Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed advocated abolishing the Second Amendment in favor of the “right to have health care” in a now-hidden video. 
El-Sayed hid up to 100 videos where he pushed radical policies, including getting rid of the right to bear arms and complaining about fireworks, CNN <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/11/politics/el-sayed-youtube-videos-fireworks-2nd-amendment">reported</a> Tuesday. His comments about getting rid of the Second Amendment came shortly after a transgender-identifying woman murdered six people at a Christian school in Tennessee. 
“What if we tweaked the Constitution, amended the amendment, and instead of the right to bear arms, we change it to the right to have healthcare?” he said in April 2023, according to a video viewed by CNN. He claimed that the move would lead to “fewer people dying by gun and more people living because they have healthcare.”
The hidden views come as El-Sayed faces <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dsa-whistleblower-says-hell-do-everything-he-can-to-elect-mike-rogers?author=Leif+Le+Mahieu&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=1&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=DSA+Whistleblower+Says+He%E2%80%99ll+Do+%E2%80%98Everything+He+Can%E2%80%99+To+Elect+Mike+Rogers">an exodus</a> by some Democrats from his campaign over his extreme views and association with activists like Hasan Piker, who said America “deserved 9/11.” El-Sayed also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/yes-michigans-abdul-el-sayed-really-wants-to-defund-the-police-here-are-the-receipts">deleted</a> numerous social media posts advocating to defund the police. 
In a July 2024 podcast titled, “Fireworks just aren’t worth it: hear us out,” El-Sayed argued that “fireworks suck” and said Americans should find other ways to celebrate the Fourth of July. The rant against fireworks was sponsored by the Marguerite Casey Foundation, which El-Sayed noted advocated for “feminist prison abolition.” 
El-Sayed downplayed concerns about border security as illegal crossings surged to record levels under President Joe Biden in another video flagged by CNN.
In September 2022, when illegal border crossings reached an astounding 227,000, El-Sayed said that border security “doesn’t even make the top five among issues that people in the United States actually care about that affect their lives.”
“It’s crazy to me that the party that says that they’re the party of family values can’t understand when people will make decisions for their families — because that’s exactly what these migrants are doing,” he added. 
In other resurfaced videos, El-Sayed attacked Michigan&#8217;s beloved Mackinac Island and <a href="https://x.com/Bobby_LaVallley/status/2086877217779270136">claimed</a> football was a breeding ground for “toxic masculinity.&#8221; 
&#8220;Football is very much associated with a particularly masculine and oftentimes toxically masculine culture,” he said. 
El-Sayed’s campaign claimed his views articulated in the videos don’t reflect what he believes today. 
“Abdul is the former captain of his high school football team, loves Michigan football on Saturdays, and celebrates the Fourth of July with fireworks like the next Michigander. Cherry-picked comments from old podcasts don’t reflect his beliefs today,” his campaign said. 
While attempting to distance himself from some of his past statements, El-Sayed’s campaign still includes far-Left policy positions like defending so-called “gender-affirming care” and “Medicare for all.”

MICHIGANDEMS

Abdul El-Sayed Scrubs Video Revealing Second Amendment Plans

2026 Midterms

Abdul El-Sayed

Fireworks

Guns

Health Care

Illegal Immigation

Michigan

Second Amendment

Senate

Southern Border

Maine Democratic Senate nominee Troy Jackson held a campaign event co-hosted by an activist who has written extensively for the Communist Party USA, adding another unusual chapter to a Democratic Senate campaign already marked by a series of controversies.
Lorri Nandrea of Canton was listed as one of four hosts of a June 5 campaign brunch for Jackson at the Local 14 Solidarity Center in Jay, Maine, according to an invitation reviewed by the <a href="https://www.themainewire.com/2026/08/communist-party-usa-writer-co-hosted-campaign-event-for-democratic-senate-nominee-troy-jackson/">Maine Wire</a>. At the time, Jackson was running for governor. He is now the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate and will face Republican Sen. Susan Collins in November in a race that will help determine control of the Senate.
The invitation described the event as a “Brunch with Troy Jackson” and said the four hosts — Nandrea, Linda Deane, Cynthia Phinney, and Jimmy McHugh — had known Jackson for years and “worked with him on important legislation that we believe makes Maine a better place to live.”
The Communist Party USA’s website maintains an <a href="https://www.cpusa.org/authors/lorri-nandrea/?utm_source=chatgpt.com">author page</a> for Nandrea listing four articles she has written for the organization: “Waking class consciousness today,” “Why fixing capitalism is not enough,” “Killer capitalism vs. green socialism,” and “Unions are more popular: How does this translate into action?” Communist Party USA has also referenced Nandrea as <a href="https://cpusa.org/article/tightening-up-our-club-and-district-organization/">recently as 2025</a>. 
It&#8217;s unclear if Nandrea was a member of Communist Party USA when she co-hosted Jackson’s event.
Jackson became the Democratic nominee on July 25 after Maine Democrats <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/democrat-party-bosses-crown-new-nominee-to-replace-graham-platner">selected him</a> to replace Graham Platner, who <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/graham-platner-ends-senate-bid-with-profane-political-message">withdrew from the race</a> following an allegation of sexual assault that he has denied. Jackson, a former Maine Senate president from northern Maine, will now take on Collins in one of the Democrats’ most closely watched Senate challenges.
For Democrats, the episode may feel like déjà vu. Among Platner&#8217;s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/maine-senate-candidate-graham-platner-socialist-group-linked-to-ice-attack-tesla-bombings">earliest controversies</a> was his past identification with communism and the resurfacing of his involvement with the Socialist Rifle Association. Platner then faced scrutiny over a Nazi tattoo along with other profane past statements.
Jackson had campaigned alongside Platner during the earlier campaign and emerged as the replacement nominee after Platner’s withdrawal. Jackson has now sought to present himself as a working-class alternative to Collins, emphasizing his background as a logger from rural Aroostook County and his decades in Maine Democratic politics.
But as Jackson asks Maine voters to send him to the U.S. Senate, the political network behind his candidacy will inevitably come under greater scrutiny. That leaves Jackson with a straightforward question to answer: What did he know about Nandrea’s political background, and what role, if any, has she played in his campaign beyond the June event?

