Congress overwhelmingly votes to force the DOJ to open its full records on Jeffrey Epstein, markets tumble this week amid concerns about an AI bubble, and a new investigation suggests academic fraud in higher education.
It’s Wednesday, November 19, 2025, and this is the news you need to know to start your day. Today’s edition of the Morning Wire podcast can be heard below, and the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/mrn-251119-member-exclusive">video version can be seen on The Daily Wire</a>:
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<h2 style="text-align: center;">Congress Approves Release Of Epstein Files</h2>
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Topline: Congress on Tuesday overwhelmingly voted to release all Justice Department files tied to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein –  and with President Donald Trump’s support.
The Senate passed the bill by unanimous consent, a procedural method of approving legislation without a formal roll call, hours after the House passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act by a vote of 427-1. It was <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/4405/cosponsors">sponsored</a> by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and a host of Democrats, and effectively calls for the release of all of the so-called Epstein files. It specifically calls for the Justice Department to release materials that relate to Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s escort and lover. The release will supposedly include details Americans have been waiting for a long time to learn.
Not so fast: There&#8217;s a good chance the Justice Department could retain some names, redact others, and restrict certain files it believes the public shouldn&#8217;t see.
This is standard practice for sensitive official releases. Democrats recently released files while redacting the name of the late Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein&#8217;s victims. In Giuffre’s case, her identity and story regarding Epstein are already well-known, yet Democrats chose to redact her name anyway. There are certainly many discussions about how these documents will be viewed and what details the public will or won&#8217;t have access to.
White House under pressure:  White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has appeared very restrained, very careful, telling the public that Democrats are pushing for the release of these files to weaponize them against Trump. The administration’s messaging has been that Trump hated Epstein, that Trump kicked Epstein out of Mar-a-Lago, and that Trump was no longer friends with Epstein because he was a creep. The White House says Democrats want to weaponize these files and that if there were anything against Trump in them, it would&#8217;ve been used under the Biden Justice Department.
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The pivot for the White House has been that Trump is realizing his original MAGA base wants the files. The president has also realized that both House and Senate Republicans support releasing the files. 
Trump has already seen many different items released in the files, where people have tried to say this or that is incriminating to him. None of it has implicated the president in wrongdoing, however. Some items emerging might be distasteful or upsetting to some, but at the end of the day, none of it has implicated the president in anything like what Democrats would like to implicate him in.
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Wall Street Bubble?</h2>
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Topline: Global stock markets tumbled this week amid growing fears over an artificial intelligence (AI) bubble and ongoing affordability concerns.
Throughout the summer and fall, millions of Americans were ecstatic to open up their investment portfolio each week as markets soared. The DOW, S&amp;P 500, and NASDAQ are up by more than 10% this year.
Those gains were primarily driven by excitement over AI, one of the most significant developments for Wall Street. As new applications and technologies emerge month after month, investors have gobbled up shares of anything remotely related to AI.
But in the past week, markets have begun to look a bit shaky—the DOW, SP500, and NASDAQ are each down by more than 3.5%, and tech stocks in particular have been hit the hardest.
Why? The biggest and most obvious concern is that a bubble has formed, and all the frenzied investors looking to get in on the AI action have pumped trillions of dollars into the industry, driving stock prices far beyond their worth.
Most AI companies are still in the research and development phase and are not making money. For example, MIT recently surveyed 300 AI companies and found that 95% had yet to turn a profit, despite taking in a combined $40 billion in outside investments.
Bets against AI: A number of well-known investors and venture capitalists are betting against AI stocks. Michael Burry, made famous in the movie &#8220;The Big Short&#8221; (2015), has reportedly made more than $1 billion in bets that Palantir and Nvidia’s stock prices will fall. Billionaire tech founder Peter Thiel and SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son each liquidated all of their Nvidia stocks, sparking even more concern.
The other side: Goldman Sachs released a report this week expressing confidence that the market is correctly valuing the benefits from AI and that valuations are not at “bubble levels.” Two of their lead analysts wrote that “simple arithmetic” shows that markets are running “well ahead of the macro impact.” In other words, the market is pricing in future profits that will come thanks to AI technology.
Kenny Polcari, chief market strategist at Slatestone Wealth, told Morning Wire that the situation is not as bad as some people seem to think.
“While I think that valuations are stretched, I am not in the camp that I think we&#8217;re in a bubble. A bubble suggests something very different,” said Polcari. “This was the fourth industrial revolution. Everyone had to be in it, so they talked it up, and now with this, it&#8217;s exhausted. … It&#8217;s going to probably feel uncomfortable, but I&#8217;m not in the camp that I think it&#8217;s a bubble.”
Polcari conceded that prices were bound to correct at some point, but in his view, that presents a long-term opportunity for average investors.
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Academic Standards Sink</h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1002569" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Academic-Standards-Surrender-300x169.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Academic-Standards-Surrender-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Academic-Standards-Surrender-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Academic-Standards-Surrender-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Academic-Standards-Surrender-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Academic-Standards-Surrender.jpg 1920w" sizes=" (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
Topline: Colleges are increasingly admitting students who struggle with middle school-level academics.
Pop quiz: 7 + 2 = blank + 6.
The answer is three, of course. A simple enough math problem, but a quarter of students at the University of California, San Diego didn’t know the answer to that question.
The school put out a <a href="https://senate.ucsd.edu/media/740347/sawg-report-on-admissions-review-docs.pdf">report</a> this month on a “steep decline in the academic preparation of its entering first-year students.” It said “[b]etween 2020 and 2025, the number of freshmen whose math placement exam results indicate they do not meet middle school standards grew nearly thirtyfold.” Worse, it wasn’t because they hadn’t taken courses in high school–they did, and many of them actually got high grades. The high schools seem to be just passing students who have no idea what they’re doing, often with As and Bs.
Consequences: If students aren’t ready for college-level work, they may face academic difficulties that increase their chances of dropping out and taking on debt without a degree.
The dumbing down of college has also led to inflation. Now, people have to waste precious years getting a graduate degree just to prove they’re as smart as what used to be required for a bachelor’s.
Why? Some, but not all, of what’s gone wrong has been driven by racial politics. A Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/this-black-college-is-a-criminal-enterprise-ex-top-official-says-in-lawsuit">report</a> published Monday on an HBCU (Historically Black College and University) underscores the concerns.
The University of Maryland Eastern Shore admits 90% of applicants and has a 17% graduation rate. There have been four separate lawsuits filed against it in the last few months, alleging, among other things, that the school has almost no standards and condones cheating to keep its graduation rate from falling.
One lecturer, Ciu Fang, said that most students failed her advanced computer science class—a result she saw as the inevitable outcome of turning students who barely made it through high school into college undergraduates.

