Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) is done waiting — and after last week’s bombshell indictment of a Hamas-linked terrorist hiding out in Louisiana, he&#8217;s <a href="https://freebeacon.com/national-security/cotton-urges-dhs-to-review-biden-era-visas-after-indictment-of-alleged-hamas-terrorist-living-in-louisiana/">calling</a> for a top-down security purge of Biden-era immigration policies.
On Wednesday, Cotton issued a <a href="https://freebeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/dhs_letter.pdf">letter</a> to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem demanding an immediate, comprehensive audit of all visas granted since 2021 — focusing specifically on applicants from high-risk nations like Egypt, Gaza, and elsewhere in the Middle East. The trigger? The arrest of Mahmoud Amin Ya’Qub al-Muhtadi, a 33-year-old Gazan national who allegedly took part in the brutal October 7, 2023, Hamas massacre in Israel — then slipped into the U.S. using a fraudulent visa under the Biden administration.
Cotton minced no words. “Since October 7, 2023, thousands of visa applications from Palestinians have been processed through Egypt, often without adequate review of digital footprints or terrorist watchlist cross-checks. The vetting process for al-Muhtadi’s application overlooked easily accessible evidence of his terrorist ties,” he wrote. “I urge DHS to conduct an audit of all visas issued through high-risk countries since 2021, prioritizing potential affiliations with Hamas or other designated terrorist groups.”
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The evidence is chilling. Federal prosecutors revealed al-Muhtadi’s cell phone was geolocated near Kibbutz Kfar Aza, the site of one of the deadliest Hamas-led slaughters on Oct. 7, where 60 innocents — some of them Americans — were butchered. FBI documents show al-Muhtadi issued battlefield-style commands over messaging apps: “Bring the rifles,” “get ready,” and “If you have a full magazine, bring it to me.” He wasn&#8217;t just a foot soldier. He was organizing fighters.
And yet, this man — an open member of the National Resistance Brigades, the armed wing of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) — was granted a visa and green card by the Biden administration after applying in Cairo. His social media? Filled with images of him in fatigues, training with Russian weapons. All of this slipped past the State Department’s so-called “vetting.”
Al-Muhtadi entered through Dallas-Fort Worth in September 2024, lived in Tulsa, then Lafayette, Louisiana — where he was working in a restaurant when federal agents finally caught up with him. Cotton warned that al-Muhtadi is just one of many who may have quietly slipped into the U.S. under Biden’s lax oversight.
Cotton is now demanding a real-time terrorist watchlist that would proactively screen applicants from extremist-linked regions and immediate enhanced social media checks. &#8220;No terrorist should be able to slip through undetected,&#8221; he wrote, urging DHS and the FBI to coordinate.
This isn’t the first time Cotton’s led the charge on national security. In July, as pro-Hamas mobs defaced U.S. monuments and waved terrorist flags in D.C., Cotton introduced the No Visas for Violent Criminals Act, mandating deportation within 60 days for foreign nationals convicted of protest-related crimes. And last December, he introduced a bill requiring the U.S. to drop the term “West Bank” in favor of “Judea and Samaria,” reinforcing historical Jewish claims to the land.
Cotton’s broader message? America was at risk — not because terrorists are sneaking across borders—but because they were being invited in by a government asleep at the switch. The Biden administration’s blind spots weren’t just ideological — they were lethal.

Sen. Tom Cotton

Tom Cotton Pushes Full Purge Of Biden Immigration Policies Over Terrorist Caught In U.S.

Hamas

Palestinians

Tom Cotton

Visas

Several Republican lawmakers are expected to introduce a bill on Thursday aimed at stopping illegal aliens from getting licenses to drive commercial trucks in deep blue regions.
Kentucky Congressman Andy Barr has partnered with Senators Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Bill Hagerty of Tennessee to advance legislation that would authorize the Trump administration to crack down on states found to be granting Commercial Driver’s Licenses (CDL) to illegal aliens, according to documents reviewed by The Daily Wire.
Under the legislation, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy would have the authority to revoke a state’s ability to grant “non-domiciled CDLs,” or commercial licenses for applicants who live out of state, if the state were found in violation of federal rules around CDLs.
“By issuing CDLs to illegal immigrants, states like California are undermining federal law and endangering public safety,” Barr, who is running to succeed Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell, told The Daily Wire. “Our bill restores accountability by strengthening President Trump’s authority to hold liberal states in check when they defy federal law and recklessly grant CDLs to illegal immigrants.”
The bill would also standardize some rules about the CDL process by requiring all testing to be conducted in English and that all CDL applicants hold a driver’s license for at least one year.
“For everyone’s safety, you must be able to read and understand English road signs when operating a commercial vehicle. Our bill would require commercial drivers to pass the test given in English,” said Cotton in a statement.
Duffy has taken action to clamp down on California’s CDL program after authorities say an illegal alien trucker <a href="https://www.dhs.gov/news/2025/08/18/criminal-illegal-alien-recklessly-driving-18-wheeler-kills-three-florida" target="_blank" rel="noopener">caused</a> a wreck in Florida that killed three Americans. The trucker, Harjinder Singh, <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/08/19/us-news/illegal-migrant-truck-driver-in-deadly-florida-crash-failed-english-road-sign-tests-despite-getting-licenses-from-2-sanctuary-states/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">obtained</a> a CDL most recently in California and allegedly caused the wreck after attempting an illegal U-turn. Singh is believed to have illegally entered the United States in 2018.
The Transportation Secretary has targeted California’s federal funding. On Wednesday, Duffy’s department <a href="https://www.transportation.gov/briefing-room/trumps-transportation-secretary-sean-p-duffy-announces-consequences-californias" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> that it had revoked over $40 million in funding for California from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Duffy slashed funding for the deep blue state after the Department of Transportation investigation into California’s CDL program <a href="https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/newsroom/trumps-transportation-secretary-sean-p-duffy-takes-emergency-action-protect-americas-roads#:~:text=Moving%20forward%2C%20non%2Dcitizens%20will,presence%20in%20the%20U.S.%20expired" target="_blank" rel="noopener">found</a> that more than a quarter of non-domiciled commercial licenses issued by the state were improperly awarded.
While Duffy can revoke funding, the Republican-led legislation would give the Transportation Secretary further authority to pull a state’s ability to issue commercial licenses altogether.

