Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) appears to be at odds with himself over what constitutes acceptable behavior in the event of a government shutdown.
During a Sunday morning broadcast of &#8220;Meet the Press,&#8221; NBC host Kristen Welker asked Kaine about statements he&#8217;d made during a previous government shutdown in 2019 — and pressed him on the fact that he is taking a different — opposite — position just six years later.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
NBC plays a clip of <a href="https://twitter.com/SenTimKaine?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SenTimKaine</a> in 2019 saying he&#8217;d only discuss policy after the government is re-opened.
&#8220;By your own logic, should Democrats not vote to re-open the government first and negotiate later&#8230;?&#8221;<a href="https://twitter.com/SenTimKaine?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SenTimKaine</a>: No it&#8217;s different now 🤡 <a href="https://t.co/CdwzHr04on">pic.twitter.com/CdwzHr04on</a>
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1980017649007403177?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 19, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;You know, Senator, back in 2019, you made a similar argument during that shutdown that Republicans are making now,&#8221; Welker began. &#8220;Republicans at the time were asking for more funding for a border wall. You said, &#8216;Let&#8217;s reopen the government first.'&#8221;
Welker went on to play a clip of Kaine from 2019, in which he said, &#8220;We first should reopen government. Why punish people who are applying for food stamps because the president is having a temper tantrum? Open the government first &#8230;&#8221;
&#8220;So Senator, by your own logic, should Democrats not vote to re-open the government first and negotiate later?&#8221; Welker asked.
Join us now during our exclusive Deal of the Decade. Get everything for $7 a month. Not as fans. As fighters. Go to <a href="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">DailyWire.com/Subscribe</a> to join now.
&#8220;Kristen, here&#8217;s what&#8217;s different now,&#8221; Kaine replied. &#8220;The president told Republicans to write this budget without any Democratic involvement.&#8221;
Kaine left out the fact that the Continuing Resolution currently on the table — which would at least temporarily reopen the government — is considered &#8220;clean,&#8221; meaning that it makes no changes from the previous spending levels.
Democrats have been holding out largely because they object to certain cuts made in the Big Beautiful Bill — most notably to provisions that would have allowed <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dems-peeved-that-media-sees-through-their-no-healthcare-for-illegals-lie">illegal immigrants</a> to get health care at taxpayer expense.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
It’s right there on paper.
Democrats are fighting for healthcare for illegal aliens, NOT the American people. <a href="https://t.co/HIRQyu9lZK">https://t.co/HIRQyu9lZK</a> <a href="https://t.co/qaj4KGzBIj">pic.twitter.com/qaj4KGzBIj</a>
— GOP (@GOP) <a href="https://twitter.com/GOP/status/1973800680055009462?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 2, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Kaine is not the only Democrat who&#8217;s been confronted with his own previous statements on government shutdowns either. &#8220;Face the Nation&#8221; host Margaret Brennan (CBS) pressed Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) about his previous comments — namely that government shutdowns should not be &#8220;used for hostage taking.&#8221;
&#8220;Aren&#8217;t you doing today exactly what you were criticizing then?&#8221; she asked.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
*plays clip from 2018 where <a href="https://twitter.com/ChrisMurphyCT?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ChrisMurphyCT</a> says government shutdowns should never be used for hostage-taking*
CBS: &#8220;Aren&#8217;t you doing today exactly what you were criticizing then&#8230;?&#8221;
Murphy: Erm, no.
(example number one million of <a href="https://twitter.com/ChrisMurphyCT?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ChrisMurphyCT</a> being a sleazy moron) <a href="https://t.co/ygJC4IdZyo">pic.twitter.com/ygJC4IdZyo</a>
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1977397124326178971?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 12, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Senate Committee Hears Testimony In Virtual Hearing From Nation’s Leading Disease Experts On Covid-19