MorningWire-0428

Morning Brief: The Epstein Files, AI Bubble Gets Nervous, & Schools Keep Lowering The Bar

Morning Brief: House Votes On Epstein Files, AI Bubble Debate, And Academic Standards Slouch

Artificial Intelligence

Department of Justice

Donald Trump

Jeffrey Epstein

Media

Morning Wire

Politics

Thomas Massie

Wall Street

A trio of anti-Trump members of Congress will <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5609061-epstein-survivors-house-press-conference/">host</a> alleged survivors of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein on Tuesday.
Reps. Thomas Massie (R-KY), Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), and Ro Khanna (D-CA), all of whom are inveterate opponents of the president, are hosts.
According to NewsNation, the press conference will “discuss next steps for Rep. Khanna and Rep. Massie’s bipartisan bill, the Epstein Files Transparency Act.”
On Sunday night, President Trump noted on Truth Social that he encourages the release of all the Epstein files, writing:
“As I said on Friday night aboard Air Force One to the Fake News Media, House Republicans should vote to release the Epstein files, because we have nothing to hide, and it’s time to move on from this Democrat Hoax perpetrated by Radical Left Lunatics in order to deflect from the Great Success of the Republican Party, including our recent Victory on the Democrat ‘Shutdown.’&#8221;
“The Trump Administration has done more for the victims than Democrats ever have,” White House Deputy Press Secretary Abigail Jackson stated. “The Democrat Party did nothing about Epstein for years; they are only pretending to care about these victims now as they attempt to score political points against President Trump.”
In February 2025, Massie was the <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-house-republicans-set-vote-trumps-tax-cut-agenda-2025-02-25/?utm_source=chatgpt.com">sole Republican</a> in the House to vote no on a budget blueprint that would advance Trump’s tax-cut and border/big-spending agenda (a “$4.5 trillion” plan) in a 217-215 vote. In March, Massie <a href="https://ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2025/03/11/trump-massie-spending-bill?utm_source=chatgpt.com">opposed</a> a House stopgap spending bill/continuing resolution aimed at avoiding a government shutdown, which Trump supported. In June, Massie <a href="https://time.com/7294985/iran-israel-trump-us-war-powers-congress-massie-khanna-kaine/">co-sponsored</a> a war-powers resolution aimed at limiting the president’s authority to strike Iran without Congressional approval, against the Trump administration’s foreign-policy position. In June, he also he was one of only two Republicans to vote against the so-called “Great, Big, Beautiful Bill” (or similar bill) advanced by Republicans.
On November 28, 2023, the U.S. House passed a resolution “reaffirming the State of Israel’s right to exist.” Massie <a href="https://www.jns.org/on-israels-right-to-exist-massie-votes-no-tlaib-present/?utm">cast the lone</a> “nay” vote. In late May 2025, as Israel was at war with Hamas and Iran, Massie said the U.S. should “end all U.S. military aid to Israel now.”
“Third Rate Congressman Thomas Massie, a Weak and Pathetic RINO from the Great Commonwealth of Kentucky, a place I love, and won big SIX TIMES, must be thrown out of office, ASAP!” Trump wrote on <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115487538389910575">Truth Social</a> earlier this month.
After Trump launched a strike on Iran’s nuclear sites last May, Greene slammed him, saying, “We are entering a nuclear war—the World War, the World War III, because the entire world is going to erupt.” In October, she <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/marjorie-taylor-greene-condemns-argentina-beef-plan-trump-10928902">said</a> his plan to import Argentine beef to lower prices was “a punch in the gut to all of our American cattle ranchers.” She also <a href="https://x.com/OfTheBraveUSA/status/1977076561951260769">attacked</a> the Trump administration’s immigration policies.
Trump, noting Greene’s opposition, wrote last week, “It seemed to all begin when I sent her a Poll stating that she should not run for Senator, or Governor, she was at 12%, and didn’t have a chance (unless, of course, she had my Endorsement — which she wasn’t about to get!). She has told many people that she is upset that I don’t return her phone calls anymore, but with 219 Congressmen/women, 53 U.S. Senators, 24 Cabinet Members, almost 200 Countries, and an otherwise normal life to lead, I can’t take a ranting Lunatic’s call every day.”
Khanna has <a href="https://khanna.house.gov/media/in-the-news/rep-ro-khanna-says-trump-following-nixons-playbook-attempt-interfere-federal">accused</a> Trump of “following Richard Nixon’s playbook to interfere with” the Federal Reserve. He <a href="https://www.democracynow.org/2025/2/7/ro_khanna">criticized</a> DOGE, saying, “It has really been disappointing and concerning to see the overreach and the unconstitutional actions.” He has mocked Trump’s foreign policy, declaring, “I think he is in the wrong century.”

