WASHINGTON — The State Department is flipping the script on mass migration, framing the issue as a human rights concern and pushing host governments to share information on the negative effects of mass migration on their countries.
Historically, when lawmakers warn of a humanitarian crisis involving migrants, they are referring to the migrants themselves, and calling for them to be admitted into countries like the United States. But the Trump State Department is taking a different approach, warning that mass migration is linked to violent crime and human rights abuses that impact both the migrants and the countries they are entering.
In an internal cable exclusively obtained by The Daily Wire, the State Department warns that these threaten national sovereignty, rule of law, and American security. It specifically states in the cable: &#8220;Mass and illegal migration is a major human rights concern.&#8221;
The cable calls for diplomats at State Department posts around the world to regularly engage with host governments of migrant populations and track data about the violent crimes and human rights abuses associated with these migrant populations, as well as their impact on local crime.
&#8220;Crimes and human rights abuses perpetrated by migrants, as well as the activities of drug cartels, narco-terrorist organizations, and human trafficking syndicates that move them, result in widespread violence, corruption, forced displacement, and exploitation across the region,&#8221; the cable reads. &#8220;Facilitators of mass and illegal migration routinely engage in human trafficking, sexual violence, extortion, forced labor, and narcotics production—particularly of cocaine, synthetic opioids, and methamphetamine—contributing to ongoing national security threats, human rights abuses, and rule of law challenges for the United States and its hemispheric neighbors.&#8221;
State also orders its posts to engage with government officials, local businesses, media, &#8220;relevant civil society organizations,&#8221; and other affected individuals in order to obtain a full picture of the effects of mass migration on public order and security. The State Department posts will report claims of crimes and human rights abuses by these migrant populations, and they&#8217;ll provide analysis of government responses.
&#8220;The criminal networks and routes used for mass and illegal migration flows are used by transnational criminal organizations to facilitate the U.S.-bound movement of illicit commodities and create conditions for rampant crime and human rights abuses,&#8221; the cable reads.
&#8220;Within the United States, the influx of narcotics has led to an unprecedented level or overdose deaths, while economic migration undermines economic security for American workers and affects community safety. Similarly, criminal activity perpetrated by migrants and those facilitating mass and illegal migration routinely overwhelms and threatens American communities and their safety.&#8221;
If law enforcement are unduly favoring migrants at the expense of citizens, State wants to know. It also wants to know if governments or media are covering up or diluting information about migrant crime and punishment — or the lack thereof.
<div id="attachment_1020861" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/state-deptartment-flips-script-on-migration-crisis-warns-of-major-human-rights-concern/president-trump-holds-cabinet-meeting-13" rel="attachment wp-att-1020861"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1020861" class="wp-image-1020861 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-2249027273-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-2249027273-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-2249027273-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-2249027273-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-2249027273.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" /></a>Doug Burgum, Marco Rubio, and US President Donald Trump during a cabinet meeting in Washington, DC.  Photographer: Yuri Gripas/CNP/Bloomberg via Getty Images</div>
&#8220;Reporting on incidents affecting U.S. citizens or American economic and security interests is especially welcomed and encouraged,&#8221; the cable states.
The point of the message, the cable says, is to &#8220;strengthen regional resolve to combat human rights abuses endemic to mass and illegal migration, including those involving organized criminal activity, sexual assault, and the destruction of public order, as well as to aggregate reporting for the 2025 human rights reports and other human rights-related engagements.&#8221;
The State Department will encourage governments facing migrant influxes to strengthen laws and authorities responsible for making sure that migrants are punished for crimes, without bias, to reinforce borders and shut down corruption, to discourage governments from displacing or seizing property from citizens, to limit government programs that are enabling mass migration and putting the public at risk, and more.
In talking points included in the cable, State urges posts to note that the United States is &#8220;deeply concerned about the convergence of mass and illegal migration, organized crime, and human trafficking across Latin America, which has fueled violence, corruption, and human rights abuses throughout the region.&#8221;
&#8220;Mass and illegal migration is a major human rights concern,&#8221; another talking point states. &#8220;Criminal groups, including cartels and terrorist organizations, control key migration routes, exploiting vulnerable people through kidnapping, extortion, sexual violence, and human trafficking via forced labor, sex trafficking, and child sex trafficking, making mass migration a significant human rights crisis in Latin America.&#8221;
The talking points argue that mass migration has put an enormous strain on United States asylum systems, resulting in &#8220;an overwhelming number of protections claims and a windfall for immigration lawyers and mass migration-promoting NGOs.&#8221;
State will be encouraging host governments to prioritize enforcement of their laws protecting their borders and holding human rights abusers accountable. That includes abuses committed by migrants and those facilitating mass migration or illegal immigration. State will also be highlighting how mass and illegal migration affects the citizens of the host governments, and the duty that these governments have to protect their own citizens, specifically when it comes to border enforcement and judicial cooperation.
<div id="attachment_1020871" style="width: 848px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/state-deptartment-flips-script-on-migration-crisis-warns-of-major-human-rights-concern/national-guard-members-shot-in-washington-d-c" rel="attachment wp-att-1020871"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1020871" class="wp-image-1020871 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-2248600733-838x576.jpg" alt="" width="838" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-2248600733-838x576.jpg 838w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-2248600733-300x206.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-2248600733-768x528.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-2248600733.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 838px) 100vw, 838px" /></a>Members of law enforcement, including the U.S. Secret Service and the Washington Metropolitan Police Department, respond to a shooting near the White House on November 26, 2025, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)</div>
&#8220;Respect for national sovereignty, human rights, and the rule of law is critical to international cooperation, domestic prosperity, and human flourishing,&#8221; another talking point states.
The United States, in particular, will highlight the threat of violent Islamists as well as Russian, Iranian, and Chinese nationals who are &#8220;seeking to take advantage of mass and illegal migration pathways to enter the Western Hemisphere.&#8221; State will also point to the mass migration of Venezuelans under Nicolás Maduro, border disputes between Chile and Peru, and more to show that these issues are relevant not only to the U.S. but to, many governments throughout the Western Hemisphere.
&#8220;We call on your government to work closely with local communities, law enforcement, and civil society to develop transparent, effective policies that uphold sovereignty, maintain law and order, and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms,&#8221; reads another suggested talking point. &#8220;The United States stands ready, willing, and able to assist countries in solving the global crisis of mass and illegal migration, particularly our neighbors in Latin America.&#8221;
And the final talking point states: &#8220;As President Trump stated, &#8216;A nation without borders is not a nation,&#8217; emphasizing that safeguarding sovereignty and security is essential for the well-being of all citizens.&#8221;
The State Department believes that the mass and illegal migration in Latin America has created possibly the &#8220;most serious humanitarian and security challenges facing the Western Hemisphere,&#8221; pointing to the criminal groups exploiting the immigration routes for trafficking both humans and drugs. It also highlights the massive amount of sexual violence in Latin America due to the flow of migration throughout the region.
Doctors without Borders documented 676 cases of sexual assault in 2023 in Panama&#8217;s Darién Gap, the State Department notes, &#8220;indicating migration trains were easily exploited by armed gangs and traffickers.&#8221; And State&#8217;s 2025 Trafficking in Persons Report for Guatemala found that even local police and border officials extorted or coerced migrants into sexual exploitation.
&#8220;This demonstrates how uncontrolled migration corridors enable criminal activity, facilitate human rights abuses, and expose migrants—especially women and children—to extreme violence,&#8221; the cable notes.
&#8220;Migrants and local populations alike suffer from systemic human rights abuses,&#8221; State adds. &#8220;The infiltration of cartels into law enforcement and political systems also undermines the rule of law. The production and trafficking of cocaine and synthetic opioids through Mexico and Central America have fueled a public health catastrophe in the United States, where overdose deaths have reached historic highs.&#8221;
The move comes on the heels of another massive action from the State Department. In late November, immediately following a fatal attack on two National Guardsmen in Washington, D.C. by an Afghan national, State directed its posts to refuse visas to Afghan nationals using Afghan passports, ordering diplomats and consular officers to refuse “all otherwise eligible Afghan nationals” whether they’re applying for a non-immigrant visa, special immigrant visa, or immigrant visa.
The move was intended to “ensure that such applications have undergone necessary security vetting and to validate screening protocols ensuring the applicant’s identity and eligibility for a visa under U.S. law.&#8221;
The man who shot the National Guardsmen was 29-year-old Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/afghan-national-in-custody-for-national-guard-attack-was-in-country-illegally" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Daily Wire reported.</a> Lakanwal was let into the country during President Joe Biden’s administration in 2021, admitted as part of the former president’s “Operation Allies Welcome,” the Afghan refugee program in the wake of Biden’s botched Afghanistan withdrawal.

