" />Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images</div>
Topline: The House passed a budget blueprint on Thursday in a critical step toward a permanent renewal of Trump’s 2017 tax cuts.
GOP leaders were able to overcome conservative holdouts to push the budget reconciliation process forward for Trump’s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hold-trump-scores-big-beautiful-victory-house-budget-vote">“Big, Beautiful Bill.”</a> The legislation makes the 2017 tax cuts permanent and includes funding for Trump’s priorities on defense, energy, and immigration. It also lifts the debt limit for two years.
However: The Senate resolution recently approved by the House outlines about $400 billion in budget cuts, whereas the original House blueprint called for at least $1.5 trillion. Calls for deeper spending cuts among House conservatives drove much of the opposition to the bill.
Reconciliation is a complicated process, but the short version is that with this House vote, lawmakers in both chambers can now haggle over the final version of a budget bill. The eventual bill to come out of those negotiations only needs 50 votes in the Senate instead of the usual 60 to overcome a filibuster, but there’s always the concern that the gripes from House conservatives over Thursday’s bill could threaten the final bill as well. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) has said he hopes to have a bill on Trump’s desk by Memorial Day.
Meanwhile: According to the Trump administration, as many as 75 nations have offered to renegotiate trade deals with the United States in the wake of the 90-day pause on Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariff scheme &#8212; a baseline tariff rate of 10% remains in force, however, while China has been singled out for retaliatory tariffs of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/white-house-lays-out-exact-tariff-rate-on-china-going-forward">145%</a>.
Inflation has also slowed at a greater-than-expected rate, according to the March Consumer Price Index, which <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/10/inflation-rate-eases-to-2point4percent-in-march-lower-than-expected.html">recorded</a> year-over-year inflation of 2.4%, below the projected 2.6%.
<h2>FBI Raises Alarm About Online Exploitation Of Minors</h2>
<div id="attachment_906415" style="width: 2570px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-906415" class="wp-image-906415 size-full" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-169816088-scaled.jpeg" alt="Silhouette of 16 year old girl texting backlit at window." width="2560" height="1440" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-169816088-scaled.jpeg 2560w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-169816088-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-169816088-1024x576.jpeg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-169816088-768x432.jpeg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-169816088-1536x864.jpeg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-169816088-2048x1152.jpeg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px" />Alan Oliver via Getty Images</div>
Topline: The <a href="https://www.ic3.gov/PSA/2025/PSA250306">FBI is warning</a> about the sharp rise in the sexual exploitation and extortion of minors online, leading to dozens of suicides of teens across the nation.
One form is called “sextortion” &#8212; sexual extortion is when a predator, usually an adult, either coerces or coaxes a minor into sending sexually explicit images or video footage, then extorts them over it. Predators will threaten to release that material unless the minor either produces additional explicit content or gives them cash. In some cases, the offenders are motivated by sexual gratification, but at other times, they are primarily after money.
The FBI posted a video last week about the sharp rise in sextortion, specifically citing a violent online network known as 7-6-4. Members in the U.S. and abroad are coercing minors and other vulnerable people to commit disturbing sex-related crimes or self-harm. “People have been asked to engage in cruelty to animals, self-mutilation of some sort,” FBI agent Ashley Johnson told <a href="https://fox2now.com/news/missouri/stl-fbi-warns-764-network-using-blackmail-to-exploit-minors-draft/">Fox 2</a> earlier this month. “In some cases we’ve had individuals ask children – if they knew they had a sibling – to film themselves sexually abusing their sibling.”
Another subtype of sexploitation primarily targets teen boys &#8212; offenders will pose as attractive women online and trick the minors into sending explicit content. They then threaten victims, telling them they will post the material publicly and send it to their friends and family if they don’t send payment. One report found that <a href="https://www.parents.com/more-teen-boys-being-threatened-with-sextortion-8623766?utm_source=chatgpt.com">90%</a> of all financially motivated sexual extortion victims were males between the ages of 14 and 17. These schemes have been linked to a string of suicides by young boys. A <a href="https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/sacramento/news/sextortion-a-growing-threat-preying-upon-our-nations-teens#:~:text=The%20sextortion%20involved%20at%20least,the%20activity%20to%20law%20enforcement">memo</a> from the FBI’s Sacramento Field Office says that these sextortion offenders are often foreigners, primarily from West African countries like Nigeria and Ivory Coast or Southeast Asian countries like the Philippines.
