A top intelligence official who told Congress she was blindsided by a dismissal in her office was in fact informed of the personnel move directly by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard herself, according to internal memos obtained by The Daily Wire.
Tamara Johnson, the acting Intelligence Community Inspector General, informed a group of congressional Democrats that Gabbard &#8220;unilaterally terminated&#8221; one of Johnson&#8217;s top deputies without getting Johnson&#8217;s approval. But a memo sent by Gabbard to Johnson on May 30 — nearly two weeks before Johnson&#8217;s claims to the senators were made public — shows that Gabbard not only informed Johnson that Acting General Counsel Stephanie McDonald would be fired, but also that Gabbard believed she had Johnson&#8217;s support for the move.
&#8220;You agreed to terminate Ms. McDonald&#8217;s employment and volunteered to notify Ms. McDonald of the decision in coordination with ODNI [Human Resources],&#8221; Gabbard wrote in the memo to Johnson, which was <a href="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/06-02-2025_MEM_DNI-Response-to-Acting-IC-IG-re-Trial-Period-Employee_25-00805_Redacted_STAMPED.pdf">obtained in full</a> by The Daily Wire. &#8220;The [Chief Operating Officer] and [ODNI&#8217;s] Acting General Counsel emphasized that your support was appreciated, along with your agreement to take the action.&#8221;
A May 20 memo, also obtained by The Daily Wire, memorializes the conversation between the COO, ODNI&#8217;s top lawyer, and Johnson, in which the decision to terminate McDonald was presented. In that memo, ODNI COO Lora Shiao wrote that Johnson &#8220;confirmed her approval of DNI&#8217;s decision&#8221; to fire McDonald during a May 15 video call.
Shiao added that she and ODNI&#8217;s top lawyer &#8220;emphasized that we appreciated [Johnson&#8217;s] support&#8221; for firing McDonald, and her &#8220;agreement to take this action.&#8221; Johnson reportedly told the officials from Gabbard&#8217;s office that &#8220;she would notify Stephanie McDonald of the decision in coordination with ODNI Human Resource management,&#8221; the memo reads.
In her May 30 memo to Johnson, Gabbard argues that she didn&#8217;t need her approval, but sought it anyway. She said that, &#8220;Despite not needing your approval to terminate a probationary employee of ODNI, I had my office reach out to you to discuss the termination.&#8221;
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The memos contradict claims from Johnson included in the Monday <a href="https://www.warner.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/5/8/58b43691-9d80-427e-bf06-1fc82b0d4276/EC312422A68397B50570A8188320C64A8E5A4F40C6A1C16954E7418932CCF713.letter-to-dni-re-icig-unresolved-differences-with-the-dni.pdf">letter</a> from Democrats alleging that Gabbard acted “contrary to law,” and “never sufficiently explained” why she had fired McDonald. 
The spat with the acting inspector general comes as Gabbard works to weed out politicization of the inspector general&#8217;s office, which is supposed to be an impartial watchdog for the intelligence community. Top officials at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence say the office remains beholden to partisan interests, and has resisted changes ordered by the Trump administration. 
Johnson has “failed to demonstrate timely compliance with Presidential direction regarding DEI matters, politicization of the work environment, and workforce optimization,” according to a document prepared by an intelligence official from Gabbard&#8217;s office obtained by The Daily Wire.
The document paints a picture of an office that appears beset by anti-Trump sentiment. 
For example, Johnson waited over 30 days to remove DEI language from mission statements displayed throughout office areas and took nearly 60 days to remove DEI language from its internal website, according to the intelligence official. In contrast, Gabbard’s office removed all references to DEI within five days of Trump’s executive order.
Johnson’s office also refused to let her employees take advantage of Trump’s DOGE initiatives, including use of Deferred Resignation Program (DRP) and Voluntary Early Retirement Authority (VERA), according to the document. 
“Several ODNI cadre employees, at that time assigned to [Johnson’s] office, indicated their intent to take advantage of these incentives. [Johnson’s] office stated that they did not wish to offer these incentives to their eligible employees and that the DNI did not have the authority to do so, despite existing [Office of Personnel Management] guidance to the contrary,” the intelligence official noted. 
There were also complaints against Johnson’s office not putting up photos of Trump and Vice President JD Vance after the inauguration where photos of former President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris had been. New photos were not displayed until May 2025, after a senior advisor for Gabbard arrived and took steps to resolve the issue. 
“The employee complaint noted that their absence was perceived as a politically motivated slight to new leadership by some members of the workforce,” the intelligence official noted. 
The review of Johnson’s office also found allegations that employees were told “to deprioritize responding to inquiries from Republicans in Congress,” and that taxpayer dollars were misspent.  
ODNI senior advisors reported that Johnson’s office had a reputation for accumulating “large quantities of branded swag that was not specifically for purposes of recruiting or other authorized activities” and that Johnson herself had spent $10,000 of taxpayer dollars on an ornamental throw rug for her office when she was deputy inspector general. 
Johnson’s office also violated Intelligence Community policy by storing hundreds of branded thumb drives in classified facilities, according to senior advisors from Gabbard’s office. When reached for comment, the Inspector General&#8217;s office said it had no comment on the firings or politicization claims.

Senate Intelligence Cmte Holds Confirmation Hearing For DNI Nominee Tulsi Gabbard

Internal Memo Undermines Dem Claims That Tulsi Gabbard Is Meddling With An Intel Watchdog

Director of National Intelligence

Tulsi Gabbard

The Trump administration ended an airport surveillance program on Thursday that it said had been “weaponized” by the Biden administration. 
The Department of Homeland Security said that it was closing down the Quiet Skies program because it had been used for political purposes and had not stopped any terrorist attacks. The Quiet Skies <a href="https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/pia-tsa-spqs018i-april2019_1.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">program</a> was an initiative run by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) that flagged fliers deemed by intelligence officials to “pose an elevated security risk” for “enhanced screening” and potential observation by federal Air Marshals. 
“It is clear that the Quiet Skies program was used as a political rolodex of the Biden Administration — weaponized against its political foes and exploited to benefit their well-heeled friends. I am calling for a Congressional investigation to unearth further corruption at the expense of the American people and the undermining of US national security,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said. 
 “TSA&#8217;s critical aviation and security vetting functions will be maintained, and the Trump Administration will return TSA to its true mission of being laser-focused on the safety and security of the traveling public. This includes restoring the integrity, privacy, and equal application of the law for all Americans,” she added. 
<a href="https://get.dailywire.com/gift/?utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=wisepops&amp;utm_campaign=dad&amp;utm_content=fathersdaygiftpopups" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gift Dad an All Access Membership. Use code DAD40 at checkout to save 40%!</a>
The program costs $200 million per year and has stopped zero terrorist attacks since its inception in 2010, according to Homeland Security. 
Noem said that enhanced Quiet Skies screening was wrongly placed on Biden administration critic Tulsi Gabbard, who is now the Director of National Intelligence, while she was campaigning for President Donald Trump. She added that preferential treatment was given to the husband of a Democratic senator. 
On Wednesday, Homeland Security claimed that William Shaheen, the husband of New Hampshire Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen, was given a blanket exemption from Quiet Skies after he was flagged for traveling “with a Known or Suspected Terrorist on three occasions.” The exception was granted after Senator Shaheen lobbied the federal government for her husband&#8217;s removal from the Quiet Skies list, according to the department. 
Shaheen has disputed those claims, saying that she was unaware that her husband was ever flagged as a security risk by the Quiet Skies program. 
&#8220;Senator Shaheen contacted the Transportation Security Administration after her husband was subjected to several extensive, invasive and degrading searches at airport checkpoints,&#8221; her office said. &#8220;Senator Shaheen sought to understand the nature and cause of these searches. Any suggestion that the senator&#8217;s husband was supposedly included on a Quiet Skies list is news to her and had never been raised before yesterday, nor was she aware of any action taken following her call to remove him from such a list.&#8221;
Noem called for Congress to open up an investigation into Quiet Skies in addition to her department’s internal probe.