Maine Democrats Hold Senate Nominating Convention

Communist Party Writer Co-Hosts Campaign Event For Democrat Senate Hopeful

2026 election

2026 elections

2026 midterm

campaigns

Communism

Maine

Maine Democrats

Senate Democrats

Senate Race

Troy Jackson

U.S. Senate

Democrats in Montana have embarked on a desperate campaign to force their own U.S. Senate nominee to quit the race, and they&#8217;re willing to harass members of her family to make that happen.
According to Washington Reporter editor-in-chief Matthew Foldi, Democrats have become increasingly aware that independent candidate Seth Bodnar would stand a much better chance against the Republican nominee, Kurt Alme, a former U.S. Attorney backed by President Donald Trump. The only person standing in the way is Alani Bankhead — who won the Democratic Party&#8217;s five-way primary on June 2 with 43.7% of the vote — and the party appears ready and willing to throw out more than 48,000 votes to force a more favorable general election matchup.
The goal of the &#8220;project,&#8221; according to a series of <a href="https://x.com/MatthewFoldi/status/2086521870333923649">screenshots</a> Foldi shared, was to make the Montana Senate seat — and thus potential control of the upper chamber — &#8220;more winnable&#8221; by convincing Bankhead to drop out of the race. A call to arms sent out to activist groups around the state suggested that it was an &#8220;all hands on deck&#8221; situation because Bankhead, who had not responded to &#8220;gentler nudges,&#8221; had to drop out by August 10 in order to be taken off the ballot.
&#8220;Democrats want to push @AlaniBankhead out of the race in favor of &#8216;independent&#8217; candidate Seth Bodnar, who is backed by Chuck Schumer and former senator Jon Tester. These documents offer an inside look at how Democrats’ dark money apparatus will use any means, including intimidation to secure their preferred nominee,&#8221; Foldi posted, following that with a screenshot of a document titled, &#8220;Montana Senate Seat: How to Help.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
The document is titled: Montana Senate Seat: How to Help. It urges Democrats “who have relevant relationships” to urge Bankhead to drop out of the race.
(3/xx) <a href="https://t.co/St1x4C0ng7">pic.twitter.com/St1x4C0ng7</a>
— Matthew Foldi (@MatthewFoldi) <a href="https://x.com/MatthewFoldi/status/2086522798642524619?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 9, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Anyone with &#8220;relevant relationships&#8221; — meaning those who might have the ability to put pressure on Bankhead either directly or indirectly — was encouraged to use them to &#8220;encourage&#8221; Bankhead to exit the race ahead of the August 10 deadline. The document even included a list of people close to the candidate who could be targeted by their pressure campaign. The list included several family members, close friends, as well as current and former campaign staffers.
The document also contained <a href="https://x.com/MatthewFoldi/status/2086524470257123814">helpful tips</a> for those inclined to participate, from reminders to tag Bankhead in their posts to pre-written drafts that they were urged to alter slightly so as not to appear AI-generated.
Just one week prior, up against a nearly identical deadline, South Dakota Democratic Senate nominee <a href="https://www.thedakotascout.com/p/democrat-julian-beaudion-pulls-out">Julian Beaudion</a> withdrew from the race, citing a similar <a href="https://www.thedakotascout.com/p/left-wing-activists-urge-south-dakota">pressure campaign</a> orchestrated by left-wing activists who pushed him out in favor of former Democrat-turned-independent Brian Bengs.
<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/04/us/politics/julian-beaudion-drops-out-south-dakota.html?eafs_enabled=false">Beaudion</a> explained just after he exited the race that he&#8217;d done so in light of a recent &#8220;devastating house fire” — the cause of which is still under investigation — and “intimidating threats to drop out of this race.”
“The mental and physical safety of my family is my priority and for this reason alone, I step aside,&#8221; he said.

Democrat Alani Bankhead Campaigns for Montana Senate Seat

Inside Dem Dark Money Campaign To Harass Their Own Female Nominee Until She Quits