From October 2021 to March 2023, the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations received more than 13,000 reports of this activity. There were about 12,600 victims, who were mostly boys, and at least 20 suicides have been connected to these schemes. But those numbers are likely even higher &#8212; <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/health-wellness/2025/02/25/teenage-boys-mental-health-suicide-sextortion-scams/78258882007/">a more recent report from USA Today</a> found that sextortion cases have been tied to at least 30 suicides of teen boys since 2021.
And this trend is growing. In just a six-month period in 2023, for example, the FBI saw a <a href="https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/sacramento/news/sextortion-a-growing-threat-preying-upon-our-nations-teens#:~:text=The%20sextortion%20involved%20at%20least,the%20activity%20to%20law%20enforcement">20% increase</a> in reports of financially motivated sextortion. <a href="https://www.missingkids.org/cybertiplinedata">CyberTipline</a>, which is an organization run by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, received nearly 190,000 reports of Online Enticement of Children for Sexual Acts. That number has quadrupled since 2021, when the Tipline received around 44,000 reports.
<a href="https://info.thorn.org/hubfs/Research/Thorn_TrendsInFinancialSextortion_June2024.pdf?sm_guid=NzcxOTIyfDc4MzA5NjAxfC0xfGNlc2VAbmNvc2UuY29tfDcyMDIwMTJ8fDB8MHwyMjU0MzA0NTd8MTEzMnwwfDB8fDc2NjM5Nnww0">Instagram and Snapchat</a> are the two most-used apps for these crimes. Messages can disappear on both apps, which might lead to victims putting their guard down before sending over explicit images used against them. If you or someone you know thinks they’re a victim of sextortion, please call law enforcement. You can report it to the FBI by calling 1-800-CALL-FBI or by visiting <a href="https://tips.fbi.gov/">tips.fbi.gov</a>.
<h2>Social Security Scheme</h2>
<div id="attachment_906417" style="width: 2570px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-906417" class="wp-image-906417 size-full" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-129310646-scaled.jpeg" alt="Judge's gavel." width="2560" height="1440" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-129310646-scaled.jpeg 2560w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-129310646-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-129310646-1024x576.jpeg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-129310646-768x432.jpeg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-129310646-1536x864.jpeg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-129310646-2048x1152.jpeg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px" />Tetra Images via Getty Images</div>
Topline: A new investigation raises questions about activist judges’ roles in padding the Social Security database with dubious disability claims.
The Daily Wire’s Government Efficiency reporter, Luke Rosiak, found that dozens of judges overrule Social Security staff’s denials in almost every case they hear &#8212; granting what could amount to lifetime disability payments to people ruled ineligible to receive them.
About 1,200 administrative law judges are paid more than $200,000 a year to hear appeals from people who want to get disability benefits from Social Security despite having been ruled ineligible. They’re represented by a “union for judges,” the Association of Administrative Law Judges, that is suing to prevent the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) project from accessing information about Social Security staff.
The president of that union, a Democratic donor named Som Ramrup, overturned the rulings of Social Security’s experts and approved payments in 94% of the cases she heard last year. Ronald Herman, who hears cases in the Detroit area, approved 95% of the nearly 1,300 cases he heard. Jan Leventer, hearing cases in Queens, approved 94% of 2,200 cases. Some, including one of the supervisory judges, actually approved payments in 100% of the cases they heard last year. You’d think judges would operate on the assumption that Social Security’s staff experts were right most of the time, but as a group, they’re much more deferential to the people asking for money. The data show that 85 judges overturned non-disabled determinations more than 80% of the time, while only 16 upheld them more than 80% of the time.
Some of these rates seem mathematically impossible, and it’s evidence that the process is broken. This is important because you’ll hear that it’s a fool’s errand to try to cut the federal deficit because much of it is so-called “non-discretionary” items like Medicare and Social Security. But this is an example of how the DOGE project might find waste in those areas, too.

