Secretary of State Marco Rubio faced off with Senator Chris Van Hollen during a fiery Senate hearing on Tuesday over student visas, illegal immigrant gang members, and USAID.
The two faced off after the Maryland Democrat spent over seven minutes criticizing Rubio and expressing regret for having supported his confirmation.
“I have to tell you directly and personally that I regret voting for you for Secretary of State,” Van Hollen said following his opportunity to question Rubio, choosing instead to deliver a long rant.
“Your regret for voting for me confirms that I am doing a good job based on what I know about your record,” Rubio fired back.
The Senate <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/senate-votes-unanimously-to-confirm-marco-rubio-as-secretary-of-state" target="_blank" rel="noopener">unanimously confirmed</a> Rubio in January.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/rubio-threatens-to-snatch-visas-from-pro-hamas-thugs-at-columbia-university?author=Kassy+Akiva&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Rubio+Threatens+To+Snatch+Visas+From+%E2%80%98Pro-Hamas+Thugs%E2%80%99+At+Columbia+University" target="_blank" rel="noopener">RUBIO THREATENS TO SNATCH VISAS FROM ‘PRO-HAMAS THUGS’ AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY</a>
Rubio responded to Van Hollen’s criticism of the secretary traveling to El Salvador, where illegal alien gang members have been deported and imprisoned.
“In the case of El Salvador, absolutely, absolutely. We deported gang members. Gang members. Including the one that you had a margarita with,” Rubio quipped. “The guy is a human trafficker and that guy is a gangbanger and the evidence is going to be clear in the days to come. You are going to see who you went to defend.”
Van Hollen immediately interrupted before being told to be silent by Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair James Risch (R-ID).
“He can’t make unsubstantiated comments like that,” Van Hollen said. “Secretary Rubio should take that testimony to federal court in the United States because he hasn’t done it under oath.”
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/sipping-margaritas-dem-senator-finally-meets-deported-illegal-immigrant-in-el-salvador" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Van Hollen visited</a> 29-year-old illegal immigrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who is detained in a Salvadoran mega-prison, in April. Photos went viral of the two drinking margaritas while meeting at a restaurant.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/how-trump-and-rubio-put-america-first-in-100-days?author=Kassy+Akiva&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=How+Trump+And+Rubio+Put+America+First+In+100+Days" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HOW TRUMP AND RUBIO PUT AMERICA FIRST IN 100 DAYS</a>
“Kilmar Abrego Garcia, miraculously risen from the ‘death camps’ &amp; ‘torture’, now sipping margaritas with Sen. Van Hollen in the tropical paradise of El Salvador!” El Salvador President Nayib Bukele said in a <a href="https://x.com/nayibbukele/status/1913028548001923259">post on X</a> that mocked the meeting.
Rubio attempted to address his former colleague’s remarks on USAID, despite the senator&#8217;s interruptions, explaining that he believes wasteful spending was cut. Rubio pointed out $10 million was cut from a program giving male circumcisions in Mozambique and $227,000 for “Big Cats YouTube channel,” and $14 million for “social cohesion” in Mali.
“I don’t know how that makes us stronger or more prosperous as a nation,” Rubio said.
The two also faced off over Rubio revoking student visas from campus disruptors, including the case of Turkish Tufts student Rumeysa Ozturk, who had her visa terminated over her alleged “activities in support of Hamas.”
“A visa is not a right, it is a privilege,” Rubio said. “People apply for student visas to come into the United States and study, and if you tell me that you are coming into the United States to lead campus crusades, to take over libraries and try to burn down buildings and acts of violence, we’re not going to give you a visa.”
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/homeland-security-to-screen-immigrants-and-foreign-students-social-media-for-anti-semitism?author=Kassy+Akiva&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=29&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Homeland+Security+To+Screen+Immigrants+And+Foreign+Students%E2%80%99+Social+Media+For+Anti-Semitism" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HOMELAND SECURITY TO SCREEN IMMIGRANTS AND FOREIGN STUDENTS’ SOCIAL MEDIA FOR ANTI-SEMITISM</a>
In 2024, Ozturk wrote an op-ed calling on her university to acknowledge the “Palestinian genocide” and to divest from companies with ties to Israel.
The Department of Homeland Security previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/morning-brief-trumps-liberation-day-doge-pr-battle-self-deportation-push" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said it had found</a> Ozturk to have “engaged in activities in support of Hamas,” though details are scarce, and a federal judge ordered her release on May 9.
“The bottom line is if you come here to stir up trouble on our campuses, we will deny you a visa,” Rubio said. “These kids pay money to go to school, and they have to walk through a bunch of lunatics who are here on student visas.”
Rubio added that the State Department will continue to revoke visas and stated, “I hope we can find more of these people.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio

Rubio Faces Off With Democratic Senator During Heated Confrontation

antisemitism

Marco Rubio

Senate

Trump Administration

USAID

The Supreme Court ruled 8-1 on Monday that the Trump administration can remove Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for around 350,000 Venezuelan migrants who were allowed to remain in the United States under the Biden administration.
In an unsigned order that included no opinions, the Supreme Court gave the Trump administration the green light to end TPS for Venezuelan migrants pending an appeal of the case, likely paving the way for the administration to ramp up deportations, The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/19/us/politics/supreme-court-protected-status-venezuelans.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, a Biden appointee, was the only justice to say she would have denied the Trump administration&#8217;s request.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem kicked off the controversy over protected status for Venezuelan migrants in February when she terminated an 18-month extension of TPS for the migrants granted by Biden just before he left office. The extension would allow the Venezuelan migrants to remain in the United States and seek work authorization until October 2026.
After a lawsuit was brought against the Trump administration, Judge Edward M. Chen of the Federal District Court in San Francisco blocked Noem&#8217;s move to end TPS, saying that plaintiffs would have likely succeeded in showing that the secretary&#8217;s decision was “unauthorized by law, arbitrary and capricious, and motivated by unconstitutional animus.” The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit then rejected Trump&#8217;s request to pause the district court&#8217;s ruling before the case ended up in the Supreme Court.
In Solicitor General John Sauer&#8217;s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-admin-asks-supreme-court-to-revoke-legal-protections-for-350k-venezuelans?author=Leif+Le+Mahieu&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Trump+Admin+Asks+Supreme+Court+To+Revoke+Legal+Protections+For+350K+Venezuelans" target="_blank" rel="noopener">appeal</a> to the Supreme Court, he wrote, “The Secretary’s decision whether to designate, extend, or terminate TPS implicates sensitive judgments as to foreign policy and, in this case, the ‘national interest’—a discretionary determination that Congress expressly committed to her judgment.”
Monday&#8217;s order from the high court is welcome news for Trump after justices ruled against the president 7-2 last Friday, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/supreme-court-trump-administration-venezuelans-alien-enemies-act-rcna202094" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ordering</a> the administration to pause deportations of suspected Venezuelan gang members to a prison in El Salvador. In that case, the majority ruled that the Trump administration must give detainees more time to raise legal objections. Only conservative Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented. Trump blasted Friday&#8217;s decision, <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114519567610751944" target="_blank" rel="noopener">saying</a>, &#8220;The Supreme Court won&#8217;t allow us to get criminals out of our country!&#8221;