Kristi Noem, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security and former

Trump Admin Ends ‘Weaponized’ Airport Security Surveillance Program

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Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard praised the progress made at Asia&#8217;s premier security conference in an interview with Morning Wire, saying it proves that global leaders are willing to engage in diplomacy that further facilitates peace.
“The goal here within this region, as well as others around the world, is to be able to achieve [peace],” Gabbard told Daily Wire Executive Editor John Bickley. “That’s why these kinds of conferences are so important.”
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Her remarks come after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stated at the conference that “any attempt by China to conquer Taiwan by force would result in devastating consequences for the Indo-Pacific and the world.”
On April 1, the Chinese military announced large-scale drills in the waters surrounding Taiwan, saying they were meant as a warning and a forceful containment against the country’s independence, The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-white-house-confronts-china-over-taiwan-military-provocations" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. Hesgeth met with counterparts in Japan and the Philippines afterward, promising to counter China’s aggression.
Gabbard said the context of Hegseth’s statement at the conference is important, and that current indications show China does not intend to take military action.
“The overwhelming message that Pete delivered is the message that we hear from President Trump, which is that he is the president of peace,” Gabbard said.
Still, Gabbard told The Daily Wire that despite saber rattling from Beijing, it’s unlikely that they’ll engage in military action against regional rivals in the immediate future.
Asked how much the ongoing summit has focused on China, Gabbard said it has been a topic of conversation, but not the primary focus.
“Counterterrorism has been a really common topic that has come up from countries from across the region,” Gabbard said.
“The issue of transnational criminal organizations has been a predominant concern as well, and there’s been a lot of questions coming from other countries about some of the actions that we are taking under President Trump’s leadership, not only to secure our own borders, but to deal with the cartels who are trafficking fentanyl and other narcotics.”
Though fentanyl trafficking is a prominent issue for the United States, other countries report that traffickers’ drug of choice is methamphetamine, providing important insight into understanding the drivers of these criminal activities.
“The Biden administration’s last four years of, essentially, open borders … really rolled out the red carpet for these cartels to be able to … come in and out of our country and conduct these illegal activities,” Gabbard said. “Unfortunately, what we’re seeing more and more is how deeply entrenched they already are in our communities.”
Gabbard revealed that weapons and sex trafficking are also common issues throughout the Southeast Asian region, as well as the Middle East and Europe, harming more people than just American citizens. Her department is working closely with Attorney General Pam Bondi, the FBI, and the Department of Homeland Security to deal with these already existing threats in America.
“We are securing our border,” Gabbard assured. “It is more secure now than it has been in a very, very long time.”

President-Elect Trump’s Nominees For Upcoming Administration Continue Meeting With Lawmakers On Capitol Hill

From Asia, Tulsi Gabbard Hails Trump As ‘President Of Peace’ Amid Rising China Threat