US-POLITICS-DIPLOMACY-RUBIO

State Department Flips Script On Migration Crisis, Warns Of ‘Major Human Rights Concern’

Border Crisis

migration

State Department

The State Department sanctioned five European figures in the &#8220;global censorship-industrial complex&#8221; on Tuesday, barring them from entering the United States.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the move is in response to European &#8220;ideologues&#8221; who have sought to clamp down on Americans&#8217; free speech. He added that the list could be expanded to other European leaders if they continue their censorship actions.
&#8220;For far too long, ideologues in Europe have led organized efforts to coerce American platforms to punish American viewpoints they oppose. The Trump Administration will no longer tolerate these egregious acts of extraterritorial censorship,&#8221; Rubio <a href="https://x.com/SecRubio/status/2003547575580815814">said</a>. &#8220;Today, @StateDept will take steps to bar leading figures of the global censorship-industrial complex from entering the United States. We stand ready and willing to expand this list if others do not reverse course.&#8221;
The sanctions do not include financial penalties, but the five individuals targeted have had their U.S. visas denied. They are European Union Commissioner Thierry Breton, a Frenchman; Imran Ahmed, a British chief executive of the Center for Countering Digital Hate; British businesswoman Clare Melford, who leads the Global Disinformation Index; and Josephine Ballon and Anna-Lena von Hodenberg, who both lead the German group HateAid.
Breton helped create the European Commission&#8217;s Digital Services Act, which establishes regulations requiring social media companies to prevent what the European Union deems illegal content and misinformation. The Digital Services Act was recently used to punish Elon Musk&#8217;s X, a move condemned by the Trump administration.
Ahmed&#8217;s Center for Countering Digital Hate has been accused of colluding with the Biden administration and social media companies to censor Americans, especially during the COVID pandemic. The Biden administration referred to the British nonprofit&#8217;s &#8220;disinformation dozen&#8221; list, which called out 12 accounts on Facebook that it accused of producing 65% of anti-vaccine &#8220;misinformation&#8221; on the platform, The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/16/us/politics/biden-facebook-social-media-covid.html">reported</a>. One of those 12 accounts belonged to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is now President Donald Trump&#8217;s Health and Human Services secretary, <a href="https://x.com/UnderSecPD/status/2003567950541058394">according</a> to Under Secretary of State Sarah B. Rogers.
The Global Disinformation Index, led by Melford, was funded through a program used by the Biden administration to target &#8220;misinformation&#8221; until Rubio shuttered it earlier this year. It placed American media outlets on a “Dynamic Exclusion List” that was distributed to advertisers and named mainstream publications like the New York Post, Reason Magazine, The Daily Wire, and the Federalist as &#8220;risky,&#8221; The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/state-department-shutters-misinformation-censorship-agency-salts-the-earth">reported</a>. The Daily Wire has an active lawsuit against the State Department, alleging that it suppressed conservative media outlets on social media under former President Joe Biden.
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Ballon and Hodenberg&#8217;s HateAid is considered a &#8220;trusted&#8221; censor under the Digital Services Act and has routinely targeted Right-wing voices, according to the State Department. Earlier this year, Ballon was interviewed on &#8220;<a href="https://x.com/60Minutes/status/1891284163845628348">60 Minutes</a>&#8221; and said, &#8220;Free speech needs boundaries … Without boundaries, a very small group of people can rely on endless freedom to say anything that they want, while everyone else is scared and intimidated.&#8221;
French President Emmanuel Macron <a href="https://x.com/EmmanuelMacron/status/2003781877165879782">condemned</a> the United States over the travel bans, saying, &#8220;These measures amount to intimidation and coercion aimed at undermining European digital sovereignty.&#8221;
Trump and Rubio have recently called out Europe over its social media censorship and its targeting of American social media companies. Rubio <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/rubio-issues-stark-warning-about-europes-free-speech-erosion-and-how-it-could-affect-americans">told</a> The Daily Wire last week that he is “concerned” that “freedom of expression” is “eroding” in Europe.
“Are we going to live in a world where some American puts up a social media post and then gets to some airport somewhere and is arrested? We’re also concerned about the impact that some of their policies are having on our social media platforms,” he said.
Trump, meanwhile, issued a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/europe-has-to-be-very-careful-trump-issues-stern-warning-after-eu-fines-elon-musks-x">warning</a> to Europe after the European Commission fined X earlier this month.
“Look, Europe has to be very careful,” Trump said. “They’re doing a lot of things. … Europe is going in some bad directions. It’s very bad for the people.”