House To Vote On Release Of Epstein Files

Anti-Trump Lawmakers To Host Alleged Epstein Survivors

Marjorie Taylor Greene

Ro Khanna

President Donald Trump says he&#8217;s done supporting GOP Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene (GA) and Thomas Massie (KY), and will give his endorsement to those who would offer primary challenges to his former allies.
Trump took to Truth Social on Friday night to tear into both Greene and Massie &#8212; serving up particular ire for Greene, who was a strong supporter of Trump before launching numerous criticisms at the president over the last month or so.
<div id="attachment_1001215" style="width: 821px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1001215" class="wp-image-1001215 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2203349120-811x576.jpg" alt="" width="811" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2203349120-811x576.jpg 811w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2203349120-300x213.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2203349120-768x545.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2203349120.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 811px) 100vw, 811px" />Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images</div>
In his post on Greene, Trump suggested the congresswoman started to publicly criticize him after he sent her a poll showing she&#8217;d fare poorly if she made a run for the Senate or governorship in Georgia, adding that she&#8217;s also upset that he doesn&#8217;t have time to return her phone calls anymore.
&#8220;It seemed to all begin when I sent her a Poll stating that she should not run for Senator, or Governor, she was at 12%, and didn’t have a chance (unless, of course, she had my Endorsement — which she wasn’t about to get!),&#8221; POTUS said. &#8220;She has told many people that she is upset that I don’t return her phone calls anymore, but with 219 Congressmen/women, 53 U.S. Senators, 24 Cabinet Members, almost 200 Countries, and an otherwise normal life to lead, I can’t take a ranting Lunatic’s call every day.&#8221;
&#8220;She has gone Far Left, even doing &#8216;The View,&#8217; with their Low IQ Republican hating Anchors,&#8221; Trump added. Greene notably trashed Republicans and criticized Trump&#8217;s agenda during her recent appearance on &#8220;The View,&#8221; earning some praise from the liberal anti-Trump co-hosts.
&#8220;I understand that wonderful, Conservative people are thinking about primarying Marjorie in her District of Georgia, that they too are fed up with her and her antics and, if the right person runs, they will have my Complete and Unyielding Support,&#8221; the president added.
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-1001197 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-15-at-7.43.33-AM-778x576.png" alt="" width="778" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-15-at-7.43.33-AM-778x576.png 778w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-15-at-7.43.33-AM-300x222.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-15-at-7.43.33-AM-768x569.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-15-at-7.43.33-AM-1536x1138.png 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-15-at-7.43.33-AM.png 1758w" sizes=" (max-width: 778px) 100vw, 778px" /></div>
Greene has recently <a href="https://www.axios.com/2025/10/17/mtg-republicans-trump-america-first">accused</a> Trump of being &#8220;America Last&#8221; for meeting with foreign leaders and has routinely criticized Republican leadership. She&#8217;s also suggested Trump has made missteps concerning the handling of the Jeffrey Epstein documents.
Before Trump posted his comments on Greene to Truth Social, he criticized Greene&#8217;s complaints about him going overseas.
&#8220;She&#8217;s lost a wonderful conservative reputation,&#8221; the president told the press. &#8220;She says, &#8216;Don&#8217;t go overseas?&#8217; If I didn&#8217;t, we may be in a war right now with China!&#8221;
&#8220;Something happened to her over the last period of a month or two,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;I think her constituents aren&#8217;t gonna be happy. Already, I have people calling me, they want to challenge her in her district in Georgia. That&#8217;s too bad.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
🚨 BREAKING: Moments before he withdrew his endorsement of Marjorie Taylor Greene, President Trump FIRED BACK at her criticism that he spends too much time overseas
&#8220;She&#8217;s lost a wonderful conservative reputation. She says don&#8217;t go overseas? If I didn&#8217;t, we may be in a WAR right… <a href="https://t.co/UYku0nZwVh">pic.twitter.com/UYku0nZwVh</a>
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) <a href="https://twitter.com/EricLDaugh/status/1989513947871879169?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 15, 2025</a></blockquote>
Greene responded on X, suggesting Trump is trying to keep information about Epstein from the public and is no longer &#8220;America First.&#8221;
&#8220;Of course he’s coming after me hard to make an example to scare all the other Republicans before next week&#8217;s vote to release the Epstein files,&#8221; she said. &#8220;It’s astonishing really how hard he’s fighting to stop the Epstein files from coming out that he actually goes to this level.&#8221;
&#8220;But really most Americans wish he would fight this hard to help the forgotten men and women of America who are fed up with foreign wars and foreign causes, are going broke trying to feed their families, and are losing hope of ever achieving the American dream,&#8221; MTG added.
&#8220;I don’t worship or serve Donald Trump,&#8221; Greene wrote. &#8220;I worship God, Jesus is my savior, and I serve my district GA14 and the American people. &#8230; For me, I remain America First and America Only!!!&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
President Trump just attacked me and lied about me. I haven’t called him at all, but I did send these text messages today. Apparently this is what sent him over the edge.
The Epstein files.
And of course he’s coming after me hard to make an example to scare all the other… <a href="https://t.co/EcUzaohZZs">pic.twitter.com/EcUzaohZZs</a>
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepMTG/status/1989518703507963940?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 15, 2025</a></blockquote>
The president also unleashed on Massie, with whom he&#8217;s had a more volatile relationship. However, in 2022, Trump endorsed Massie and called him a “Conservative Warrior” and “first-rate Defender of the Constitution.&#8221;
&#8220;Did Thomas Massie, sometimes referred to as Rand Paul Jr., because of the fact that he always votes against the Republican Party, get married already???&#8221; Trump posted to Truth Social. &#8220;Boy, that was quick!&#8221;
Massie&#8217;s wife of over 35 years died in June 2024. Sixteen months after her passing, Massie married Carolyn Grace Moffa, 36, a former agriculture policy staffer for Senator Rand Paul.
&#8220;No wonder the Polls have him at less than an 8% chance of winning the Election,&#8221; Trump wrote. &#8220;Anyway, have a great life Thomas and (?). His wife will soon find out that she’s stuck with a LOSER!&#8221;
<div id="attachment_1001203" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1001203" class="wp-image-1001203 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-15-at-7.47.37-AM-1024x274.png" alt="" width="1024" height="274" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-15-at-7.47.37-AM-1024x274.png 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-15-at-7.47.37-AM-300x80.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-15-at-7.47.37-AM-768x205.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-15-at-7.47.37-AM-1536x411.png 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-15-at-7.47.37-AM.png 1758w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Trump: Truth Social</div>
Trump made clear back in May that he will <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/just-another-grandstander-trump-backs-primary-challenge-to-thomas-massie?utm_source=chatgpt.com">back a primary challenger to Massie</a>, saying he&#8217;d &#8220;lead the charge against him.&#8221;