China

Morning Wire

Pete Hegseth

Tensions flare up between the United States and China amid a major defense summit in Asia; the political and legal battle over males competing in female sports ramps up in California; Trump hammers out what’s being called the biggest steel deal in history; and the FBI is investigating a suspected terror attack after a firebombing of a pro-Israel event in Colorado.
It’s Monday, June 2, and this is the news you need to know to start your day.
Morning Wire is available on video! You can watch today’s episode here:
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<h2>United States &amp; China Trade Barbs At Asian Security Summit</h2>
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Topline: Tensions between the United States and China flare up amid a major defense summit in Asia.
A major defense summit in Asia called the Shangri-La Dialogue that began Saturday has already led to some positive partnerships – as well as the U.S. and China trading barbs. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned about China’s growing military threat, while China accused the United States of “stoking flames and creating tensions in the Asia-Pacific.”
“China is ‘preparing to use military force’ to alter the situation there in Asia,” Hegseth <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/31/world/video/hegseth-singapore-china-threat-taiwan-vrtc">said</a>. “There’s no reason to sugarcoat it. The threat China poses is real, and it could be imminent.”
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard told The Daily Wire that despite saber rattling from Beijing, it’s unlikely that they’ll engage in military action against regional rivals in the immediate future. Gabbard also told The Daily Wire that much of the conference was spent working with allies to shape policy on a range of issues, not only with respect to China, but also counterterrorism operations and joint law enforcement efforts against cartels and other international criminal organizations engaged in drug trafficking, human trafficking, sex trafficking, and other illegal enterprises across international borders.
“The overwhelming message that [Secretary Hegseth] delivered is the message that we hear from President Trump, which is that he is the president of peace,” Gabbard said. “The goal here within this region, as well as in others around the world, is to be able to achieve that … to come together and engage in dialogue, engage in diplomacy … [and] best pursue our goal of peace and stability that best serve our respective peoples in our countries and around the world.”
<h2>California Track Championship Violates Title IX, Stokes Trans Athlete Controversy</h2>
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Topline: The debate over transgender-identifying athletes in women’s sports is flaring up again, this time in California, where, in defiance of federal policy, a 16-year-old male won two state track and field titles.
On Saturday, protesters gathered outside a stadium in Clovis, California, which was hosting the California Interscholastic Federation State Track and Field Championships. AB Hernandez, a junior male athlete, took first place in the girls’ high jump and triple jump, and second in the long jump. Some held “Save Girls’ Sports” signs, while others supported Hernandez with pro-transgender messages. An airplane even flew overhead with a banner reading “No Boys in Girls’ Sports,” funded by groups like the Independent Council on Women’s Sports. Meanwhile, a pro-trans protester was arrested for assaulting a “Save Girls’ Sports” demonstrator.
Hernandez’s victory flies directly in the face of President Trump’s February 5 executive order, titled “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,&#8221; which bars boys who identify as girls from competing in women’s and girls’ sports, citing fairness for female athletes. Trump specifically called out Hernandez on social media, claiming he’s “practically unbeatable,” and threatened to cut federal funding to California if Hernandez competed. California, however, upheld its state law, which allows transgender-identifying students to play based on their professed gender identity.
The U.S. Department of Justice has now launched a Title IX investigation into whether California’s policies violate girls’ rights.
Julie Hamill, President of the California Justice Center, told <a href="https://x.com/JenniferSey/status/1928801014678696268">CNN</a> that California deserves to lose federal funding over its defiance of Title IX policy, and she thinks Hernandez is being mistreated here as well.
“I view AB Hernandez as the victim in this situation,” Hamill said. “I feel for him, and I feel that he has been lied to for his entire life, and it&#8217;s probably very destabilizing and difficult for him right now to realize that what he&#8217;s been told is not actually reality. He cannot become a girl. What he can do is compete in the male category.”
<h2>U.S. Steel Merges With Japanese Company, Announces Billions In American Investments</h2>
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Topline: President Trump hammers out a massive steel deal that Pennsylvania officials say could transform the industry.
President Trump announced a blockbuster deal to bring billions of dollars in new investments to the American steel industry. The news comes as a near record number of Americans say the country is heading in the right direction.
In 2023, Japan’s Nippon Steel offered $15 billion to acquire the iconic U.S. Steel, the second-largest steel producer in America. The company’s board and shareholders approved the sale, but President Joe Biden blocked the acquisition, saying it was critical to national security to maintain American ownership of U.S. Steel. But over the weekend, President Trump announced that after lengthy negotiations, Nippon had agreed to a merger that would preserve American ownership of U.S. Steel. The agreement requires that a majority of the company’s board be American citizens, and C-suite employees, including the CEO, must be American as well. The U.S. government itself will hold a “golden share” of the company, giving it veto power over key decisions.
“We&#8217;re going to produce our own metal, unleash our own energy, secure our own future, build our country, control our destiny,” Trump said during the announcement in Pennsylvania. “We are once again going to put Pennsylvania steel into the backbone of America like never before.”
As part of the agreement, Nippon will invest more than $14 billion into new steel facilities across Indiana, Minnesota, Arkansas, and Alabama — some estimates say the deal will create nearly 150,000 new American jobs. According to Trump, every U.S. Steel employee will receive a $5,000 bonus. As part of his effort to protect American steel manufacturing, the president also announced he would double the tariff on foreign steel from 25% to 50%.
Last month, amid tariff uncertainty and fears of a recession, President Trump’s <a href="https://www.realclearpolling.com/polls/approval/donald-trump/approval-rating">job approval rating</a> was on the decline, falling on average to 45% approval and 52% disapproval. But following a flurry of trade deals and encouraging jobs and inflation reports, he’s gaining ground fast and is now less than two points underwater, with a 48% average approval rating, which is higher than at any point in his first term. Nearly 44% of Americans now say the country is on the right track, the highest share since President Barack Obama’s first year in office in 2009.
<h2>Egyptian National Attacks Pro-Israel Demonstration, Detained By Authorities</h2>
At least six people were injured Sunday afternoon in a firebombing attack at a pro-Israel event in Boulder, Colorado. Police say victims suffered “injuries consistent with burns.” Officials detained the suspect and have since identified him as Mohamed Sabry Soliman. Three DHS senior officials told <a href="https://x.com/BillMelugin_/status/1929343593602597179">Fox News</a> that the suspect is an Egyptian national who illegally overstayed his visa after entering the United States during the Biden administration. FBI Director Kash Patel said the bureau is “fully investigating” what they believe to be a “targeted terror attack.”

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Morning Brief: Defense Summit Drama & Trump’s Steel Revival

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On Thursday evening, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said former FBI Director James Comey should be thrown in jail for <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/disgraced-former-fbi-chief-deletes-86-47-post-that-got-kash-patels-attention" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a social media post</a> widely seen as threatening President Donald Trump.
Gabbard told Fox News host Jesse Watters that she &#8220;absolutely&#8221; did not buy Comey&#8217;s claim that he did not realize that a photo he posted to Instagram of shells on a beach showing &#8220;86&#8221; and &#8220;47&#8221; had anything to do with violence.
&#8220;I&#8217;m very concerned for [Trump&#8217;s] life. And James Comey, in my view, should be held accountable and put behind bars for this,&#8221; Gabbard said.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
James Comey just issued a call to action to murder the President of the United States.
As a former FBI Director and someone who spent most of his career prosecuting mobsters and gangsters, he knew exactly what he was doing and must be held accountable under the full force of the… <a href="https://t.co/zvbu5Vf0zg">pic.twitter.com/zvbu5Vf0zg</a>
— DNI Tulsi Gabbard (@DNIGabbard) <a href="https://twitter.com/DNIGabbard/status/1923198011108192532?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 16, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Comey, who was cast out as FBI director by Trump in 2017 and has been critical of the president over the years, drew controversy earlier in the day when he posted the photo of shells arranged to show &#8220;86&#8221; and &#8220;47&#8221; on a beach.
&#8220;Cool shell formation on my beach walk,&#8221; Comey said.
Many people interpreted the photo as referencing assassination because &#8220;86&#8221; is used as slang for kill and Trump is the 47th president. Others have defended Comey, contending that &#8220;86&#8221; could simply mean removal.
Comey deleted the photo and, in a follow-up post, insisted he did not mean to suggest anything drastic.
&#8220;I posted a picture earlier of some shells I saw on a beach walk, which I assumed were a political message,&#8221; Comey said. &#8220;I didn’t realize some folks associate those numbers with violence. It never occurred to me but I oppose violence of any kind so I took the post down.&#8221;
Still, FBI Director Kash Patel announced that the bureau that Comey once led was looking into the matter.
“We are aware of the recent social media post by former FBI Director James Comey, directed at President Trump. We are in communication with the Secret Service and Director Curran. Primary jurisdiction is with SS on these matters and we, the FBI, will provide all necessary support,” Patel said on X.
People have been arrested and charged for allegedly <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/fbi-arrests-man-aliakbar-mohammed-amin-for-threats-against-trump-tulsi-gabbard" target="_blank" rel="noopener">threatening</a> Gabbard and Trump. Last year, during the 2024 campaign, Trump survived two assassination attempts.
Gabbard suggested that Comey should face consequences regardless of what he was thinking.
&#8220;Whatever James Comey&#8217;s intent, he and people like him need to be held to account according to the law, which is something that he claims to have given his life for and stands by the rule of law. Fantastic,&#8221; Gabbard said. &#8220;The rule of law says people like him, who issue direct threats against the president of the United States — essentially issuing a call to assassinate him — must be held accountable under the law.&#8221;

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard

Tulsi Gabbard Says Comey Should Be Thrown In Jail For ‘86′ Trump Post

Donald Trump

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James Comey

U.S.

