Free Republic

Sen. Rand Paul's call to cut the Trump administration's request on border security spending for the president's "big, beautiful bill" has left him on the sidelines for negotiations on the megabill, Instead, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who chairs the chamber's Budget Committee, said this week he's the lead negotiator in the talks on the border part of the budget, "Senator Paul usually votes 'no' and blames everybody else for not being pure enough," said Graham in the interview. "As chairman, you … don't have that luxury sometimes. You have to do things as chairman [that] you wouldn't have to do...

CBO projects $3T added to debt from bill that tackles tax policy, border security, healthcare reforms President Donald Trump's "big, beautiful bill" is projected to increase the debt by $3 trillion, with interest, or $5 trillion if made permanent, according to estimates. An estimate of the House-passed bill by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects it would add more than $2.4 trillion to primary deficits before interest over 10 years, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB), a nonprofit public policy organization. As of Wednesday, the national debt, which measures what the U.S. owes its creditors,...

A federal judge in Boston on Thursday issued a preliminary injunction to block the Trump administration’s directive to strip Harvard University of its ability to admit international students. Judge Allison Burroughs issued the ruling from the bench after an emergency hearing on the administration’s move, which upended the lives of the 27 percent of Harvard’s student body that is made up of foreign students. “I want to maintain the status quo,” Burroughs said from the bench, according to CNN. Harvard quickly sued the administration last week after the directive was given by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which also...

[Judge Allison Burroughs] has temporarily paused the Trump administration's move to cancel Harvard's student visa program. Harvard filed suit against the Trump administration over the policy, and a judge granted its request for a temporary restraining order to preserve status quo while the case plays out in court. Judge Allison Burroughs, a 2014 Obama appointee, set a hearing for 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday in Boston federal court. Harvard said the policy will affect more than 7,000 visa holders — nearly a quarter of the student body — and is a "blatant violation of the First Amendment, the Due Process Clause,...

She’s cracking. Gov. Kathy Hochul sounded off Wednesday about the “outrageous” price of eggs — jokingly telling New Yorkers to make chocolate cake with applesauce instead. The unprompted recipe suggestion came as Hochul, during a news conference in Midtown, slammed President Trump’s tariffs for driving up prices on everything from avocados to children’s toys. “And I’m done talking about the price of eggs — just give up eating them,” she said, drawing laughter. “It’s just outrageous, outrageous.” “You can make a really good chocolate cake with applesauce,” she added. “I digress, it’s also vegan.”

MAGA ally Ben Shapiro has stunningly turned on President Trump and urged him to listen to Elon Musk's criticism of his tariff policy. Shapiro, a long-time supporter of the president, smashed the illusion that tariffs are a good business deal for Americans to smithereens, with a startling insight on Monday: 'Musk is right. Musk happens to be 100 percent right about this.' The Tesla CEO has been in lockstep with the president on key voter issues since he returned to the White House, but came out swinging against tariffs and exposed a feud with the key advisor who helped bring...

After nearly three weeks in the minority, Democrats have finally settled on a target to rally against: Elon Musk. The party and allied groups this week have shown up at the doors of agencies impacted by Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, held rallies and press conferences calling the president’s ally an “unelected billionaire,” and introduced legislation to push back on the administration’s efforts to eliminate agencies and force out federal employees. The coordinated effort comes after weeks of Democrats grappling with how to oppose the new administration after a bruising election in which President Donald Trump made gains with key...

The 50501 Movement—or 50 states, 50 protests, one day—is garnering support throughout social media over its plan to stage demonstrations across the nation to "fight Fascism" on February 5.

Governor Gavin Newsom is heading to the White House on Wednesday to ask President Donald Trump for federal money to address California’s wildfires, after state legislators passed $50 million to fund anti-Trump measures. Newsom himself agreed to the $50 million deal in mid-January, with fires still burning in the Los Angeles area, after complaining that Trump wanted to “politicize” the fires by talking about the state’s failed water policies and forestry. The spending came out of a special legislative session called by Newsom himself. The State Assembly passed the anti-Trump funding right away, and while the State Senate balked at...

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) went full cringe this week as he delivered a hoarse chant of “we will win” at an anti-Trump protest. Schumer had attended the rally alongside various members of Congress to oppose Trump giving billionaire ally Elon Musk access to the federal government, namely, the U.S. Treasury. “I’m going to stand with you in this fight and we will win!” Schumer exclaimed in a hoarse voice before chanting repeatedly, “We will win! We will win!” The Senator then awkwardly grabbed Rep. Maxine Waters’s (D-CA) hand and held it up in the air. According to Business...

A “prolific anti-Trump FBI agent” allegedly broke protocol in order to open and push the FBI’s initial investigation into President Donald Trump and the 2020 election, according to whistleblower records released by Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Ron Jonson, R-Wis., Thursday. Former FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge (ASAC) Timothy Thibault, who was fired for violating the Hatch Act after Grassley exposed his public anti-Trump statements, authored the initial language for “Arctic Frost,” the investigation that would become former Special Counsel Jack Smith’s lawfare case against Trump over the 2020 election. “Thibault took this action despite being unauthorized to open...