Tim Kaine Goes Head-To-Head With … Tim Kaine On Government Shutdown Ethics

Government Shutdown

Hillary Clinton

Media

Meet the Press

NBC News

Politics

Tim Kaine

Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) claimed on Sunday that he would not call for a Republican to drop out of a political race if texts surfaced in which said Republican had advocated for the assassination of a political opponent.
Kaine&#8217;s assertion – made to host Kristen Welker on NBC&#8217;s &#8220;Meet the Press&#8221; — comes against the backdrop of the scandal rocking the attorney general&#8217;s race in his home state. Democratic nominee Jay Jones, in texts sent three years earlier, had advocated violence against then state House Speaker Todd Gilbert and had even suggested that Gilbert would never change political positions unless he and his wife were forced to watch one of their young children die.
The Virginia Senator has condemned the text messages, but has argued more than once that he knows Jones well — and that on balance, he will not withdraw his endorsement.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Tim Kaine is asked if a Republican sent the same texts that Jay Jones did, would he call on them to drop out of the race?
Kaine: &#8220;Absolutely not.&#8221;
The insane Democrat lies and spin to cover for this deranged lunatic continue. <a href="https://t.co/p48mpSyWMU">pic.twitter.com/p48mpSyWMU</a>
— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) <a href="https://twitter.com/WesternLensman/status/1979911470868480431?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 19, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Welker pressed Kaine on the issue, saying that critics wondered whether he would call for a Republican to drop out of the race if the shoe were on the other foot.
&#8220;Absolutely not,&#8221; Kaine declared. &#8220;It is — it&#8217;s directly equivalent to things that the Republican gubernatorial candidate has publicly said, not in private texts. &#8216;Murder is murder, and your time will come,&#8217; she said that in a public meeting speaking about pro-choice activists. I&#8217;ve not called for her to drop out of the race.&#8221;
Join us now during our exclusive Deal of the Decade. Get everything for $7 a month. Not as fans. As fighters. Go to <a class="c-link c-link--focus-visible" href="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/" data-sk="tooltip_parent">DailyWire.com/Subscribe</a> to join now.
&#8220;The voters began voting in Virginia on September 19th,&#8221; Kaine continued. &#8220;These are fair items for voters to consider as they cast their vote, but no, we&#8217;re not calling for Republicans to drop out of races, we say apologize, you have to take account for your actions, and voters can look at the actions and look at your sincerity if you apologize. Apologies are in short supply in politics these days.&#8221;
Jones did offer an apology during his debate with Attorney General Jason Miyares (R-VA), but even Democrats were commenting at the time that it had fallen flat.
&#8220;Oooof. This Jay Jones sounds totally robotic and his apology and counter-responses totally FLAT. Then he pivoted to conventional, obvious, and typical Democrat attack lines against any generic Republican. His apology lacked any EMOTION whatsoever and just pivoted to Trump. This is a disaster,&#8221; Michael LaRosa, who served as spokesman for former First Lady Jill Biden observed.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Oooof. This Jay Jones sounds totally robotic and his apology and counter-responses totally FLAT. Then he pivoted to conventional, obvious, and typical Democrat attack lines against any generic Republican. His apology lacked any EMOTION whatsoever and just pivoted to Trump. This…
— Michael LaRosa (@MichaelLaRosaDC) <a href="https://twitter.com/MichaelLaRosaDC/status/1978947944406732962?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 16, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Kaine has also taken some criticism for his repeated claim that he&#8217;s known Jones &#8220;for 25 years,&#8221; in large part because Jones is 36 years old — which means that Kaine is saying that he&#8217;s known the Democratic candidate since he was just 11 years old.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Jay Jones is 36 years old… So is Kaine saying he’s known him since he was 11? Anyone wanna follow up on this? <a href="https://t.co/upxez7awjF">https://t.co/upxez7awjF</a>
— Joe Concha (@JoeConchaTV) <a href="https://twitter.com/JoeConchaTV/status/1975953488397111593?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 8, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The other comments Kaine referenced, that were made by Republican gubernatorial candidate Winsome Sears, also came from three years earlier. Speaking about pro-choice activists, Sears was making the argument that abortion was murder and that those who supported it would have to look themselves in the mirror and acknowledge that — she was not calling for anyone to be killed.

Senate Hearing Held For Foreign Ambassador Nominees

Tim Kaine Says He Wouldn’t Call On Republican To Drop Out Over Jay Jones-Style Texts

Tim Kaine Says He Wouldn't Call On Republican To Drop Out Over Jay Jones-Style Texts

Jay Jones

Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) says he will still support Jay Jones — the Democratic nominee for state attorney general — in spite of several vile text messages he sent to a Republican colleague in 2022.
CNN congressional reporter Manu Raju caught up with Kaine on Tuesday to ask him whether he&#8217;d withdraw his support for Jones after the old texts surfaced — texts in which Jones had advocated for the assassination of then state House Speaker Todd Gilbert, a Republican, and had said Gilbert would never change his political positions unless he and his wife were forced to watch one of their young children die.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Democrat Virginia Senator Tim Kaine STILL backs Jay Jones, who fantasized about killing a Republican official and his children, and also supports killing cops.
KAINE: “I&#8217;m still supporting Jay Jones.” <a href="https://t.co/3EXIFaGDXa">pic.twitter.com/3EXIFaGDXa</a>
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) <a href="https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/1975570425775329686?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 7, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
At first, it appeared as though Kaine was going to walk away without giving any answers to the questions being shouted after him — &#8220;Senator, do you still support Jay Jones? Do you think he should drop out of this race after those comments? Do you have concerns about what you saw?&#8221; — but he eventually stopped and turned around to speak with Raju directly.
<a href="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?utm_campaign=fall40&amp;utm_content=fallsale&amp;utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=editorial">Get 40% off new DailyWire+ annual memberships with code FALL40 at checkout</a>
&#8220;The comments are completely indefensible,&#8221; Kaine declared. &#8220;But I&#8217;ve know Jay Jones for 25 years, and those comments are very much out of character for him. So if I put the comments, which are clearly beyond the pale, against knowing this guy for 25 years, I&#8217;m still supporting Jay Jones.&#8221;
With that, Kaine turned on his heel and walked away, adding himself to the rapidly growing list of Democrats who were willing to condemn calls for the assassination of political rivals, but not willing to say that people making such calls were declaring themselves unqualified to hold public office.
It should be noted that Kaine, the Democrats&#8217; 2016 vice presidential nominee, stood by twice-failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton after she wrote off half of the American population as a &#8220;<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/whoopi-goes-full-basket-of-deplorables-says-she-cant-even-talk-to-trump-supporters">basket of deplorables</a>.&#8221;