High-ranking U.S. intelligence officials directed agencies to gather information on Greenland last week as part of President Trump&#8217;s determined effort to acquire the mineral-rich Arctic island.
Several high-ranking officials under Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard issued a classified &#8220;collection emphasis message&#8221; to intelligence agency heads last week, instructing them to acquire intel regarding Greenland&#8217;s independence movement and identify people supportive of U.S. objectives, top officials <a href="https://www.wsj.com/world/greenland-spying-us-intelligence-809c4ef2?mod=hp_lead_pos1">told</a> The Wall Street Journal.
A &#8220;collection emphasis message&#8221; indicates a high priority objective for intelligence agencies, whose collection resources include surveillance satellites, intercepting electronic communications, and even agents on the ground.
Gabbard gave tacit confirmation of the directive’s existence in a statement admonishing the WSJ, writing: “The Wall Street Journal should be ashamed of aiding deep state actors who seek to undermine the President by politicizing and leaking classified information. They are breaking the law and undermining our nation’s security and democracy.&#8221;
The classified directive, sent to the CIA, Defense Intelligence Agency, and National Security Agency, marks one of the first tangible moves toward carrying out President Trump&#8217;s desire to acquire the mineral-rich, geopolitically significant territory.
National Security Council spokesman James Hewitt declined to comment on the leaked intelligence, but did state, “The president has been very clear that the U.S. is concerned about the security of Greenland and the Arctic.”
&#8220;We need Greenland for national security and even international security, and we&#8217;re working with everybody involved to try and get it,&#8221; President Trump stated during a March joint address to Congress. &#8220;One way or the other, we&#8217;re going to get it.&#8221;
Vice President JD Vance, then-National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, and Energy Secretary Chris Wright traveled to Greenland in March, prompting Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen to <a href="https://www.wsj.com/world/greenlanders-are-angry-and-confused-over-unwanted-u-s-visit-87e701c2">complain</a> of &#8220;completely unacceptable pressure on Greenland.&#8221;
The approximately 836,000 square mile territory is <a href="https://www.npr.org/2019/11/24/781598549/greenland-is-not-for-sale-but-it-has-the-rare-earth-minerals-america-wants">estimated</a> to hold roughly a quarter of the world’s rare-earth minerals necessary for various technologies, along <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/greenland-suspends-oil-exploration-because-of-climate-change">with</a> an estimated 17.5 billion undiscovered barrels of oil and 148 trillion cubic feet of natural gas that could strengthen American energy independence.
The intelligence directive comes as the Arctic has become an increasingly <a href="https://www.thearcticinstitute.org/new-cold-war-china-declares-near-arctic-state/">contested</a> geopolitical arena, with China declaring itself a &#8220;near-Arctic state&#8221; and Russia expanding its military presence in the region.
Moscow has reopened Soviet-era Arctic bases and deployed nuclear-capable missiles to its northern territories, while Beijing has invested billions in Arctic infrastructure projects, including <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-the-pentagon-countered-chinas-designs-on-greenland-11549812296">attempts</a> to finance airports in Greenland that were ultimately blocked by Denmark with U.S. support.
Danish officials have repeatedly rebuffed Trump&#8217;s interest in acquiring the island, with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/denmark-pm-repeats-that-greenland-is-not-sale-2025-02-03/">saying</a> in February: &#8220;Greenland is today a part of the kingdom of Denmark. It is part of our territory, and it&#8217;s not for sale.&#8221;
However, some Greenlandic independence advocates have expressed increasing openness to stronger ties with the United States in recent months.
One resident told the New York Post in March, “I think we need change here in Greenland. We are tired of the Danish colonialism,” <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/03/27/us-news/trumps-greenlandic-supporters-lean-away-from-denmark-aim-to-build-us-ties-make-greenland-great-again/">said</a> Lars Kleist, a Greenlandic Inuit who said he lost his job in 2020 because of his pro-independence views. “When you enter the town, everything is ruled by the Danish,” who are only 10% of the population.
As such, the intelligence directive specifically instructed agencies to assess Greenland&#8217;s political landscape and identify local leaders who might be receptive to American overtures, according to sources familiar with the order.

U.S. Intelligence Agencies Directed To Spy On Greenland As Trump Mulls Takeover

Greenland

National Security Agency (NSA)

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard on Wednesday called for the United States to stop funding gain-of-function research at biolabs around the world.
Gabbard made the comments during an interview with podcast host Megyn Kelly, as they discussed the likelihood that the United States directly funded the research that led to the creation of COVID-19 and the state of the ongoing probe into the lab leak that released the virus. It is now widely accepted by American officials that a lab leak stemming from gain-of-function research triggered the 2020 pandemic.
“The reason why this is so important is not just what has happened in the past, it&#8217;s because this gain-of-function is happening in biolabs around the world,” Gabbard <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMKTSYxto_Y" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>, pointing to her previous warnings about U.S.-funded biolabs in Ukraine.
“In order to prevent another COVID-like pandemic or another major health incident that could effect us in the world, we have to end this gain-of-function research and provide the evidence that shows exactly why and how it’s in our best interests, the American people’s best interest, to bring an end to it,” she added.
Gain-of-function research is a process in which scientists genetically alter an organism to study how it responds under specific conditions. It can involve increasing transmissibility, virulence, and other characteristics of a pathogen.
Gabbard did not specifically name which American-funded labs she said were performing gain-of-function research.
Gabbard told Kelly that she still had an intelligence team working with National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya and Health and Human Services Director Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to investigate direct links between U.S.-funded gain-of-function research in Wuhan, China, and the pandemic.
Kelly asked when the public could expect to find out the &#8220;exact experiment&#8221; that led to COVID. Gabbard replied that her team was working on it with Bhattacharya and would release the information &#8220;hopefully very soon.&#8221;
Based on the increasing consensus that the lab leak was the cause, Gabbard said she was not surprised that Dr. Anthony Fauci had been pardoned preemptively as President Joe Biden left office. “Is it any wonder that he sought a preemptive pardon for anything during a certain period of time by President Biden before he left office?” she said.
In May 2021, Fauci <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/20/if-anybody-is-lying-here-senator-it-is-you-fauci-tells-sen-paul-in-heated-exchange-at-senate-hearing.html">said</a> that the NIH “has not ever and does not now fund gain-of-function research in the Wuhan Institute of Virology.” However, later evidence from the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic determined that the EcoHealth Alliance used NIH dollars to fund gain-of-function research in Wuhan. EcoHealth is currently under investigation by the Justice Department and has been barred from receiving any further federal grant dollars.
Gabbard said that much of the research her team has conducted can be found at <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/lab-leak-true-origins-of-covid-19/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">COVID.gov</a>, where the Trump administration has compiled a page explaining how the coronavirus is believed to have originated in a Chinese lab.
In addition to the COVID investigation, Gabbard said that her team was looking at other instances of the United States funding &#8220;dangerous&#8221; gain-of-function research that &#8220;in many examples has resulted in either a pandemic or some other major health crisis.”