Donald Trump Delivers Joint Address To Congress

Morning Brief: Trump’s Big Bill, ‘Sextortion,’ & Activist Judges

Donald Trump

Media

Morning Wire

Sexual Abuse

Suicide

In a major triumph for President Donald Trump, the GOP-led House passed a budget plan on Thursday morning that lays the groundwork for his domestic priorities in &#8220;one big, beautiful bill,&#8221; overcoming resistance from a group of conservatives disappointed by a lack of deeper spending cuts.
The amended <a href="https://www.budget.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/senate_amendment_h_con_res_14.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">resolution</a>, already cleared by the Senate, provides a blueprint for lawmakers to craft legislation via the budget reconciliation process. Negotiations with GOP holdouts in the House stretched to the last moment, and <a href="https://x.com/cspan/status/1910350835969638674" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ultimately,</a> 216 Republicans and no Democrats voted in favor of the measure. Two Republicans and 212 Democrats voted against it.
President Trump immediately <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114314374220244880">responded</a> on Truth Social: &#8220;Congratulations to the House on the passage of a Bill that sets the stage for one of the Greatest and Most Important Signings in the History of our Country,&#8221; he wrote. &#8220;Among many other things, it will be the Largest Tax and Regulation Cuts ever even contemplated. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!&#8221;
The resolution seeks to retain the 2017 tax cuts set to expire this year, raise the debt ceiling by $5 trillion, and increase spending on border security and defense. It also includes several billion dollars in spending reductions — far less than the more than $2 trillion goal in the original resolution narrowly <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trumps-one-big-beautiful-budget-vision-clears-house-in-massive-victory-for-mike-johnson" target="_blank" rel="noopener">passed</a> by the House in February.
When taking up the initial House resolution, the <a href="https://x.com/AndrewDesiderio/status/1905623315378471013" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Byrd Rule</a> constrained the Senate to focus solely on fiscal measures like extending tax cuts and raising the debt ceiling while stripping out non-budgetary provisions. The lesser spending-reduction goals that made it into the Senate&#8217;s amended version proved to be disagreeable for several House conservatives.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) held a joint press conference with House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) on Thursday morning before the vote to assuage the concerns of the House GOP holdouts.
&#8220;Our ambition in the Senate is we are aligned with the House in terms of what their budget resolution outlined in terms of savings,&#8221; Thune <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlwW0Zf-l9w" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. &#8220;The speaker has talked about one and a half trillion dollars. We have a lot of United States senators who believe that is a minimum.&#8221;
On Tuesday evening, following a meeting at the White House with House Republicans, Trump chided the Republicans who still opposed the budget framework during remarks at the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) dinner in Washington, D.C.
&#8220;Just in case there are a couple of Republicans out there: you just gotta get there. Close your eyes and get there. It’s a phenomenal bill. Stop grandstanding,&#8221; Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/stop-grandstanding-trump-tells-gop-holdouts-in-budget-revolt" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. He also <a href="https://grabien.com/story?id=522138" target="_blank" rel="noopener">warned</a> that those pushing for &#8220;a little bit more&#8221; would &#8220;end up getting a Democrat bill or worse.&#8221;
There had been as many as a few dozen GOP holdouts earlier in the week, but in the end, Reps. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Victoria Spartz (R-IN) were the only House Republicans to vote against the Senate plan.
&#8220;If you were trying to hasten financial collapse of our country and bribe voters to go along with it, the strategy wouldn’t look much different than what Congress is doing today,&#8221; Massie <a href="https://x.com/RepThomasMassie/status/1910338145826091429" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a post on X. &#8220;The big beautiful bill cuts taxes while keeping spending on an increasingly unsustainable trajectory.&#8221;
Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX), one of the most vocal critics among House conservatives of the Senate’s budget resolution amendment, ended up supporting it.
In a lengthy <a href="https://x.com/RepChipRoy/status/1910376175450411382" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> posted on X, Roy said he &#8220;reluctantly&#8221; voted for the resolution &#8220;on the basis of three specific commitments&#8221; related to spending cuts. He alluded to Trump&#8217;s <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114304634655292901" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stated</a> desire for more than $1 trillion in reductions as one assurance. Roy also noted the budget reconciliation effort provides &#8220;the opportunity for Congress to simply make a down payment on our $36 trillion national debt.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