Semi trucks

Republican Bill Takes Aim At Democrat States Giving Truck Licenses To Illegal Aliens

GOP Bill Takes Aim At Democrat States Giving CDLs To Illegal Aliens

Bill Hagerty

California

Department of Transportation

Following a light prison sentence for the transgender-identifying man who plotted to assassinate Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) introduced new legislation on Wednesday to bar far-left judges from using gender identity as a condition in sentencing. 
Cotton’s “Fair Sentencing Act” would ensure that transgender-identifying criminals do not get off the hook because of their gender confusion, according to a copy of the bill obtained by The Daily Wire. Cotton said the bill would keep sentencing fair and the American public safe. 
“Criminals are criminals. Radical left judges shouldn’t be able to use ‘gender confusion’ as a reason to assign shorter sentences. My bill will keep Americans safer by ensuring all criminals are properly sentenced,” the Arkansas Republican told The Daily Wire. 
If passed, the bill would make sure that judges could not shorten a sentence over someone’s perceived gender identity. 
Cotton’s proposal comes after a Biden-appointed <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/transgender-man-who-planned-to-assassinate-brett-kavanaugh-gets-off-easy-will-serve-just-8-years?author=Luke+Rosiak&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=2&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Transgender+Man+Who+Planned+To+Assassinate+Brett+Kavanaugh+Will+Serve+Just+8+Years">judge sentenced</a> Nicholas Roske, the man who planned to assassinate Kavanaugh after the leak of a decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, to just eight years in prison. The sentence was 22 years lighter than the 30-year minimum recommended by federal sentencing guidelines. 
The sentencing took more than seven hours, with much of the time dedicated to discussing how Roske’s transgender identity meant he should get a lighter sentence, The Daily Wire reported. 
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Cotton also put forth <a href="https://www.cotton.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/preventing_violence_against_women_act.pdf">new legislation</a> to keep men and women in separate prisons, regardless of gender identity. 
“Prisoners should be placed based on their biological sex, not on what they chose to ‘identify’ as. Documented cases prove that placing men—including men who ‘identify’ as women—in women’s prisons puts female inmates at increased risk of sexual assault,” he told The Daily Wire. “My bill decreases the risk for women by ensuring men and women are separated in federal prison.”
Cotton’s ‘‘Preventing Violence Against Female Inmates Act of 2025’’ would prohibit housing prisoners of different sexes together and would block states from receiving grants if they put men in women’s prisons. 
The bill would codify executive action from Trump barring the Bureau of Prisons from housing men in women’s prisons. That order has been challenged by multiple transgender-identifying prisoners who claim the order violates their rights. 
In states where men have been placed with women in prison, women often fear for their own safety. In one example in California, a male double rapist was transferred to a female prison. The issue also came up during Roske’s sentencing, with the judge lamenting the fact that he would have to be housed in a male prison.

Senate Intelligence Cmte Holds Confirmation Hearing For DNI Nominee Tulsi Gabbard

Tom Cotton Takes Action After Trans Man Who Plotted To Kill Kavanaugh Receives Light Sentence

Tom Cotton Takes Action After Light Sentence For Trans Man Who Plotted To Kill Kavanaugh