ICE agent

SCOTUS Allows Trump To End Temporary Protected Status For Certain Migrants

Courts

Donald Trump

Illegal Immigration

Migrants

Politics

SCOTUS

Supreme Court

Venezuela

The Supreme Court on Friday ruled 7-2 against the Trump administration&#8217;s attempt to swiftly deport Venezuelan gang members under the Alien Enemies Act, requiring officials to provide more than 24 hours for detainees to challenge their removal.
&#8220;Under these circumstances, notice roughly 24 hours before removal, devoid of information about how to exercise due process rights to contest that removal, surely does not pass muster,&#8221; the majority wrote.
The unsigned <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/24a1007_g2bh.pdf">decision</a> clarified that the Court was only ruling on the notice requirement and not whether the Trump administration can use the Alien Enemies Act itself.
&#8220;To be clear, we decide today only that the detainees are entitled to more notice than was given on April 18,&#8221; the Court stated in its ruling, NBC News <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/supreme-court-trump-administration-venezuelans-alien-enemies-act-rcna202094">reported</a>.
The Alien Enemies Act, enacted in 1798, allows the president to apprehend and deport citizens of a hostile nation during wartime or invasion.
Administration officials argued that Venezuela&#8217;s government has used Tren de Aragua as a proxy force, effectively weaponizing the gang to destabilize the United States through criminal activity and drug trafficking.
Conservative Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented, with Alito writing there were no grounds for the Court to intervene &#8220;at such an early stage of the litigation.&#8221;
&#8220;The Court&#8217;s failure to defer to the Executive Branch in immigration matters in which national security is at stake represents an extraordinary departure from our precedents,&#8221; Alito wrote.
The Court did acknowledge it was &#8220;far removed from the circumstances on the ground&#8221; and was not best positioned to determine the exact deportation process that should be followed.
The case has been sent back to an appeals court to establish appropriate due process procedures for the detainees in yet another legal impediment to Trump’s immigration agenda.
President Trump on Friday accused the high court of &#8220;being played by the radical left,&#8221; who only succeed through &#8220;intimidation of the court.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
THE SUPREME COURT IS BEING PLAYED BY THE RADICAL LEFT LOSERS, WHO HAVE NO SUPPORT, THE PUBLIC HATES THEM, AND THEIR ONLY HOPE IS THE INTIMIDATION OF THE COURT, ITSELF. WE CAN’T LET THAT HAPPEN TO OUR COUNTRY!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1923432648103333919?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 16, 2025</a></blockquote>
“Today’s ruling effectively extends the temporary freeze that the justices put on Alien Enemies Act removals from the Northern District of Texas back on April 19,” <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/16/politics/supreme-court-alien-enemies-act">said</a> Steve Vladeck, CNN Supreme Court analyst and professor at Georgetown Law.
“Because lower courts have blocked use of the act in every other district in which the president has sought to invoke it, that means it’s effectively pausing all removals under the act until the 5th Circuit – and, presumably, the Supreme Court itself – conclusively resolves whether they’re legal and how much process is due if so.”

Multiple Storms Dump Snow From Midwest To East Coast This Week

SCOTUS Blocks Trump’s Bid To Resume Swift Deportations Under Alien Enemies Act

Deportations

Tren De Aragua

U.S.

FBI Director Kash Patel said on Friday that the bureau&#8217;s J. Edgar Hoover Building in Washington, D.C., which has been the agency&#8217;s headquarters for 50 years, would shut down as he seeks to move agents out of the nation&#8217;s capital.
Patel made the surprise announcement during a <a href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/video/6372897577112">preview clip</a> of Fox News&#8217; Sunday Morning Futures, which was released on Friday morning, alongside Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino.
&#8220;I didn&#8217;t know I was going to do this, but I&#8217;m going to announce it on your show anyway: this FBI is leaving the Hoover Building,&#8221; Patel said. &#8220;Because this building is unsafe for our workforce. We want the American men and women to know, if you&#8217;re going to come work at the premier law enforcement agency in the world, we&#8217;re going to give you a building that&#8217;s commensurate with that, and that&#8217;s not this place.&#8221;
Bongino laughed as Patel made the announcement, telling him, &#8220;You just gave up a big nugget there.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
BREAKING: Director Kash Patel announces the FBI will be leaving the J. Edgar Hoover building <a href="https://t.co/VfJ1LnrJK6">pic.twitter.com/VfJ1LnrJK6</a>
&mdash; ALX 🇺🇸 (@alx) <a href="https://twitter.com/alx/status/1923362159192342715?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 16, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
A year before he became FBI director, Patel <a href="https://rollcall.com/2025/02/20/senate-confirms-kash-patel-as-fbi-director/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> that he would &#8220;shut down the FBI Hoover building on Day 1 and [reopen it the] next day as a museum of the deep state.&#8221; He added that he would &#8220;take the 7,000 employees that work in that building and send them across America to chase down criminals.&#8221; The FBI director has been <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/kash-patel-to-relocate-hundreds-of-fbi-staff-out-of-dc-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pushing</a> major changes to the bureau, including increased &#8220;accountability&#8221; and a return to more traditional law enforcement roles.
For more than two decades, the FBI has been considering moving out of the J. Edgar Hoover Building, which was completed in 1975. A <a href="https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-12-96.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2011 report</a> from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said the building needed serious repairs and was &#8220;inefficient&#8221; for the FBI&#8217;s needs. Former President Joe Biden <a href="https://wjla.com/news/local/washington-fbi-headquarters-hoover-building-deteriorating-pennsylvania-avenue-set-for-move-suburbs-2022-president-joe-biden-budget-fiscal-year-2023-it-infrastructure-greenbelt-metro-station-landover-gsa-warehouse" target="_blank" rel="noopener">included</a> language in his 2023 fiscal year budget to get the ball rolling on a brand new 2.1 million-square-foot headquarters for the bureau in Maryland that would house around 7,500 employees. The project would cost $2.5 billion.
President Donald Trump <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/baltimore/news/maryland-washington-dc-fbi-headquarters-greenbelt-president-trump/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in March, however, that he is putting a stop to those plans, and instead, wants to &#8220;build another big FBI building right where it is, which would have been the right place because the FBI and the DOJ [Department of Justice] have to be near each other.&#8221;
&#8220;They were going to build an FBI headquarters three hours away in Maryland, a liberal state,&#8221; Trump said, adding, &#8220;But we&#8217;re going to stop it, not going to let that happen.&#8221;
Patel also said he wants to reduce the number of FBI employees in the D.C. area.
&#8220;Look, the FBI has 38,000 when we&#8217;re fully manned, which we&#8217;re not,&#8221; Patel told Fox News. &#8220;In the national capital region, in the 50-mile radius around Washington, D.C., there were 11,000 FBI employees. That&#8217;s like a third of the workforce. A third of the crime doesn&#8217;t happen here, so we&#8217;re taking 1,500 of those folks and moving them out.&#8221;