🚨 REP. ROY STATEMENT ON THE PASSAGE OF THE BUDGET RESOLUTION🚨
&quot;Today, I reluctantly voted for the Senate amendment to the House Budget Resolution on the basis of three specific commitments that form the floor for my consideration of the final reconciliation package.
First,…
&mdash; Rep. Chip Roy Press Office (@RepChipRoy) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepChipRoy/status/1910376175450411382?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 10, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&nbsp;
Democrats who oppose the budget plan have <a href="https://x.com/HouseDemocrats/status/1909984102641512926" target="_blank" rel="noopener">warned</a> that it could lead to $880 billion in cuts to Medicaid while benefiting the wealthy.
&#8220;House Republicans want to cut $880 billion from Medicaid to pay for tax breaks for billionaires,&#8221; the House Democrats <a href="https://x.com/HouseDemocrats/status/1909984102641512926" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a post on X. &#8220;One thing is clear: The Republican Budget will leave hardworking American families worse off.&#8221;
The resolution does call on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, which oversees Medicaid, to work on reducing the deficit by at least $880 billion over the next 10 years. However, it does not have instructions that explicitly say Medicaid is a target for cutting.
&#8220;Democrats are purposefully terrifying the everyday Americans they profess to care about,&#8221; the GOP-led House Rules Committee <a href="https://x.com/RulesReps/status/1910056694236819894" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> on X. &#8220;Why? For political gain. We&#8217;d tell them to read the resolution, but they already know there isn&#8217;t any targeting of specific programs.&#8221;
A pair of Republicans, Reps. David Valadao (R-CA) and Bob Onder (R-MO), did not cast votes for the budget plan on Thursday. Rep. Donald Norcross (D-NJ), who recently <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/house-dem-suffers-emergency-medical-event" target="_blank" rel="noopener">suffered</a> an &#8220;emergency medical event,&#8221; also did not vote. Two seats remained vacant after Reps. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) and Sylvester Turner (D-TX) died last month. Special elections are scheduled for later this year.
The White House has <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/articles/2025/03/fact-check-president-trump-will-always-protect-social-security-medicare/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">published</a> a &#8220;fact check&#8221; page on its website highlighting Trump saying on multiple occasions that he would not mess with Medicaid, along with Medicare and Social Security, while noting that fraud and illegal immigrants would be rooted out from the system.
Before the Senate <a href="https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1191/vote_119_1_00191.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">passed</a> its version of the budget framework over the weekend, it held an overnight &#8220;vote-a-rama&#8221; with several amendment votes. During that process, the upper chamber rejected a Democrat amendment to remove the section that has stoked concerns about a potential $880 billion cut to Medicaid. Three Republicans — Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME), Josh Hawley (R-MO), and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) — joined with Democrats and independents <a href="https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1191/vote_119_1_00189.htm#position" target="_blank" rel="noopener">voting</a> in favor of the change.
Now, with the budget framework approved by both chambers of Congress, lawmakers will work on developing legislation.
Under the budget reconciliation process, the Senate requires only a simple majority — or 51 votes — to pass whatever bill is devised, bypassing the three-fifths majority threshold needed to overcome a filibuster. Currently, the Senate GOP has a 53-47 majority.
Speaker Johnson <a href="https://x.com/SpeakerJohnson/status/1908619838915817864" target="_blank" rel="noopener">emphasized</a> in a post on X on Saturday that the budget resolution is not the law itself but only the &#8220;necessary kickoff&#8221; for the reconciliation process to begin. He said the &#8220;amended resolution in NO WAY prevents us from achieving our goals in the final reconciliation bill&#8221; and noted the process would &#8220;involve input from all Members and will keep us on track to send a bill to the President’s desk by Memorial Day.&#8221;
The White House released a policy <a href="https://x.com/WHOMB/status/1910050176787526124" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> that said Trump&#8217;s administration &#8220;strongly supports&#8221; the Senate plan, which it linked to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) effort.
&#8220;President Trump has demonstrated through numerous concrete actions his firm commitment to cutting wasteful spending,&#8221; the statement said. &#8220;This resolution aligns with his mission by paving the way for historic cuts to root out rampant waste, fraud, and abuse across the Federal Government, while responsibly addressing the debt extension.&#8221;