US-VOTE-POLITICS-TRUMP

Trump Goes Nuclear On Two Former Allies, Says He’ll Back Primary Challengers

Congress

Elections

Republican Primary

On Monday, the day before Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), who has consistently opposed President Trump’s agenda, is up for reelection, the president issued a strong statement supporting Massie’s challenger and deriding Massie as a “Weak and Pathetic RINO.”
In February 2025, Massie was the <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-house-republicans-set-vote-trumps-tax-cut-agenda-2025-02-25/?utm_source=chatgpt.com">sole Republican</a> in the House to vote no on a budget blueprint that would advance Trump’s tax-cut and border/big-spending agenda (a “$4.5 trillion” plan) in a 217-215 vote. In March, Massie <a href="https://ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2025/03/11/trump-massie-spending-bill?utm_source=chatgpt.com">opposed</a> a House stop-gap spending bill/continuing resolution aimed at avoiding a government shutdown, which Trump supported. In June, Massie <a href="https://time.com/7294985/iran-israel-trump-us-war-powers-congress-massie-khanna-kaine/">co-sponsored</a> a war-powers resolution aimed at limiting the president’s authority to strike Iran without Congressional approval, against the Trump administration’s foreign-policy position. In June, he also he was one of only two Republicans to vote against the so-called “Great, Big, Beautiful Bill” (or similar bill) advanced by Republicans.
On November 28, 2023 the U.S. House passed a resolution “reaffirming the State of Israel’s right to exist.” Massie <a href="https://www.jns.org/on-israels-right-to-exist-massie-votes-no-tlaib-present/?utm">cast the lone</a> “nay” vote. In late May 2025, as Israel was at war with Hamas and Iran, Massie said the U.S. should “end all U.S. military aid to Israel now.”
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“Third Rate Congressman Thomas Massie, a Weak and Pathetic RINO from the Great Commonwealth of Kentucky, a place I love, and won big SIX TIMES, must be thrown out of office, ASAP!” Trump wrote on <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115487538389910575">Truth Social</a>. “The incredible people of Kentucky&#8217;s 4th Congressional District gave us a mandate to, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, and the person that will help us do that is Navy SEAL, Army Ranger, and Fifth Generation Kentucky Farmer, Captain Ed Gallrein, a true America First Patriot. A Brave Combat Veteran, Ed knows the Wisdom and Courage required to Defend our Country, Support our Military/Veterans, and Ensure PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH.”
“Additionally, as a very successful Businessman, Ed knows how to Create GREAT Jobs, Cut Taxes and Regulations, Promote MADE IN THE U.S.A., Support our Amazing Farmers and American Agriculture, Unleash American Energy Dominance, and Champion our Nation&#8217;s Golden Age,” Trump continued. “In Congress, he will fight tirelessly to Keep our now very Secure Border, SECURE, Stop Migrant Crime, and Defend our always under siege Second Amendment.”
“Captain Ed Gallrein has my Complete and Total Endorsement against Massie, who is now polling at about 9% because the Great People of Kentucky are wise to him — He only votes against the Republican Party, making life very easy for the Radical Left. Unlike ‘lightweight’ Massie, a totally ineffective LOSER who has failed us so badly, CAPTAIN ED GALLREIN IS A WINNER WHO WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN!” he concluded.

Rep. Thomas Massie

‘Weak and Pathetic RINO’: Trump Slams Massie, Praises Navy Seal Opponent

Kentucky

Victims of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein said Wednesday they plan to release their own client list after the Justice Department in July announced it found no evidence of one.
At a rally on Capitol Hill, Epstein victim Lisa Phillips said she and other survivors of Epstein and his co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell plan to release a list of those involved in the abuse.
“Epstein was not just a serial predator; he was an international human trafficker,” Phillips said. “And many around him knew this, many participated, and many profited, and yet, he was protected. I know what it’s like to be trafficked to others, and I know the files contain the names of powerful men who have been shielded because of their fame or fortune.”
“And let me announce now, several of us Epstein survivors have been discussing creating our own list of names,” she added to the cheers of the crowd. “We know the names. Many of us were abused by them. Now together as survivors, we will confidentially compile the names we all know were regularly in the Epstein world, and it will be done by survivors and for survivors.”
After the rally, the Epstein victims and their supporters joined some Republican and Democratic lawmakers for a press conference just outside the Capitol Building. Reps. Ro Khanna (D-CA), Thomas Massie (R-KY), and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) spoke, calling on the federal government to release more information on the Epstein investigation.
“[The] Washington establishment is asking the American public to believe something that is not believable,” Massie said. “They’re asking you to believe that two individuals created hundreds of victims and they acted alone and that the DOJ has no idea of who else might have been involved that nobody else did anything that rose to a criminal enterprise. The American people know that’s not true.”
The DOJ said that it did not find evidence that Epstein had a client list or that powerful co-conspirators were involved in his child sex crimes. The DOJ also noted that the evidence showed that Epstein committed suicide in his jail cell in August 2019. President Donald Trump has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-says-epstein-story-is-kept-alive-by-pretty-bad-people-including-fake-news">blasted</a> those focusing on the Epstein files, arguing that the issue is being pushed by the “Fake News” and “success-starved Dems.”
During the press conference, Epstein accuser Jena-Lisa Jones said, “I remembered crying the entire way home, thinking about how I couldn’t ever tell anyone about what actually happened in that house. This guy was so rich and had so many pictures with so many famous people and no one would have ever believed me if I told them.” Jones told <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/02/us/jeffrey-epstein-survivors-interview">CNN</a> that she met Epstein when she was just 14, and that he was her first sexual experience.
The Republican-led House Oversight Committee <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/republican-led-oversight-committee-drops-massive-trove-of-over-33000-epstein-docs?author=Tim+Pearce&amp;category=undefined&amp;elementPosition=1&amp;row=3&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+News&amp;rowType=Vertical+Carousel&amp;title=Republican-Led+Oversight+Committee+Drops+Massive+Trove+Of+Over+33%2C000+Epstein+Docs">released</a> more than 33,000 pages of Epstein documents, but critics blasted the heavily redacted document trove.
“What people are waking up and discovering right now is — the folks who stayed up all night to go through the 34,000 individual pages have found that they’re so redacted as to be useless,” Massie said.
Khanna said during the press conference that less than 1% of the Epstein files had been released.
“A nation that allows rich and powerful men to traffic and abuse young girls without consequence is a nation that has lost its moral and spiritual core,” he said.
Wednesday’s rally and press conference was the largest gathering of Epstein’s accusers since a 2019 court hearing following the sex abuser’s death, The Washington Post <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/09/03/house-epstein-files-victims-news-conference/#link-QMGSRWQ7GJFM3F6G2WVO222RZE">reported</a>. House lawmakers met with Epstein victims on Tuesday to discuss releasing more documents.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), who supports a limited release of Epstein documents, praised the Tuesday document dump, saying, “There’s 33,000 documents that were released because of this administration. When we met with victims yesterday, they said that they don’t want their personal information to be out there, and they actually asked us to not put it out there, so obviously that was information that was withheld from that document release.”
Massie also <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/thomas-massie-epstein-files-discharge-petition-house-vote/">filed</a> a discharge petition on Tuesday in an attempt to force a House vote on releasing the Epstein files. The discharge petition must receive 218 votes, a majority of the House, to move a vote forward.
Khanna believes that all House Democrats would sign the petition, and is hopeful that at least six Republicans would also sign. Massie said he is two Republicans away from passing the discharge petition, along with Massie and Greene, Reps. Nancy Mace of South Carolina and Lauren Boebert of Colorado are the only Republicans to sign the petition.