assassination

Brett Kavanaugh

Judge

Transgender

A top IRS lawyer involved in high-level policy interpretations has advocated action to “resist” President Donald Trump and holds radical far-left policy positions, pushing for Democrats to abolish prisons and pack the court to defy Trump.
Anthony Sacco, an attorney for the powerful IRS Office of Chief Counsel, openly advocated for far-left positions for years prior to joining the agency, a Daily Wire review of his social media found. Sacco, who holds a key role in interpreting complicated federal tax law, has called for people to “resist” the GOP and attacked the police. 
Sacco has co-authored multiple <a href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/understanding-irs-guidance-a-brief-primer">revenue rulings</a>, including as recently as April 17, 2025, three months into the Trump administration. Revenue rulings are official IRS interpretations of how tax laws are applied in specific situations and impact how government officials, tax professionals, and taxpayers maintain compliance with federal law.
Before joining the IRS in September 2022 by the Biden administration, Sacco <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthony-sacco-5a4319a4/">worked</a> under Oregon Democratic senator Ron Wyden for the Senate Finance Committee, according to his LinkedIn. His social media activity demonstrated his strong opposition to the Trump administration. In 2020, for example, he attacked Republicans ahead of the Senate vote to confirm Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. 
“The Republican Party has completely obliterated principles, integrity, and norms. Screw ‘going high.’ Pack the Court.<a href="https://archive.ph/o/UtXC5/https://x.com/hashtag/resist?src=hashtag_click"> #resist</a><a href="https://archive.ph/o/UtXC5/https://x.com/hashtag/gop?src=hashtag_click"> #gop</a><a href="https://archive.ph/o/UtXC5/https://x.com/hashtag/election?src=hashtag_click"> #election</a><a href="https://archive.ph/o/UtXC5/https://x.com/hashtag/vote?src=hashtag_click"> #vote</a><a href="https://archive.ph/o/UtXC5/https://x.com/hashtag/packthecourt?src=hashtag_click"> #packthecourt</a>,” he posted to X.
Shortly after The Daily Wire reached out to Sacco for comment on his previous views, he <a href="https://x.com/APSacco">locked</a> his X account, restricting who can see his posts — but not before The Daily Wire archived and saved the posts. Sacco did not respond to the inquiry. Briefed on the posts by The Daily Wire, Arkansas Republican senator Tom Cotton said Sacco &#8220;should be fired immediately.&#8221;
“With deep state leftists in its leadership, it is no wonder the IRS has repeatedly targeted conservatives and conservative organizations,” Cotton told The Daily Wire. “This individual should be fired immediately.”
<div id="attachment_962657" style="width: 1175px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-962657" class="size-full wp-image-962657" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/Screenshot-2025-08-19-at-9.58.57-AM.png" alt="" width="1165" height="1063" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/Screenshot-2025-08-19-at-9.58.57-AM.png 1165w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/Screenshot-2025-08-19-at-9.58.57-AM-300x274.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/Screenshot-2025-08-19-at-9.58.57-AM-631x576.png 631w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/Screenshot-2025-08-19-at-9.58.57-AM-768x701.png 768w" sizes=" (max-width: 1165px) 100vw, 1165px" />Sacco post on X.</div>
Sacco is currently one of the main attorneys for IRS’s Chief Counsel’s office who specializes in looking at pass-through businesses, a tax structure where owners are taxed at the individual rather than corporate level.
The revenue <a href="https://www.irs.gov/irb/2025-19_IRB">ruling</a> he drafted in April withdrew <a href="https://www.irs.gov/irb/2024-28_IRB">one</a> he had written under Biden, which increased regulations on certain business partnerships. It was based on an executive order from Trump ordering his administration to cut unnecessary regulations, meaning a advocate for resisting Trump was left responsible for putting his orders into effect.
According to one senior Republican aide who works on finance issues in the Senate, Sacco&#8217;s office was viewed as a politicized office in the financial policy world. It was, for example, behind plans that would supercharge the IRS beyond its current form. The aide pointed to the IRS’s push for a “direct file” program that was approved by the Chief Counsel’s Office during the Biden administration, which Republicans <a href="https://www.crapo.senate.gov/media/newsreleases/crapo-statement-on-irs-direct-file-pilot-project#">argued</a> would have turned the IRS into &#8220;tax preparer, tax collector, and tax enforcer.&#8221;
“The idea that a far-left &#8216;resister&#8217; who helped the Biden IRS set policy is now setting policy for Trump is deeply concerning,” the aide told The Daily Wire, adding that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent &#8220;should clean house to get this politicization out.&#8221;
“I’m not surprised he’s said those far-left things because that’s how he has operated in the Chief Counsel’s Office,” the aide added. “We shouldn’t trust leftwing ideologues at the IRS in light of their weaponization of the agency during the Obama and Biden administrations.”
Outside of social media, Sacco helped prepare a lengthy <a href="https://harvardlawreview.org/print/vol-133/abolition-constitutionalism/">academic article </a>arguing that prisons should be abolished published by the Harvard Law Review. In the forward, the  primary author argued “that white supremacy is deeply woven into the fabric of every legal institution in the United States.”
In a post discussing his work on the project, Sacco contemplated the future of criminal justice in America. 
“It was truly amazing to work with Prof. Roberts and my fellow RAs on this piece over the past summer. It&#8217;s not easy to imagine a society without prisons, but I look at the prison system and mass incarceration completely different now after this experience,” he posted. 
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-962663 aligncenter" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/Screenshot-2025-08-19-at-4.05.58-PM.png" alt="" width="525" height="406" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/Screenshot-2025-08-19-at-4.05.58-PM.png 525w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/Screenshot-2025-08-19-at-4.05.58-PM-300x232.png 300w" sizes=" (max-width: 525px) 100vw, 525px" /></div>
The author of the article wrote that there “is good reason to renounce the Constitution because constitutional law has been critical to upholding the interests of the racial capitalist regime while advancing legal theories that justify its inhumanity.”
“Indeed, it is the realization that white supremacy is deeply woven into the fabric of every legal institution in the United States and upheld by U.S. constitutional law that made me an abolitionist in the first place,” the author added. 
Sacco also frequently posted anti-police messages on his account, including a call from anthem-kneeler Colin Kaepernick to “abolish” the “white supremacist institution of policing” and another post that claimed “policing is based on race” and that the job itself was “racist.” 
<div id="attachment_962661" style="width: 1164px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-962661" class="size-full wp-image-962661" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/Screenshot-2025-08-19-at-10.20.53-AM.png" alt="" width="1154" height="509" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/Screenshot-2025-08-19-at-10.20.53-AM.png 1154w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/Screenshot-2025-08-19-at-10.20.53-AM-300x132.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/Screenshot-2025-08-19-at-10.20.53-AM-1024x452.png 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/Screenshot-2025-08-19-at-10.20.53-AM-768x339.png 768w" sizes=" (max-width: 1154px) 100vw, 1154px" />Screenshot of Sacco repost.</div>
Sacco&#8217;s account, now locked, states that he is currently &#8220;focused on tax policy, racial and criminal justice.&#8221;
The IRS did not respond to request for comment on Sacco&#8217;s status at the agency.

MixCollage-20-Aug-2025-12-18-PM-8990

Top IRS Lawyer Under Trump Pledged To ‘Resist’ President, Is Former Dem Aide

Court Packing

Donald Trump

Supreme Court

President Donald Trump on Thursday called for Intel’s CEO to resign as the tech company battles falling fortunes and criticism from the nation’s capital.
“The CEO of INTEL is highly CONFLICTED and must resign, immediately. There is no other solution to this problem. Thank you for your attention to this problem!” Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114987288040725570">posted</a> on Truth Social.
Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan’s past business dealings with Chinese companies and government-linked entities have fueled distrust among top Republicans, who argue that his close ties to Beijing pose a risk to America&#8217;s chip industry—a sector the White House deems critical to national security in the AI race against China. The Silicon Valley-based company is best known as one of the world’s largest semiconductor manufacturers, producing microchips that power computers and other devices.
Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, the top Republican and chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, outlined his concerns in a <a href="https://www.cotton.senate.gov/news/press-releases/cotton-to-intel-ceos-ties-to-china-are-concerning">letter</a> to Intel earlier this week.
“Mr. Tan reportedly controls dozens of Chinese companies and has a stake in hundreds of Chinese advanced-manufacturing and chip firms. At least eight of these companies reportedly have ties to the Chinese People’s Liberation Army,” Cotton wrote.
“Mr. Tan was most recently the CEO of Cadence Design Systems, a company that makes electronic design automation (EDA) technology, which is a key enabler of advanced chip design. Last week, Cadence pleaded guilty to illegally selling its products to a Chinese military university and transferring its technology to an associated Chinese semiconductor company without obtaining licenses. These illegal activities occurred under Mr. Tan’s tenure,” Cotton added.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Senator Tom Cotton is not wrong here. Sharing an infographic from <a href="https://twitter.com/thewirechina?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@thewirechina</a>, a news magazine founded by Pulitzer Prize winner and former China correspondent David Barboza, mapping the Intel head Lip-Bu Tan&#8217;s venture capital firm Walden and its ties to Chinese companies: <a href="https://t.co/u2cfJRkf4L">https://t.co/u2cfJRkf4L</a> <a href="https://t.co/O5bi2lWB97">pic.twitter.com/O5bi2lWB97</a>
— Melissa Chan (@melissakchan) <a href="https://twitter.com/melissakchan/status/1953536377150476303?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 7, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
In a companywide email on Thursday, Tan, who is from Malaysia, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/intel-ceo-lip-bu-tan-trump-resignation-call-response-2025-8">reportedly</a> denied any wrongdoing, insisting he has always held &#8220;the highest legal and ethical standards.&#8221;
&#8220;The United States has been my home for more than 40 years,&#8221; he wrote. &#8220;Leading Intel at this critical moment is not just a job &#8211; it&#8217;s a privilege.&#8221;
Tan founded the venture capital firm Walden International, through which Tan has participated in billions of dollars worth of investment deals with Chinese companies, some of which fall on U.S. government watch lists.
Intel received the largest grant awarded to a single company under the CHIPS and Science Act signed by President Joe Biden in 2022: nearly $8 billion. Tan’s deep web of business ties across China has thrown that grant into question and added more instability on top of Intel’s already turbulent business.
“Intel, the Board of Directors, and Lip-Bu Tan are deeply committed to advancing U.S. national and economic security interests and are making significant investments aligned with the president’s America First agenda,” the company said in a <a href="https://x.com/PatrickMoorhead/status/1953573020565668054">statement</a> after Trump’s call for Tan to step down.
The tech company, once a leader in the tech industry, has struggled in recent years, and the backlash from political leaders has worsened its position. The company’s share price fell 3% on Thursday after the salvo from Trump. Since the start of last year, Intel’s share price has fallen roughly 60%, according to <a href="https://www.wsj.com/tech/trump-intel-ceo-lip-bu-tan-resign-china-ties-cotton-ce111513">The Wall Street Journal</a>.