Dark Money

Democrats

Montana

Politics

A former organizer for the Democratic Socialists of America vowed to do “everything” in his power to help Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers defeat Democrat Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan.
Jake Altman said during an interview with The Free Press that El-Sayed’s rise represented a dangerous takeover of the Democratic Party by a pro-communist and pro-terrorist faction. Altman, who was an activist with the DSA for almost a decade, said he would never support any Democrat who backed El-Sayed.
El-Sayed narrowly won the Democratic Senate nomination last week on a far-Left platform. His candidacy was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/el-sayed-shrugs-off-hasan-pikers-9-11-comments">backed</a> by Hasan Piker, a popular streamer who once said America “deserved” the September 11 terrorist attacks. After El-Sayed’s primary victory over Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI), Rogers <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/mike-rogers-makes-his-pitch-for-dem-support-in-michigan-after-el-sayeds-divisive-victory">pitched</a> himself to moderate Democrats alienated by their party’s nominee. 
“We could see a world in which realignment continues, and you see more working-class voters of all kinds start voting for the Republican Party because the Democratic Party has become so disconnected from its traditional base, so unmoored and so crazy,” Altman <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61tUsrNejRM">told</a> Free Press reporter Maya Sulkin. “I&#8217;m nervous. I&#8217;m going to do everything I can to help get Mike Rogers elected.”
Altman said that he was going “to try to stop these people who are willing to run on a ticket with explicitly pro-Hezbollah people, who are willing to give political cover to terrorists, who are willing to sympathize with terrorists, who are willing to sit in a room and pal around with Maoists, people who worship a guy who murdered tens of millions of people.”
“These are not people that you idolize,” he added. “I am not going to support any Democrat, ever, who is willing to back Abdul El-Sayed. I will fight you people to the ends of this earth. Haley Stevens should be ashamed of herself for endorsing him. Ashamed. She knows better. Her staff knows better.”
Michigan Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who endorsed Stevens ahead of the primary, joined Stevens and other establishment Democrats in backing El-Sayed after his primary victory. 
“There&#8217;s nothing left to the Democratic Party. All the energy, it’s Hasan Piker&#8217;s party now. It&#8217;s Abdul El-Sayed and Hasan Piker&#8217;s party now,” Altman said. 
Some high-profile Democrats have pushed back on El-Sayed’s candidacy. Michael LaRosa, former press secretary to first lady Jill Biden, said he would rather see Rogers win than El-Sayed. 
“I would never encourage any Democrat to support a candidate too weak to stand up to extremists who believe that those men and women jumping from a burning building 110 stories up because the alternative was worse deserved what they got on September 11th,” he said on social media. 
The Michigan Senate race is considered a “toss-up” by election forecaster Cook Political Report.

MixCollage-10-Aug-2026-11-25-AM-4668

DSA Whistleblower Says He’ll Do ‘Everything He Can’ To Elect Mike Rogers

9/11

Democratic Socialists Of America

Hasan Piker

Islamic terrorists

Mike Rogers

Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed is facing backlash after trashing a beloved Michigan vacation spot in a resurfaced video — and doubled down when confronted.
“I don’t think the most American place in Michigan is a place that…bans cars,” he said. 
Mackinac Island banned motor vehicles in the 1890s, leaving the island to horse-drawn carriages, bicycles, and foot traffic. It&#8217;s a rule generations of Michigan families have treated as part of the island&#8217;s charm. But El-Sayed sees it differently.
“I hate Mackinac so much,” in a resurfaced documentary from his failed 2018 gubernatorial campaign. “Every time I’ve ever come here I’ve hated it. Why am I here?” 
The island has also hosted the governor&#8217;s official summer residence since 1945 — a fact El-Sayed jokes about in the clip, noting that a win would have made Mackinac his own summer home.
El-Sayed will face off against Republican nominee Mike Rogers, a former U.S. representative, who has already taken two digs at El-Sayed.
“There’s no place like Mackinac,” Rogers <a href="https://x.com/MikeRogersForMI/status/2085799879905771713">said</a>, sharing personal photos of him enjoying his time on the island. The other swipe occurred when Rogers put out a campaign video where he looked directly into the camera and said, “If you are among the majority of Democratic voters who woke up on Wednesday feeling well, hopeless, because the person who won does not represent your values then just know there is still hope.” 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
My message to Democratic voters in Michigan: <a href="https://t.co/Jluml1RepW">pic.twitter.com/Jluml1RepW</a>
— Mike Rogers (@MikeRogersForMI) <a href="https://x.com/MikeRogersForMI/status/2085694224285212728?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 7, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
El-Sayed has embraced the party&#8217;s far-Left flank, campaigning alongside communist influencer Hasan Piker — who declared in a 2019 stream that &#8220;America deserved 9/11,&#8221; a remark he later characterized as a criticism of U.S. foreign policy. On Friday, <a href="https://x.com/Tectone/status/2085718952563392798?s=20">another clip</a> circulated of Piker circulated telling viewers, &#8220;We want more immigrants to come into your countries and then they&#8217;re going to f*ck your sisters and then your daughters,&#8221; before adding, &#8220;We&#8217;re here to destroy the white race.&#8221;
Asked on CNN Tuesday night whether we was comfortable with El-Sayed&#8217;s association with piker given the 9/11 remark, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/04/politics/video/bernie-sanders-abdul-el-sayed-progressives-nn-digvid">admitted</a> he was not — &#8220;I think that&#8217;s a dumb statement&#8221; — but quickly pivoted to defending the streamer. &#8220;He has a whole lot of followers and there&#8217;s a lot of things that he&#8217;s saying that make sense to a lot of people,&#8221; Sanders said. &#8220;I think we have to get above cancel culture. You know, when you&#8217;re doing radio, whatever they do — podcasts three hours a day — you say dumb things.&#8221; Sanders has not been asked publicly about the clip that resurfaced Friday.
Piker&#8217;s involvement with the campaign has been no obstacle to party leaders, who have rallied behind El-Sayed since Tuesday. The streamer, who traveled to Havana in March with a delegation organized in part by the Democratic Socialists of America — a trip now under Treasury Department scrutiny for possible sanctions violations — has appeared alongside El-Sayed at a series of campaign events. Former Vice President Kamala Harris nonetheless <a href="http://detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2026/08/07/kamala-harris-endorses-michigan-u-s-senate-race-el-sayed-rogers-lobbies-democrats/91214121007/">endorsed</a> El-Sayed on Friday.
&#8220;Abdul knows that we need bold solutions to the crises facing America&#8217;s working families, and he is ready to take on this fight,&#8221; Harris said. &#8220;I proudly stand with him to ensure we win a Democratic Senate majority in November.&#8221;
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer endorsed El-Sayed on Wednesday in a joint statement with Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee — this despite El-Sayed campaigning opening on replacing Schumer as Democratic leader.
&#8220;If I have anything to do about it, the next Senate majority leader — Chris Van Hollen,&#8221; El-Sayed said at a rally introducing the Maryland senator. Schumer, for his part, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/05/top-democrats-embrace-abdul-el-sayed">waved off</a> the challenge. &#8220;Democrats are united by a common purpose: putting a check on Donald Trump by defeating his Republican enablers and taking back the Senate,&#8221; he and Gillibrand said.