House Members Introduce Epstein Files Transparency Act

‘We Know The Names’: Epstein Victims Say They Will Release Their Own Client List

Democrats

Republicans

Trump Administration

A bipartisan pair of House lawmakers is teaming to try and lock in a vote on legislation that would force the Department of Justice (DOJ) to release files regarding Jeffrey Epstein, a wealthy financier and convicted sex offender who was found dead at the age of 66 in his New York City jail cell in 2019.
Reps. Thomas Massie (R-KY), who is once again <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-squad-endorses-massies-resolution-on-u-s-involvement-in-israel-iran-conflict" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pitting himself against</a> President Donald Trump, joined forces with Ro Khanna (D-CA) on Wednesday on a <a href="https://massie.house.gov/uploadedfiles/efta.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">discharge petition</a> that would force leadership to act on a disclosure bill should it garner signatures from a majority of the GOP-led House&#8217;s membership.
&#8220;We all deserve to know what’s in the Epstein files, who’s implicated, and how deep this corruption goes. Americans were promised justice and transparency. We’re introducing a discharge petition to force a vote in the US House of Representatives on releasing the COMPLETE files,&#8221; Massie <a href="https://x.com/RepThomasMassie/status/1945237281096229095" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> on X. He explained in a follow-up <a href="https://x.com/RepThomasMassie/status/1945242813282611492">post</a>: &#8220;A discharge petition is a procedural tool for bypassing leadership. In 7 days we can start collecting signatures. At 218 signatures, the House must vote on our bill requiring a full release of the Epstein files. If your Representative won’t sign the discharge petition, ask why.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
We all deserve to know what’s in the Epstein files, who’s implicated, and how deep this corruption goes.
Americans were promised justice and transparency.
We’re introducing a discharge petition to force a vote in the US House of Representatives on releasing the COMPLETE files. <a href="https://t.co/Ja1xJ7Hiz1">pic.twitter.com/Ja1xJ7Hiz1</a>
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepThomasMassie/status/1945237281096229095?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 15, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The announcement comes after the lower chamber repeatedly <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/house-republicans-block-democrat-push-to-release-epstein-files" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shot down</a> Khanna&#8217;s legislation this week, first in the Rules Committee in the form of an amendment to an unrelated crypto bill, and then a procedural vote on the House floor that Republicans <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/house-gop-rejects-claims-of-blocking-epstein-files-a-misunderstanding" target="_blank" rel="noopener">warned</a> would have given the Democrat minority the power to force votes on whatever agenda items they pleased.
Called the &#8220;Epstein Files Transparency Act,&#8221; Khanna&#8217;s <a href="https://massie.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=395739">legislation</a> demands that the attorney general make available records and investigative materials public within 30 days. Redactions are permitted for certain types of content, including child sexual abuse materials, documents that would jeopardize active federal investigations or prosecutions, and information designated to be secret by executive order.
Trump, who recently <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/not-maga-trump-vows-to-help-crush-massie-in-primary-after-iran-strike-criticism" target="_blank" rel="noopener">vowed</a> to help defeat Massie in his next primary after disagreements on the &#8220;One Big, Beautiful Bill&#8221; and strikes on Iran, has expressed support for Attorney General Pam Bondi and dismissed the uproar within the “Make America Great Again” movement following the DOJ claiming it had no evidence that Epstein had a client list, blackmailed powerful people, or was murdered.
A &#8220;new SCAM&#8221; from &#8220;Radical Left Democrats&#8221; is &#8220;what we will forever call the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax, and my PAST supporters have bought into this &#8216;bullshit,&#8217; hook, line, and sinker. They haven’t learned their lesson, and probably never will, even after being conned by the Lunatic Left for 8 long years,&#8221; Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114863203348237352" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> on Truth Social. &#8220;I have had more success in 6 months than perhaps any President in our Country’s history, and all these people want to talk about, with strong prodding by the Fake News and the success starved Dems, is the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax. Let these weaklings continue forward and do the Democrats work, don’t even think about talking of our incredible and unprecedented success, because I don’t want their support anymore! &#8221;
Still, even as has Trump decried the controversy, he <a href="https://x.com/theblaze/status/1945520557904081328" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> Bondi can release whatever she believes is &#8220;credible.&#8221;
Many people remain skeptical that the DOJ is being completely forthcoming, and other Republican lawmakers, <a href="https://x.com/RepMTG/status/1945502464037326863" target="_blank" rel="noopener">including</a> Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), quickly signed on to become co-sponsors of the discharge petition. Democrats, who have suddenly taken an interest in releasing Epstein files after <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/sen-blackburn-says-democrat-led-senate-committee-chair-blocked-epstein-flight-logs-subpoena" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fighting</a> GOP efforts in the past, also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/house-gop-rejects-claims-of-blocking-epstein-files-a-misunderstanding" target="_blank" rel="noopener">signaled</a> their support for the measure and <a href="https://democrats-judiciary.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/judiciary-democrats-demand-chairman-jordan-hold-public-hearing-with-doj-and-fbi-officials-on-their-handling-of-the-epstein-files" target="_blank" rel="noopener">requested</a> a hearing on the matter.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) <a href="https://x.com/bennyjohnson/status/1945181783567319432" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in an interview with conservative political commentator Benny Johnson on Tuesday that he supports &#8220;transparency&#8221; with regard to the Epstein issue and called on Bondi to be more forthcoming to inform the American public what happened after she <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/shes-great-trump-backs-bondi-wants-top-officials-to-end-conflict-over-epstein" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hinted</a> earlier this year that major bombshells were about to be revealed that never materialized.
If the discharge petition were to prevail, Khanna&#8217;s bill would still face long odds, as <a href="https://x.com/JakeSherman/status/1945487474207461540" target="_blank" rel="noopener">explained</a> by Punchbowl News co-founder Jake Sherman.
&#8220;Massie may succeed in getting signatures. But I anticipate the leadership will make the case &#8211; as they usually do &#8211; that this is handing the floor to Democrats,&#8221; Sherman said on X. &#8220;And even if this gets the requisite 218 signatures, it’s subject to a motion to table then a vote in the house. Then the senate can ignore it. If the Senate somehow does pass it — probably won’t happen — Trump would almost certainly veto. And then will there be a veto proof majority? Almost definitely not.&#8221;