Speaker Mike Johnson and President Trump

Trump Scores ‘Big, Beautiful’ Victory With House Budget Vote

Budget

Chip Roy

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) struck a deal with Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) on Sunday to resolve an intraparty dispute over proxy voting for new parents in Congress, preserving constitutional in-person voting traditions while establishing accommodations for lawmakers with newborns.
The tentative agreement will formalize vote “pairing” — a centuries-old congressional rule that matches an absent member’s vote with a colleague who has the opposite stance.
This paired member then abstains from voting &#8220;yes&#8221; or &#8220;no&#8221; on the issue, essentially canceling out the vote of the absent member by proxy.
Luna confirmed the deal with Johnson on X: “Speaker Johnson and I have reached an agreement and are formalizing a procedure called &#8216;live/dead pairing&#8217; — dating back to the 1800s — for the entire conference to use when unable to physically be present to vote: new parents, bereaved, emergencies.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Speaker Johnson and I have reached an agreement and are formalizing a procedure called “live/dead pairing”—dating back to the 1800s—for the entire conference to use when unable to physically be present to vote: new parents, bereaved, emergencies. 
Thanks to POTUS and his support… <a href="https://t.co/48pJM8g00V">https://t.co/48pJM8g00V</a>
&mdash; Anna Paulina Luna (@realannapaulina) <a href="https://twitter.com/realannapaulina/status/1908980482668450148?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 6, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Luna said the agreement would apply to new parents, those on bereavement leave, and &#8220;emergencies&#8221; but has yet to provide additional details, such as the maximum length of “pairing” and if mothers and fathers would receive the same treatment under the policy.
Democrats <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/04/06/proxy-voting-johnson-luna-compromise/">reacted</a> “skeptically,” according to the Washington Post, but have yet to come to a formal conclusion.
Luna, who gave birth to her first child in August 2023, had pushed the proxy voting resolution alongside Rep. Brittany Pettersen (D-CO), who has a 4-month-old son.
The compromise comes after last week’s surprise vote from nine Republicans derailed an attempt by House leadership to block Luna’s proxy voting proposal, forcing them to the table and eventually landing on a rule dating back to the 1800s.
During the pandemic, then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and the Democrat majority House allowed proxy voting for two years, with Speaker Johnson warning that it was an experiment that “was quickly abused. Republicans put an end to it then, and we cannot allow it again.”
Johnson initially opposed any form of remote voting, <a href="https://x.com/SpeakerJohnson/status/1907520482112569719">calling</a> it a challenge to constitutional principles.
According to officials familiar with the plan, Johnson also intends to set up designated nursing rooms near the House floor, making it easier for new mothers to fulfill their duties.
This agreement paves the way for Johnson to focus on rallying the GOP on a looming budget showdown, with several members of the House Freedom caucus indicating skepticism regarding the Senate’s version of the budget resolution, according to the Post.

House GOP Leadership Presser

Speaker Johnson Makes A Deal With Luna Over Proxy Voting Rules For New Parents

Parenting

On Saturday, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) urged the House to pass a Senate budget plan to lay the groundwork for President Donald Trump&#8217;s domestic priorities, despite objections from members of his caucus who protest its lack of enforceable spending cuts.
In a letter to colleagues, Johnson and other House GOP leaders <a href="https://x.com/liz_elkind/status/1908564880010936346" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> the lower chamber will consider the Senate blueprint for reconciliation, insisting that voting on the resolution is a key step toward devising a bill in the weeks ahead.
&#8220;Adopting the Senate’s amendment to the House resolution will allow us to finally begin the most important phase of this process: drafting the reconciliation bill that will deliver on President Trump&#8217;s agenda and our promises to the American people,&#8221; they said, stressing later that it makes &#8220;NO CHANGES&#8221; to the reconciliation instructions previously approved by the House.
Early in the morning on Saturday, the GOP-led Senate passed its <a href="https://www.budget.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/senate_amendment_h_con_res_14.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">version</a> of the budget reconciliation <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trumps-one-big-beautiful-budget-vision-clears-house-in-massive-victory-for-mike-johnson" target="_blank" rel="noopener">framework</a> by a 51-48 <a href="https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1191/vote_119_1_00191.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">vote</a> following an overnight &#8220;vote-a-rama&#8221; with several amendment votes.
In line with Trump&#8217;s push for &#8220;one big, beautiful bill,&#8221; the resolution aims to extend tax cuts from 2017 that are set to expire this year, increase the debt ceiling by $5 trillion, and boost border as well defense spending. It also locks in several billion dollars in spending reductions, but that amount is far less than the more than $2 trillion goal tucked into the plan narrowly <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trumps-one-big-beautiful-budget-vision-clears-house-in-massive-victory-for-mike-johnson" target="_blank" rel="noopener">approved</a> by the House in February.
Some deficit hawks in the House have spoken out against how the Senate revised the resolution they had supported in its earlier form.
The Senate plan is &#8220;unserious and disappointing,&#8221; House Budget Committee Chair Jodey Arrington (R-TX) <a href="https://budget.house.gov/press-release/chairman-arrington-statement-on-reconciliation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a statement, arguing that it would create &#8220;$5.8 trillion in new costs and a mere $4 billion in enforceable cuts, less than one day’s worth of borrowing by the federal government&#8221; while setting &#8220;a dangerous precedent by direct scoring tax policy without including enforceable offsets.&#8221;
In a post on X, Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD) <a href="https://x.com/RepAndyHarrisMD/status/1908518640317530615" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> he could support the Senate budget resolution if it can &#8220;deliver real deficit reduction&#8221; in line with the goals outlined in the House plan.
&#8220;However, by the Senate setting committee instructions so low at $4 billion compared to the House’s $1.5-2 trillion, I am unconvinced that will happen,&#8221; Harris added. &#8220;The Senate is free to put pen to paper to draft its reconciliation bill, but I can’t support House passage of the Senate changes to our budget resolution until I see the actual spending and deficit reduction plans to enact President Trump’s America First agenda.&#8221;
If enough members of the GOP caucus rebel, the budget reconciliation process could grind to a halt. House GOP leadership can afford to lose a few Republicans if all Democrats oppose the resolution. Currently, there are 220 Republicans and 213 Democrats.
Johnson <a href="https://x.com/SpeakerJohnson/status/1908619838915817864" target="_blank" rel="noopener">emphasized</a> in a post on X that the budget resolution is not the law itself but only the &#8220;necessary kickoff&#8221; for the reconciliation process to begin. &#8220;Time is of the essence,&#8221; he added.
&#8220;Although the Senate chose to take a different approach on its instructions, the amended resolution in NO WAY prevents us from achieving our goals in the final reconciliation bill,&#8221; Johnson <a href="https://x.com/SpeakerJohnson/status/1908619838915817864" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. &#8220;We have and will continue to make it clear in all discussions with the Senate and the White House that — in order to secure House passage — the final reconciliation bill must include historic spending reductions while protecting essential programs.&#8221;
Following &#8220;close consultation&#8221; with Trump and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), &#8220;we all agree that the &#8216;One Big Beautiful Bill&#8217; must be drafted using a collaborative process that results in a single product that can be passed by both chambers and signed into law,&#8221; Johnson said.
&#8220;We have made it clear the House will NOT accept nor participate in an &#8216;us versus them&#8217; process resulting in a take-it-or-leave-it proposition from the Senate,&#8221; the speaker noted. &#8220;As soon as we pass the final budget resolution, our House and Senate committees will begin preparing together their respective titles of the reconciliation bill to be marked up in the next work period. As always, this will involve input from all Members and will keep us on track to send a bill to the President’s desk by Memorial Day.&#8221;