Michigan Democrats Brace For Tectonic Shift In Key Senate Race

El-Sayed Doubles Down After He’s Blasted For Disparaging Historic Michigan Destination

Mackinac Island

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche was narrowly confirmed by the Senate on Saturday to officially serve in the role, clearing a vote that divided the Republican Party. 
The Senate voted 50 to 49, with two Republicans — Sen. Susan Collins (ME) and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (AK) — siding with Democrats to oppose to Blanche’s nomination. Collins said her opposition stemmed from a Justice Department she believes &#8220;has become increasingly political.&#8221; 
&#8220;Mr. Blanche has taken several actions that have further eroded the Department&#8217;s independence, and that is the basis for my vote to oppose his confirmation,&#8221; she said in a <a href="https://www.collins.senate.gov/newsroom/senator-collins-statement-on-nomination-of-todd-blanche-to-serve-as-attorney-general">statement</a> earlier this week.
Collins argued against Blanche&#8217;s approval of an IRS order to &#8220;shield[ed]&#8221; the Trump family and its businesses from audits, along with the creation of a $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund. Murkowski <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/second-gop-senator-comes-out-against-blanche-confirmation">echoed</a> those concerns and separately criticized the department&#8217;s handling of the Epstein files release.
The Senate voted to confirm Blanche in a late-night session that ended at 4:00 a.m. After his confirmation, the attorney general <a href="https://x.com/DAGToddBlanche/status/2086015509821038750">said</a> he was &#8220;deeply honored by the trust and confidence President Trump has placed in me to lead the Department of Justice.&#8221;
 On Friday, Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), who had previously opposed Blanche&#8217;s nomination, announced he would vote to confirm Blanche in what would become the deciding vote in the 50-49 outcome.
“Mr. Blanche is not perfect, and he will tell you this,” Cassidy <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/todd-blanche-gets-guarantee-from-key-senator-on-confirmation-vote">said</a>. “But the choice is not between perfection and Mr. Blanche. It is between Mr. Blanche and another acting attorney general who may not run the department effectively under President Trump, and who indeed may not be as good as Mr. Blanche.”
Cassidy voiced some concern but said he believed that a confirmed attorney general would have more authority to resist political pressure than someone serving only in an acting capacity. Blanche thanked the Senate for staying late to complete the vote and thanked President Donald Trump. 
“I am deeply honored by the trust and confidence President Trump has placed in me to lead the Department of Justice as our great nation’s 88th Attorney General,” he said. 
Blanche&#8217;s path to the job began outside government entirely; he served as Trump&#8217;s personal defense lawyer before nominating him as deputy attorney general upon returning to office. He was appointed to acting attorney general by the president after former Attorney General Pam Bondi was ousted from the department in April.