Representative Thomas Massie

Massie Defies Trump Again, Teams Up With Democrat To Force Vote On Epstein Files

U.S. House of Representatives

President Donald Trump declared on Sunday that the &#8220;Make America Great Again&#8221; movement should cut any ties with Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) on Sunday after the congressman decried this weekend&#8217;s U.S. military strikes on nuclear facilities in Iran and revealed that he will hit the campaign trail next year to support a primary challenger.
The comments mark an escalation in the intra-party war of words after Trump called Massie a &#8220;<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/in-capitol-hill-visit-trump-tells-house-gop-back-big-beautiful-bill-fool" target="_blank" rel="noopener">grandstander</a>&#8221; earlier this year for opposing the &#8220;One Big, Beautiful Bill&#8221; making its way through Congress and <a href="https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2025/05/20/trump-on-massie-i-think-he-should-be-voted-out-of-office/83745274007/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">urged</a> voters to kick the Kentucky Republican out from his House seat.
&#8220;Congressman Thomas Massie of Kentucky is not MAGA, even though he likes to say he is. Actually, MAGA doesn’t want him, doesn’t know him, and doesn’t respect him. He is a negative force who almost always Votes &#8216;NO,&#8217; no matter how good something may be,&#8221; Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114728311939211877" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a Truth Social post. &#8220;He’s a simple minded &#8216;grandstander&#8217; who thinks it’s good politics for Iran to have the highest level Nuclear weapon, while at the same time yelling &#8216;DEATH TO AMERICA&#8217; at every chance they get.&#8221;
Massie claims the attack on Iran was &#8220;<a href="https://x.com/RepThomasMassie/status/1936574721312923803" target="_blank" rel="noopener">unconstitutional</a>&#8221; because Congress did not authorize military force ahead of time. Prior to the strikes, the Kentucky Republican put <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-squad-endorses-massies-resolution-on-u-s-involvement-in-israel-iran-conflict" target="_blank" rel="noopener">forward</a> a war powers resolution in the House that elicited the support of many Democrats, including leftist &#8220;Squad&#8221; members.
&#8220;When two countries are bombing each other daily in a hot war, and a third country joins the bombing, that’s an act of war,&#8221; Massie <a href="https://x.com/RepThomasMassie/status/1936722005451010479" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> on X, alluding to the conflict between Israel and Iran. &#8220;I’m amazed at the mental gymnastics being undertaken by neocons in DC (and their social media bots) to say we aren’t at war… so they can make war.&#8221;
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) defended Trump&#8217;s decision to launch an operation to destroy three facilities in Iran this weekend in a bid to stop that country from being able to create nuclear weapons.
&#8220;The President made the right call, and did what he needed to do. Leaders in Congress were aware of the urgency of this situation and the Commander-in-Chief evaluated that the imminent danger outweighed the time it would take for Congress to act,&#8221; Johnson <a href="https://x.com/SpeakerJohnson/status/1936602051431063760" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> on X. &#8220;The world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism, which chants &#8216;Death to America,&#8217; simply could not be allowed the opportunity to obtain and use nuclear weapons. The President fully respects the Article I power of Congress, and tonight’s necessary, limited, and targeted strike follows the history and tradition of similar military actions under presidents of both parties.&#8221;
Massie shot back, asking why Johnson did not call Congress back from &#8220;vacation&#8221; to vote on military action &#8220;if there was a serious threat&#8221; to the United States. &#8220;I introduced a War Powers Resolution on Tuesday, while Congress was on vacation. We would have had plenty of time to debate and vote on this,&#8221; he <a href="https://x.com/RepThomasMassie/status/1936724385273979112" target="_blank" rel="noopener">added</a>.
In his post on Truth Social, Trump compared Massie to Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), another Republican lawmaker who has shown a willingness to break with the &#8220;MAGA&#8221; line.
&#8220;Massie is weak, ineffective, and votes &#8216;NO&#8217; on virtually everything put before him (Rand Paul, Jr.), no matter how good something may be,&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;He is disrespectful to our great military, and all that they stand for, not even acknowledging their brilliance and bravery in yesterday’s attack, which was a total and complete WIN. Massie should drop his fake act and start putting America First, but he doesn’t know how to get there — he doesn’t have a clue!&#8221;
After noting how Massie will &#8220;undoubtedly&#8221; again vote against the &#8220;One Big, Beautiful Bill,&#8221; which will likely need to be approved by the House a second time with the changes being implemented by the Senate, Trump pledged to help defeat the congressman in next year&#8217;s midterm elections.
&#8220;MAGA should drop this pathetic LOSER, Tom Massie, like the plague!&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;The good news is that we will have a wonderful American Patriot running against him in the Republican Primary, and I’ll be out in Kentucky campaigning really hard. MAGA is not about lazy, grandstanding, nonproductive politicians, of which Thomas Massie is definitely one. Thank you to our incredible military for the AMAZING job they did last night. It was really SPECIAL!!! MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN.&#8221;
Axios <a href="https://www.axios.com/2025/06/22/trump-massie-congress-2026" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> later on Sunday that Trump&#8217;s team was launching a super PAC focused on getting Massie defeated in the May 2026 primary. The news outlet said the group is called Kentucky MAGA and led by the President&#8217;s senior political advisers Tony Fabrizio and Chris LaCivita.
In a post on X, Massie acknowledged Trump&#8217;s pledge to back a primary challenger and <a href="https://x.com/MassieforKY/status/1936863008174616881" target="_blank" rel="noopener">asked</a> people to support his re-election campaign.

President Donald Trump

‘Not MAGA’: Trump Vows To Help Crush Massie In Primary After Iran Strike Criticism

Iran

Nuclear Weapons

U.S.