Kash Patel

Kash Patel Says FBI Is Shutting Down D.C. HQ

General

kash patel

Washington D.C.

The Justice Department on Thursday asked the Supreme Court to rein in federal district court judges by restricting their ability to issue nationwide injunctions.
Solicitor General John Sauer asked the court to limit the scope of federal judges&#8217; ability to issue nationwide injunctions, saying the courts have overstepped the authority given to them in Article III of the Constitution. The case stems from three universal injunctions that were placed on an executive order from President Donald Trump directing his administration not to grant birthright citizenship to children born to illegal immigrants residing in the United States.
“It is a feature, not a bug of Article III, that courts grant relief to the people who sue in front of them,” Sauer said as he took questions from the justices. “So the notion that relief has to be given to the whole world because others who have not taken the time to sue are not before the courts is something that results in all of these problems.”
Sauer said that universal injunctions lead to “rampant forum shopping,” “require judges to make rushed, high-stakes low information decisions,” and “force government to win everywhere,” while those challenging the government only need to win at one court.  
In a press call on Tuesday, a Justice Department official noted that 35 of the 39 total universal injunctions issued against the Trump administration have come from the same five courts: the districts of Massachusetts, Maryland, Washington, D.C., Northern California, and Western Washington.
Justices largely focused on procedural questions and only touched lightly on whether Trump&#8217;s executive order on birthright citizenship was legal. The liberal wing of the court, including Justice Sonia Sotomayor, kept asserting that Trump&#8217;s actions to restrict birthright citizenship were unconstitutional.
Sotomayor also took issue with Sauer&#8217;s arguments that injunctions should only apply to the parties that specifically sued. She claimed that a president could hypothetically ban all guns, and each gun owner would then need to seek individual relief if the court were to take the Justice Department&#8217;s position.
On the other side, Justice Clarence Thomas, one of the most conservative members of the court, appeared very skeptical of universal injunctions in his questions.
“So we survived until the 1960s without universal injunctions?” Thomas asked Sauer. 
“That’s exactly correct,&#8221; the solicitor general replied. 
Justice Brett Kavanaugh also pushed Sauer to discuss how Trump&#8217;s executive order on birthright citizenship would be carried out. Sauer replied that the administration never got the opportunity to develop its framework because it was blocked just days after the order was issued.
Trump weighed in on the case from the Middle East, posting on Truth Social that birthright citizenship was meant for slaves, and not for &#8220;people pouring into our Country from all over South America, and the rest of the World.&#8221;
&#8220;Big case today in the United States Supreme Court. Birthright Citizenship was not meant for people taking vacations to become permanent Citizens of the United States of America, and bringing their families with them, all the time laughing at the &#8216;SUCKERS&#8217; that we are! The United States of America is the only Country in the World that does this, for what reason, nobody knows — But the drug cartels love it,&#8221; Trump wrote.