Lip-Bu Tan

Trump Demands Intel CEO Quit Over China Ties: ‘Highly Conflicted’

Business

China

Executive

World

Speaking on the floor of the U.S. Senate, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), the third-highest ranking GOP senator who serves as the chairman of the Senate Republican Conference and chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, delivered a blistering speech in which he denounced critics of Israel around the world and in the U.S. Senate, who he said side with Hamas and propagandize to help the terrorist organization.
&#8220;Hamas is on the verge of defeat so it’s cranked up the propaganda machine once again,&#8221; he began. &#8220;Now Hamas wants the world to believe that Israel has undertaken a campaign of deliberate starvation of the Gazan population, and as usual, Hamas can count on an international media and political chorus to fight their battles for them and try to bully Israel in submission.&#8221;
&#8220;Israel has helped bring into Gaza approximately 96,000 trucks containing nearly one and a half million tons of food, 46,000 tons of medical supplies, 60,000 tons of water and around 170,000 tons of shelter equipment,&#8221; he noted. &#8220;Put simply: Children aren’t going hungry because of lack of supplies from Israel; they’re suffering because Hamas uses food and humanitarian aid as a weapon to stay in power.&#8221;
Slamming members of the Senate who have used photos of Gazan children to buttress their attacks on Israel, Cotton asserted, &#8220;&#8216;Gullible&#8217; might be a charitable way to describe their motives, much like The New York Times buying hook, line, and sinker, the images of Gazan children afflicted with terrible diseases, but passed off as malnourished.&#8221; He then displayed photos of the massive amount of pallets of food simply waiting to be distributed to the people of Gaza, noting they are &#8220;are sitting and baking in the hot sun instead of feeding hungry kids. While the situation is shocking, it’s not all surprising; after all, Hamas’ infiltration of UN aid mechanisms is well-documented. Time and again, we have seen Hamas terrorists divert shipments to themselves or loot delivery trucks, only to resell the supplies on the black market at outrageous prices. Last year, this terrorist-infiltrated aid system managed by the UN and others allowed Hamas to rake in more than half a billion dollars in profit, profits that fund Hamas’ campaign of terror against Israel and its own people.&#8221;
&#8220;How critical is this systematic theft to Hamas’ grip on power?&#8221; he asked. &#8220;Well, one of Hamas’s chief demands in recent cease-fire negotiations has been the dismantling of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a new charity created specifically to end Hamas’s stranglehold on aid and supplies. The foundation has even offered to distribute UN aid for free, despite the risk to its own people. And much of this aid, which is sitting in the sun and partly taxpayer-funded, is already inside Gaza; it simply needs to be picked up and distributed. But the offer has fallen on deaf ears because Hamas uses humanitarian aid as a tool to fund, facilitate and fight its war against innocent children, against Israel, against the civilized world. And Hamas’s cheerleaders, apologists, and dupes in Europe and America, and sadly, here in the U.S. Senate, once again, turn a blind eye to Hamas’ crimes, blaming instead Israel and the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. They demand that Israel agree to a cease-fire that preserves and rewards Hamas, while also delivering even more humanitarian aid to Gaza for Hamas to steal and exploit. They expect Israel to feed the very people who attacked, raped, and murdered innocent Israeli men, women, and children on October 7. And I would remind everyone, not a few American victims as well.&#8221;
Turning to history, Cotton — who deployed to both Afghanistan and Iraq and served in combat units including the 506th Infantry Regiment and the 101st Airborne — commented, &#8220;Once again, Israel is facing demands placed on no other nation in the world. I don’t recall from my history lessons, for instance, the United States providing humanitarian aid in Germany and Japan in World War II. On the contrary, the Allies imposed naval blockades that led to widespread shortages in those enemy nations. When in the annals of history has the victim of an unprovoked war of aggression ever been held responsible for the nutrition of the aggressor? Put simply, Israel doesn’t have any responsibility to send a single loaf of bread to Gaza. I wonder why so many senators, pundits, podcasters and European politicians impose this unique standard on the Jewish nation?&#8221;
&#8220;Why could it be?&#8221; he asked bluntly.
&#8220;But despite all that, despite the brutal slaughter of nearly 1200 Israelis on October 7, despite Hamas’ continued repression of its own people, Israel is still delivering aid to Gaza while Hamas rips it from the hands of hungry children,&#8221; he pointed out. &#8220;Once again we see very simply and very clearly in this war who is on the side of justice and who is on the side of evil. And I would ask anyone who places these singular demands on Israel: Whose side do you want to be on? And if you truly care about the children in Gaza, as I do, as Israelis do, as any decent person surely does, I would encourage you to support President Trump’s statement of moral clarity and strength from earlier this morning: &#8216;The fastest way to end the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is for Hamas to surrender and release the hostages.'&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
I&#39;d like to set the record straight.
Children in Gaza aren&#39;t going hungry because of Israel. They&#39;re suffering because Hamas uses food and aid as a weapon to stay in power. <a href="https://t.co/a2dGKThz0u">pic.twitter.com/a2dGKThz0u</a>
&mdash; Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) <a href="https://twitter.com/SenTomCotton/status/1951083222516797451?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 1, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Republican Senators Hold Capitol Hill News Conference On Border Enforcement