Marco Rubio

State Department Bans Five Europeans From Entering U.S. After They Helped Censor Americans

Europe

European Union

Free Speech

Social Media

Trump Administration

WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Marco Rubio is “concerned” that “freedom of expression” is “eroding” in Europe, he told The Daily Wire at his year-end press conference on Friday.
Rubio said that his top priority is situations where “American free speech could be implicated.”
“Are we going to live in a world where some American puts up a social media post and then gets to some airport somewhere and is arrested? We&#8217;re also concerned about the impact that some of their policies are having on our social media platforms,” he said.
Freedom of speech concerns in Europe have garnered the attention of the United States under the Trump administration, as the State Department said in a post on X in July, “In Europe, thousands are being convicted for the crime of criticizing their own governments. This Orwellian message won&#8217;t fool the United States. Censorship is not freedom.” The post was in response to the French Mission of United Nations said that in Europe, people are &#8220;free to speak, not free to spread illegal content.”
In the United Kingdom, roughly 30 people a day are arrested over “offensive online messages,” according to <a href="https://www.thetimes.com/uk/crime/article/police-make-30-arrests-a-day-for-offensive-online-messages-zbv886tqf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Times</a>. In addition, groups across the political spectrum like the Alliance Defending Freedom and Amnesty International, have sounded the alarm for years over free speech woes, including in countries like France.
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“As you recently saw, you know, X is facing this massive multi-million dollar fine that they&#8217;re going to have to pay, I guess, because they want to continue to operate,&#8221; Rubio continued.
The secretary then dived into the importance of working with nations in Europe because of shared “values and principles,” including freedom of speech, which is what makes the concerns paramount.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/europe-union-ignored-free-speech-concerns-plows-ahead-with-global-censorship-regime" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Daily Wire</a> reported last month on how the European Commission did not factor in censorship risks when it came to the Digital Services Act, which has tech companies pay up for allowing “illegal content” or disinformation to not be effectively counteracted.
“I think the concerns on free speech are very substantive, and they need a robust response, and we feel that the European Commission has not actually conducted a robust review in the sense of actually inviting all voices and all partners to the table,” Dr. Adina Portaru, a senior counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom International, told The Daily Wire in an interview at the time.
“The DSA can impact anyone, can impact content creators and influencers and preachers and political dissidents and any kind of content online can be regulated by the DSA through its architecture,” she added.

Rubio Issues Stark Warning About Europe’s Free Speech Erosion And How It Could Affect Americans

Secretary of State Marco Rubio laid waste to the notion that the State Department existed as a failsafe that could potentially serve as a check on the White House: &#8220;That&#8217;s ridiculous. That&#8217;s stupid, really.&#8221;
Rubio gave reporters a brief civics lesson on Friday, explaining that it was his job to serve at the will of the President of the United States and to implement the foreign policy vision of the president and his administration, not undermine the president if they were ever at odds over any specific issue.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
🚨 JUST IN: INCREDIBLE mic drop from Sec. Marco Rubio. BOOM! 🔥
&#8220;The Constitution does not say you elect the President and then you put in place a State Department to undermine the President if the person who&#8217;s the Secretary of State doesn&#8217;t agree with him. That&#8217;s ridiculous.… <a href="https://t.co/Z1slwgvNW0">pic.twitter.com/Z1slwgvNW0</a>
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) <a href="https://twitter.com/EricLDaugh/status/2002066653719261463?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 19, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;The State Department is not its own government,&#8221; Rubio began, adding that the Secretary of State could not therefore act unilaterally to implement his own policies in place of those laid out by the president.
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&#8220;At the end of the day, the person the people of the United States elected to be the President of the United States and the Commander-in-Chief is Donald J. Trump. That&#8217;s who they elected. And my job, and the job of the people in our administration, is to implement the President&#8217;s foreign policy,&#8221; he explained, adding that his role was often to advise the president on how to best implement his policies, but it was never to supplant them with his own. &#8220;Why people think that somehow foreign policy can be divorced from our republic? That&#8217;s not the way our Constitution works.&#8221;
Rubio continued the civics tutorial, adding, &#8220;The Constitution does not say you elect the President and then you put in place a State Department to undermine the President if the person who&#8217;s the Secretary of State doesn&#8217;t agree with him. That&#8217;s ridiculous. That&#8217;s stupid, really. I don&#8217;t know why anybody would think that. So that&#8217;s the job I have, and that&#8217;s the job I&#8217;m proud to do.&#8221;

Marco Rubio Destroys Argument That State Department Should Check The President

Marco Rubio Absolutely Destroys Argument That State Department Should Check The President

Donald Trump

Foreign Policy

Media

Politics

The Trump administration is ramping up its America First Global Health Strategy in its latest efforts to ditch the traditional USAID model by delivering billions in aid directly to several countries in Africa.
Under the new model so far, which bypasses the propping up of the “NGO industrial complex,” the United States has signed six memoranda of understanding (MOUs) with six African countries totaling over $4 billion in direct U.S. investment matched by over $1.6 billion from signatory countries.
According to a senior State Department official, the old USAID system was unsustainable, “enriched beltway bandits,” and was designed to perpetuate itself rather than help countries become self-reliant.
“Now, under the Trump administration, we are committed to ensuring that every tax dollar spent overseas delivers real results by ensuring aid gets directly to its intended recipients and creating a structure that helps partner countries move toward self-reliance,” the official told The Daily Wire.
Countries that have signed so far include Kenya, Rwanda, Liberia, Uganda, Lesotho, and Eswatini, while Mozambique and Ethiopia are expected to sign similar MOUs next week.
According to the senior official, the Trump administration&#8217;s goal is to sign a dozen agreements before the end of the year.
The five-year MOU signed with Eswatini, a country in southern Africa, on Friday focuses on improving public health data systems, modernizing disease surveillance and outbreak response technology, and HIV prevention and treatment. In Eswatini, <a href="https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.DYN.AIDS.ZS?locations=SZ">where 23.4% of people</a> aged 15–49 live with HIV, the government plans to boost domestic health spending by $37 million over the five-year, $242 million MOU, according to the State Department.
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Last week, when announcing the new initiative, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the previous system was inefficient by funneling aid through foreign or U.S.-based NGOs that absorbed funding through overhead and administrative costs while limiting host-country control.
“We would go to a country and say we are going to help you with health care needs and then we would drive over to northern Virginia somewhere and find an NGO, one of these organizations, and give them all the money and tell them to go to this country and do their health care program for them,” Rubio said. “By the time it got down to it, the host country had very little influence … and only a percentage of the overall money ever actually reached the patients.”
Rubio added that he hopes to sign 50 such agreements with other countries.
“If we’re trying to help countries, help the country. Don’t help the NGO to go in and find a new line of business,” he said.
Top executives at health NGOs backed by American taxpayer dollars frequently have very high salaries. In 2024, the president of Research Triangle Institute earned over <a href="https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/560686338/202412259349302301/full">$1.4 million</a>, and two of its vice presidents earned more than $850,000 each. At Johns Hopkins University’s Jhpiego Corporation, one executive earned over <a href="https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/237424444/202501339349305895/full">$1.08 million</a>. Other top salaries included <a href="https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/42482188/202443559349300519/full">$598,348</a> at Management Sciences for Health, <a href="https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/237413005/202542269349302344/full">$545,290</a> at Family Health International, and <a href="https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/132702768/202502279349303495/full">$506,371</a> at Pact Inc.
In 2023, the president of the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation earned <a href="https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/954191698/202413199349312336/full">$577,275</a>, and the president of PATH earned <a href="https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/911157127/202442559349300319/full">$703,405</a>.