Speaker Mike Johnson

Amid GOP Revolt, House Speaker Backs Senate Budget Plan As Key To Trump’s ‘One Big, Beautiful Bill’

U.S. Senate

An election integrity bill is expected to make a comeback in Congress next week.
The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/22/text" target="_blank" rel="noopener">(SAVE) Act</a>, introduced by Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX), seeks to &#8220;amend the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 to require proof of United States citizenship to register an individual to vote in elections for Federal office.&#8221;
Although the GOP-led House last year passed the SAVE Act, which also pushes states to remove non-citizens from voter rolls, the bill never got a vote in the Democrat-controlled Senate. Now, both chambers of Congress are commanded by Republicans.
On Friday, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) <a href="https://x.com/SpeakerJohnson/status/1905722988751937942" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> in a post on X that the lower chamber &#8220;will vote on the SAVE Act to ensure ONLY American citizens vote in American elections&#8221; next week.
The moves came after President Donald Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-signs-historic-executive-order-to-help-secure-u-s-elections" target="_blank" rel="noopener">signed</a> an executive order that threatens to strip federal funds from states that do not require proof of citizenship to register for federal elections.
Only five Democrats <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nearly-all-house-dems-vote-against-bill-requiring-voters-prove-citizenship" target="_blank" rel="noopener">joined</a> with the majority of Republicans voted to pass the SAVE Act through the House last July.
Critics, including former President Joe Biden&#8217;s administration, argued the bill was unnecessary and would create an undue burden on legitimate voters.
But a <a href="https://mikejohnson.house.gov/uploadedfiles/save_act_white_paper.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from Johnson warned of a National Voter Registration Act “loophole” in which states do not ask for proof of citizenship when registering an individual to vote in federal elections and cited evidence of non-citizens appearing on voter rolls in places such as Massachusetts, Ohio, and Virginia.
During an <a href="https://x.com/RepChipRoy/status/1904721299966193741" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview</a> on &#8220;The Will Cain Show&#8221; from Fox News, Roy delivered a retort to his bill&#8217;s detractors.
&#8220;People in the radical Left are trying to say, &#8216;Oh! This is going to prevent, like, married women from voting because if they get married, their name changes.&#8217; &#8230; It&#8217;s all bogus. It&#8217;s all a lie made up by the radical Left. All this will do is prevent illegals from voting,&#8221; Roy said.
The House is also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/house-to-vote-on-restraining-nationwide-injunctions-stop-judicial-overreach-against-trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">slated</a> to vote next week on a bill that would stem the tide of federal judges who have issued nationwide injunctions against elements of Trump’s second-term agenda.