Tom Cotton Blisters Hamas Cheerleaders In Senate And Across The Globe

Congress

Israel

New York Times

Politics

U.S. Senate

Imagine leaving your front door unlocked with a note that reads, “Back in 15. Please don’t steal the silverware.” That, in essence, is what the United States government — yes, including the Pentagon — may have unwittingly done through its long-standing relationship with Microsoft and the tech giant’s disturbingly lax attitude toward cybersecurity oversight.
Microsoft’s China-linked engineers should be setting off DEFCON-level alarms in Washington. Instead, we’ve mostly gotten silence, shrugs, and vague murmurs. According <a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/microsoft-tech-support-government-cybersecurity-china-doj-treasury">to reports</a>, Microsoft gave foreign nationals access to parts of the software that power critical U.S. military infrastructure.
You read that right. Engineers based in China, working for a U.S. tech behemoth under no formal federal contract, had proximity to the digital equivalent of the Pentagon’s control room.
Even worse? Microsoft allegedly failed to tell the Pentagon about it.
This is no small &#8220;oopsie.&#8221; We’re talking about a company that provides essential software infrastructure to every arm of the U.S. government — military included — quietly hiring engineers from a geopolitical rival with a track record of industrial espionage, cyber warfare, and digital sabotage. If you think China wouldn’t exploit this access, you haven’t been paying attention.
Microsoft has since responded to the report from <a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/defense-department-pentagon-microsoft-digital-escort-china">ProPublica</a> that exposed the issue. “In response to concerns raised earlier this week about US-supervised foreign engineers, Microsoft has made changes to our support for US Government customers to assure that no China-based engineering teams are providing technical assistance for DoD Government cloud and related services,” stated Frank Shaw, Microsoft’s chief communications officer.
Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR), however, is now asking some <a href="https://www.cotton.senate.gov/news/press-releases/chairman-cotton-to-hegseth-current-dod-agreements-and-practices-fail-to-account-for-threat-of-china">very pointed</a> questions, and rightly so. Why was this program not disclosed? Why were Chinese nationals permitted to work on products used by the Department of Defense? And who, exactly, at Microsoft thought this was a good idea?
<div id="attachment_954433" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-954433" class="size-large wp-image-954433" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-2193887719-864x576.jpg" alt="WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 14: U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AK) questions U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth during his Senate Armed Services confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill on January 14, 2025 in Washington, DC. Hegseth, an Army veteran and the former host of “FOX &amp; Friends Weekend” on FOX News will be the first of the incoming Trump administration’s nominees to face questions from Senators. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-2193887719-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-2193887719-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-2193887719-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-2193887719.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images</div>
The problem isn&#8217;t just Microsoft&#8217;s apparent blind spot for national security. The deeper issue is how cavalier we&#8217;ve become with <a href="https://www.spyhunter.com/shm/why-is-endpoint-protection-important/">endpoint protection </a>— that last line of defense between a secure network and total compromise. Whether it&#8217;s a government agency or a private company, relying on outdated firewalls and blind trust in tech titans is like wearing a screen door for armor.
This is the same Microsoft, mind you, that in just the last year alone has racked up a staggering number of <a href="https://www.enigmasoftware.com/cve202553770zerodayvulnerability-removal/">Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs)</a>. These aren’t minor bugs; these are gaping holes in the digital fabric — many of which can be exploited with a single click. One CVE alone allowed hackers to access Outlook inboxes without requiring the user to even open an email. Just receiving it was enough. That’s not an email; that’s a digital landmine.
Add in the explosion of <a href="https://www.spywareremove.com/remove-fake-virus.html">tech support scams</a>, the thousands of reported of <a href="https://www.enigmasoftware.com/verificationfailedemailscam-removal/">phishing schemes</a>, and malware attacks that install silently with a <a href="https://www.cyclonis.com/remove-oneclik-malware/">single mistimed click</a>, and we’ve got ourselves a cyber hygiene crisis. Criminals and state-backed hackers alike have figured out that Americans are highly advanced at building systems, but dangerously naive at guarding them.
Want another cherry on this data breach sundae? Microsoft’s move to hire foreign engineers coincided with its transition to a &#8220;cloud-first&#8221; infrastructure. Translation: the very people with questionable loyalties were potentially helping build and maintain systems that store terabytes of sensitive U.S. government data — offsite, off-premises, and off the radar of traditional defense monitoring.
Here’s a scary thought: if you were a Chinese intelligence officer dreaming of getting into Pentagon systems, would you rather recruit a spy, build a malware strain, or just… get hired by Microsoft?
You can’t blame China for trying. The blame lies with Microsoft for leaving the vault open and pretending it’s a broom closet.
The solution isn’t to boycott Microsoft (though the pressure to modernize and secure their systems needs to be immediate and non-negotiable). The real fix lies in overhauling our government’s relationship with Big Tech. We need rigorous vetting of foreign hires working on national security products. We need independent audits of source code, vulnerability testing, and real-time threat modeling. And we absolutely need to build up our domestic cybersecurity talent pool so that we’re not outsourcing our digital sovereignty to countries with conflicting interests.
Most importantly, endpoint security must become as ubiquitous in government as badge scanners and background checks. Every workstation, laptop, mobile device, and cloud node must be locked down with zero-trust architecture, real-time behavioral analytics, and automatic quarantine capabilities. Anything less is an open invitation to espionage.
This isn’t just a Microsoft problem or a Pentagon problem. It’s an American problem. We’re letting convenience and tech monopolies override prudence and national defense. The same way we wouldn’t allow a Chinese company to handle nuclear launch codes, we shouldn’t let their engineers code the operating systems that support those platforms.
Let’s not forget: the Chinese Communist Party plays a long game. They don’t need to hack into Fort Knox if we’re leaving the digital vault open with a &#8220;Welcome&#8221; sign in Mandarin. And Microsoft, by cozying up to foreign nationals while serving American defense clients, has done exactly that.
President Trump built his first administration on the promise of draining the swamp and putting America First. That promise must now extend to cybersecurity. Our digital borders are every bit as vital as our physical ones. It’s time to hold tech giants accountable and ensure our software backbone isn’t quietly being rewritten by our adversaries.
Because when the dragon’s inside the network, it’s already too late to “build” a firewall.
* * *
Julio Rivera is a business and political strategist, cybersecurity researcher, founder of <a href="https://www.itfunk.org/">ItFunk.Org</a>, and a political commentator and columnist. His writing, which is focused on cybersecurity and politics, is regularly published by many of the largest news organizations in the world.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Microsoft  Zizhu Campus In Shanghai