President Trump Meets With Visiting Crown Prince Of Bahrain

State Department Ditches Old USAID Model, Sends $4 Billion Directly To African Nations

Global Politics

USAID

World

The Biden administration’s State Department went full DEI on its diplomats — so full that it changed the official typeface of America’s foreign service, a problem that has been rectified by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
In 2023, former Secretary of State Antony Blinken, following the sage advice of the department’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion, decreed that all official communications ditch the venerable Times New Roman font and adopt the modern, sans-serif Calibri. The rationale? Accessibility. Calibri, with its soft curves and wide spacing, is supposedly easier for readers with dyslexia, low vision, or those using screen readers. The Biden administration decided that the shape of letters could save the planet — or at least make it slightly easier for a diplomat to decipher a memo.
Enter Rubio, who on Tuesday <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/09/us/politics/rubio-state-department-font.html">dropped</a> the bureaucratic hammer: Calibri was canceled. Times New Roman, back in all its serif glory, was reinstated, 14-point and all.
Rubio’s <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/rubio-stages-font-coup-times-new-roman-ousts-calibri-2025-12-09/?utm_source=chatgpt.com">cable</a> to all American diplomatic posts, titled, “Return to Tradition: Times New Roman 14-Point Font Required for All Department Paper,” stated, “To restore decorum and professionalism to the Department’s written work products and abolish yet another wasteful DEIA program, the Department is returning to Times New Roman as its standard typeface. &#8230; This formatting standard aligns with the President’s One Voice for America’s Foreign Relations directive, underscoring the Department’s responsibility to present a unified, professional voice in all communications.”
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Rubio called the Calibri switch “wasteful” and “the degradation of the department’s official correspondence.” Serif fonts, he pointed out, have gravitas, history, and small decorative strokes — small strokes that apparently signal “professionalism” to anyone who matters in international diplomacy. Calibri, by contrast, was informal and clashed with official letterhead.
The lengths the Biden administration went to in the name of DEI here are almost comical. Not content with conventional anti-discrimination or accessibility programs, they weaponized typography, tinkering with letter shapes and point sizes — moving from 14 to 15 points — for the supposed benefit of readers who might struggle with letters. Accessibility advocates cheered; traditionalists grimaced.
Rubio’s reversal reads like a return to classical civilization, citing Roman antiquity and the script on the side of Air Force One as justification for reinstating serifs. The underlying story is less about fonts than about the extreme lengths to which the Biden administration pursued DEI, turning even the most mundane elements of office life — point sizes, font shapes, the very appearance of text — into battlegrounds for ideology.
Under Biden, DEI became so pervasive, so absurdly detailed, that the font on your official memo wasn’t just about readability — it was a statement, a policy, and, apparently, a revolutionary act. Rubio just undid it, and the world of diplomacy is back to serif conservatism.

US hosts Australian defense, foreign ministers for 2+2 meeting

Serifs Strike Back: Rubio Rejects Biden’s DEI-Driven Font Agenda

Antony Blinken

Biden Administration

font

The United States is overhauling how it distributes foreign aid to prioritize direct investment in partner nations and eliminate waste by bypassing the “NGO industrial complex,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Thursday.
Rubio unveiled the new policy during the signing of a $2.5 billion Health Cooperation Framework with Kenya. The United States will provide up to $1.6 billion over the next five years to support priority health programs, while Kenya will increase domestic health spending by $850 million to foster its long-term health self-reliance.
Rubio said the previous system funneled aid through foreign or U.S.-based NGOs that absorbed funding through overhead and administrative costs while limiting host-country control.
“We would go to a country and say we are going to help you with healthcare needs and then we would drive over to northern Virginia somewhere and find an NGO, one of these organizations, and give them all the money and tell them to go to this country and do their healthcare program for them,” Rubio said. “By the time it got down to it, the host country had very little influence … and only a percentage of the overall money ever actually reached the patients.”
Instead, Rubio made the case for working directly with partner countries, such as Kenya, to cut out what he describes as the “NGO industrial complex.”
“If we&#8217;re trying to help countries, help the country. Don&#8217;t help the NGO to go in and find a new line of business,” he said.
State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott told The Daily Wire that foreign aid funding should “not pad the pockets of overpaid executives in the NGO industry.”
Top executives at health NGOs backed by American taxpayer dollars frequently have very high salaries. In 2024, the president of Research Triangle Institute earned over<a href="https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/560686338/202412259349302301/full" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> $1.4 million</a>, and two of its vice presidents earned more than $850,000 each. At Johns Hopkins University’s Jhpiego Corporation, one executive earned over <a href="https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/237424444/202501339349305895/full" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$1.08 million</a>. Other top salaries included <a href="https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/42482188/202443559349300519/full" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$598,348</a> at Management Sciences for Health, <a href="https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/237413005/202542269349302344/full" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$545,290</a> at Family Health International, and <a href="https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/132702768/202502279349303495/full" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$506,371</a> at Pact Inc.
In 2023, the president of the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation earned <a href="https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/954191698/202413199349312336/full" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$577,275</a>, and the president of PATH earned <a href="https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/911157127/202442559349300319/full" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$703,405</a>.
“Ultimately, the best aid is the aid that ends because it&#8217;s worked to solve problems or build capacity of partner countries. Our partnership with Kenya is an example of this approach in action,” Pigott said.
The framework with Kenya will direct American funding to go towards programs focused on HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, maternal and child health, polio eradication, disease surveillance, and infectious disease outbreak response and preparedness, according to the State Department.
While Kenya is the first, Rubio said he hopes to sign 50 such agreements with other countries during the signing.
“When developing the dozens of America First Global Health Strategy bilateral agreements we will sign in the coming weeks, we always start with the principle that American sovereign resources should be used to bolster our allies and should never benefit groups unfriendly to the United States and our national interests,” Jeremy P. Lewin, Senior Official for Foreign Assistance, Humanitarian Affairs, &amp; Religious Freedom said.
Brad Smith, Senior Advisor for the Bureau of Global Health Security and Diplomacy at the State Department, said that for over two months, the United States government has been in “very productive discussions” with other governments around the world for similar agreements.
In the coming weeks, dozens more multi-year health agreements will be signed, as part of the America First Global Health Strategy, according to the State Department.
“These landmark agreements will advance a comprehensive and shared vision directly between the United States and recipient country governments for continued future cooperation on global health issues,” a statement from the State Department’s spokesperson’s office said.
The agreements are designed to improve efficiency and accountability by integrating American programs into local health systems, focusing resources on frontline services, engaging private and faith-based partners, and encouraging recipient countries to co-invest in healthcare workers and essential commodities.