Top Virginia Senator Says Jay Jones Still Has His Support

Democrats

Elections

Virginia

A lot of people on the Right, in the center, and even on the Left are asking themselves this question: Is peak woke over? 
After all, we suffered through a decade of wokeness, the proposition that any disparity between groups was evidence of discrimination. The wokeness was manifested as DEI, the idea that the government had to constantly rig the system in the reverse direction.
So where does the Left go next? They&#8217;re going back to something old: what could theoretically be titled “economic wokeness.”
Economic wokeness mirrors exactly the same argument as racial wokeness or trans wokeness, except it applies to economic categories.
When I say this is an old argument, it is because it&#8217;s basically the argument Karl Marx made. And it seems the Democrats are moving more and more in that direction.
According to a memo penned by Kamala Harris campaign veterans, what people really want to hear from their favorite politicians is that rich people suck and they should be destroyed.
The reason I&#8217;m calling this economic wokeness is because in order to see the parallel to racial wokeness, all you have to do is replace one word.
The idea for racial wokeness is that disparities are, in and of themselves, signs of discrimination. The idea is that racial discrimination is the norm, not an aberration. It&#8217;s not people who are bad apples. It&#8217;s part of the entire system. And the system is designed purposefully by white people to discriminate against people of color. That is the basis of wokeness.
To get to economic wokeness, all you have to do is replace the word “racial” with “economic.” You simply say economic disparities are in and of themselves signs of economic discrimination. Economic discrimination is ordinary, not an aberration. It&#8217;s not just that there&#8217;s one price gouger out there, it&#8217;s the whole system that is designed for price gouging.
Who is it designed by, according to this theory? “Rich people“ instead of the “white people” of racial wokeness. Rich people who discriminate against the poor.
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-2274-it-will-never-die-democrats-unleash-new-brand-of-woke?elementPosition=3&amp;row=2&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+Episodes&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Episodes+Carousel">WATCH: The Ben Shapiro Show</a></h3>
The beauty of economic wokeness is that, unlike racial wokeness — which can be debunked by looking at group studies, pointing to a group that outperforms white people, whether they are Nigerians in America or Asians — there will always be some people who are poorer than other people.
But here’s the salient point: People move in and out of these categories. This is why it is a mistake to talk about the “poor” and the “rich.”
There are many people who are poor now who will one day become rich. There are many people who are rich who will one day become middle-class or poor. 
There is tremendous economic mobility in the United States, according to the available studies. If you are born into the bottom quintile of income earners in the United States, there&#8217;s a better than 60% chance that you will not end up there, that you will end up in a higher bracket in terms of income by the time you are an adult. 
With that said, this sort of economic populism is rooted in grievance, and it&#8217;s a real problem because it does have a popular appeal. It is one thing to claim that America is racist or that America is transphobic. Most people look at that and say, “I don&#8217;t know that many racists.” I really don&#8217;t know that many people who are sitting around all day long thinking about whether a man is a woman; that&#8217;s because it&#8217;s basic logic to know the difference. 
But when it comes to economic status, people have an amazing way of dissociating the rich people they personally know from “rich people” in general. Most people in America know somebody who&#8217;s wealthy. I would bet that the vast majority of people who know people who are wealthy also know good people who are wealthy and bad people who are wealthy. I would also bet they know a lot of poor people, some of whom are good and some of whom are bad, because people come in all shapes and sizes and all sorts of moral qualities.
When it comes to how people think of their own economic performance, the easiest pitch you can make to somebody if they are having a tough time economically is to say it can be fixed by ripping down that billionaire over there.
The only thing that is preventing the advent of people like Bernie Sanders is continued economic growth. If we get continued economic growth, then economic wokeness doesn&#8217;t apply. If people feel pretty good about their direction in the economy, then economic wokeness won&#8217;t help because people won&#8217;t feel discriminated against.
If, however, as we are seeing in the polling data, people do feel that they are stuck, that they don&#8217;t have economic mobility and they have an entire legacy media infrastructure pushing this lie as well as people on both the Right and the Left, that you can&#8217;t get ahead in America, no matter what you do; if you have politicians telling you that so they can garner more power, people believe it.
And if they believe it, they start tearing down the very systems that generated prosperity, such as free markets, private property, and capitalism in the first place. 
I understand the art of gaining power in politics requires getting elected, and getting elected often leads to dissimulating, dissembling, and saying things that are not true. Many politicians are willing to say untrue things in order to garner that power.
That doesn&#8217;t make it moral or good.
Any sort of populist notion that capitalism is “stacked against you” falls flat in a country that is the richest country in literally all of human history, and in which people who are at the bottom of the economic ladder (after income and wealth transfers, because we have massive welfare programs in this country) are earning about $45,000 to $50,000 a year — which is about the same as the median household income in Germany or France.
When you point that out, people get mad. But it happens to be the case.
And that&#8217;s why economic success is absolutely necessary. It&#8217;s also why we need to make a robust defense of things like private property and free markets. Why is private property good? Private property is good because you ought to retain the fruits of your labor, because you are an individual human being with creative capacity, and it is immoral for people to steal the things you create.
Private property is an outgrowth of basic individual autonomy. Free markets are an outgrowth of private property, because if I own the fruits of my labor, I can then alienate them, meaning I can trade them, or I can sell them, and we can trade. And both of our lives get better because I traded something I want for something that you want.
That is the predicate of a free market economy. And that right does not begin with the government. That right begins with God, because God made us in a particular way, with creative capacity.
Man has the capacity to create. Man has the capacity to cultivate the garden, to labor. And so keeping the fruits of our labor is something that human beings want.
This is why communism always fails. That’s because if you tell people they don&#8217;t get to keep what they earned, that they basically should be treated as disposable labor widgets, and all of the fruits of their labor will be taken away and redistributed, people won&#8217;t work. They&#8217;ll just stop. It&#8217;s why communism always ends with coercion.
The free market is not rooted in some sort of peculiar institution created by rich people. It is rooted in basic human notions of autonomy and individual worth.
That&#8217;s why it was disturbing to hear Virginia Democrat senator Tim Kaine, who was the vice presidential nominee with Hillary Clinton back in 2016. He said in the Senate the other day that rights come from the government, declaring:
<blockquote>You state and this is a quote from Secretary Rubio, our rights come from God, our creator, not from our laws, not from our government. I find that very, very troubling. I&#8217;m a devout person. I was a missionary in Honduras. We&#8217;ve got other devout folks in this room Christian, Jewish, Muslim-American. 
The notion that rights don&#8217;t come from laws and don&#8217;t come from the government, but come from the creator, that&#8217;s what the Iranian government believes. It&#8217;s a theocratic regime that bases its rule on Shia law and targets Sunnis Bahais, Jews, Christians and other religious minorities. And they do it because they believe that they understand what natural rights are from their creator. So the statement that our rights do not come from our laws or our governments is extremely troubling.</blockquote>
That was a gigantic softball over the middle of the plate for Texas GOP senator Ted Cruz, who knows the words of the Declaration of Independence. He responded:
<blockquote>That radical and dangerous notion, in his words, is literally the founding principle upon which the United States of America was created. And if you do not believe me, and you made reference to this, Mr. Barnes, then you can believe perhaps the most prominent Virginian to ever serve, Thomas Jefferson, who wrote in the Declaration of Independence, “We hold these truths to be self-evident. That all men are created equal and that they are endowed by their creator,” not by government, not by the Democratic National Committee, but by God “with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”</blockquote>
This is a fundamental reality.
This is why capitalism and free markets are good things: morally good. You own the product of your hands. You have a right to your own labor.
It&#8217;s time for lions, for people who actually believe in the success of the United States, to robustly defend the free market. This is not something to apologize for.
You are not immoral if you&#8217;re a billionaire any more than you&#8217;re immoral if you are impoverished.