President Trump Presides Over Cabinet Meeting

Tulsi Gabbard Reveals When Her Team Will Pinpoint Exact Moment Of COVID Lab Leak

Anthony Fauci

COVID

Health

Medical Research

Megyn Kelly

Wuhan Institute of Virology

On Wednesday, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard announced that she recommended charges related to a pair of leaks.
&#8220;Politicization of our intelligence and leaking classified information puts our nation’s security at risk and must end. Those who leak classified information will be found and held accountable to the fullest extent of the law,&#8221; Gabbard <a href="https://x.com/DNIGabbard/status/1915150870255210774" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a post on X.
&#8220;Today, I referred two intelligence community LEAKS to the Department of Justice for criminal referral, with a third criminal referral on its way, which includes the recent illegal leak to the Washington Post,&#8221; she added.
Gabbard was alluding to a disclosure on Iran and Israel to The Washington Post, which she <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/gabbard-aggressively-pursuing-intel-community-leaks-to-legacy-media" target="_blank" rel="noopener">referenced</a> in March when announcing her inquiry into various leaks to the media.
The post did not disclose any further information, including who may have been the subject of the referrals. It remains to been seen whether the Department of Justice (DOJ) and its FBI look into the matter and decide whether charges are warranted.
&#8220;These deep-state criminals leaked classified information for partisan political purposes to undermine POTUS’ agenda. I look forward to working with [the DOJ] and [the FBI] to investigate, terminate and prosecute these criminals,&#8221; Gabbard concluded.
A combat veteran and former House lawmaker from Hawaii, Gabbard was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/senate-confirms-tulsi-gabbard-as-director-of-national-intelligence" target="_blank" rel="noopener">confirmed</a> by GOP-led Senate to become the director of national intelligence in President Donald Trump&#8217;s administration in mid-February via a 52-48 vote.
One month later, Gabbard vowed to track down leakers within the vast U.S. Intelligence Community, which has 18 <a href="https://www.dni.gov/index.php/what-we-do/members-of-the-ic" target="_blank" rel="noopener">members</a> that include the CIA, National Security Agency, military branches, and the FBI.
&#8220;Our nation’s Intelligence Community must be focused on our national security mission. Politically motivated leaks undermine our national security and the trust of the American people, and will not be tolerated,&#8221; Gabbard <a href="https://x.com/DNIGabbard/status/1900525561786646903" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> at the time in a threat posted to X.
&#8220;Unfortunately, such leaks have become commonplace with no investigation or accountability. That ends now. We know of and are aggressively pursuing recent leakers from within the Intelligence Community and will hold them accountable,&#8221; she continued.
Gabbard then listed some &#8220;recent examples of unauthorized leaks&#8221; within the Intelligence Community that resulted in disclosures to The Washington Post, HuffPost, and The Record. She also mentioned a &#8220;leaker within the IC sharing information about the U.S. &#8211; Russia relationship with NBC.&#8221;
She concluded that X thread by saying: &#8220;Any unauthorized release of classified information is a violation of the law and will be treated as such.&#8221;
The probe was announced before The Atlantic&#8217;s Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg first reported that he gained access to a Signal group chat group in which leading Trump administration officials discussed plans for airstrikes on Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists in Yemen.
In the ensuing fallout, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz took responsibility for the breach, which has been <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/so-damn-dangerous-signal-chat-breach-linked-to-automated-suggestion-feature-on-iphone" target="_blank" rel="noopener">linked</a> to the “automated suggestion” feature on his iPhone. But the Trump administration denied there was classified information in the conversation and the president has stood by Waltz.