US-KENYA-POLITICS-DIPLOMACY-HEALTH

The Trump Administration’s New Foreign Aid Model Cuts Out The ‘NGO Industrial Complex’

Kenya

WASHINGTON — The State Department took less than 24 hours to spring into action after President Donald Trump&#8217;s pledge to dramatically shake up the country&#8217;s immigration system.
State directed its posts to refuse visas to Afghan nationals using Afghan passports, according to a Friday guidance reviewed by The Daily Wire. The guidance orders diplomats and consular officers to refuse &#8220;all otherwise eligible Afghan nationals&#8221; whether they&#8217;re applying for a nonimmigrant visa, special immigrant visa, or immigrant visa.
It is intended to &#8220;ensure that such applications have undergone necessary security vetting and to validate screening protocols ensuring the applicant’s identity and eligibility for a visa under U.S. law,&#8221; the State Department guidance said, adding that there will be a further guidance on &#8220;updated enhanced vetting or screening measures that may be required for this purpose.&#8221;
The move comes after President Donald Trump promised to halt migration from third world countries, writing in a late night Thanksgiving post: “I will permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries to allow the U.S. system to fully recover, terminate all of the millions of Biden illegal admissions, including those signed by Sleepy Joe Biden’s Autopen, and remove anyone who is not a net asset to the United States, or is incapable of loving our Country.&#8221;
The president&#8217;s pledge followed the shocking attack on National Guardsmen the day before Thanksgiving. An Afghan man killed a National Guardswoman and wounded another National Guardsman, both of whom had been deployed from West Virginia to Washington, D.C. to protect the nation&#8217;s capital. Twenty-year-old Sarah Beckstrom died from the attack on Friday, her family said. Twenty-four-year-old Andrew Wolfe is still in critical condition.
<div id="attachment_1007445" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/state-department-orders-posts-to-refuse-visas-to-afghan-nationals/u-s-washington-d-c-national-guard-shooting" rel="attachment wp-att-1007445"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1007445" class="wp-image-1007445 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2248069522-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2248069522-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2248069522-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2248069522-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2248069522.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" /></a>Police keep a presence following the shooting of two U.S. National Guard members near the White House in Washington, D.C., the United States, on Nov. 26, 2025. (Photo by Hu Yousong/Xinhua via Getty Images)</div>
Both Beckstrom and Wolfe “were sworn in less than 24 hours before they were shot on the street in Washington,” United States Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro said in a Thursday morning press conference.
“They were uniformed members of the West Virginia National Guard, and they were in DC to keep DC safe pursuant to President Trump’s executive order to make DC safe and beautiful,” Pirro shared. “They answered the call, they took the charge, they volunteered, they put their lives on the line for people they don’t even know, and that unfortunately is becoming a reality more and more for the members of law enforcement.&#8221;
The gunman accused of shooting the two young guardsmen is 29-year-old Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/afghan-national-in-custody-for-national-guard-attack-was-in-country-illegally">The Daily Wire previously reported</a>, who was let into the country during President Joe Biden&#8217;s administration in 2021. Lakanwal was admitted as part of the former president&#8217;s &#8220;Operation Allies Welcome,&#8221; the Afghan refugee program in the wake of Biden&#8217;s botched Afghanistan withdrawal.
Trump, in his late-night Thanksgiving post, argued that the &#8220;refugee burden is the leading cause of social dysfunction in America.&#8221;
&#8220;As an example, hundreds of thousands of refugees from Somalia are completely taking over the once great State of Minnesota,&#8221; the president said. &#8220;Somalian gangs are roving the streets looking for &#8216;prey&#8217; as our wonderful people stay locked in their apartments and houses hoping against hope that they will be left alone.&#8221;
The president promised to pause migration from third-world countries, and to end all federal benefits and subsidies to noncitizens and to &#8220;denaturalize migrants who undermine domestic tranquility, and deport any Foreign National who is a public charge, security risk, or non-compatible with Western Civilization.&#8221;
&#8220;These goals will be pursued with the aim of achieving a major reduction in illegal and disruptive populations, including those admitted through an unauthorized and illegal Autopen approval process,&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;Only REVERSE MIGRATION can fully cure this situation. Other than that, HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL, except those that hate, steal, murder, and destroy everything that America stands for — You won’t be here for long!&#8221;
The guidance doesn&#8217;t apply to dual nationals who are applying with a passport of a different, non-Afghan nationality, the State Department said. More guidance on enhanced vetting or screening will follow for processing the non-immigrant and immigrant visa applicants who are applying with Afghan passports.
If they have already print-authorized nonimmigrant or immigrant cases for Afghan nationals who are applying with Afghan passports, but those visas have not yet been printed, they are instructed to refuse the cases and not print the visa. And in cases where the visas were already printed but not handed back, they must &#8220;spoil the foil, open the case in the system, and refuse the case.&#8221;