House Speaker Mike Johnson speaks, with Rep. Chip Roy in the background

House To Again Vote On Bill Requiring Voters Prove Citizenship

Voting Bill

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) offered Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) a seat back at the leadership table after the Trump administration withdrew her nomination for U.N. Ambassador over concerns about House Republicans&#8217; narrow majority in Congress.
&#8220;There is no doubt she would have served with distinction as our ambassador to the United Nations, but we are grateful for her willingness to sacrifice that position and remain in Congress to help us save the country,&#8221; Johnson said. &#8220;I will invite her to return to the leadership table immediately.&#8221;
He said that Stefanik agreeing to give up her nomination for the sake of helping the team showed that she was a &#8220;devoted patriot&#8221; and &#8220;deeply devoted to her country and fully committed to see President Trump’s agenda succeed in Congress.&#8221;
&#8220;It is well known Republicans have a razor-thin House majority, and Elise’s agreement to withdraw her nomination will allow us to keep one of the toughest, most resolute members of our Conference in place to help drive forward President Trump’s America First policies,&#8221; he added.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Elise Stefanik is truly a great leader and a devoted patriot. Today’s selfless decision shows America what those of us who work with her already know. She is deeply devoted to her country and fully committed to see President Trump’s agenda succeed in Congress. It is well known…
— Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpeakerJohnson/status/1905330013244915791?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 27, 2025</a></blockquote>
President Donald Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-pulls-stefanik-nomination-united-nations-ambassador?topStoryPosition=undefined" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> earlier in the day that he withdrew Stefanik&#8217;s nomination because it was &#8220;essential that we maintain EVERY Republican Seat in Congress.&#8221;
&#8220;We must be unified to accomplish our Mission, and Elise Stefanik has been a vital part of our efforts from the very beginning,” Trump said. “I have asked Elise, as one of my biggest Allies, to remain in Congress to help me deliver Historic Tax Cuts, GREAT Jobs, Record Economic Growth, a Secure Border, Energy Dominance, Peace Through Strength, and much more, so we can MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN.”
Trump added: “With a very tight Majority, I don’t want to take a chance on anyone else running for Elise’s seat. The people love Elise and, with her, we have nothing to worry about come Election Day. There are others that can do a good job at the United Nations. Therefore, Elise will stay in Congress, rejoin the House Leadership Team, and continue to fight for our amazing American People. Speaker Johnson is thrilled! I look forward to the day when Elise is able to join my Administration in the future. She is absolutely FANTASTIC. Thank you Elise!”
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-pulls-stefanik-nomination-united-nations-ambassador?topStoryPosition=undefined">Trump Pulls Stefanik Nomination To Become United Nations Ambassador</a>

Elise Stefanik

Mike Johnson Welcomes Elise Stefanik Back Into House Leadership

United Nations

Hundreds of pro-life activists from across the country gathered on Capitol Hill Thursday to push lawmakers to take advantage of rare opportunity to defund abortion giant Planned Parenthood
Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America said that over 300 activists from 39 states would meet with congressional offices to urge lawmakers to end federal funding for Planned Parenthood through the budget reconciliation process. The last time Republicans had a similar opportunity to gut Planned Parenthood of its funding was in 2017, when the effort failed by one vote in the Senate. 
Planned Parenthood was given around $699 million in taxpayer dollars in 2022-2023, according to its most recent annual report. The federal funding makes up about 34% of the organization’s annual revenue. The same report also revealed the organization ended the lives of nearly 400,000 unborn babies. 
SBA Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser told The Daily Wire that the upcoming budget negotiations were the best chance for Republicans to defund Planned Parenthood in eight years. 
“This is the biggest pot of Planned Parenthood and big abortion funding that the federal government is involved in,” she told The Daily Wire. “We provide $2 million a day for this so that they can spend $70 million last election cycle trying to defeat our candidates, unsuccessfully, thank goodness. But most importantly they are using it to build the institution of Planned Parenthood.” 
In 2017, a similar effort fell short after the late Senator John McCain decided at the last minute not to back a reconciliation bill, leaving Republicans one vote short of defunding Planned Parenthood and repealing Obamacare. 
Dannenfelser said now was the “perfect storm” to defund Planned Parenthood, given Republican control of the White House and Congress and the efforts of the Department of Government Efficiency. She said that House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA)was the best speaker pro-lifers have ever worked on this issue. 
“We’ve got a good shot,” she told The Daily Wire, saying that the lobby day was to keep a focus on the defunding so that it wouldn’t be negotiated away during the reconciliation process. The money that could be defunded through reconciliation would be $500 million to Planned Parenthood through Medicaid. 
If successful, Dannenfelser said that it would be a monumental victory for the pro-life moment and could spell doom for Planned Parenthood. 
“You take that amount of money away for one or two years, and I really do think for an already hobbled organization, it could just bring them down,” she said. 
During a Thursday rally with several Republican lawmakers and pro-life activists, Rep. Mary Miller (R-IL) said that Planned Parenthood was a “murder for profit organization” that should “never receive another penny of taxpayer dollars.” She added that she was making it her mission to “defund Planned Parenthood once and for all,” saying that its status as a non-profit should be revoked. 
Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) also spoke at the event, saying that Planned Parenthood was a “baby killing machine as they abort over a thousand babies every single day.” 
Republicans have promised for years to defund Planned Parenthood after undercover videos published in 2015 showed Planned Parenthood officials discussing the sale of aborted baby parts and organs. Yet the abortion provider has continued to receive hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars every year. 
The pro-life activists&#8217; visit to Capitol Hill comes one day after 150 national and state pro-lifer organizations sent a <a href="https://sbaprolife.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Defund-Big-Abortion-Letter.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">letter</a> to members of Congress urging them to take action to fully defund Planned Parenthood.