Why Microsoft Must Be Held Responsible For Its Pentagon Security Breach

Big Tech

Cybersecurity

Espionage

Microsoft

Pentagon

WASHINGTON—Building off President Donald Trump&#8217;s executive order targeting crime and disorder on American streets, Senator Tom Cotton is introducing legislation aimed at cleaning up the nation&#8217;s capital.
The Daily Wire can first report that the Arkansas Republican will introduce the Prohibiting Encampments on Public Grounds Act on Tuesday. The bill would make it unlawful to set up, maintain, or establish camps or temporary abodes on public property in Washington, D.C.
“Our nation’s capital should be a point of pride, not littered with homeless encampments that endanger visitors like the thousands of Arkansans who visit each year,&#8221; Cotton told The Daily Wire. &#8220;This bill would clean up D.C.’s public property and allow law enforcement officials to maintain order in the streets of our nation’s capital.&#8221; 
Those who violate the terms of the bill would be fined $500, imprisoned for up to 30 days, or both.
<div id="attachment_953593" style="width: 838px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-tom-cottons-new-bill-supercharges-trumps-efforts-to-make-d-c-safe-again/president-trump-signs-executive-order-urging-cities-to-remove-homeless-off-streets" rel="attachment wp-att-953593"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-953593" class="wp-image-953593 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-2227000494-828x576.jpg" alt="" width="828" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-2227000494-828x576.jpg 828w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-2227000494-300x209.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-2227000494-768x534.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-2227000494.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 828px) 100vw, 828px" /></a>WASHINGTON, DC &#8211; JULY 25: A person sleeps in Freedom Plaza on July 25, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)</div>
The president&#8217;s executive order, signed July 24, directs the Attorney General to reverse judicial precedents and end consent decrees that are block state and local governments from committing &#8220;individuals on the streets who are a risk to themselves or others.&#8221;
Trump&#8217;s order was aimed at &#8220;making America safe again,&#8221; one of the president&#8217;s major campaign promises. It also requires Attorney General Pam Bondi to work with other administration officials to prioritize grants for both states and municipalities that enforce bans on &#8220;open illicit drug use, urban camping and loitering, and urban squatting, and track the location of sex offenders.&#8221;
The executive order focuses attention on providing both shelter and mental health resources to the homeless, and, in addition to allowing programs to exclusively house women and children — as opposed to men who identify as transgender women — it blocks sex offenders who are receiving homelessness assistance from being housed with children.
The Trump administration has argued that shifting the homeless into long-term institutional settings for humane treatment is the best way to restore public order, pointing to the highest number ever recorded of individuals living on American streets on a single night during the last year of the Biden administration: 274,224.
Most of these individuals are addicted to drugs, have mental health disorders, or both, according to a <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/07/ending-crime-and-disorder-on-americas-streets/">fact sheet</a> from the White House, which argues that federal and state governments have spent billions seeking to address homelessness without addressing the root causes.
Asked last week about homeless individuals sleeping outside the gates of the White House, the president responded: &#8220;I think it&#8217;s terrible and we&#8217;ll have them removed immediately.&#8221;
&#8220;We&#8217;ve gotta get the mayor to run this city properly,&#8221; he told reporters.

Donald Trump Meets With Republican Senators At The NRSC

EXCLUSIVE: Tom Cotton’s New Bill Supercharges Trump’s Efforts To Make D.C. Safe Again

Homeless

Washington

Senator Tom Cotton introduced a bill on Wednesday that would amend federal law to allow for parental leave in the case of an unborn child’s death.
The Arkansas Republican&#8217;s <a href="https://www.cotton.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/healing_act_2025.pdf">bill</a> would amend the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 to allow for a mother and her husband to take 12 workweeks of unpaid leave over the course of a year in the event that they lose an unborn child. The bill would also create a refundable tax credit for any mother, or couple, who experiences a stillbirth. 
“This bill will make sure families receive the resources they need to help recover from the unexpected loss of a child,” Cotton told The Daily Wire. “No amount of money can replace such a loss, but the legislation will make sure parents have time to begin the recovery process.”
The legislation is called the ‘‘Helping with Equal Access to Leave and Investing in Needs for Grieving Mothers and Fathers Act.” Cotton introduced similar legislation in 2023. 
Republican Senators Kevin Cramer (ND) and Cindy Hyde-Smith (MS) also sponsored the legislation. 
 
“It has taken policymakers too long to recognize that parents should be allowed time to heal following a miscarriage or stillbirth,” Hyde-Smith said. “The loss of a child is devastating and heartbreaking for families, and this legislation formally acknowledges their need for time following such a loss.”
The bill would “provide leave for the spontaneous loss of an unborn child” with spontaneous loss defined as “the loss of a child in the womb that does not result from a purposeful act and is unplanned.” It would be consistent with current standards for certification, notice, flexibility and leave substitution for federal family leave law. 
Women who end the lives of their unborn children through abortion would not qualify for the benefits under the legislation.
The bill is similar to a law in Arkansas passed in 2021 that provides a tax credit for unborn children who are stillborn. Republican State Representative Les Eaves <a href="https://www.kark.com/news/politics/arkansas-paisleys-law-inspires-federal-bill-for-stillborn-reform/">introduced</a> the bill after his granddaughter, Paisley Havranek, was stillborn on February 6, 2019.
“One day before she died, she was a perfect, fully formed, beautiful little girl, but she’s not recognized as a dependent at that point,” he said at the time. 
In recent years, Republicans have pushed for more legislation to support family formation. Earlier this year, West Virginia Republican Rep. Riley Moore <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-republican-bill-would-save-thousands-for-parents-who-stay-home-with-kids?author=Leif+Le+Mahieu&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=EXCLUSIVE%3A+Republican+Bill+Would+Save+Thousands+For+Parents+Who+Stay+Home+With+Kids">introduced</a> a bill alongside Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) that would ensure that new moms would not be “penalized” under federal law for deciding to leave the workforce and stay home with their child.