TOPSHOT-ISRAEL-US-POLITICS-DIPLOMACY

State Department Takes Action On Afghan Nationals Following Trump Pledge

Afghanistan

National Guard

Last week, the U.S. Department of Education announced six interagency agreements (IAAs) with four federal agencies to take another major step forward toward fulfilling the promise of dismantling the 45-year failure of the astronomically expensive and ineffective department.
The agreements are with the Department of Labor, the Department of the Interior, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Department of State. According to a <a href="https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-education-announces-six-new-agency-partnerships-break-federal-bureaucracy">press release</a> from the Department of Education, “by partnering with agencies that are best positioned to deliver results for students and taxpayers, these IAAs will streamline federal education activities on legally required programs, reduce administrative burdens, and refocus programs and activities to better serve students and grantees.”
The six agreements are as follows. First is the Elementary and Secondary Education Partnership between the Department of Education and the Department of Labor. Going forward, the Department of Labor will begin playing a larger role in the administration of federal K-12 education programs to enhance <a href="https://www.ed.gov/media/document/fact-sheet-department-of-education-ed-and-department-of-labor-dol-elementary-and-secondary-education-partnership-112465.pdf">alignment</a> with workforce and postsecondary programs, resulting in “a cohesive, unified strategy for talent development.”
Second is the Postsecondary Education Partnership, which is also between the Department of Education and the Department of Labor. It will streamline the administration of postsecondary education programs and <a href="https://www.ed.gov/media/document/fact-sheet-department-of-education-ed-and-department-of-labor-dol-postsecondary-education-partnership-112464.pdf">will</a> “create a better coordinated Federal approach to postsecondary education and workforce development to help more Americans achieve career success.”
Third is the Indian Education Partnership between the Department of Education and the Department of the Interior. This includes the Department of the Interior administering Indian education spanning from elementary, secondary, and higher education, as well as career and technical education and vocational rehabilitation. This will ensure Native American students are better served with education, training, and workforce programs.
Fourth is the Foreign Medical Accreditation Partnership between the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services. It leverages the expertise of the Department of Health and Human Services to evaluate whether the accreditation standards for foreign medical schools are comparable to those of U.S. medical schools. According to a <a href="https://www.ed.gov/media/document/fact-sheet-department-of-education-ed-and-department-of-health-and-human-services-hhs-foreign-medical-accreditation-partnership-112462.pdf">fact sheet</a> in conjunction with the press release, the “accreditation standards must be comparable between U.S. and foreign medical schools in order for American students enrolled in medical schools outside of the U.S. to be eligible for federal student loans.”
Fifth is a second agreement between the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services, termed the Child Care Access Means Parents in School Partnership. The partnership <a href="https://www.ed.gov/media/document/fact-sheet-department-of-education-ed-and-department-of-health-and-human-services-hhs-child-care-access-means-parents-school-partnership-112460.pdf">will</a> “promote innovation and process improvements in pursuit of better outcomes for parents and children” by streamlining policies and program requirements, and also <a href="https://www.ed.gov/media/document/fact-sheet-department-of-education-ed-and-department-of-health-and-human-services-hhs-child-care-access-means-parents-school-partnership-112460.pdf">providing</a> “campus-based child care services to low-income students.”
Sixth is the International Education and Foreign Language Studies Partnership between the Department of Education and the Department of State. It enhances the efficiency of the Fulbright-Hays grant programs, which equip Americans with skills critical to our national security and interests.
Speaking of these partnerships, U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said, “Cutting through layers of red tape in Washington is one essential piece of our final mission.” The mission is nothing other than — with the votes necessary from Congress — to eliminate the ineffective U.S. Department of Education, which has wasted trillions of dollars without improving student learning.
Continuing, Secretary McMahon explained what lies ahead: “As we partner with these agencies to improve federal programs, we will continue to gather best practices in each state through our 50-state tour, empower local leaders in K-12 education, restore excellence to higher education, and work with Congress to codify these reforms. Together, we will refocus education on students, families, and schools — ensuring federal taxpayer spending is supporting a world-class education system.”
Since January, the Trump Administration has been focused on cutting wasteful spending within the U.S. Department of Education and removing harmful ideologies. For example, just three days after taking office, under the President’s direction, the <a href="https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-education-takes-action-eliminate-dei">U.S. Department of Education</a> took action to “eliminate harmful Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives.” This <a href="https://www.chalkboardnews.com/issues/cultural-issues/article_89d2f95a-da74-11ef-881f-c31173f69a5c.html?seyid=48320">included</a> placing U.S. Department of Education staff leading DEI initiatives on administrative leave, removing more than 200 web pages containing DEI resources that promote or endorse harmful ideological programs, and cutting over $2.5 million of DEI contracts.
<div id="attachment_1002607" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1002607" class="size-large wp-image-1002607" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2205418285-864x576.jpg" alt="US President Donald Trump holds an executive order after signing it alongside US Secretary of Education Linda McMahon (R) in the East Room of the White house in Washington, DC, March 20, 2025. US President Donald Trump will sign an order March 20, 2025 to start dismantling the Department of Education, fulfilling an election campaign pledge and a long-held dream of American conservatives. By law, the Education Department -- created in 1979 -- cannot be shuttered without the approval of Congress, and Republicans do not have the votes to push that through. (Photo by Mandel NGAN / AFP)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2205418285-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2205418285-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2205418285-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2205418285.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Credit: Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images.</div>
In March, President Trump signed the “<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/improving-education-outcomes-by-empowering-parents-states-and-communities/">Improving Education Outcomes by Empowering Parents, States, and Communities</a>” executive order <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2025/03/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-empowers-parents-states-and-communities-to-improve-education-outcomes/">directing</a> Secretary McMahon to “take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return authority over education to the States and local communities while ensuring the effective and uninterrupted delivery of services, programs, and benefits on which Americans rely.”
President Trump <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjnoGgEJvLs">explained</a> and communicated confidence, stating, “We are going to be returning education very simply back to the states where it belongs. And this is a very popular thing to do, but much more importantly, it is a common-sense thing to do, and it is going to work. Absolutely, it is going to work.” Signing the executive order was a foundational first step toward eliminating the department.
Despite the opposition&#8217;s rhetoric, dismantling the Department of Education is about partnering with other federal agencies to improve efficiency, break down bureaucracy, and return education to the states where it rightfully belongs. This will give moms and dads a bigger voice while providing for greater accountability for academic results.
The recent 43-day government shutdown highlighted the lack of need for the federal education department. Just two days before the major IAAs partnership announcement, Secretary McMahon <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2025/11/16/school-funding-trump-dismantle-education-department/87251723007/">wrote</a> in USA Today on November 16, “The Schumer shutdown underlined just how little the Department of Education will be missed. As such, the Trump administration will work to end federal micromanagement of our schools and empower state and local leaders to create high-quality education programs that lead to a rewarding career. We know that the stakes could not be higher.”
These strategic actions under Secretary McMahon’s leadership mark a decisive departure from decades of federal bureaucratic bloat and chart the much-needed path forward toward making good on President Trump’s <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2025/03/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-empowers-parents-states-and-communities-to-improve-education-outcomes/">executive order</a> commitment to return “power over education to families instead of bureaucracies.”
* * *
Dr. Keri D. Ingraham is a Senior Fellow at Discovery Institute, Director of the American Center for Transforming Education, and a Senior Fellow at Independent Women’s Forum.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
Correction: The title of this article has been updated.
* * *
<h3>Right now, DailyWire+ annual memberships are fifty percent off during our Black Friday sale. Join now at <a href="http://dailywire.com/blackfriday">dailywire.com/blackfriday</a>.</h3>