US-POLITICS-RIGHT TO LIFE

Pro-Lifers Urge GOP To Take Advantage Of Rare Chance To Defund Planned Parenthood

Abortion

John McCain

Planned Parenthood

Pro-Life Movement

Washington D.C.

On Tuesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said he did not believe anyone should lose their job in response to a controversy regarding a journalist &#8220;inadvertently added&#8221; to a Signal group chat in which Trump administration officials discussed plans for airstrikes on Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists in Yemen.
While some Democrats have called for <a href="https://x.com/MarkWarner/status/1904535761304576311" target="_blank" rel="noopener">resignations</a>, Johnson emphasized how the White House <a href="https://x.com/PressSec/status/1904512527699968437" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> no &#8220;war plans&#8221; were discussed in the conversation, which was how Atlantic Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg characterized the Signal thread to which he was included. Johnson also pointed out the White House denied that classified materials were sent to the thread and is looking into how the number was &#8220;inadvertently added&#8221; to the chat.
&#8220;Obviously that was a mistake and a serious one, but I just want to say: thanks to President Trump and his strong leadership and &#8230; everybody on that group chat — the leaders on that group chat — are extraordinary people,&#8221; Johnson said during a House GOP leadership press conference on Capitol Hill.
&#8220;I know them all personally. They&#8217;re patriots, they&#8217;re doing a great job for the country, and that was a successful mission,&#8221; the speaker added. &#8220;I mean, we&#8217;re taking out Houthi terrorists. That&#8217;s what the American people expect the administration to do — to restore peace through strength and to act decisively.&#8221;
The Signal thread had a number of top officials from President Donald Trump&#8217;s administration, including Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz.
Johnson, a Trump ally, dismissed the notion that he would have responded more harshly if such a breach had happened to the previous administration under former President Joe Biden.
&#8220;Look, they&#8217;ve acknowledged that there was an error, and they&#8217;re correcting it, and I would have asked the same thing of the Biden administration,&#8221; Johnson said. &#8220;I don&#8217;t think anyone should have lost their job over that — because an errant number, you know, found its way onto a dialogue between leaders. It&#8217;s a mistake, but we got to correct it going forward and they will.&#8221;
Johnson declined to get into whether he believed the use of Signal to discuss national security matters was appropriate.
&#8220;I don&#8217;t use Signal. &#8230; I don&#8217;t know all the parameters of it, so it&#8217;s not my — I&#8217;m not in a position to determine whether 
that&#8217;s appropriate or not,&#8221; Johnson explained. &#8220;You have to leave that to others but I would just say obviously we got to be careful with these things and I know that they will.&#8221;
Trump <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/trump-stands-national-security-adviser-leaked-military-plans-saying-mi-rcna197944" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> NBC News that one of Waltz&#8217;s staffers put Goldberg in the Signal chat. Yet he defended his national security adviser, saying, &#8220;Waltz has learned a lesson, and he’s a good man.&#8221;
Johnson also vouched for Waltz and noted that they were former colleagues in the House. He also said Waltz &#8220;was born for the job. He is highly qualified&#8221; and stressed that &#8220;the president said he has total confidence in him, and we do as well.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/SpeakerJohnson?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SpeakerJohnson</a> on Signal group chat: &quot;They&#39;ve acknowledged that it was an error and they&#39;re correcting it&#8230;I don&#39;t think anyone should have lost their job over that.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/afOPw8XPTr">pic.twitter.com/afOPw8XPTr</a>
&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1904579992203203034?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 25, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Menu