Todd Blanche

Senate Confirms Todd Blanche As Attorney General In Razor Thin, Late-Night Vote

Attorney General

Department of Justice

A top lawyer tied to a now-defunct transgender program for kids is hosting a high-dollar fundraiser on Saturday for Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico, according to social media posts. 
The campaign event in Houston will be hosted by Afsheen Davis, senior vice president and general counsel for Texas Children’s Hospital. It comes just days after Texas Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton <a href="https://x.com/KenPaxtonTX/status/2085120779398877586">announced</a> a final settlement with the hospital requiring it to establish what his office has described as the nation&#8217;s first-ever &#8220;detransition&#8221; clinic. 
&#8220;As an organization, we respect our team members’ rights to their own opinions and beliefs on political matters, and at the same time those pursuits are personal and do not represent the company or its position,&#8221; a hospital spokesperson told The Daily Wire. &#8220;It’s both common practice and an individual right for employees to host fundraising events in their personal capacity.&#8221;
The fundraiser, which was <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DbbZsOrG1kM/?img_index=2">advertised</a> at a Texas Trial Lawyers Association event, will also be hosted by Josh Davis, Afsheen Davis&#8217; husband. Josh Davis is a <a href="https://www.ttla.com/?pg=Leadership" target="_blank" rel="noopener">member</a> of the Texas Trial Lawyers Association executive committee and runs a personal-injury law firm. 
The Daily Wire reached out to Talarico’s campaign and Davis for more details on the fundraiser. 
Talarico and Paxton are locked in a fierce general election race for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Republican Sen. John Cornyn, with multiple polls showing a close contest. 
<div id="attachment_1153375" style="width: 1044px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1153375" class="size-full wp-image-1153375" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/Screenshot-2026-08-07-at-12.43.42-PM.png" alt="" width="1034" height="1007" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/Screenshot-2026-08-07-at-12.43.42-PM.png 1034w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/Screenshot-2026-08-07-at-12.43.42-PM-300x292.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/Screenshot-2026-08-07-at-12.43.42-PM-591x576.png 591w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/Screenshot-2026-08-07-at-12.43.42-PM-768x748.png 768w" sizes=" (max-width: 1034px) 100vw, 1034px" />Texas Trial Lawyers Association Instagram.</div>
The settlement requires Texas Children&#8217;s to pay $10 million — roughly $8.6 million of it to the state — to resolve claims that the hospital billed Texas Medicaid for illegal transgender procedures on kids, including by using false diagnosis codes. The hospital must also establish a “detransition” clinic by the end of October 2026. Texas Children&#8217;s has denied violating the law.
Davis and the hospital are also defendants in a separate lawsuit involving the hospital&#8217;s former gender-transition program.
Dr. Eithan Haim, who worked at Texas Children&#8217;s,<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-elon-musk-funds-suit-against-texas-childrens-for-malicious-prosecution-of-eithan-haim"> sued</a> Davis and other hospital officials, accusing the hospital of lying about ending its transgender medical program and claiming it was still performing attempted transition procedures on children as young as 11.
During the Biden administration, federal prosecutors accused Haim of improperly accessing patients&#8217; records. Haim said Davis was among those at the hospital who helped the Biden administration bring a case against him. Those charges were dropped shortly after Trump took office. 
In a lawsuit filed in January, Haim alleged that Davis and other hospital officials sought to have him &#8220;criminally charged and provided federal authorities the entire basis for the government’s investigation and subsequent indictment of Dr. Haim.”
Talarico&#8217;s past promotion of transgender ideology has been a focus of Republican attacks during the Senate race. While Talarico recently said he does not support transgender surgeries on kids, he <a href="https://journals.house.texas.gov/HJRNL/88R/PDF/88RDAY63FINAL.PDF">voted against</a> a 2023 law that protected minors from transgender surgeries and cross-sex hormone procedures.

US-NEWS-TEXASSENATE-TALARICO-CHILDCARE-3-FT

Top Lawyer Tied To Defunct Trans Program Hosting James Talarico Fundraiser

James Talarico

John Cornyn

Ken Paxton

Texas

Transgender

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) announced Friday that he will vote to confirm Todd Blanche as attorney general, likely securing President Donald Trump’s nominee enough Republican support to take over the Justice Department permanently.
Cassidy’s decision came after Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Susan Collins (R-ME) <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/second-gop-senator-comes-out-against-blanche-confirmation">announced</a> they would oppose Blanche’s nomination, raising questions about whether the former Trump defense attorney could secure enough votes in the narrowly divided Senate.
In a speech on the Senate floor, Cassidy said he had spent days reviewing Blanche’s record, speaking with the nominee, fellow senators, current and former Justice Department officials, and former Attorney General William Barr before reaching his conclusion.
“Mr. Blanche is not perfect, and he will tell you this,” Cassidy said. “But the choice is not between perfection and Mr. Blanche. It is between Mr. Blanche and another acting attorney general who may not run the department effectively under President Trump, and who indeed may not be as good as Mr. Blanche.”
Cassidy said his decision was not an endorsement of Trump’s broader approach to the Justice Department, but rather a judgment about whether Blanche would be able to effectively lead the agency and provide legal counsel to the president. “This is not a referendum on President Trump,” Cassidy said. “It is a decision regarding Mr. Blanche in very specific circumstances.”
The Louisiana senator acknowledged several concerns surrounding Blanche’s nomination, including his involvement in a proposed $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund created as part of a settlement involving President Trump’s lawsuit against the IRS, as well as an agreement that initially provided broad protections from tax audits for Trump and his businesses.
Cassidy said Blanche’s role in approving those measures reflected “poor judgment,” but argued the nominee had taken steps to address the concerns, including rescinding the proposed fund and clarifying the scope of the tax agreement. “No American should be unfairly targeted by the law, but no American should be above the law,” Cassidy said.
The senator also raised broader concerns about what he described as “apparent lawfare,” warning that the Justice Department’s use of prosecutions against political opponents has damaged public trust. “Both parties, presidents of both parties, have been guilty of this,” Cassidy said. “It must stop. It should stop now.”
However, Cassidy said he ultimately concluded that a confirmed attorney general would have more authority to resist inappropriate political pressure than an acting official. 
“I am told that Senate confirmation is important in interactions with the President, with others in the Cabinet, and is important to DOJ employees in general,” Cassidy said. “Being Senate confirmed gives them greater leverage to push for things that should be pushed forward.”
Cassidy pointed to Blanche’s previous work as a federal prosecutor, his management of Justice Department priorities, and his support among U.S. attorneys as evidence that he could lead the agency effectively.
He specifically cited conversations with two Louisiana U.S. attorneys, who Cassidy said praised Blanche’s focus on violent crime, drug trafficking, fraud enforcement, and providing resources to federal prosecutors.
The announcement came after Murkowski and Collins broke with the Republican majority to oppose Blanche’s confirmation. 
“The country needs an Attorney General who will check the worst impulses of this administration,” Murkowski said. “I hope Mr. Blanche is able to achieve that, if confirmed, but I simply do not have confidence that will be the case.”
Collins expressed similar concerns, citing Blanche’s involvement in the IRS settlement, the proposed anti-weaponization fund, and what she viewed as threats to Justice Department independence. With Cassidy’s support, Blanche appears positioned to overcome the opposition from Murkowski and Collins and become the second confirmed attorney general of Trump’s second administration.
Cassidy, who lost his 2026 Republican primary after Trump endorsed his challenger, acknowledged that his vote would draw criticism. “I’ll be criticized for this vote,” Cassidy said, briefly becoming emotional during his remarks. “What’s new?”
“I have a history with Mr. Trump,” Cassidy said. “But that history does not matter one bit.”