EXCLUSIVE: Tom Cotton Pushes To Give Key Benefit To Mothers Who Lose Unborn Children

Arkansas

family

Senate

With the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Republicans just delivered record funding to secure our border and support our federal law enforcement agents, which will make every American safer.
This law paves the way for a brighter, safer, and stronger future for every American. Here’s how you will benefit.
First, it makes permanent the largest tax cut in history for middle- and working-class families, reduces costs by unleashing American energy, and rebuilds our military to outpace and dominate 21st century challenges.
But that’s not all.
Importantly, the One Big Beautiful Bill will restore order and strengthen border security after 10.5 million illegal immigrants flooded the United States under President Joe Biden and the Democrats. For four years, a slow-motion invasion of our nation drove up medical and insurance costs for Americans, as well as criminal activity in our communities.
With tragic stories of violent illegal aliens committing heinous crimes against innocent Americans, it’s no wonder <a href="https://apnews.com/article/immigration-poll-deportation-trump-border-security-40b2a28e34f8d0c76b4a6589f3db1ba3" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://apnews.com/article/immigration-poll-deportation-trump-border-security-40b2a28e34f8d0c76b4a6589f3db1ba3&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1752789380627000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1-bVazWRwDe1J3g9kRdwob">82% of voters</a> said that increasing security at the border should be a high or moderate priority.
For instance, in Arkansas, Jennifer Ann Morton, a nurse in Little Rock, was tragically killed by an illegal immigrant who was driving while drunk. In Michigan, Ruby Garcia was just 25 years old when she was shot to death by an illegal immigrant and left on the side of a highway. We owe it to the memory of these innocent Americans to do all we can to prevent senseless, horrific crimes from happening again.
President Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans have made it a priority to close the border, stop the invasion, and enforce the law without hesitation. Since taking office earlier this year, Trump has deported hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens, designated ruthless gangs — such as Tren de Aragua and MS-13 — as foreign terrorist organizations, and resumed border wall construction.
Nationwide encounters of illegal immigrants are at the lowest ever recorded, and not one illegal immigrant was released into our country over the past two months. Compare this to the height of the invasion under Joe Biden, which saw nearly <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/articles/2025/07/extraordinary-president-trump-drives-illegal-border-crossings-to-a-new-historic-low/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.whitehouse.gov/articles/2025/07/extraordinary-president-trump-drives-illegal-border-crossings-to-a-new-historic-low/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1752789380627000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1_9QpUPXMI-nhgbJf6ukTA">10,000 unvetted migrants</a> enter the United States every day.
And this new law builds on these accomplishments.
The One Big Beautiful Bill will ensure that we can finish what we started. It is a major win for the American people that provides law enforcement with the tools, resources, and training needed to curb illegal immigration and secure the border.
For example, the law provides $46.5 billion to finish the construction of the border wall and improve other related infrastructure. An additional $6 billion will also be used to heighten surveillance at the border for various operations. This includes combating the scourge of illicit drug trafficking that has gripped, devastated, and destroyed far too many American lives and families. This means you won’t need to worry about tens of thousands of illegal aliens crossing the border each day — including many on the terror watch list.
The law also provides essential funding to hire, train, and give bonuses to Border Patrol agents, Air and Marine agents, and field support personnel. These brave Americans put their lives on the line to keep our communities safe; they deserve to have what they need to succeed and to be recognized for their work.
The law also allocates $10 billion to the Department of Homeland Security. An additional $45 billion will be used to expand detention capacity for illegal aliens taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. This is critical, given that <a href="https://x.com/WhiteHouse/status/1942940878244282615" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://x.com/WhiteHouse/status/1942940878244282615&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1752789380627000&amp;usg=AOvVaw19kLgMGBG55QCQX96ome9w">70%</a> of individuals arrested by ICE during the Trump administration have had criminal convictions or have pending charges, including criminals with aggravated assault, rape, and murder charges.
Thanks to Joe Biden’s border crisis, every state is now a border state. Across America, ICE agents—working in tandem with the FBI and state and local law enforcement — are doing excellent work enforcing immigration laws and keeping our communities safe. Since President Trump took office, ICE agents in <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/06/27/us/ice-arrests-trump.html?smid=url-share&amp;rsrc=deeplink#ice_arrests_Arkansas" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/06/27/us/ice-arrests-trump.html?smid%3Durl-share%26rsrc%3Ddeeplink%23ice_arrests_Arkansas&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1752789380627000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0pnQZ_H2VRZy5mfYzLy4_r">Arkansas</a> have increased arrests by 176% and by 154% in<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/06/27/us/ice-arrests-trump.html?smid=url-share&amp;rsrc=deeplink#ice_arrests_Michigan" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/06/27/us/ice-arrests-trump.html?smid%3Durl-share%26rsrc%3Ddeeplink%23ice_arrests_Michigan&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1752789380627000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2ZHc3yXOw0xZlTeMsFvR_K"> Michigan</a> compared to 2024. This law will give these agents the resources they need to continue their critical work.
As President Trump said before signing the once-in-a-generation legislation into law on Independence Day, “The American people gave us a historic mandate in November. … We made promises, and it’s really promises made, promises kept, and we’ve kept them. This is a triumph of democracy on the birthday of democracy.”
He’s absolutely right. The success of the One Big Beautiful Bill is proof that President Trump and Republicans in Congress are keeping our promises.
The provisions in this law that secure our borders and halt illegal immigration will advance and augment American strength, prosperity, and security for generations to come.
Senator Tom Cotton represents the State of Arkansas; Congresswoman Lisa McClain represents Michigan’s 9th district.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Deportation arrest

America Will Be Safer With More Immigration Enforcement 

Customs and Border Protection (CPB)