It Will Never Die: Democrats Unleash A New Brand Of Woke

Ben Shapiro

Bernie Sanders

Billionaire

Democratic Socialism

Economics

Opinion

Poverty

Woke Culture

Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) read Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) the riot act after his colleague claimed that it was &#8220;extremely troubling&#8221; to hear a nominee for a federal post claim that rights were given by God, not governments.
The nominee in question was Riley Barnes, who previously worked in the U.S. State Department and has been nominated to serve as Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. Barnes said that he agreed with his boss, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who recently said &#8220;that all men are created equal because our rights come from God, our Creator; not from our laws, not from our governments.&#8221;
Kaine took issue with Barnes&#8217; statement, and argued that only a theocratic government — such as the one in Iran — would attribute the source of rights to God rather than the law.
&#8220;The notion that rights don&#8217;t come from laws and don&#8217;t come from the government, but come from the Creator — that&#8217;s what the Iranian government believes. It&#8217;s a theocratic regime that bases its rule on Sharia law and targets Sunnis, Bahá&#8217;ís, Jews, Christians and other religious minorities,&#8221; Kaine claimed. &#8220;And they do it because they believe that they understand what natural rights are from their Creator. So the statement that our rights do not come from our laws or our governments is extremely troubling.&#8221;
&#8220;I think the the motto over the Supreme Court is &#8216;equal justice under law,&#8217; — the oath that you and I take pledged to support and defend the Constitution of the United States, not arbitrarily defined natural rights,&#8221; Kaine continued.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Our rights don’t come from government or the DNC.
They come from God. <a href="https://twitter.com/timkaine?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@timkaine</a>, I suggest the Dems go back and read the words of our Founding Fathers. <a href="https://t.co/QRmhTcbbOH">pic.twitter.com/QRmhTcbbOH</a>
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) <a href="https://twitter.com/tedcruz/status/1963299914034663825?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 3, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Cruz pushed back on Kaine&#8217;s claims a short time later in the hearing, saying that it was the Virginia Senator&#8217;s comments that were of concern rather than Barnes&#8217;.
&#8220;I just walked into the hearing as he was saying that, and I almost fell out of my chair, because that &#8216;radical and dangerous notion&#8217; — in his words — is literally the founding principle upon which the United States of America was created,&#8221; said Cruz.
Quoting former President Thomas Jefferson&#8217;s words from the Declaration of Independence, Cruz added, &#8220;&#8216;We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, and that they are endowed by their Creator&#8217; — not by government, not by the Democratic National Committee, but by God — &#8216;with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.'&#8221;

Senate DCA Crash Hearing

‘Stunning’: Ted Cruz Reads Tim Kaine The Riot Act Over Claim That Rights Aren’t God-Given

'Stunning': Ted Cruz Reads Tim Kaine The Riot Act Over Claim That Rights Aren't God-Given

Congress

Ted Cruz

Thomas Jefferson

The GOP-led Senate rejected on Friday a measure that sought to stop President Donald Trump from launching further attacks on Iran without the consent of Congress.
Sen. Tim Kaine&#8217;s (D-VA) war powers <a href="https://www.kaine.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/iran_war_powers_resolution.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">resolution</a> was defeated in a <a href="https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1191/vote_119_1_00328.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">53-47 vote</a>, mostly along party lines. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) was the sole Republican to vote &#8220;yea&#8221; while Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) joined the rest of the GOP in opposing it.
&#8220;The Framers of our Constitution gave Congress the power to declare war because they believed that the decision to send our nation’s men and women in uniform into harm’s way was too big for any one person. The Trump Administration’s chaotic strategy on Iran confused the American people and created significant risks for servicemembers and their families,&#8221; Kaine said in a <a href="https://x.com/SenTimKaine/status/1938740715607011514" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a>.
&#8220;I am disappointed that many of my colleagues are not willing to stand up and say Congress needs to be part of a decision as important as whether or not the U.S. should send our nation’s sons and daughters to fight against Iran,&#8221; he added. &#8220;I will continue to do all I can to keep presidents of any party from starting wars without robust public debate by Congress.&#8221;
Trump ordered military strikes on three sites in Iran last weekend as part of an effort to prevent Tehran from achieving nuclear weapons. Although the president deemed the operation a success and called for peace following a counterattack on a U.S. military base in Qatar with no American casualties, he <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-says-he-will-absolutely-start-bombing-iran-again-if-they-enrich-uranium-to-high-levels?author=Kassy+Akiva&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=3&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Trump+Says+He+Will+%E2%80%98Absolutely%E2%80%99+Start+Bombing+Iran+Again+If+They+Enrich+Uranium+To+High+Levels" target="_blank" rel="noopener">warned</a> on Friday that the United States would bomb Iran again if it resumed enriching uranium to high levels.
In a <a href="https://x.com/SenatorCollins/status/1938715871255367960" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> released after the vote, Sen. Susan Collins (R-MA) argued that Congress did not need to give Trump authorization at this time.
&#8220;Since the despicable attacks on October 7, 2023, Iran has continued to use proxies and empowered terrorist groups to attack American servicemembers and our ally Israel. This week, Iran threatened to attack Americans on our own soil and around the world,&#8221; Collins said. &#8220;I supported the President’s targeted strike on Iran’s pursuit of nuclear capabilities because a nuclear-armed Iran would pose an unacceptable threat to America and our allies. I also applaud the current ceasefire. Given this backdrop, it is the wrong time to consider this resolution and to risk inadvertently sending a message to Iran that the President cannot swiftly defend Americans at home and abroad.&#8221;
&#8220;There has always been a Constitutional tension between Article I vesting in Congress the power to declare war and Article II designating the President as Commander-in-Chief,&#8221; she added. &#8220;I continue to believe that Congress has an important responsibility to authorize the sustained use of military force. That is not the situation we are facing now. The President has the authority to defend our nation and our troops around the world against the threat of attack.&#8221;
Some lawmakers in the Republican-controlled House are pushing for another war powers vote, but Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/speaker-johnson-exposes-dem-hypocrisy-on-iran-strikes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told reporters</a> that he did not think it was necessary.
&#8220;I don’t think this is an appropriate time for a war powers resolution, and I don’t think it’s necessary. Listen, for 80 years, presidents of both parties have acted with the same commander in chief authority under Article 2&#8221; of the Constitution, Johnson said.
Johnson went on to mention how Democrats who are complaining now did not seem to mind when former Presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama conducted military operations in the region without seeking explicit approval from Congress for those campaigns.
&#8220;You had President Biden use it three times in Middle East operations. President Obama went on an eight-month campaign bombing Libya to take down the regime there. I never heard a Democrat balk about any of that,&#8221; Johnson said. &#8220;And suddenly now they’re just up in arms. It’s all politics. This is not a time for politics.&#8221;