US-POLITICS-JUSTICE-TRUMP-CITIZENSHIP-PROTEST

Supreme Court To Consider Taking Action Against Judges Blocking Trump Agenda

birthright citizenship

The Producer Price Index, which measures the average change over time in selling prices received by domestic producers, fell 0.5% in April, its biggest drop in five years, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ppi.nr0.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> on Thursday.
The drop marks the first time the Producer Price Index declined since October 2023. Since last April, producer prices rose 2.4%, but that&#8217;s a significant deceleration from the 3.4% year-over-year gain in March, according to the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/producer-wholesale-prices-tariffs-83aef2863cac075143e89dc2d951eff6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Associated Press</a>. The producer price drop defies economists&#8217; <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-05-15/us-producer-prices-fall-unexpectedly-as-margins-decline" target="_blank" rel="noopener">predictions</a>, which forecast that producer prices would rise last month.
Services prices, the prices charged by domestic producers for the services they provide, dropped 0.7% in April, which was the biggest drop since the index began in December 2009, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Wholesale food prices dropped 1% last month, including a 39% drop in egg prices.
The report is the second round of economic news being <a href="https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/1923000718648041816" target="_blank" rel="noopener">celebrated</a> by the Trump administration this week after the Labor Department reported on Tuesday that inflation hit its <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/inflation-hits-lowest-point-in-over-4-years-as-april-report-better-than-expected" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lowest point</a> in four years. The consumer price index was up just 2.3% from April 2024, the smallest year-over-year gain since February 2021.
POLITICO <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2025/05/13/trump-tariffs-inflation-trade-economy-fed-powell-00344184" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> on Wednesday that the inflation report has surprised economists as &#8220;there was broad anticipation that Trump’s levies on Chinese imports, steel and aluminum and certain Canadian and Mexican products had caused prices for apparel, electronics and other consumer goods to spike.&#8221; The outlet noted that &#8220;the opposite has occurred&#8221; as the cost of clothing and new cars, which were supposed to take the brunt of Trump&#8217;s tariffs, both dropped.
Economists continue to predict that President Donald Trump&#8217;s tariffs will drive up prices, with increases likely hitting American consumers over the summer. As Trump continues to negotiate trade deals, however, those forecasts could change. Some businesses are also still expecting that consumers will feel the pinch of Trump&#8217;s tariffs soon. Walmart said it will likely raise prices as soon as this month due to tariffs, CNN <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/15/business/walmart-prices-tariffs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
“We will do our best to keep our prices as low as possible. But given the magnitude of the tariffs, even at the reduced levels announced this week, we aren’t able to absorb all the pressure given the reality of narrow retail margins,” Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said on Thursday during an earnings call.
“The higher tariffs will result in higher prices,” he added.

U.S. Wholesale Prices See Biggest Drop In 5 Years, Flying In The Face Of Economists’ Predictions

Economy

Prices

Tariffs

California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom is pushing to freeze enrollment for illegal immigrants in the state&#8217;s free health care program.
Newsom&#8217;s 2025-2026 revised budget proposal, which is set to be released later on Wednesday, plans to block new adult applications from illegal immigrants to the Medi-Cal program as soon as January 1, the Los Angeles Times <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-05-14/newsom-walks-back-free-healthcare-for-undocumented-immigrants" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. The governor, who previously expanded Medi-Cal from going to children of low-income illegal immigrants to making it available to all income-eligible illegal immigrants, is now concerned about cutting back on California&#8217;s spending as the state faces a budget deficit. The expanded free health program has cost billions more than the state expected.
In addition to freezing enrollment at the beginning of next year, Newsom also wants to begin charging illegal immigrants who remain in the program $100 a month, starting in 2027, The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/14/us/california-newsom-healthcare-budget.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. Newsom&#8217;s office says the change will save California $5.4 billion through 2028-2029.
Last year, California became the <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Health/california-1st-state-offer-health-insurance-undocumented-immigrants/story?id=105986377" target="_blank" rel="noopener">first state</a> to offer free health insurance to illegal immigrants, but the program quickly ballooned as more joined than the state had expected, according to the L.A. Times. California lawmakers and Gov. Newsom recently approved a $3.4 billion loan to pay for the expanded program&#8217;s extra expenses through June. It&#8217;s the third straight year that Newsom and Democratic lawmakers have been forced to cut spending after allocating more money for big government programs than the state has available to spend.
Newsom has also blamed President Donald Trump&#8217;s tariffs for hurting California&#8217;s economy, projecting that the state would lose $16 billion in revenue between 2025 and 2026.
Newsom&#8217;s revised budget proposal also comes as the Trump administration targets state-funded programs for illegal immigrants. Earlier this week, the Department of Homeland Security <a href="https://www.dhs.gov/news/2025/05/12/department-homeland-security-investigates-state-california-providing-federal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> an investigation into California&#8217;s program that hands out cash assistance to elderly illegal immigrants who are ineligible for Social Security because of their immigration status. The Trump administration is pushing to &#8220;make sure those in this country illegally are not receiving federal benefits or other financial incentives to stay illegally.&#8221;
“Radical left politicians in California prioritize illegal aliens over our own citizens, including by giving illegal aliens access to cash benefits,” said Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. “The Trump Administration is working together to identify abuse and exploitation of public benefits and make sure those in this country illegally are not receiving federal benefits or other financial incentives to stay illegally. If you are an illegal immigrant, you should leave now. The gravy train is over. While this subpoena focuses only on Los Angeles County – it is just the beginning.”