Bill Cassidy

Todd Blanche Gets Guarantee From Key Senator On Confirmation Vote

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Michigan&#8217;s Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed ranted about one of the state&#8217;s most beloved vacation spots and complained about being forced to travel there for his campaign. 
“I hate Mackinac so much,” he said in a 2020 documentary that followed his failed run for governor. “Every time I’ve ever come here I’ve hated it. Why am I here?”
In the clip, which was posted by <a href="https://x.com/Th_Midwesterner/status/2085731486158708741">The Midwesterner</a> on Friday, El-Sayed added that if he won the gubernatorial race, Mackinac Island would become his summer home. The car-free island is home to the Michigan governor’s official summer residence, a property the state has used to host political events since 1945. With no motor vehicles allowed on the island, travel is restricted to horse-drawn carriages, bicycles, and on foot. 
El-Sayed’s campaign did not immediately respond to The Daily Wire’s request for comment on why he dislikes one of Michigan’s most beloved and historical landmarks. 
Last year, Michigan Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer pitched the island as a film location for HBO&#8217;s popular series &#8220;The White Lotus.&#8221;
“If HBO is looking for the perfect location for season 4…Mackinac Island is ready to check you in,” she wrote over a video featuring beautiful scenery from the island. Whitmer regularly visits the island for political events, including for the Mackinac Policy Conference, which hosts Michigan’s political and business establishment each year. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
If <a href="https://x.com/HBO?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@HBO</a> is looking for the perfect location for season 4…Mackinac Island is ready to check you in 🪷 <a href="https://t.co/JHUjlqXSvX">pic.twitter.com/JHUjlqXSvX</a>
— Governor Gretchen Whitmer (@GovWhitmer) <a href="https://x.com/GovWhitmer/status/1898857658100158693?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 9, 2025</a></blockquote>
It&#8217;s not the first time a Democratic candidate has trashed the place he or she is vying to represent. During a special election for Tennessee&#8217;s 7th Congressional District, Democratic nominee Aftyn Behn was criticized for comments she made about Nashville. 
“I hate the city, I hate the bachelorettes, I hate the pedal taverns, I hate country music, I hate all of the things that make Nashville apparently an ‘it’ city to the rest of the country. But I hate it,” she said.
El-Sayed now faces Republican Senate nominee Mike Rogers in the general election. After El-Sayed’s win, Rogers released a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/mike-rogers-makes-his-pitch-for-dem-support-in-michigan-after-el-sayeds-divisive-victory">direct message</a> to Democratic voters who are concerned about the rise of the far-Left in Michigan. In a campaign video released after El-Sayed edged out Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) 48.5% to 47.5%, Rogers told Michigan Democrats of all ages, &#8220;You have a home with us.&#8221;
&#8220;Over the next 90 days I am going to work hard to earn your trust, to earn your support, and earn your vote,&#8221; Rogers said. &#8220;We have a state to save, Michigan. Let&#8217;s get to work.&#8221;

Michigan Democratic Senate Primary Winner Abdul El-Sayed Holds News Conference Day After Primary Win