Trump Takes Steps Toward Dismantling Education Department

Trump Admin Delivers On Promise To Dismantle U.S. Department Of Education

Department of Interior

Department of Labor

Education

Federal Government

Linda McMahon

Parental Rights in Education

Students

Teachers

The European Commission “ignored” censorship concerns as it moved forward with the implementation of a sweeping digital platform law that free speech advocates say could impact everyone from Christian preachers to TikTokers.
On Monday, the European Commission <a href="https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/report-application-article-33-regulation-eu-20222065-dsa-and-interaction-regulation-other-legal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">released</a> its first-ever review of the Digital Services Act (DSA), a law that empowers it to impose significant financial penalties on tech companies that it says are not doing enough to combat so-called disinformation or take down “illegal content.” Alliance Defending Freedom International, which <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/for-thursday-exclusive-free-speech-advocates-challenge-eu-over-pan-european-censorship-regime" target="_blank" rel="noopener">has warned</a> that the Digital Services Act could bring about a “global censorship regime,”  told The Daily Wire that it was disappointed with the commission’s report.
“I think the concerns on free speech are very substantive, and they need a robust response, and we feel that the European Commission has not actually conducted a robust review in the sense of actually inviting all voices and all partners to the table,” Dr. Adina Portaru, a senior counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom International, told The Daily Wire in a phone interview from London.
“The DSA can impact anyone, can impact content creators and influencers and preachers and political dissidents and any kind of content online can be regulated by the DSA through its architecture,” she added.
The act relies on cooperation from non-governmental organizations that advise lawmakers whether someone’s online writings would be considered illegal. There would also be a high burden for reporting violations on tech companies. In certain circumstances, American tech companies may be fined up to 6% of their global revenue if they violate specific conditions.
The Monday assessment from the European Commission asserts that the act is in accordance with the “fundamental rights” recognized in the commission’s charter and that the act is “content agnostic.”
“It does not define what should be considered illegal or harmful content, it only establishes procedural obligations and safeguards where such content appears online,” the assessment said.
Portaru said that the “content agnostic” claim was a smokescreen and that the definition of illegal content in the act was broad enough to have global implications.
“Illegal content is defined in such a loose way as anything that is not in accordance with EU law or any law of any member state at any time. It can be today or in one week, depending on how the national laws change,” she said.
The Alliance Defending Freedom International led a letter signed by over 100 free speech experts in October urging the European Commission to address their concerns with the act. Another 50 non-governmental organizations signed a letter in September expressing concerns about the act.
Instead of bringing them to the table, the commission claimed to have broad consensus around the act when it was actually interpreted unilaterally, Portaru said.
“The European Commission had the opportunity to step into this space and constructively engage with these concerns coming from the U.S, as well as Europeans,&#8221; she said. &#8220;It failed to do so.&#8221;
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<div class="p-rich_text_section">The commission did respond to Alliance Defending Freedom International in a November 14 letter viewed by The Daily Wire that claimed it was committed to “upholding the right to freedom of expression and information” and asserting that the act was content neutral.</div>
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“The DSA ensures that lawful content protected by the fundamental right of freedom of expression, is safeguarded by establishing due process and transparency online. The DSA clarifies what online platforms are required to do when they moderate content to prevent the arbitrary removal of lawful content,” the commission wrote.
In a statement to The Daily Wire, a spokesman for the European Commission claimed that concerns about censorship were “completely unfounded.”
“The aim of our digital legislation, including the DSA, is to ensure that the Internet is a safe place. One that protects our fundamental rights. One where illegal content like terrorism or child abuse have no place,” the spokesman said, adding that online platforms have a role to “assess and mitigate risks to the freedom of expression.”
The spokesman added that the act provided a mechanism for people to challenge if their content has been removed.
Despite the European Commission’s claims, American officials have raised concerns about how the Digital Services Act could impact the United States. The State Department told The Daily Wire that it was reviewing the report on the Digital Services Act with &#8220;great interest.&#8221;
&#8220;Current EU laws, like the Digital Services Act, exacerbate concerning member-state speech laws that use vague language such as “harmful content” to target disfavored political and religious speech and can impose onerous financial burdens on U.S. companies seeking to do business in European markets,&#8221; a State Department spokesman told The Daily Wire. &#8220;European regulations such as the DSA can have outsized extraterritorial effects and place a disproportionate burden on major American technology platforms.&#8221;
&#8220;The United States believes that protecting freedom of expression is critical, particularly for any democratic, self-governing nation – this includes protecting voices that challenge the status quo or criticize the government,&#8221; the spokesman added. 
In September, European Union Ambassador Andrew Puzder said that he would be making formal submissions to the commission for changes to the act.
“The Europeans believe that [the rules] are less restrictive and less targeted than the U.S. believes, and I think we’re going to need to sit down and go through these acts with some care,” he <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/b6d9fb9c-901e-42e3-9610-5a449247fd49" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> the Financial Times.
That followed reports in August that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had <a href="https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/society-equity/rubio-orders-us-diplomats-launch-lobbying-blitz-against-europes-tech-law-2025-08-07/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">directed</a> diplomats to lobby against the Digital Services Act.
&#8220;Posts should focus efforts to build host government and other stakeholder support to repeal and/or amend the DSA or related EU or national laws restricting expression online,&#8221; Rubio wrote in a cable obtained by Reuters.
Apart from broader censorship concerns, many European countries have already become notorious for restrictions placed on political and religious speech. For example, Finnish parliamentarian <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-bible-on-trial-christian-politician-goes-back-to-court-over-religious-beliefs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Päivi Räsänen</a> has faced a six-year-long legal battle for conveying her beliefs in Christian views of sexuality online. Pro-life advocates have been punished in Britain for silently praying and German citizens <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/02/21/world-news/germans-cant-insult-politicians-which-is-why-we-need-to-protect-free-speech-in-the-us/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">can</a> be punished for insulting politicians.

BELGIUM-EU-POLITICS

Europe Union ‘Ignored’ Free Speech Concerns, Plows Ahead With ‘Global Censorship Regime’

Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF)

Censorship

The State Department designated four European radical leftist groups as terrorist organizations as part of the Trump administration’s crackdown on Antifa.
The organizations designated included “anti-American” and “anti-Christian” entities located in Germany, Italy, and Greece, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Thursday. The designated groups have been accused of carrying out or threatening to carry out violent attacks, including bombings.
“Today, building on [President Donald Trump’s] historic commitment to uproot Antifa’s campaign of political violence, the Department of State is designating four Antifa groups as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially Designated Global Terrorists,” Rubio said. “The United States will continue using all available tools to protect our nation from these anti-American, anti-capitalist, and anti-Christian terrorist groups.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Today, building on <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a>’s historic commitment to uproot Antifa’s campaign of political violence, the Department of State is designating four Antifa groups as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially Designated Global Terrorists. The United States will continue using all… <a href="https://t.co/9byS1nwo2m">https://t.co/9byS1nwo2m</a>
— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) <a href="https://twitter.com/SecRubio/status/1989034765316673832?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 13, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
One group <a href="https://www.state.gov/releases/office-of-the-spokesperson/2025/11/designations-of-antifa-ost-and-three-other-violent-antifa-groups/">labeled</a> as a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the State Department included Antifa Ost (also known as Antifa East and Hammerbande), a “militant” group based in Germany. The group has been accused of attacking right-wing figures in Germany between 2018 and 2023, and in Budapest in February 2023. Hungary labeled the group a terrorist network in September 2025.
Another group receiving the designation was the Italy-based Informal Anarchist Federation/International Revolutionary Front (FAI/FRI). The State Department noted that the group has claimed responsibility for “threats of violence, bombs, and letter bombs against political and economic institutions, including a courthouse and other ‘capitalist institutions,’” since 2003.
Two Greek organizations, Armed Proletarian Justice and Revolutionary Class Self-Defense, were also designated as terrorist organizations. These groups were described as anti-capitalist and have been implicated in a number of bombings. The Revolutionary Class Self-Defense has taken responsibility for improvised explosive device attacks targeting the Greek Ministry of Labor (February 3, 2024) and the Hellenic Train offices (April 11, 2025), the State Department said.
Individuals belonging to organizations designated as terrorist organizations lose access to the American financial system and can’t access any property they have in the United States.
Senator Eric Schmitt (R-MO), who has been outspoken about the threat of leftist violence, praised the move from the Trump administration.
“I’m grateful to Secretary Rubio and the Trump Administration for working with me on this critical issue – holding these radical groups who enable, fund, and support political violence in the United States and across the world accountable,” Schmitt said. “Each of these groups are violent cells in this transnational operation. Designating them as FTO’s is an important step to dismantling this subversive network of far-left extremism.”
Last month, Schmitt held a hearing on leftist violence, which featured the testimony of Daily Wire host Michael Knowles.
In September, Trump signed an executive order declaring Antifa a terrorist organization and directed his administration to take steps against any illegal activities being carried out in its name.