Gavin Newsom

Newsom Wants To Cut Back On Free Health Care Program That He Expanded To Illegal Immigrants

California

Health

Health Care

illegal immigrants

Immigration

Afrikaner refugees

The Left Just Found A Type Of Refugee They Actually Hate

Apartheid

Matt Walsh

Opinion

Persecution

Racism

Refugees

South Africa

The Trump administration announced on Tuesday that it is stripping an additional $450 million in federal grants from Harvard University after $2 billion in federal funding had already been frozen.
The &#8220;Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism&#8221; said the additional freeze comes after the Ivy League school &#8220;repeatedly failed to confront the pervasive race discrimination and anti-Semitic harassment plaguing its campus.&#8221; The new cuts are to grants handed out through eight different federal agencies.
&#8220;Harvard’s campus, once a symbol of academic prestige, has become a breeding ground for virtue signaling and discrimination. This is not leadership; it is cowardice,&#8221; the task force wrote in a <a href="https://www.hhs.gov/press-room/anti-semitism-task-force-statement-on-additional-harvard-grants.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> announcing the additional cuts. &#8220;And it’s not academic freedom; it’s institutional disenfranchisement. There is a dark problem on Harvard’s campus, and by prioritizing appeasement over accountability, institutional leaders have forfeited the school&#8217;s claim to taxpayer support.&#8221;
The task force added that Harvard, which was founded in 1636 to train clergymen, &#8220;faces a steep, uphill battle to reclaim its legacy as a lawful institution and center of academic excellence.&#8221;
Harvard is in the middle of a legal challenge to the Trump administration&#8217;s funding freeze. The president has gone after the university for allowing anti-Israel protests and diversity, equity, and inclusion programs on its campus. Last month, Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-calls-harvard-an-anti-semitic-threat-to-democracy?author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Trump+Calls+Harvard+%E2%80%98An+Anti-Semitic%E2%80%A6Threat+To+Democracy%E2%80%99" target="_blank" rel="noopener">called</a> Harvard “Anti-Semitic,” “Far-Left,” and “a threat to Democracy.”
&#8220;The place is a Liberal mess, allowing a certain group of crazed lunatics to enter and exit the classroom and spew fake ANGER AND HATE. It is truly horrific!&#8221; Trump said.
Harvard has pushed back against the funding freeze and the Trump administration&#8217;s demands for more oversight over the university. Harvard filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration in April, arguing that the federal government is executing “a pressure campaign” that “violates Harvard’s constitutional rights.” The school&#8217;s president, Alan M. Garber, shot back at the Trump administration, writing, “No government — regardless of which party is in power — should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue.”
As Harvard continued to fight Trump&#8217;s demands, it <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/harvard-renames-dei-office-amid-funding-battle-with-trump-admin?author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Harvard+Renames+DEI+Office+Amid+Funding+Battle+With+Trump+Admin" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> last month that it was rebranding the Office of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging, changing the name to “Community and Campus Life” and focusing on “expanding cross-cultural engagement programs, supporting first-generation and low-income students, and creating more opportunities for dialogue across differences.” Harvard’s chief diversity officer position was also renamed and will now be called the Chief Community and Campus Life Officer, according to <a href="https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2025/4/29/harvard-oedib-renamed/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Harvard Crimson</a>. The DEI office rebrand was the first step that appeared to align with Trump&#8217;s demands.