Sen. Tim Kaine

Senate Rebuffs Dem Bid To Limit Trump’s Iran War Powers

Iran

Mike Johnson

Nuclear Weapons

Susan Collins

U.S. Senate

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA), who is <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">pushing</a> the Senate toward a war powers vote, said on Sunday that President Donald Trump acted &#8220;prematurely&#8221; to strike Iran&#8217;s nuclear facilities this weekend without the consent of Congress.
On &#8220;Face the Nation&#8221; Kaine <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgygJPvN3YY" target="_blank" rel="noopener">explained</a> to CBS News journalist Margaret Brennan that he filed a War Powers Resolution that will &#8220;ripen&#8221; and be brought to a vote on the floor of the upper chamber this coming week. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is working with Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) to make the vote happen, he noted.
&#8220;The United States should not be in an offensive war against Iran without a vote of Congress,&#8221; Kaine said. &#8220;The Constitution is completely clear on it.&#8221;
He continued: &#8220;And I am so disappointed that the president has acted so prematurely. The foreign minister of Israel said Friday night that its own bombing campaign had set the Iranian nuclear program back, &#8216;at least two or three years.&#8217; There was no urgency that suggested, while diplomatic talks were underway, that the U.S. should take this unilateral action by President Trump&#8217;s orders yesterday.&#8221;
Vice President JD Vance <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/vance-answer-the-big-question-were-not-at-war-with-iran" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> on ABC&#8217;s &#8220;This Week&#8221; that Trump ordered the strikes on three of Iran&#8217;s facilities to prevent the country from being able to produce nuclear weapons.
“No, we’re not at war with Iran, Jon,” Vance told anchor Jonathan Karl. “We’re at war with Iran’s nuclear program.”
Brennan pressed Kaine for a response to Vance.
&#8220;There seems to be a lot of legal parsing on the definition of the word &#8216;war&#8217; here. What do you make of that description?&#8221; Brennan asked.
&#8220;I think it&#8217;s, it&#8217;s BS, and I think anybody hearing it would conclude the same thing. When you&#8217;re bombing another nation, ask them if they think it&#8217;s war,&#8221; Kaine said. &#8220;They do, would we think it was war if Iran bombed a U.S. nuclear facility? Of course we would. And the U.S., you know, we&#8217;ve invaded two neighbors of Iran, Afghanistan and Iraq, to topple their regimes since 2000. Those were wars. This is the U.S. jumping into a war of choice at Donald Trump&#8217;s urging, without any compelling national security interests for the United States to act in this way, particularly without a debate and vote in Congress. We should not be sending troops, and risking troops&#8217; lives in an offensive war without a debate in Congress.&#8221;
Brennan pointed out that Trump has not authorized a ground invasion.
&#8220;In fact, he said he really doesn&#8217;t want to send in ground forces,&#8221; she said. &#8220;When it came to what was just described to the public by the Pentagon, it was really characterized as limited in scope. It sounds like you believe those early hour descriptions are going to turn out to be false.&#8221;
Kaine replied: &#8220;I do. The War Powers resolution says that a member of Congress can challenge the President, if the President initiates hostilities against a foreign nation. Doesn&#8217;t use the — even though the title is War Powers resolution, the statute says if you initiate hostilities without congressional authorization, even a single member of the House or Senate can force a vote on the Senate floor. There is no doubt that the U.S. sending this massive set of Tomahawk missiles and B-2 bombers and bunker busters on three Iranian nuclear sites is hostilities. Now, again, some in the Senate may say this is great and we want to vote for it. I happen to think that getting into a third offensive war in the Middle East in the last 25 years is absolutely reckless and foolish, and I&#8217;m going to be doing everything I can to convince my colleagues of that. I may or may not succeed, but Congress should have the debate and vote on this before we escalate the risk to American troops, which this action has done.&#8221;

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA)

Tim Kaine Claims Trump Acted ‘Prematurely’ In Striking Iran, Presses Ahead With War Powers Vote