Tulsi Gabbard Targets ‘Deep-State’ Intelligence Leakers With Criminal Referrals

Leak

National Intelligence

COLLEGE PARK, MD — Long classified files pertaining to the 1968 assassination of Robert F. Kennedy are now available to the public, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard revealed to The Daily Wire in an exclusive interview.
“Today is a big day,” Gabbard said during an interview from the National Archives in College Park, Maryland. “It is the first time the country will be able to see the documents that have been sitting here, at the National Archives records agency, around the assassination of Senator Robert F. Kennedy.”
Speaking from the lab where government employees busily worked to prepare documents to be digitized, scanned in high capacity scanners, and then ultimately uploaded to the National Archives website, Gabbard said the files are ready to go after decades under lock and key.
“These are boxes that have been here, in storage, never scanned before, never reviewed by the public before,” Gabbard said. “Thanks to President Trump’s leadership, and his executive order mandating maximum transparency, we have had well over a hundred people who have been working around the clock, going page by page, scanning them in, going through these reviews…all to lead us to this day, where the 10,000 pages that have been sitting here are now going to be available online.&#8221;
The batch of newly available files is <a href="https://www.archives.gov/research/rfk">now available on the National Archives website</a>.
WATCH: 
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Kennedy, who served as Attorney General of the United States in his brother’s presidential administration, was elected to the Senate in 1965. He announced his presidential campaign in 1968, while representing New York in the upper chamber. On June 5, 1968, Kennedy was shot and killed by Sirhan Sirhan, a Palestinian immigrant, during a campaign event at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. He was pronounced dead the next day.
Sirhan admitted that he shot Kennedy in a 1969 trial, though he <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/retropolis/wp/2018/05/26/who-killed-bobby-kennedy-his-son-rfk-jr-doesnt-believe-it-was-sirhan-sirhan/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">claimed</a> he had no memory of doing so. Two decades later, Sirhan told British journalist David Frost that he felt <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1989/02/20/us/sirhan-felt-betrayed-by-kennedy.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">betrayed</a> by Kennedy — whom he once viewed as a hero — due to his “support of Israel.”
Kennedy’s autopsy report found that the senator was killed by a shot fired behind the ear — though Sirhan was standing in front of Kennedy — leading some to speculate that Sirhan did not fire the fatal bullet.
One proponent of the second gunman theory: Kennedy’s son, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
“The people that were closest to [Sirhan], the people that disarmed him all said he never got near my father,” Kennedy said in 2018. That year, RFK Jr. had traveled to California to meet with Sirhan, saying he “was curious and disturbed by what I had seen in the evidence.”
“I was disturbed that the wrong person might have been convicted of killing my father. My father was the chief law enforcement officer in this country,” Kennedy said at the time. “I think it would have disturbed him if somebody was put in jail for a crime they didn’t commit.”
RFK Jr. <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-gabbard-rfk-assassination-files-release/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">supported</a> Sirhan’s 2021 parole request, which California Governor Gavin Newsom rejected.
Trump signed an <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/everything-will-be-revealed-trump-declassifies-jfk-rfk-and-mlk-jr-assassination-files" target="_blank" rel="noopener">executive order</a> shortly after his inauguration declassifying all files pertaining to the assassinations of RFK, John F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King Jr. Trump in March <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-releases-roughly-80000-pages-of-secret-jfk-assassination-files" target="_blank" rel="noopener">released</a> around 80,000 pages of previously secret files pertaining to JFK’s 1963 assassination, which revealed, among other things, that some Cuban diplomats at the time <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/what-we-learned-from-the-jfk-files" target="_blank" rel="noopener">immediately concluded</a> the CIA was behind the assassination.
As Gabbard previewed the release of the files on Thursday, she warned The Daily Wire that they may challenge details of the current narrative surrounding Kennedy’s death.
“Of course there are a lot of different theories and questions surrounding these assassinations,” Gabbard explained on Thursday.
“People will find in the release today, there is no ‘smoking gun,’ but there are a lot of things that have not been previously known that really call into question what really happened — and who was behind it, which includes conversations that were happening in other countries, and messages that were going around about the assassination itself.”
&nbsp;
<div id="attachment_909461" style="width: 459px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-909461" class="size-large wp-image-909461" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-3243546-449x576.jpg" alt="16th March 1968: Headshot of Senator Robert F. Kennedy (1925 - 1968) announcing his candidacy for president of the United States, Washington, D. C. (Photo by Arnold Sachs/Consolidated News Pictures/Getty Images)" width="449" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-3243546-449x576.jpg 449w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-3243546-234x300.jpg 234w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-3243546-768x986.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-3243546.jpg 798w" sizes="(max-width: 449px) 100vw, 449px" />Senator Robert F. Kennedy announcing his candidacy for president of the United States, Washington, D. C. (Photo by Arnold Sachs/Consolidated News Pictures/Getty Images)</div>
Asked about what other countries were involved, Gabbard pointed out a diplomatic cable that&#8217;s part of the 10,000 files that National Archives staff had placed out for her to view.
“If you look on this memo alone, you see Kuwait, London, Tel Aviv, Beirut, Benghazi…all of these American embassies who were the recipients of this cable,” she explained. “People are going to have to go to the website and read for themselves to kind of get an insight into what the conversations were like before, and after, Senator Kennedy’s assassination.”
“There are more questions than answers,” she warned.
Gabbard repeatedly stressed the importance of transparency in releasing these files to the public, noting that people will have to dig into them themselves in order to understand the realities of what they hold. Such was the case with the release of the files related to John F. Kennedy’s assassination. While the files offered a deeper picture into the American president’s death, they did not offer immediate answers or solutions.
“President Trump is ushering in a new era of maximum transparency,” Gabbard <a href="https://x.com/DNIGabbard/status/1902136765953032472" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> at the time.
In addition to the RFK files, the National Archives facility in College Park is home to <a href="https://www.archives.gov/college-park/highlights/textual" target="_blank" rel="noopener">records</a> pertaining to the JFK assassination and other historical artifacts, <a href="https://www.archives.gov/files/publications/prologue/2015/spring/hitler-will.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">including</a> the last will and testament of Adolf Hitler.
The historical artifacts related to the JFK and RFK assassinations are housed in a secure vault for safety, where Executive for Research Services Chris Naylor took Gabbard on Thursday afternoon.
Inside, Naylor showed the passport Lee Harvey Oswald carried when he defected to the Soviet Union, as well as his passport application and the shirt he was wearing when he was shot and killed. Also showcased was the camera used to record what is best known as the Zapruder film, the home movie that provides the most complete view of JFK&#8217;s 1963 assassination in Dallas, Texas.
“There’s so many stories behind all of this,” Gabbard said as the tour concluded. “It’s incredible to be here, to actually see it.”
As she strolled down the hall with Jim Byron, the senior advisor to the acting head archivist, Gabbard asked why the JFK artifacts aren’t showcased to the public, including the bullet that struck the deceased president.
Gabbard and Byron agreed that the artifacts should be opened up to the public.
“That’s how it works in this administration,” she said with a laugh.

MixCollage-17-Apr-2025-09-35-PM-8009

EXCLUSIVE: Tulsi Gabbard Takes The Daily Wire Inside The RFK Assassination File Drop

assassination

National Archives

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

A man named Aliakbar Mohammed Amin was arrested by the FBI on Friday night after he made threats against both President Donald Trump and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.
Amin, 25, was arrested in Lilburn, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta. A source close to Gabbard says she was informed by the FBI that a firearm was confiscated from Amin at the time of the arrest, and that a trial date has been set for later this month.
&#8220;Bottom line, the FBI does not tolerate threats and will hold offenders fully accountable,&#8221; the local FBI Atlanta office said on Friday night. The FBI says more information regarding the specific threats will not be released until next week.
The arrest comes days after CNN dismissed credible threats against Gabbard, suggesting that her attempts to hide the address of a Texas property she owns were actually part of an attempt to commit voter fraud. Her office has raged at CNN for running the story, threatening to file a defamation lawsuit and accusing the liberal outlet of putting Gabbard&#8217;s safety at risk.
&#8220;I told CNN that Tulsi Gabbard had credible, active threats against her and her family and they went ahead and doxxed her address anyway,&#8221; <a href="https://x.com/alexahenning/status/1910858284661157922?s=42">wrote</a> Alexa Henning, Gabbard&#8217;s deputy chief of staff at the intelligence office, after the FBI announced the arrest on Friday.
CNN was investigating whether Gabbard committed fraud by voting in Hawaii, where she served in Congress and lived nearly her whole life, after declaring a property her &#8220;homestead&#8221; in Texas. Her office told CNN that the reason it was declared a homestead was because, in Texas, that designation allows you to keep the address private.
&#8220;Declaring her ‘homestead’ in Texas, per law, ensured her address would remain confidential in response to ongoing, high-level, credible threats against her and her family,&#8221; Gabbard spokeswoman Olivia Coleman said. This was communicated to CNN a week before it published its story, which dismissed this explanation.
The arrest also comes as protests rage against Trump, top members of his administration, and his allies. Earlier on Friday, a Pennsylvania man named Shawn Monper was arrested for writing that he planned to assassinate Trump on YouTube, where he posted as &#8220;Mr Satan.&#8221; Monper lived in Butler, Pennsylvania, where Trump narrowly escaped an attempt on his life during a campaign rally last summer.
Monper&#8217;s arrest came after he wrote on YouTube that all of Trump&#8217;s appointments needed to be killed.
&#8220;We just need to start killing people, Trump, Elon, all the heads of agencies Trump appointed, and anyone who stands in the way,&#8221; Monper wrote in a remark that was flagged for authorities by Google, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/11/us/politics/trump-elon-musk-ice-threats.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to The New York Times.
Gabbard, a former Democrat who bucked her party to support Trump, has attracted particular ire from the Left.