El-Sayed Once Trashed Beloved Michigan Vacation Destination

Senatorial Race

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) endorsed Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed on Wednesday, despite El-Sayed spending much of his primary campaign arguing Schumer should no longer lead Senate Democrats. 
The endorsement is the latest example of Democratic establishment figures quickly <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/establishment-dems-fall-in-line-behind-el-sayed?author=Drew+Berkemeyer&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=2&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Establishment+Dems+Fall+In+Line+Behind+El-Sayed">falling in line</a> behind the socialist-backed nominee after spending months attempting to stop his insurgent campaign.
“Democrats are united by a common purpose: putting a check on Donald Trump by defeating his Republican enablers and taking back the Senate,” Schumer and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chair Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) said in a <a href="https://www.dscc.org/article/dscc-statement-on-abdul-el-sayeds-victory-in-michigan-senate-primary/">joint statement</a>. “We look forward to working with Abdul and Democrats across Michigan to win this seat in November.”
The endorsement came one day after El-Sayed narrowly defeated establishment-backed Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) in Michigan&#8217;s Democratic Senate primary, one of the party&#8217;s most closely watched ideological battles of the 2026 cycle. 
Throughout the campaign, El-Sayed cast himself as a threat to Democratic leadership in Washington. 
“If you&#8217;re Chuck Schumer, I&#8217;m dangerous,” El-Sayed <a href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DaMhOM0OXte/">said</a> during the primary campaign.
He also <a href="https://www.c-span.org/clip/us-senate/el-sayed-introduces-van-hollen-as-the-next-senate-majority-leader/5203501">publicly backed</a> Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) to replace Schumer as Democratic leader should the party regain control of the Senate. 
“If I have anything to do about it, the next Senate majority leader — Chris Van Hollen,” El-Sayed said while introducing the Maryland senator at a campaign event.
Despite those attacks, Schumer, who endorsed Haley Stevens during the primary, quickly backed El-Sayed after Democratic voters rejected the establishment&#8217;s preferred candidate.
Schumer&#8217;s endorsement follows similar moves from Michigan Democrats who spent months backing Stevens before uniting behind El-Sayed after Tuesday night&#8217;s results. 
Michigan Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), retiring Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI), and Stevens herself all pledged to support him in November.
“Together, let&#8217;s stop MAGA Republicans so we can get to work and deliver results for the people of Michigan,” Whitmer said.
Slotkin likewise called for party unity. 
“There is nothing more important than the mission of the next 90 days: uniting, keeping this seat blue, flipping the House and Senate, and providing a real check on President Trump,” she <a href="https://x.com/ElissaSlotkin/status/2085003232149913780">wrote</a> after the race was called.
Stevens, whose candidacy became the vehicle for the Democratic establishment&#8217;s effort to block El-Sayed&#8217;s nomination, also quickly endorsed her former rival. 
“I want to congratulate Abdul El-Sayed on winning the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate,” Stevens said in a <a href="https://haleyformi.com/news/haley-stevens-statement-on-election-results/">statement</a>. “I am proud to offer my support as he takes on Mike Rogers in the general election.”
She added that Republicans wanted Democrats to emerge from the primary “tired and divided,” saying, “I&#8217;m not going to let that happen.”
 The rapid consolidation behind El-Sayed comes despite the Democratic establishment spending months trying to prevent his nomination.
Stevens entered the race with endorsements from Schumer, Whitmer, Peters, former Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), and other prominent Democrats, while outside groups spent tens of millions of dollars backing her candidacy.
El-Sayed, meanwhile, built his campaign with support from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), and other leaders of the party&#8217;s Left wing. He campaigned on Medicare for All, abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ending U.S. military aid to Israel, restructuring the Supreme Court, and raising taxes on billionaires.
His victory continued a broader trend that has unsettled Democratic leaders this cycle, with socialist-backed candidates defeating multiple establishment Democrats in congressional primaries across the country.
El-Sayed now faces Republican Mike Rogers in a race widely viewed as critical to determining control of the Senate. With Michigan representing one of Democrats&#8217; best opportunities to hold a key seat in 2026, party leaders have rapidly coalesced behind a nominee who spent months arguing they should no longer be leading the party.

Trump Threatens No Back Pay For Shutdown’s Furloughed Workers

‘Cuck’ Schumer Endorses El-Sayed, Who Campaigned On Replacing Him

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Speaking at a hearing on Wednesday about the dangers of the Muslim Brotherhood network across America, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) denounced the five Senate Democrats who refused to attend the hearing.
Cruz laid into Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Federal Courts, Oversight, Agency Action, and Federal Rights, who announced on Tuesday that they would <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dems-boycott-hearing-on-muslim-brotherhood">refuse to participate</a> in the hearing focused on Muslim Brotherhood networks within the United States.
&#8220;You may notice that there are empty chairs on the Democrat side of the dais,&#8221; Cruz said. &#8220;The American people should ask themselves why not a single member of the minority decided that a hearing on terrorism was worth their time. It is an embarrassment and a disservice to the thousands of American victims of the Muslim Brotherhood. History has taught Americans the danger of dismissing determined jihadist movements because their ambitions seem too extreme to be real.&#8221;
Cruz continued:
<blockquote>
The present members of this subcommittee will look at two questions. First, how the Muslim Brotherhood built its network in America. And second, what that network looks like today. The Muslim Brotherhood spawned Hamas, influenced the ideology of Al-Qaeda, and gave rise to multiple terrorist organizations. Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and now the United States have all designated the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization. 
Abdul El-Sayed, the son-in-law of a leading member of several Brotherhood groups, won Michigan&#8217;s Democrat primary for U.S. Senate. Perfect timing for this hearing. Probably explains why no Democrats are here and none intend to attend because their campaign is now openly embracing terrorist organizations waging war on America. Behind El-Sayed&#8217;s political rise sits a much older and more entrenched institutional network two major parties refuses even to see, is exactly the outcome these organizations that we&#8217;re discussing have spent 40 years working to produce.
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Sen. Ted Cruz ripped the Dem boycott of the Muslim Brotherhood hearing as &quot;an embarrassment,&quot; tying Democrats&#39; absence to Abdul El-Sayed&#39;s Michigan Senate primary win. 
The five Democratic senators issued a joint statement calling the hearing a &quot;political creepshow&quot; and said… <a href="https://t.co/35cFYinmkE">pic.twitter.com/35cFYinmkE</a>
&mdash; Fox News Politics (@foxnewspolitics) <a href="https://x.com/foxnewspolitics/status/2085157760556237225?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 6, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The Democrat boycott targeted a session organized by Cruz titled “Hidden in Plain Sight: Confronting the Muslim Brotherhood Network in America.” The proceeding aligned with broader initiatives by national and state Republicans aimed at cracking down on the group, which included proposals to classify its various branches as terrorist organizations.
In a joint <a href="https://www.whitehouse.senate.gov/news/release/senate-judiciary-courts-subcommittee-democrats-blast-cruzs-hearing-targeting-the-muslim-community/">statement</a>, Democratic Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Alex Padilla (D-CA), and Peter Welch (D-VT) sharply criticized the panel’s focus, writing, “Scapegoating Muslims may be a Texas Republican strategist’s idea of ‘solid gold’ to whip up their voters, but Democrats have no intention of indulging this political creepshow, particularly after the recent violence targeting places of faith. Our focus is the costs families face thanks to rampant, non-stop Trump corruption.”
During the hearing, Cruz questioned expert witnesses Lara Burns, Arielle Klepach, and Kyle Shideler regarding the domestic presence and influence of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Burns, the head of terrorism research at the Program on Extremism at the George Washington University, emphasized that the infrastructure supporting foreign terrorist organizations operates inside the U.S. under the guise of charity and advocacy. She testified:
<blockquote>
A dangerous myth about foreign terrorist organizations persists in the United States, that the infrastructure supporting them exists only overseas. In reality, these support infrastructures have existed inside the U.S. for decades. They operate through financial, propaganda, and organizational support networks and commonly hide under the cover of charity, advocacy, or activism.
In 1993, leaders of the Palestine Committee held a meeting known as the 1993 Philadelphia Meeting, which was lawfully wiretapped by the FBI. There, members of the Palestine Committee defined the scope of the conspiracy, which included supporting Hamas abroad and infiltrating universities, media, and politics here in the U.S. Why? To begin normalizing Hamas and Muslim Brotherhood extremist ideology in American society. They stated, &#8220;War is deception when plotting to lie to Americans.&#8221; They also noted their intent to cleanse the curriculum in U.S.-based K-12 schools because &#8220;we don&#8217;t want our children growing up surrendering to the idea of peace with Jews.&#8221;  
</blockquote>
Kyle Shideler, the director and senior analyst for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism at the Center for Security Policy stated that the Muslim Brotherhood operates as a counterintelligence and systemic threat in the U.S. He testified:
<blockquote>
From its very beginning, the Muslim Brotherhood has operated as a clandestine organization, which engages in the creation of public front groups, cultivates agents of influence, seeks control over religious institutions, and engages in acts of political subversion as well as creating deniable sub-organizations devoted to terrorism, all in pursuit of their ultimate goal, the overthrow of governments and the reestablishment of a worldwide caliphate operating under Islamic law. 
It is worth recalling that the government demonstrated that the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood, like all Brotherhood branches worldwide, created and funded Hamas support networks known as Palestine Committees at the direction of the U.S. of the International Muslim Brotherhood, beginning in 1983. &#8230; The issue of the U.S.-Muslim Brotherhood is not merely a counterterrorism issue, but it is also a systemic counterintelligence challenge. And even more broadly, it is a challenge to the fabric of the United States and its ability to seek assimilation and social cohesion.
</blockquote>
Arielle Klepach, the former assistant U.S. attorney in the special prosecution sections of the United States Attorney&#8217;s Office for the Southern District of Florida, testified on the infiltration of the American education system, saying, “When someone tells you who they are, believe them. The Muslim Brotherhood told us their strategy for the West, but don&#8217;t take my word for it. They put it on paper. &#8230; This is not a relic of the 1990s. It is a foreign terror-supporting movement on American soil targeting our Constitution and our founding principles. I would ask you to remember three things. These organizations are dangerous, they are in our schools, and they hide by abusing the very legal system they are working to dismantle.”
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Cruz Rips Dems Skipping Hearing On Muslim Infiltration