Vogue launched a vicious review of Melania Trump's newly-revealed White House portrait, comparing the first lady's look to that of a magician. The magazine spent four years fawning over the previous White House administration, featuring both Jill Biden and Kamala Harris on the cover several times each, and its latest piece on Melania reaffirms their preference for Democrats. Vogue's editor-in-chief Anna Wintour is a known Democrat - and was once even rumored to be considered for an ambassadorship under president Barack Obama. 'Trump look more like a freelance magician than a public servant,' wrote Hannah Jackson about the white-and-black portrait...

Trump is getting more of a honeymoon in Term 2 than in Term 1, and while part of it is due to the shock of the 2024 win, a lot of it has become tactics. The first stage of the plan is to infiltrate his decision-making loop and to make his various policies backfire. That’s why it’s helpful to understand what malicious compliance is. The last ‘resistance’ movement among federal employees focused on more direct sabotage, at least initially this time they’re using malicious compliance, that is to say they’re implementing executive orders in the most destructive fashion. And then...

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) lawyer Chase Strangio appeared to employ a new term for an adult human female Tuesday. The trans rights activist — who is also a transgender man — appeared on the left-wing digital news show “Democracy Now!” to slam President Donald Trump’s executive order on sex and gender. Strangio complained to show host Amy Goodman that Trump “is targeting trans people by focusing on retrenching this notion of a fixed gender binary at the time of conception.” While making the case, Strangio referred to biological women as “non-transgender women.” […] After refusing to call biological women...

Left-wing radicals have been mobilizing near the nation’s capital ahead of the January 20 inauguration, which has been moved indoors. Since summer, we have tracked D.C.’s radical networks—their movements, methods, and potential for violence. After George Floyd’s death in 2020, these groups learned that street protests could yield political gains. Now, with Donald Trump returning to the White House, they’re weighing their options. This network is decentralized, adaptable, and steeped in organizing social unrest. Black Lives Matter messaging is fading, replaced by anti-Israel rhetoric. As Inauguration Day approaches, Communist militants and members of Antifa-aligned hubs have suggested storming the Capitol,...

Hundreds marched downtown Madison in preparation for President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration on Monday. The event is described as "freedoms against relentless attack on our communities." According to the People's March's website the march was in support of: Women’s Rights Workers’ Rights Abortion Rights Trans Rights Immigrant Rights Global Solidarity (Palestine, Lebanon, Congo, Sudan) Environmental Justice Housing Justice "It's all needs to be addressed," one attendee said. "It's just about all of us together," another attendee added. "We have to come together for each other." Mia Kruzer called for the event and said she wanted an opportunity to bring likeminded people...

There's a famous line from the film "On Golden Pond" by the great Katharine Hepburn: "The loons! The loons! They're welcoming us back." Well, the loons are back in D.C., but they're not here to welcome Donald Trump as he prepares for his inauguration on Monday; they're here to scream, thrash, make a commotion, and just generally behave like escaped mental patients. It's not like they haven't done it before—remember 2017, when they engaged in tasteless P-Hat protests around the city and the nation as a whole? So brave. (Warning: some of the signs and slogans are profane and nasty.)...

Far-left NBC News is signaling nothing will change by announcing anti-Trump activist Yamiche Alcindor will return to the White House briefing room. “I’m heading back to the White House beat for @NBCNews to cover the second Trump administration,” Alcindor wrote on Xwitter. “It’s a true honor to be a journalist and I welcome all news tips and story ideas.” One must admit, the lack of typos in that xweet is impressive considering the size of her fingers. On top of taking up room for two in the White House briefing room, Alcindor regularly made headlines during Donald Trump’s first term...

Gutfeld argues that a greater menace lies in “the media’s lockstep anti-Trumpism.” .. the media’s unwavering opposition to President Donald Trump has had far-reaching and devastating consequences, shaping public discourse and policy in ways that have deeply harmed the country. ... anti-Trumpism .. created a climate of mass delusion, where critical issues were downplayed, ignored, twisted to avoid aligning with Trump’s views. He contends that this media-driven narrative led to some of the nation’s most damaging decisions during pivotal moments. He gives four examples to prove his point. The first is the rise in crime. ... unfettered illegal immigration stressed...

The Las Vegas Cybertruck explosion on January 1, 2025, outside President-elect Trump’s hotel has sparked a fervent investigation into the motives of the deceased driver, identified as 37-year-old former army veteran Matthew Livelsberger. Seven individuals were injured in the blast, which occurred in the valet area of the Trump Hotel. Authorities are exploring the possibility of political motivation and are also examining any potential links to a separate incident in New Orleans on the same day, where a truck plowed into a crowd, resulting in 15 fatalities. The New Orleans incident is under investigation as a terrorist attack, with authorities...