U.S.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio slammed Democrat Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) over his reaction to America’s acceptance of white South African refugees, with the Trump administration official charging that the Democrat doesn’t like the refugees because they’re white.
The heated exchange came during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee meeting, which came just a week after less than 60 Afrikaner refugees <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crljn5046epo">arrived</a> in Virginia, prompting outrage from many on the Left.
“Can you have a different standard based upon the color of somebody&#8217;s skin? Would that be acceptable?” Kaine asked Rubio during the committee meeting. “I&#8217;m not the one arguing that, apparently you are because you don&#8217;t like the fact that they’re white and that’s why they’re coming,” Rubio shot back in response.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
&#8220;You just don&#8217;t like that they&#8217;re white&#8221;
Secretary Of State Rubio smokes Tim Kaine for melting down over the legal admittance for 59 White refugees
<a href="https://t.co/8WMDoaBNY4">pic.twitter.com/8WMDoaBNY4</a>
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) <a href="https://twitter.com/EndWokeness/status/1924871155669717152?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 20, 2025</a></blockquote>
“You&#8217;re the one that&#8217;s talking about the color of their skin, not me. These are people whose farms were burned down and they were killed because of the color of their skin,” the Secretary of State went on to add.
He also explained during the hearing that the Afrikaners qualify for refugee status because they “live in a country where farms are taken and land is taken on a racial basis.”
Kaine <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/rubio-clashes-kaine-south-african-refugees-you-dont-like-theyre-white">claimed</a> that the notion that Afrikaners are being persecuted because of their race is “completely specious,” but South African political leaders have openly called for the killing of white South Africans at large political rallies.
Julius Malema, a member of the National Assembly of South Africa, chanted “shoot to kill” and “kill the boer” at a political rally in reference to the white Afrikaner population. At another event, he said that his political movement is “cutting the throat of whiteness.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
South Africa&#8217;s Julius Malema, the party leader of the EFF calls for killing white people:
&#8220;Shoot to kiII. KiII the Boer, the farmer&#8221;<a href="https://t.co/vFjqJ9l8GR">pic.twitter.com/vFjqJ9l8GR</a> <a href="https://t.co/sxzS0d0Dn4">https://t.co/sxzS0d0Dn4</a>
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) <a href="https://twitter.com/MarioNawfal/status/1903420572391907834?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 22, 2025</a></blockquote>
The Episcopal Church’s refugee resettlement wing, which has resettled migrants in the United States for decades, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/episcopal-church-refuses-to-resettle-white-south-african-refugees-citing-racial-justice-commitment?author=Spencer+Lindquist&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=6&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Episcopal+Church+Refuses+To+Resettle+White+South+African+Refugees%2C+Citing+%E2%80%98Racial+Justice%E2%80%99+Commitment">announced</a> that it would refuse to help settle the Afrikaners for explicitly racial reasons. Episcopal Migration Ministries cited its “steadfast commitment to racial justice and reconciliation” as it announced its refusal of support for the Afrikaners.
The organization even said it would terminate its existing resettlement contract with the federal government over the controversy. “We have determined that, by the end of the federal fiscal year, we will conclude our refugee resettlement grant agreements with the U.S. federal government,” Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe said.

Marco Rubio

Rubio Says Dem Senator Only Opposes Afrikaner Refugees Because Of Their Race

Global Politics

Immigration

Refugees

South Africa

On Wednesday evening, a handful of Republicans in the Senate joined forces with Democrats and independents on Wednesday to pass a measure subverting the Trump administration&#8217;s 25% tariffs on Canadian goods.
The Senate voted 51-48 in favor of a <a href="https://www.kaine.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/ros25392.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">resolution</a> from Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) that, if enacted, would terminate the <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2025/02/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-imposes-tariffs-on-imports-from-canada-mexico-and-china/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">national emergency declaration</a> employed by President Donald Trump to impose tariffs on Canada earlier this year.
Despite the Senate&#8217;s rebuke, Kaine&#8217;s resolution faces significant challenges, as it needs approval from the GOP-led House to take effect — an unlikely prospect. Additionally, Trump indicated he would veto the resolution if it reached his desk.
Senate Republicans who <a href="https://x.com/SenatePress/status/1907578012867940509" target="_blank" rel="noopener">broke ranks</a> to support Kaine&#8217;s resolution included Sens. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Susan Collins (R-ME), and Rand Paul (R-KY). Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) did not vote.
&#8220;The Maine economy is integrated with Canada, our most important trading partner,&#8221; Collins <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KvDcrFi0PY" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> on the Senate floor, adding later, &#8220;The tariffs on Canada would be detrimental to many Maine families and our local economies.&#8221;
Collins acknowledged sharing Trump&#8217;s goal of &#8220;stemming the tide of dangerous fentanyl that flows into the United States,&#8221; but insisted that, &#8220;unlike Mexico and China&#8221; — two other countries targeted for tariffs — &#8220;Canada is not complicit in this crisis.&#8221;
In an <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114266599439835683" target="_blank" rel="noopener">post</a> on Truth Social before the vote, Trump called out the GOP defectors by name, urging them to reject a &#8220;ploy of the Dems to show and expose the weakness of certain Republicans&#8221; and encouraging people in their states to contact their senators.
Trump contended that Canada was facilitating the flow of fentanyl into the United States and emphasized that Kaine&#8217;s resolution is &#8220;not going anywhere because the House will never approve it and I, as your President, will never sign it.&#8221;
Earlier this year, Trump imposed 25% tariffs on some imports from Canada, arguing that the U.S. neighbor was not doing enough to curb the trafficking of drugs such as fentanyl. Canada <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2025/03/12/canada-tariffs-steel-aluminum-trump-computers.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">responded</a> by announcing 25% retaliatory tariffs.
The penalties against Canada preceded Trump&#8217;s &#8220;Liberation Day&#8221; announcement of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-unleashes-liberation-day-tariffs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reciprocal tariffs</a> on dozens of other countries around the world during an event in the White House Rose Garden on Wednesday afternoon.
When Kaine <a href="https://www.kaine.senate.gov/press-releases/kaine-klobuchar-and-warner-formally-file-legislation-to-undo-president-trumps-senseless-taxes-on-canadian-goods" target="_blank" rel="noopener">filed</a> the resolution on Canada tariffs with Sens. Amy Klobucher (D-MN) and Mark Warner (D-VA), he said the measure was privileged, meaning the Republican-controlled Senate was required to vote on it in the coming weeks.
They <a href="https://www.kaine.senate.gov/press-releases/kaine-klobuchar-and-warner-announce-expected-vote-timing-on-their-bill-to-undo-canada-tariffs-that-will-raise-costs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">argued</a> that tariffs against Canada have disrupted the United States economy in a way that raises costs for American consumers, harms workers and businesses, strains a key trade partnership, and ignites a destructive trade war.
On the GOP side, McConnell <a href="https://www.courier-journal.com/story/opinion/contributors/2025/02/12/trump-tariffs-damage-kentucky-economy-bourbon-mcconnell/78393549007/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">warned</a> of higher prices and harm to Kentucky industries, Paul <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yx2MD3iOAiY" target="_blank" rel="noopener">objected</a> to the use of emergency authority for tariffs, and Murkowski pondered why the U.S. was <a href="https://x.com/highbrow_nobrow/status/1902855339902390661" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&#8220;fighting&#8221;</a> Canada while &#8220;making nice&#8221; with Russia.
Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-WY) said in a statement after the vote on Wednesday that Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) had already declared Kaine’s resolution dead on arrival in the House, and it will never reach Trump’s desk.
Kaine’s &#8220;goal&#8221; was &#8220;to undermine President Trump’s successful work to secure the Northern Border,&#8221; he said, adding, &#8220;This meaningless messaging resolution will not stop Senate Republicans from making America’s communities safer.&#8221;