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A key Senate committee voted Thursday morning to hold Anthony Fauci in contempt for repeatedly refusing to answer questions about his handling of the COVID pandemic.  
The Senate Homeland Security Committee, led by Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), voted 8-7 to adopt a resolution from the Kentucky Republican holding Fauci in contempt. All Republicans voted in favor and all Democrats voted against. Fauci pleaded the Fifth more than 100 times after he was called in to give testimony last week on coronavirus funding at the Wuhan lab in China and the government response to the pandemic. 
“We are voting on whether a witness who has received the benefit of a sweeping federal pardon can be ordered by this committee to answer questions and then defy that order without consequence,” Paul said. &#8220;All that was required from Anthony Fauci last week was to tell the truth. He had no liability if he told the truth.&#8221;
“More than a million Americans died from COVID. Many of them died alone. Workers were forced to choose between a mandate and a job they needed. Businesses closed and never reopened. Children lost years of school. They will never get back. Americans lost the freedom to work, to worship, and to decide what went into their own bodies. Nothing we do today can undo those losses, but silence does not honor them either,” he added. 
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/read-it-every-page-of-faucis-tell-all-diary">READ IT: Every Page Of Fauci’s Tell-All Diary</a>
Paul told The Daily Wire on Wednesday that he planned to send a criminal referral to the Justice Department after his resolution passed committee. 
“Historically, votes like this have gone to the full Senate, but I think there’s no absolute rule that says we can’t send it directly to the Department of Justice,” Paul said. “So my plan is that if we win the vote on Thursday, to immediately send it to the Department of Justice with a recommendation for prosecution, even if it passes the whole Senate.”
If convicted of contempt of Congress, Fauci could be <a href="https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/LSB10974">fined</a> up to $100,000 and sentenced to up to one year in prison. During the Biden administration, Trump allies Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro were sentenced to prison after being held in contempt of Congress.
President Joe Biden issued a last-minute pardon to Fauci for his conduct during COVID just hours before he left office.
Before the vote, Senator Gary Peters (D-MI) claimed that holding Fauci in contempt would “harm our ability to conduct future investigations and disregard constitutional protections long recognized by the U.S. Senate.” He also said he would oppose Paul sending the criminal referral without approval from the full Senate. 
Democrats repeatedly failed to get motions passed to delay the vote on the contempt resolution.
As part of Paul&#8217;s investigation into Fauci, the committee obtained and released his diaries, which were maintained on government servers. The committee also obtained Fauci&#8217;s phone records from the Department of Health and Human Services.

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