<div class="teaser-content">
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<p class="wpds-c-heFNVF wpds-c-heFNVF-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" dir="null" data-apitype="text" data-contentid="ICJHHNTU3BEX3DWAUNNOHRJ5LU" data-el="text" data-scroll-pos="0" data-scroll-measured="true">The Trump administration is reversing course, reportedly telling agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) they should continue to conduct immigration raids on farms, in hotels, and in restaurants.
This past Thursday, the administration <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-admin-pauses-ice-arrests-at-farms-hotels-in-major-shift-on-immigration-enforcement?author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=4&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Trump+Admin+Pauses+ICE+Arrests+At+Farms%2C+Hotels+In+Major+Shift+On+Immigration+Enforcement">reportedly</a> instructed ICE to halt immigration raids on such businesses. The guidance followed a warning from the Department of Agriculture that aggressive deportations in rural areas could <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/859d3f21-fd73-43bd-b9ed-6730df5f594e?utm_source=chatgpt.com">destabilize</a> the food supply. 
“There will be no safe spaces for industries who harbor violent criminals or purposely try to undermine ICE’s efforts,” Tricia McLaughlin, an assistant secretary for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), said on a call Monday, The Washington Post <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/2025/06/16/trump-farms-hotels-immigration-raids/">reported</a>. “Worksite enforcement remains a cornerstone of our efforts to safeguard public safety, national security and economic stability.”
<p class="wpds-c-heFNVF wpds-c-heFNVF-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" dir="null" data-apitype="text" data-contentid="ICJHHNTU3BEX3DWAUNNOHRJ5LU" data-el="text" data-scroll-pos="0" data-scroll-measured="true">Officials from ICE reportedly led the call, informing agency leaders from 30 field offices across the nation that immigration raids at those workplaces would resume.
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Last week, President Donald Trump said there would be a forthcoming policy change regarding deportations at farms, hotels, and leisure businesses. He said he wanted his administration to use “common sense” and not focus on deporting “good workers&#8221; who have been here for decades.
</div>
“Our farmers are being hurt badly. They have very good workers who have worked for them for 20 years. They’re not citizens, but they’ve turned out to be great, and we’re going to have to do something about that. We can’t take farmers and take all their people and send them back,&#8221; the president said. &#8220;You know what’s going to happen &#8212; what is happening, they get rid of some of their people … and they end up hiring the criminals that have come in, the murderers from prisons and everything else.”
Before the apparent reversal, the announcement to slow down such raids generated pushback from some Trump supporters, arguing that the move was de facto amnesty and not what they voted for. 
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) – who’s disagreed with Trump over a number of issues – had <a href="https://x.com/RepThomasMassie/status/1933966075449709031">criticized</a> the policy shift, writing, “Under Trump’s new immigration enforcement policy, if you’re an illegal alien, I guess you just have to switch jobs to a restaurant, hotel, farm, or meat packing plant?”
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-strips-legal-status-from-over-half-a-million-migrants-tells-them-to-self-deport">Trump Strips Legal Status From Over Half A Million Migrants, Tells Them To Self-Deport</a>

US-VOTE-TRUMP

Trump Admin Reverses Course On Immigration Raids At Farms, Hotels: Report

Trump Admin Reverses Course On Immigration Raids On Farms, Hotels: Report

Department of Homeland Security

Immigration

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

Members of the leftist &#8220;Squad&#8221; are rallying behind a resolution from Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) to affirm that the United States cannot get involved in the fight between Israel and Iran without the consent of Congress.
The U.S. military has already <a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-israel-strikes-us-troops-973bc18970689bac42d82342bd29f601" target="_blank" rel="noopener">helped</a> shoot down missiles launched toward Israel from Iran. President Donald Trump <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XH5KHUrg704" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stated</a> that the United States supports Israel&#8217;s defense while stressing that Iran must not acquire nuclear weapons. He <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114685507052179501" target="_blank" rel="noopener">warned</a> Tehran that any attack on the U.S. would face the &#8220;full strength and might of the U.S. Armed Forces.&#8221;
Massie <a href="https://x.com/RepThomasMassie/status/1934749340813476204" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> on X that he would introduce a &#8220;bipartisan War Powers Resolution&#8221; to &#8220;prohibit&#8221; U.S. involvement in the Middle East conflict. &#8220;This is not our war. But if it were, Congress must decide such matters according to our Constitution,&#8221; Massie stated.
&#8220;Signing on,&#8221; <a href="https://x.com/AOC/status/1934790910455472635" target="_blank" rel="noopener">replied</a> Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) <a href="https://x.com/IlhanMN/status/1934975318005305657" target="_blank" rel="noopener">and</a> Ilhan Omar (D-MN). Both have repeatedly made <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/match-lighter-condemns-blaze-aoc-shredded-for-past-comments-after-antisemitic-terror-attack" target="_blank" rel="noopener">unsubstantiated accusations</a> against Israel of committing genocide in its war against the terror group Hamas.
Omar was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/republicans-boot-ilhan-omar-off-foreign-affairs-committee-over-anti-semitism" target="_blank" rel="noopener">kicked off</a> the House Foreign Affairs Committee in 2023 for rhetoric deemed to be anti-Israel and anti-Semitic. Last year, Omar faced a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/house-republican-unveils-censure-resolution-against-ilhan-omar-after-remark-about-some-jewish-students-being-pro-genocide" target="_blank" rel="noopener">censure threat</a> for suggesting that some Jewish students were “pro-genocide,” but it did not come to pass.
Massie also <a href="https://x.com/RashidaTlaib/status/1934774616964137145" target="_blank" rel="noopener">re-posted</a> a response from Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI).
&#8220;I look forward to supporting this War Powers Resolution. The American people aren&#8217;t falling for it again. We were lied to about &#8216;weapons of mass destruction&#8217; in Iraq that killed millions + forever changed lives,&#8221; Tlaib said. &#8220;It&#8217;s unconst&#8217;l for Trump to go to war without a vote in Congress.&#8221;
The House <a href="https://history.house.gov/Institution/Discipline/Expulsion-Censure-Reprimand/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">censured</a> Tlaib in 2023 for &#8220;promoting false narratives regarding the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel and for calling for the destruction of the state of Israel.&#8221;
Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) <a href="https://x.com/lawler4ny/status/1934797078380609877" target="_blank" rel="noopener">quipped</a> that it was a &#8220;good bet&#8221; that he would oppose any resolution that Massie and Ocasio-Cortez were teaming up to support.
&#8220;Iran, China, Russia, and North Korea are not our friends or our allies — in fact they are working to undermine us and destabilize the free world,&#8221; Lawler said. &#8220;A nuclear Iran will seek to eradicate Israel and all but ensure WWIII. We cannot allow that to happen. We must stand with Israel.&#8221;
Massie formally <a href="https://x.com/RepThomasMassie/status/1935001863100699058" target="_blank" rel="noopener">introduced</a> his resolution on Tuesday with Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA). Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) <a href="https://www.kaine.senate.gov/press-releases/kaine-announces-the-filing-of-a-war-powers-resolution-to-prevent-war-with-iran" target="_blank" rel="noopener">unveiled</a> a similar war powers resolution for the upper chamber.

Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY)

‘The Squad’ Endorses Massie’s Resolution On U.S. Involvement In Israel-Iran Conflict

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Ilhan Omar

Israel

Middle East

Rashida Tlaib

President Donald Trump paid a visit to Capitol Hill on Tuesday, pushing House Republicans to pass the &#8220;one big, beautiful bill&#8221; with encouragement mixed with some criticism.
Trump told reporters his meeting with GOP lawmakers was about &#8220;love&#8221; and &#8220;unity,&#8221; but then mentioned, &#8220;Anybody that didn&#8217;t support it as a Republican, I would consider to be a fool.&#8221;
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President Trump after meeting with <a href="https://twitter.com/HouseGOP?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@HouseGOP</a>: &#8220;It was a meeting of unity&#8230;Anybody that didn&#8217;t support it as a Republican I would consider to be a fool&#8230;This was a meeting of love.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/cARFr21Ps9">pic.twitter.com/cARFr21Ps9</a>
— CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1924846821857267952?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 20, 2025</a></blockquote>
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House Republicans continue to clash about spending cuts and certain provisions in the bill that is progressing through Congress via the reconciliation process, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/passing-trump-one-big-beautiful-bill-gop-duty-voters-white-house" target="_blank" rel="noopener">aiming</a> to provide funding for Trump’s domestic priorities, retain the 2017 tax cuts, raise the debt limit, and more.
One key component that threatens to derail the House bid to pass the bill is the state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap. GOP members from high-tax blue states are fighting for a higher limit than the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/this-tax-deduction-cap-threatens-to-derail-trumps-one-big-beautiful-bill" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$30,000</a> that made it into the legislation.
Trump urged House Republicans not to let SALT impede the bill&#8217;s progress, noting they could fight about the issue in the future, a source familiar with the matter told The Daily Wire.
Medicaid has been another sticking point.
According to the source, Trump told Republicans not to touch the program, except for removing waste, fraud, and abuse — such as booting off illegal immigrants and common-sense work requirements.
Trump conveyed that he is losing patience with all holdouts in the House GOP, including the SALT Caucus and the conservative House Freedom Caucus pushing for more extensive spending cuts, per the source. He also made it clear that he wants every Republican to vote in favor of the bill.
With a slim House majority and near-certain Democrat opposition, Republicans can likely afford only a few defectors to send the bill to the Senate.
One person Trump publicly called out was Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) after a reporter noted that the congressman <a href="https://x.com/cspan/status/1924819640665936195" target="_blank" rel="noopener">suggested</a> the bill would result in &#8220;Biden levels&#8221; of spending and bigger deficits.
&#8220;I don’t think Thomas Massie understands government. I think he’s a grandstander, frankly,&#8221; Trump <a href="https://x.com/cspan/status/1924819640665936195" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> before the meeting, adding later, &#8220;I think he should be voted out of office.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
President Trump on <a href="https://twitter.com/RepThomasMassie?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RepThomasMassie</a>: &#8220;I don&#8217;t think Thomas Massie understands government. I think he&#8217;s a grand-stander, frankly&#8230;I think he should be voted out of office.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/YCLdSac95d">pic.twitter.com/YCLdSac95d</a>
— CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1924819640665936195?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 20, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Punchbowl News co-founder Jake Sherman <a href="https://x.com/JakeSherman/status/1924831698442653802" target="_blank" rel="noopener">posted</a> on X that Trump &#8220;griped&#8221; about Massie while speaking to House Republicans. &#8220;He asked if Massie was in the room, which he was, and then compared him to [Republican Senator from Kentucky] RAND PAUL. He said he could never get their votes no matter what,&#8221; the journalist added.
Massie alluded to the exchange with a tongue-in-cheek post of his own.
&#8220;I usually don’t talk about private conversations in our GOP meetings but the rumors are true… President Trump said that although I have similar hair to @RandPaul, he thinks mine is better,&#8221; Massie <a href="https://x.com/RepThomasMassie/status/1924849560431562992" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>.

President Trump Attends GOP House Caucus Meeting On Capitol Hill As Budget Bill Faces Resistance

In Capitol Hill Visit, Trump Tells House GOP: Back ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Or Be A ‘Fool’

House Republicans

Spending Bill

Taxes

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

House Tax Cut Fumble Shows Big Hurdles For GOP

Congress Needs To Act On This Very Important Issue Right Now

Biden Administration

DOGE

Federal Government

Joe Biden

Matt Walsh

Mike Johnson

Opinion

President Trump

Social Security

President Donald Trump called for Republicans to primary Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky on Monday.
Trump ripped Massie in a <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114141533823019998" target="_blank" rel="noopener">post</a> on Truth Social, likening the Kentucky Republican to former Rep. Liz Cheney, who lost her Wyoming at-large district to Rep. Harriet Hagemen in 2022. The president turned against Massie as Massie has advocated for voting down a six-month freeze on federal spending.
“Congressman Thomas Massie, of beautiful Kentucky, is an automatic ‘NO’ vote on just about everything, despite the fact that he has always voted for Continuing Resolutions in the past. HE SHOULD BE PRIMARIED, and I will lead the charge against him,” Trump wrote. “He’s just another GRANDSTANDER, who’s too much trouble, and not worth the fight.”
“He reminds me of Liz Chaney [sic] before her historic, record breaking fall (loss!). The people of Kentucky won’t stand for it, just watch. DO I HAVE ANY TAKERS???” the president continued. 
Trump also thanked the House Freedom Caucus, the conservative wing of the House GOP, for publicly supporting the continuing resolution that would freeze federal spending levels for six months and avert a government shutdown.
“Anyway, thank you again to the House Freedom Caucus for your very important vote. We need to buy some time in order to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, GREATER THAN EVER BEFORE. Unite and Win!!!” Trump said.
Hours before Trump posted his public takedown of Massie, the Kentucky congressman said threats to primary him would not influence his vote.
“Someone thinks they can control my voting card by threatening my re-election. Guess what? Doesn’t work on me. Three times I’ve had a challenger who tried to be more MAGA than me. None busted 25% because my constituents prefer transparency and principles over blind allegiance,” Massie <a href="https://x.com/RepThomasMassie/status/1899187371314413636" target="_blank" rel="noopener">posted</a>.
The House Freedom Caucus, of which Massie is a member, <a href="https://x.com/freedomcaucus/status/1899257736237363531" target="_blank" rel="noopener">endorsed</a> the continuing resolution package on Monday. The group’s X account said the bill would provide more time for the Trump administration to find and cut waste, fraud, and abuse through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) project.
“With the six months of funding this bill provides, Freedom Caucus Members look forward to working hand-in-hand with DOGE, OMB, and the new cabinet secretaries in eliminating even more waste, fraud, and abuse — and enacting historic spending reforms via reconciliation — all as part of President Trump’s effort to balance the budget,” the caucus’ message said.

‘Just Another GRANDSTANDER’: Trump Backs Primary Challenge To Thomas Massie

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