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine

Four Senate Republicans Vote With Dems To Upend Trump’s Canada Tariffs

Canada

Donald Trump

Mitch McConnell

Tariffs

Trade War

A former U.S. attorney nominated by former President Joe Biden was found dead over the weekend in Virginia, according to authorities.
&#8220;This morning, at approximately 9:18 a.m., Alexandria Police responded to the 900 block of Beverley Drive for the report of an unresponsive woman. Officers located a deceased woman,&#8221; the Alexandria Police Department said in a <a href="https://x.com/MarinaMedvin/status/1903561751683125400" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> on Saturday.
&#8220;Following notification of family members, the Alexandria Police Department can confirm the identity of the woman as Ms. Jessica Aber, age 43, former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia,&#8221; police added.
&#8220;As a matter of protocol, an investigation is underway surrounding the circumstances of her death,&#8221; the department said. &#8220;The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of Virginia will determine the cause and manner of death.&#8221;
Aber <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-edva/pr/us-attorney-jessica-d-aber-announces-resignation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">served</a> more than three years as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. She had been nominated for the role by Biden in August of 2021 and was confirmed by the Senate in October of that year. She resigned on January 20, just as President Donald Trump began his second term.
&#8220;I’ve had the privilege of spending my career as a prosecutor in the Eastern District of Virginia working alongside talented, hard-working public servants who manage matters affecting citizens here and across the world,&#8221; Aber said upon announcing her plans to resign.
&#8220;Concluding my service to the District as its U.S. Attorney has been an honor beyond measure,&#8221; she added. &#8220;I am deeply grateful to Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine (D-VA) and to President Biden for the opportunity to lead this office, and to Attorney General [Merrick] Garland for his steadfast leadership. I am proud of the work we have done with our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners to enforce the law and build community trust.&#8221;
A number of officials released statements in response to Aber&#8217;s death.
&#8220;The loss of Jessica Aber, former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, is deeply tragic. Our hearts and prayers go out to her family and friends during this profoundly difficult time,&#8221; <a href="https://x.com/AGPamBondi/status/1903628602010198035" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> Attorney General Pam Bondi.
Kaine <a href="https://x.com/timkaine/status/1903601607809343702" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a post on X, &#8220;My prayers are with Jessica Aber’s loved ones. Jessica was an exceptional public servant who dedicated her life to serving her fellow Virginians. She will be deeply missed.&#8221;