Harvard

Harvard Loses Another Massive Chunk Of Federal Funding

Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI)

Education

Ivy League

President Donald Trump arrived in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday with a large delegation from his cabinet for meetings with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and other high-ranking Saudi officials.
Air Force One landed at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh at around 9:49 a.m. local time after an escort from a pair of Saudi F-15 fighter jets. Once on the ground, Trump was greeted by Mohammed bin Salman, who then took him inside the airport for a brief welcome with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and Energy Secretary Chris Wright.
From the airport, Trump and the American delegation were brought to the Saudi Royal Court by an escort of Arabian horses. While speaking with the crown prince, Trump said he believed Saudi investment in the United States could create up to two million jobs, adding, &#8220;I really believe we like each other a lot.&#8221;
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a> is greeted by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia 🇺🇸🇸🇦 <a href="https://t.co/81qUv6hi7D">pic.twitter.com/81qUv6hi7D</a>
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1922190356692557858?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 13, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Trump announced in March that Saudi Arabia had committed to investing $1 trillion into the American economy.
“I made a deal with Saudi Arabia…I said I’ll go if you pay $1 trillion to American companies, meaning the purchase over a four-year period of $1 trillion, and they’ve agreed to do that,” he said at the time.
Many prominent businessmen and investors, including several Americans, are being hosted for lunch by the crown prince. Attendees include Elon Musk, Blackstone Group CEO Stephen Schwarzman, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, LinkedIn Chairman Reid Hoffman, FIFA President Gianni Infantino, and many others, according to the White House.
“As you know, we have the biggest business leaders in the world here,” Trump <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/05/13/trump-middle-east-saudi-arabia-qatar-uae/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> during his meeting with the crown prince, according to the Washington Post. “They’re going to walk away with a lot of checks for a lot of things that you’re going to provide.”
The lunch is being attended by top Trump officials as well, including Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Trump&#8217;s Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, according to a list provided by the White House.
The Saudi Arabia trip is Trump&#8217;s first stop on his second foreign trip of his second term. Trump attended Pope Francis&#8217; funeral in Vatican City on April 26. He is expected to visit Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and possibly Turkey.
RELATED: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/zelensky-asks-trump-to-join-russia-ukraine-peace-talks-in-turkey">Zelensky Asks Trump To Join Russia-Ukraine Peace Talks In Turkey</a>