Illegal Immigration

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

Arkansas GOP senator Tom Cotton, who has been at the forefront of efforts to protect the United States from Communist China, is introducing a bill that would expedite the harvesting of minerals needed for the nation’s defense and reduce the nation’s dependence on China.
The bill, titled the Necessary Environmental Exemptions for Defense Act, would make it easier for mining activities and permit the Pentagon to “operate with maximum agility and efficiency to ensure it is prepared to deter and, if necessary, fight and win a conflict with the Chinese Communist Party,” Fox News <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/senate-republican-moves-give-u-s-edge-china-harvesting-minerals-weapons-systems">reported</a>.
“Currently, China produces roughly 60% of the world&#8217;s critical mineral supply, and processes up to 90%,” Fox News noted.
The group of rare earths is comprised of “17 elements composed of scandium,  yttrium, and the lanthanides,” James B. Hedrick of the US Geological Survey <a href="https://uscriticalmaterials.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Rare-Earths-in-Selected-Defense-Applications.pdf">noted</a>. The lanthanides include lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, promethium, samarium, europium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium, thulium, ytterbium, and lutetium.
“On April 4, China’s Ministry of Commerce imposed export restrictions on seven rare earth elements (REEs) and magnets used in the defense, energy, and automotive sectors in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff increases on Chinese products,” the Center for Strategic and International Studies <a href="https://www.csis.org/analysis/consequences-chinas-new-rare-earths-export-restrictions">reported</a>. “The restrictions apply to seven medium and heavy rare earths: samarium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, lutetium, scandium, and yttrium. The United States is particularly vulnerable for these supply chains. Until 2023, China accounted for 99 percent of global heavy REEs processing, with only minimal output from a refinery in Vietnam. However, that facility has been shut down for the past year due to a tax dispute, effectively giving China a monopoly over supply.”
“Current environmental laws put our readiness to counter Communist China at risk and waste taxpayer dollars on projects that stall out and die on the vine,&#8221; Cotton told Fox News Digital. &#8220;This bill will create jobs, better arm and prepare our soldiers, and spend taxpayer dollars more efficiently.&#8221;
Cotton’s bill would permit the administration to circumvent the National Environmental Policy Act, Endangered Species Act, Marine Mammal Protection Act and Federal Water Pollution Control Act; he stated that they “frequently and unnecessarily delay” the military’s readiness without “substantial benefit to the environment or protected species.”
Cotton suggested as far back as January 30, 2020, that the COVID-19 virus might have come from Wuhan, prompting harsh criticisms from leftists. Speaking at a Senate Armed Services Hearing, he asserted, &#8220;I want to talk about the biggest and most important story in the world. The Wuhan coronavirus. This coronavirus is a catastrophe on the scale of Chernobyl for China. But actually, it’s probably worse than Chernobyl, which was localized in its effect. The coronavirus could result in a global pandemic. While you were all sleeping overnight, the number of diagnosed cases in China increased by 30%. Let me be clear: that’s not new cases; that is just newly-admitted cases. It is probably several orders of magnitude higher than that.”
“We still don’t know where coronavirus originated,” Cotton said. “Could have been a market, a farm, a food processing company. I would note that Wuhan has China’s only biosafety level-four super laboratory that works with the world’s most deadly pathogens to include, yes, coronavirus.”
In March 2020, Cotton <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-tom-cotton-on-china-i-have-never-trusted-a-communist-and-i-never-will-trust-a-communist">said</a> bluntly, “I have never trusted a Communist and I never will trust a Communist. And that&#8217;s who runs China — the Chinese Communist Party.”
A 2019 <a href="https://www.armyupress.army.mil/Portals/7/military-review/Archives/English/SO-19/Sec-Def-extract.pdf">Pentagon report</a> stated:
<blockquote>
China’s military modernization also targets capabilities with the potential to degrade core U.S. operational and technological advantages. China uses a variety of methods to acquire foreign military and dual-use technologies, including targeted foreign direct investment, cyber theft, and exploitation of private Chinese nationals’ access to these technologies, as well as harnessing its intelligence services, computer intrusions, and other illicit approaches. In 2018, Chinese efforts to acquire sensitive, dual-use, or military-grade equipment from the United States included dynamic random access memory, aviation technologies, and anti- submarine warfare technologies.
</blockquote>

Tom Cotton Introduces Bill To Break China’s Monopoly On Rare Earth Minerals For U.S. Defense

Tom Cotton Introduces Bill To Fast-Track Rare Earth Minerals For Defense, Which China Dominates

Communist China

Military Weapons

rare earth minerals

Iran should pursue a peaceful resolution and end its nuclear program because the United States has a lot more targets from which to choose, Senate Intelligence Chairman Tom Cotton (R-AR) said on Sunday.
Cotton told ABC&#8217;s Jonathan Karl on &#8220;This Week&#8221; that the supreme leader and the Ayatollahs in Iran need to understand that President Donald Trump &#8220;means business&#8221; after ordering strikes on three of Tehran&#8217;s facilities this weekend to prevent the regime from obtaining nuclear weapons.
&#8220;They have a chance to sue for peace here, to dismantle whatever remnants of their nuclear program remain, and to continue to actually survive,&#8221; Cotton said. &#8220;Because we haven&#8217;t targeted the supreme leader; we haven&#8217;t targeted their energy infrastructure. We haven&#8217;t targeted other critical infrastructure. That&#8217;s an implicit message that Iran still has things that they hold dear that neither the United States nor Israel has struck.&#8221;
Cotton said the military strikes &#8220;severely damaged&#8221; Iran&#8217;s &#8220;critical nuclear infrastructure,&#8221; which he noted Trump had warned for 10 years he would do if Tehran got close to achieving a nuclear weapon.
&#8220;Remember, this is a regime in Iran that has terrorized Americans for 46 years,&#8221; Cotton said. &#8220;For 25 years, American presidents have worried about them getting a nuclear weapon, have said that they&#8217;d never be allowed to. Finally, President Trump has taken decisive action to ensure that they&#8217;re not going to get nuclear weapons on his watch.&#8221;
Cotton also said the United States should be &#8220;prepared&#8221; for Iran to retaliate.
&#8220;I join the president in his warning to the supreme leader of Iran, that if he targets Americans, the military force he will see, will make last night look like child&#8217;s play,&#8221; Cotton said. &#8220;We have troops in the region. Iran has targeted Americans around the world and Marine barracks in Beirut and barracks in Saudi Arabia. They&#8217;ve targeted embassies of countries around the world. For all we know, they may have gotten sleeper cells into the country during Joe Biden&#8217;s wide-open border.&#8221;
He added: &#8220;So, the threats are serious, and we take them seriously. President Trump has no higher priority, as do I, than the safety of the American people.&#8221;
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