Daily Life In Dresden

Trump Admin Takes Action Against ‘Anti-American,’ ‘Anti-Christian’ European ‘Terror’ Groups

Antifa

Terrorism

In the final months of 2022, President Joe Biden was dealing with one foreign policy crisis after another.
The crisis dominating headlines and requiring the administration’s immediate attention that year was Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But there was another conflict brewing, around 200 miles south of Russia’s border.
In December 2022, Azerbaijan set up environmental protests as a false flag to illegally block the Lachin Corridor, the only road connecting Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh, a region inside of Azerbaijan that had been the home of ethnic Armenians for thousands of years. In the months that followed, the Azerbaijani regime in Baku ramped up its attack on Nagorno-Karabakh, as Armenian soldiers and civilians were killed in intense fighting.
Azerbaijan also cut off electricity and prevented food and aid from reaching the region, forcing around 120,000 ethnic Armenians to flee the place they had called home since the 7th century B.C.
One senior Biden administration official appeared to be the ideal person to address the growing humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh and come to the aid of Armenians. Samantha Power, Biden’s Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), spent decades raising awareness for human rights issues, including highlighting the violence that Armenians have faced for decades. Power, a longtime journalist, gained more notoriety after publishing a book titled “A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide,” in which she highlighted the Armenian genocide, among other genocides that she argues the U.S. government failed to stop.
“She was not your average Biden administration official,” Democratic political strategist Eric Hacopian told The Daily Wire. “Because she has this halo over her head about human rights.”
Her human rights activism and writing landed Power a coveted post in the Obama administration when she was tapped to be the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Power had <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yNt7XsV-Dg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">thrown her support</a> behind Obama’s 2008 campaign, arguing that he had an “unshakable conscientiousness about human rights on the issue of genocide prevention.” Power also highlighted then-candidate Obama’s support for recognizing the Armenian genocide and “his willingness as president to commemorate it and certainly to call a spade a spade and to speak truth about it.” That recognition never came under Obama, something for which Power <a href="https://x.com/SamanthaJPower/status/856561854520467457" target="_blank" rel="noopener">apologized</a>.
Power then became one of the most influential people within the Biden administration when it came to human rights, especially with Armenia. Then the conflict with Azerbaijan exploded.
Azerbaijan’s attacks in late 2022 and 2023 were not a surprise: President Ilham Aliyev’s regime had long hinted that it would push to take control of the region. Professor Nerses Kopalyan told The Daily Wire that the Biden administration’s “inaction” on preparing for such an attack was “shocking.”
“The fact that the United States&#8217; foreign policy establishment was privy to this information, their general inaction was quite shocking purely from the lens of humanitarianism, considering the fact that Samantha Power and the entire wing in the foreign policy structures in the Biden administration had for such a long time been very vocal and a strong proponent of humanitarian issues,” Kopalyan said.
“When it came time to walk the walk, Samantha Power and that branch of the Biden administration basically disappeared,” Kopalyan added. “So we realized that it was all talk and no action, and the blockade continued until the ethnic cleansing.”
Between November 2022 and September 2023, then-Secretary of State Antony Blinken held three rounds of peace talks with Armenia and Azerbaijan, with the Biden administration <a href="https://www.foreign.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/6667fb89-a975-4fab-d8b8-e8875312e37e/09%2014%2023%20--%20Assessing%20The%20Crisis%20in%20Nagorno-Karabakh.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">claiming</a> that the talks “yielded results.” But whatever was discussed during the meetings was not enough to stop Azerbaijan from proceeding with its plan to uproot over 100,000 Armenians from their home. Top Biden officials also <a href="https://www.foreign.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/6667fb89-a975-4fab-d8b8-e8875312e37e/091423_Kim_Testimony.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">signaled</a> that the administration would not tolerate the ethnic cleansing of Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh, a line that the Aliyev regime crossed without any consequences.
Internally, some officials in the Biden administration urged the White House to draw a red line for Azerbaijan, according to a former government official with knowledge of the situation who spoke to The Daily Wire on the condition of anonymity.
“We were certainly pushing for more fortitude on the part of the White House and the State Department in making it clear to Aliyev that there would be consequences for moving militarily on Nagorno-Karabakh,” the official said. “Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.”
The source said that in the months prior to Azerbaijan’s offensive, “there was a sense” in the Biden administration that Baku would move militarily on Nagorno-Karabakh, adding that “there was outreach from Washington to Baku at a high level to dissuade that kind of action.”
“But that messaging was not married up with real consequences,” the former official added.
Despite Power’s apparent sympathy for the Armenian position, many Armenians believe that she left them out to dry. In the weeks and months leading up to Azerbaijan’s blockade, Power did not visit Armenia or make any major statements on aiding the Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Hacopian, who is also an Armenian political commentator, told The Daily Wire that Power and USAID were “entirely insincere” in their efforts “early on in the process” before Azerbaijan launched its major offensive.
“They were never working to get aid into that region during the illegal Azerbaijani blockade,” Hacopian said. “They simply wanted to deal with the effects of the ethnic cleansing.”
He added that it was obvious that the Biden administration wanted to take a hands-off approach to the conflict, and that Power was “not willing to take a stand.”
“She, essentially, cynically went along for the ride, not saying a word,” Hacopian said. “And the moment the ethnic cleansing started, she showed up.”
“She’s wildly reviled here because of that,” he added.
Some of that disdain for Power was captured on camera after she arrived in Armenia in September 2023. During a press conference near the Azerbaijan border, Power was heckled in Armenia by someone who shouted, “Sanction Azerbaijan or go back to your country. You don’t care. Stop the lies.”
<iframe loading="lazy" title="US Response to Calls for Sanctions in Azerbaijan: Samantha Power&#039;s Armenia Visit" width="422" height="750" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Kk6KTtTh1KA?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>
Power did not respond to a request to be interviewed for this piece.
The former Biden official who spoke to The Daily Wire on the condition of anonymity said that once Azerbaijan had forced the Armenians out of Nagorno-Karabakh, discussions in the administration were “less about how do we punish Azerbaijan right now and more about what do we do to support Armenia in this moment.”
“We could’ve walked and chewed gum at the same time, but we didn’t,” the official said. “But I do think there was an effort to try to show up for Armenia.”

Biden Admin – Armenia/Azerbaijan

The Human Rights Activist Who Couldn’t Save Her Cause: How A Top Biden Official Failed Armenia

Armenia

Azerbaijan

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