President Trump Makes First Middle East Trip Of His Second Term

Trump Arrives In Saudi Arabia To Kick Off High Stakes Middle East Trip

Executive

Foreign Policy

Global Politics

Saudi Arabia

The Trump administration ended Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for all Afghan refugees on Monday, paving the way for the deportation of tens of thousands of Afghans living in the United States.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem <a href="https://www.uscis.gov/newsroom/news-releases/dhs-terminating-temporary-protected-status-for-afghanistan#:~:text=WASHINGTON%20%E2%80%93%20Secretary%20of%20Homeland%20Security,effective%20on%20July%2012%2C%202025." target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> that improving conditions in Afghanistan have made it possible for the refugees to return home. The Biden administration brought in around 76,000 Afghans following the U.S. military&#8217;s disastrous withdrawal from the country in 2021 under the orders of President Joe Biden. Most of the Afghan refugees were <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/afghan-evacuees-resettled-us-texas-california-virginia/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">resettled</a> in Texas, California, and Virginia.
&#8220;This administration is returning TPS to its original temporary intent,&#8221; Noem said. &#8220;We’ve reviewed the conditions in Afghanistan with our interagency partners, and they do not meet the requirements for a TPS designation. Afghanistan has had an improved security situation, and its stabilizing economy no longer prevent them from returning to their home country.&#8221;
Following the Trump administration&#8217;s move, deportation protections for Afghans will expire in 60 days, which is the minimum time allowed by law after the notice is filed.
Between 2010 and 2022, the Afghan population in the United States skyrocketed from 54,000 to 195,000. It&#8217;s unclear how many of those nearly 200,000 Afghans received legal permanent residency or citizenship in the United States. In 2006, the United States <a href="https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/afghan-immigrants-united-states-2022#:~:text=In%20the%20past%20decade%2C%20the,top%20country%20for%20Afghan%20migrants." target="_blank" rel="noopener">started</a> the Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program, which sought to help Afghan and Iraqi translators who helped the U.S. military receive their green cards. The federal government expanded the SIV program in 2009 to apply to any Afghan national who was employed by the U.S. government.
The U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in August of 2021 created another crisis for Afghan nationals who sought to quickly flee the country. Immediately after the United States evacuated Afghanistan, the country came under the control of the Taliban, which imposed harsh laws targeting Christians, certain Muslims, and those who were friendly toward the United States. The Taliban also took away any semblance of women&#8217;s rights, severely restricting how women dress and act in public.
Noem&#8217;s reasoning for ending TPS for Afghans cited Chinese tourism returning to the country and reduced warfare. Some remain <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/president-trump-protect-christian-afghan-refugees-who-fled-here-escape-martyrdom" target="_blank" rel="noopener">concerned</a>, however, that religious minorities who are forced to return to Afghanistan will face persecution or even martyrdom.
Afghanistan also continues to face widespread food insecurity, but Noem wrote in her <a href="https://public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2025-08201.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">analysis</a>, &#8220;Though humanitarian need remains prevalent, the number of those in need of assistance has declined to 23.7 million this year, a decrease from the more than 29 million Afghan nationals in need reported the previous year.&#8221;

Kristi Noem

Trump Admin Ends Deportation Protections For Tens Of Thousands More Refugees

Afghanistan

President Donald Trump&#8217;s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is on a mission to &#8220;fix&#8221; the despised start/stop technology in newer cars that shuts down a vehicle&#8217;s engine when stopped in traffic or at a red light in the name of conserving fuel and saving the planet.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said on Monday that his agency would begin looking into how it can modify the start/stop feature. The EPA currently incentivizes car manufacturers to make cars with the start/stop system. The technology can give vehicles anywhere between a 3% to 10% fuel economy boost.
&#8220;Start/stop technology: where your car dies at every red light so companies get a climate participation trophy. EPA approved it, and everyone hates it, so we’re fixing it,&#8221; Zeldin wrote on X.
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Start/stop technology: where your car dies at every red light so companies get a climate participation trophy. EPA approved it, and everyone hates it, so we’re fixing it. <a href="https://t.co/zFhijMyHDe">pic.twitter.com/zFhijMyHDe</a>
&mdash; Lee Zeldin (@epaleezeldin) <a href="https://twitter.com/epaleezeldin/status/1921894994769575972?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 12, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Zeldin did not elaborate on specific plans to change the feature.
Start/stop technology was first used by European car manufacturers on hybrids, but over the past decade, most automakers began implementing the system in many of their new vehicles, including SUVs and pickup trucks. By 2019, however, more automakers began giving drivers the option to shut off the start/stop system as people began to complain. Buick first gave drivers that option with its 2019 Envision based on &#8220;customer feedback,&#8221; according to <a href="https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a19561461/automakers-increasingly-offer-ways-to-deactivate-stopstart-systems-temporarily/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Car and Driver</a>. Ford, GM, Volvo, and Lincoln also began including the shut-off option in their start/stop vehicles between 2017 and 2018.
While most cars with start/stop technology allow drivers to deactivate the system, they can&#8217;t turn it off permanently, and owners of start/stop cars who don&#8217;t want to use the tech still have to turn it off every time they get back in the car. The EPA’s fuel-economy test results for vehicles with the start/stop system are affected if drivers turn the system off. According to Car and Driver, &#8220;If a vehicle’s stop/start system can be permanently turned off, then the vehicle’s fuel economy is tested both when stop/start is active and when it’s off. The EPA then averages the two tests for a resulting fuel-economy rating found on the car’s window sticker—which is certain to be lower.&#8221;
The response to Zeldin&#8217;s announcement was overwhelmingly <a href="https://x.com/epaleezeldin/status/1921894994769575972/quotes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">positive</a> on social media, with many people calling the objective &#8220;common sense.&#8221;

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