GoSy9d4XMAAhB9z

FBI Arrests Man, Aliakbar Mohammed Amin, For Threats Against Trump, Tulsi Gabbard

Terrorism

Lawyers representing Tulsi Gabbard are threatening to sue CNN for defamation if the network publishes a story accusing the Director of National Intelligence of voter fraud, according to a legal <a href="https://www.scribd.com/document/848025125/Lawyers-For-Tulsi-Gabbard-Threaten-CNN">cease and desist letter</a> obtained by The Daily Wire.
In the letter, dated April 4, lawyers representing Gabbard state that they learned a day earlier that CNN “plans to publish a story that falsely asserts or implies that Tulsi Gabbard committed voter fraud and suggests that she had abandoned her longstanding Hawaii residency.”
The story, according to the letter, is based on Gabbard’s <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13252435/Tulsi-Gabbard-Trump-vice-president-pick-buys-property-Leander-Texas-Hawaii.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2024 purchase</a> of a Texas house — CNN apparently planned to write that Gabbard improperly voted in Hawaii in 2024 when she should have voted in Texas, because she declared a “homestead exemption” at that property. The lawyers, the letter shows, inform CNN that Texas law does not indefinitely bind homestead to your residence, and that Gabbard “was, is, and intends to remain a Hawaii resident.”
Gabbard, a former Democrat who left the party, was raised in Hawaii, served in its state legislature, and represented the state Congress for nearly a decade. Olivia Coleman, press secretary for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, told The Daily Wire that “illegitimate claims of voter fraud are a new low, even for CNN.”
“DNI Gabbard voted in Hawaii during the 2024 election because she is and has been a tax paying Hawaii resident,” Coleman said. “Her current status is no different than when she was a Member of Congress, where she maintained a mainland residence and a Hawaii residence as a tax-paying voter.”
The legal letter informs CNN that Gabbard “took the advice of local officials to register a homestead exemption to protect her and her family’s privacy.”
“Declaring her ‘homestead’ in Texas, per law, ensured her address would remain confidential in response to ongoing, high-level, credible threats against her and her family,” Coleman exmplained. “Any claim to the contrary is simply dishonest and is yet another smear job from discredited CNN that could put the Director and her loved ones further at risk.”
It is unclear whether CNN plans to publish its report, or if the network has additional evidence not referenced in the legal letter. CNN did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
It is also unclear what motive Gabbard would have for fraudulently maintaining residence in Hawaii while living primarily in Texas. Politically, Texas is a much more electorally competitive state than Hawaii. And financially, Hawaii has one of the highest state income taxes in the country, while Texas is one of eight states with no income tax at all.
In their letter, Gabbard’s lawyers cite a court case which states that while a designated homestead is “relevant to consideration of residence,” it is “not dispositive.” Gabbard presently spends most of her time in Virginia, where the Office of the Director of National Intelligence is headquartered.
In support of the claims of defamation, Gabbard’s lawyers state in the letter that the “demonstrably false” statements “have the potential to cause significant harm to her personal and professional reputation.”
“The allegations meet the legal standard for defamation per se, as they falsely accuse Director Gabbard of criminal conduct, which is inherently damaging to her reputation,” the letter says.
In 2022, CNN published an article titled, “<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/04/politics/election-fraud-trump-no-evidence/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Election fraud isn’t really a thing, part infinity</a>.”
Read the full letter below:
<iframe loading="lazy" class="scribd_iframe_embed" tabindex="0" title="Lawyers For Tulsi Gabbard Threaten CNN" src="https://www.scribd.com/embeds/848025125/content?start_page=1&amp;view_mode=scroll&amp;access_key=key-um1BZ4O1374vubmtbWEE" width="100%" height="600" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" data-auto-height="true" data-aspect-ratio="0.7729220222793488"></iframe>
<a style="text-decoration: underline;" title="View Lawyers For Tulsi Gabbard Threaten CNN on Scribd" href="https://www.scribd.com/document/848025125/Lawyers-For-Tulsi-Gabbard-Threaten-CNN#from_embed"> Lawyers For Tulsi Gabbard Threaten CNN </a> by <a style="text-decoration: underline;" title="View Daily Wire Investigations Team's profile on Scribd" href="https://www.scribd.com/user/694252498/Daily-Wire-Investigations-Team#from_embed"> Daily Wire Investigations Team </a>