Jessica Aber

Biden-Nominated Former U.S. Attorney Found Dead At 43

Department of Justice

General

Joe Biden

Pam Bondi

Police

U.S. attorneys

Senate Republicans are rallying against a Democrat effort to undo the national emergency designed to unlock American energy that President Donald Trump declared on the first day of his second term.
Earlier this month, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee ranking member Martin Heinrich (D-NM) introduced a &#8220;privileged&#8221; joint resolution that seeks to <a href="https://www.kaine.senate.gov/press-releases/kaine-and-heinrich-unveil-legislation-to-terminate-president-trumps-sham-energy-emergency" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&#8220;terminate&#8221;</a> Trump&#8217;s national emergency declaration that ordered agencies to boost energy domestic production and infrastructure, claiming it would &#8220;benefit big Oil&#8221; while killing jobs, raising costs on families, and weaken economic competitiveness.
The measure is expected to get a vote this week. Republicans, who have a 53-47 majority in the upper chamber, can defeat it with a simple majority — if they stay largely united. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Mike Lee (R-UT) has been working to make that happen.
&#8220;Senate Democrats are yet again attempting to block President Trump&#8217;s efforts to secure cheaper, more reliable energy — just when America needs it most. Their message to families is clear: pay more, expect less,&#8221; Lee said in a statement. &#8220;Luckily, President Trump is committed to unleashing American energy and rescuing the country from the energy crisis that they have perpetuated. Senate Republicans won&#8217;t let Democrats delay and obstruct any longer and will ensure the President has the tools necessary to deliver the results the American people expect.&#8221;
The vote comes on the heels of the Senate <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/senate-passes-late-night-budget-bill-focused-on-border-defense-spending" target="_blank" rel="noopener">passing</a> a $340 billion budget resolution last week that, according to Chairman Lindsey Graham&#8217;s (R-SC) office, aims to <a href="https://www.budget.senate.gov/chairman/newsroom/press/chairman-graham-statement-after-senate-agrees-to-budget-resolution-to-secure-the-border-revitalize-our-military-and-unleash-american-energy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&#8220;unleash&#8221;</a> American energy by facilitating production through on- and offshore lease sales and stopping the national gas tax implemented during former President Joe Biden&#8217;s administration. All Democrats and one Republican — Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) — opposed the measure.
Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) delivered <a href="https://www.thune.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=16CE64C2-25A8-410C-9190-D124E6E5BADD#:~:text=%E2%80%9CThanks%20in%20substantial%20part%20to,face%20huge%20new%20power%20demands." target="_blank" rel="noopener">remarks</a> on the Senate floor on Tuesday in which he cited news articles that discussed how the United States is careening toward a situation in which it cannot meet growing power needs. He questioned why his Democrat colleagues do not see an emergency when the electric grid is on the edge.
&#8220;Thanks in substantial part to a movement to shut down fossil-fuel-fired power plants before reliable sources of clean energy are available to replace them, America is running out of power even as we face huge new power demands,&#8221; Thune said.
He added: &#8220;I realize this is an inconvenient truth to my Democrat colleagues. Why? Because it interferes with their plans to force the United States off conventional energy. If Democrats acknowledge that we are rapidly approaching an energy crisis, they might have to actually consider the consequences of their energy plans. &#8230; If we don’t take action, we are going to be facing some very serious problems in the very near future.&#8221;

U.S. Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT)

Senate GOP Fights Dems To Preserve Trump’s Day-One Energy Emergency Declaration

Energy

John Thune

Mike Lee

The White House is calling out what it says is &#8220;another hoax&#8221; after the media and at least one Democrat in Congress perpetuated allegations that the Trump administration&#8217;s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) was releasing classified information.
It started on Friday with the left-leaning HuffPost <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/elon-musk-doge-posts-classified-data_n_67ae646de4b0513a8d767112" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reporting</a> that DOGE, which is led by technology entrepreneur Elon Musk, was posting to its new website classified information about the size and staff at the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO).
An unnamed Defense Intelligence Agency employee claimed DOGE posted &#8220;secret&#8221; data, resulting in people &#8220;scrambling to check if their info has been accessed.&#8221; Anonymous Senate aides claimed NRO&#8217;s headcount and budget were classified over concerns about foreign adversaries taking advantage of it.
Upon initial publication, HuffPo&#8217;s report quoted an NRO spokesperson deferring questions about the data to DOGE. HuffPo&#8217;s story also said the White House did not immediately return a request for comment. It was updated later, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20250214193329/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/elon-musk-doge-posts-classified-data_n_67ae646de4b0513a8d767112" target="_blank" rel="noopener">after publication</a>, with a White House denial.
Other news outlets picked up on the report. <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/elon-musks-doge-website-worries-intelligence-officials-by-posting-classified-information/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Daily Beast</a> re-aggregated it. ABC News also pursued the story, <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/agency-data-shared-doge-online-sparks-concern-intelligence/story?id=118858837" target="_blank" rel="noopener">citing</a> its own intelligence community sources who asserted that what DOGE did likely represented a significant breach. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) also pushed the notion.
&#8220;Yesterday, the DOGE guys post classified information on their website, and they had to realize, oh, we didn&#8217;t realize that agency was a classified agency. You shouldn&#8217;t let people run rampage through offices that have classified information,&#8221; he <a href="https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/1891156990568640556" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> on &#8220;Fox News Sunday.&#8221;
But, as former House investigator and journalist Jerry Dunleavy <a href="https://x.com/JerryDunleavy/status/1890803265643639277" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pointed</a> out in a series of posts on X, the NRO headcount information is publicly available on the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) <a href="https://www.fedscope.opm.gov/ibmcognos/bi/v1/disp?b_action=powerPlayService&amp;m_encoding=UTF-8&amp;BZ=1AAABnsT72MN42oVOsW6DQAz9mTNph0Y_wyVhYIDjUBiANLBXlFzSqsBFcB3y9xUwpFWGvidL9vN7lp2yWJdVcVRpHIzWDDqNn4DocyNI4jZU6PncQ0%7EtfIHRZiO5UKREtAWiZ2fKqvAo94ew2gdASWN6q3sLlJxNe9IDiAg87OtOgxuvDnXzVV%7E0_Ka6a2tune7tCkQMlFyXzV%7E73QWEL0Aov4dhmTLT248p68SlXMsiz5Ws0iLPw0wF%7E_Wc6DU4IzKOiJwjYwyZQEbIJjIWXnTf3IAQ6ASEYdsC_pkZ7eMpQJ8B7YBcBNIc6B3IXwR_F9gMIHey%7EwKfOXfLO3MtTyz4AbZLbJc%3D" target="_blank" rel="noopener">website</a> and DOGE says on its site that workforce data comes from OPM.
&#8220;DOGE even says under “Sources” that it’s pulling its data from OPM’s publicly available data set as of March 2024,&#8221; he said. &#8220;OPM posted then NRO has 1,097 employees. DOGE posts now NRO has 1,097 employees. So… is the claim here that OPM has been publicly posting classified info for years?&#8221;
An email from White House Principal Deputy Communications Director Alex Pfeiffer said the &#8220;controversy&#8221; is really just DOGE reformatting data that is already publicly available and denying that there was a &#8220;breach&#8221; of sensitive information.
“DOGE is sharing OPM data from under the Biden administration,&#8221; Pfeiffer said in a statement. &#8220;The headcount for this agency is publicly available on OPM’s website. These attacks are just another hoax meant to undermine the great work the Trump Administration is doing.&#8221;

Menu