Tulsi Gabbard/CNN

Tulsi Gabbard Threatens To Sue CNN For ‘Smear Job’ Accusing Her Of Voter Fraud

Voting

National security officials are grilled on Capitol Hill amid dueling accusations over a military strike text chain. Big food companies are fighting to keep soda and snacks on the subsidized menu. And, EPA Chief Lee Zeldin is taking swift action to dismantle cumbersome environmental regulations.
It’s Wednesday, March 26th, and this is the news you need to know to start your day. If you’d rather listen to your news, today’s edition of the Morning Wire podcast can be heard below:
<iframe style="width: 100%; max-width: 660px; overflow: hidden; border-radius: 10px;" src="https://embed.podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/signal-snafu-soda-wars-3-26-25/id1576594336?i=1000700886698" height="175" frameborder="0" sandbox="allow-forms allow-popups allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-storage-access-by-user-activation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation"></iframe>
<h2>When The Group Chat Leaks…</h2>
<div id="attachment_897845" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-897845" class="size-large wp-image-897845" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/Signal-Hearing-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/Signal-Hearing-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/Signal-Hearing-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/Signal-Hearing-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/Signal-Hearing-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/Signal-Hearing-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/Signal-Hearing-1800x1200.jpg 1800w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/Signal-Hearing-1200x800.jpg 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />(Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)</div>
Topline: Top national security officials were on Capitol Hill yesterday, where lawmakers grilled them on how a journalist was added to a group chat about military operations.
Damage Control… Around two weeks ago, a user named “Michael Waltz” added Atlantic Editor in Chief Jeffrey Goldberg to a Signal group chat where Trump national security officials discussed upcoming strikes on Houthi terrorists. The fallout from that compromised series of communiques, in Washington and in the national press, has been substantial.
Several senior intelligence directors with the Trump administration were already set to testify before the Senate on Tuesday – the hearing naturally became all about the signal chat with Democrats accusing Trump officials of exposing classified information, and the officials defending the administration. CIA Director John Ratcliffe downplayed the severity of the leak in a heated exchange with Senator Jon Ossof (D-GA):
<blockquote>OSSOFF: Director Ratcliffe, this was a huge mistake, correct?
RATCLIFFE: No.
OSSOFF: A national political reporter was made privy to sensitive information about imminent military operations against a foreign terrorist organization, and that wasn’t a huge mistake? This is an embarrassment. This is utterly unprofessional.</blockquote>
Ratcliffe insisted that there was nothing inherently wrong with national security officials discussing military plans on Signal – it was approved under the Biden administration. “One of the first things that happened when I was confirmed as CIA director was Signal was loaded onto my computer at the CIA – as it is for most CIA officers,” Radcliffe testified before Congress. “That is a practice that preceded the current administration to the Biden administration.”
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, also a member of the chat, told Virginia Senator Mark Warner that “there was no classified material that was shared in that Signal chat.” 
Trump hasn’t said much about the saga yet, but it seems like he’s standing by Waltz and the entire team. The president told NBC yesterday that Waltz “has learned a lesson, and he&#8217;s a good man.&#8221; Trump added that he’s not concerned about the story, saying it is “the only glitch in two months, and it turned out not to be a serious one.”
<h2>Cutting Fat From The Budget</h2>
<div id="attachment_897849" style="width: 795px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-897849" class="size-large wp-image-897849" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/Junk-Food-785x576.jpg" alt="" width="785" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/Junk-Food-785x576.jpg 785w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/Junk-Food-300x220.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/Junk-Food-768x563.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/Junk-Food-1536x1126.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/Junk-Food-2048x1502.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 785px) 100vw, 785px" />(Photo by LauriPatterson by Getty Images)</div>
Topline: Food lobbyists are fighting tooth and nail to stop the Trump administration from limiting taxpayer subsidies for junk food. 
The Trump administration has made a strong push to restrict soda, candy, and other unhealthy options from purchases being made with SNAP, commonly called food stamps. Proponents say this is necessary in light of America’s obesity and overall health crisis, and chiefly, about how taxpayer money is spent. Federally, these changes have been discussed openly by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, who plays a key role in administering these benefits.
 There are also numerous bills in the House seeking to restrict junk food and soda from SNAP.
The movement has picked up steam on the state level: Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders has <a href="https://governor.arkansas.gov/news_post/governor-sanders-calls-for-reforms-to-the-snap-program/">asked</a> the feds to allow her state to restrict SNAP. Lawmakers have made similar moves in Idaho, Kansas, Arizona, Indiana, Texas, and Wyoming, to name a few. In related news, West Virginia has just passed a bill that bans a number of food dyes often found in junk food and sugary drinks – that will affect the soda industry, too, which ran a <a href="https://www.medpagetoday.com/primarycare/dietnutrition/114739">strong opposition campaign</a> to that bill. Republican Gov. Patrick Morrisey signed that bill on Monday; it will go into effect in 2028, though it will affect school food programs this summer. 
The food industry is working across numerous fronts to protect the profits of these products. About 1 in 8 Americans receive SNAP benefits currently, with <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/american-heart-association-retracts-food-stamp-soda-opposition">soda</a> as the most frequently purchased item. About 10% of all SNAP spending goes toward soda and sugary drinks, and another 10% toward junk food. American taxpayers reportedly subsidize roughly <a href="https://www.ibtimes.com/soft-drinks-snap-benefits-congress-3756667?utm_source=chatgpt.com">$4 billion</a> worth of soda products through SNAP.
Buttering Trump Up: The American Beverage Association, or ABA, which represents all of those big soda companies, gave <a href="https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/rfk-jr-soda-snap-food-stamps-coke-pepsi-9bd9a872">money</a> to Trump’s inauguration, as they have for past presidents. Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Keurig Dr Pepper have directly engaged with administration officials – talking up their commitment to “zero-sugar” options and clear product labeling. Coca-Cola also famously met with Trump in January to gift him a personalized bottle of Diet Coke. 
Walmart has also engaged in lobbying efforts to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/american-heart-association-retracts-food-stamp-soda-opposition">stop</a> these restrictions, and, believe it or not, there was also a lobbyist from the American Heart Association (AHA) who advocated against these restrictions. As was first reported by The Daily Wire’s Luke Rosiak, the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/american-heart-association-retracts-food-stamp-soda-opposition">AHA</a> has since claimed that the lobbyist &#8220;miscommunicated&#8221; the group&#8217;s position. 
A poll commissioned by the ABA found that <a href="https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/health/republicans-divided-over-banning-purchase-soft-drinks-food-stamps?utm_source=chatgpt.com">58</a>% of 2024 Trump voters believe food stamps should be allowed to purchase soda. Overall, 64% of those polled agreed. But, again, this was conducted on behalf of the ABA, and it only polled about 800 people. It’s also noteworthy that a significant number of Americans who voted for Trump receive SNAP benefits – likely tens of millions of Americans. 
Trump himself has not said anything for or against restricting soda and other junk food from SNAP, though he has empowered RFK to enact his “MAHA” agenda.
<h2>EPA Cuts Spending and Regulation</h2>
<div id="attachment_897851" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-897851" class="size-large wp-image-897851" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/Zeldin-and-Trump-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/Zeldin-and-Trump-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/Zeldin-and-Trump-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/Zeldin-and-Trump-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/Zeldin-and-Trump-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/Zeldin-and-Trump-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/Zeldin-and-Trump-1800x1200.jpg 1800w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/Zeldin-and-Trump-1200x800.jpg 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />(Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)</div>
Topline: The second Trump administration could oversee one of the largest shifts in environmental policy in over a decade. EPA chief Lee Zeldin is leading the transition with an aggressive effort to cut extensive climate regulations.
The Trump administration, and Zeldin in particular, are aggressively attacking Democratic climate policies and green programs. It’s all part of President Trump’s stated goal of energy dominance.
“I am here to fight for part of that Trump mandate earned [on] November 5th,” Zeldin <a href="https://x.com/epaleezeldin/status/1899998341829730445">told</a> Fox&#8217;s Laura Ingram earlier this month. “[There are] people who cannot afford to be able to heat their home, to purchase a car, small businesses that are struggling to operate. People have been put out of work, and it&#8217;s going to end.”
Zeldin wants to reform and repeal dozens of the most burdensome climate rules. That includes, for example, Biden’s electric vehicle mandate that aims to force a radical change to the automobile market with half of new cars sold being all electric by 2032. Zeldin’s EPA has also set its sights on Obama’s 2009 endangerment finding – that rule essentially set the basis for the EPA to police greenhouse gas emissions in the United States and spawned a massive amount of environmental regulation.
Zeldin has also cut and reclaimed funds from climate programs. In a cabinet meeting on Monday, he said that the EPA had cut “over $22 billion worth of contracts,” which had previously been going to.
Trump’s Energy Secretary Chris Wright has worked alongside the EPA to greenlight a lot of oil and gas projects. And Wright has also been cutting regulations on energy producers – so much so that oil and gas executives are reneging on green investment pledges and pausing the transition to green energy that Democrats have wanted.
 There was also a major court case punishing Greenpeace for its extreme protest strategies. Last week, it was found liable in a nearly $700 million judgment for helping violent protesters destroy and vandalize property in their attempts to sabotage the Dakota Access Pipeline. The trial revealed that Greenpeace USA organizers had trained protesters and even purchased supplies the protesters used to commit illegal acts.

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