Free Republic

One of CNN’s most notorious TV egoists surprises viewers every once in awhile by displaying a modicum of common sense in the face of leftist politicians running economies into the mud. His recent repudiation of blue city spending is no exception. CNN host Fareed Zakaria actually ripped how Democrat strongholds like New York City were “out of control, promising more, spending more, delivering less and pushing off fiscal problems to some future day,” in an X post promoting a February 23 segment of Fareed Zakaria GPS. In a stunning display of red-pilling, Zakaria directly called out the newly minted communist...

This week Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla) testified in the Kentucky House of Representatives on behalf of a resolution of the states asking Congress to submit a balanced budget amendment to the US Constitution to the states for ratification. This inspired Gov. Andy Beshear (D-Ky) to identify DeSantis as the worst governor in the country in response to a question by Jon Stewart on "The Daily Show." "First of all, the very idea of another governor barging into my state in an effort to get them to approve something I don't support is intrusive," Beshear explained. "Second, forcing the federal government...

One of the first tasks that a new Mayor has in New York City after taking office is to present a budget. Given that an annual New York City budget is well north of $100 billion, you would think that this is a serious undertaking. But our new Mayor is the 34-year-old play-acting college socialist Zohran Mamdani. How does he handle the task? Mamdani kicked the process of with a press conference at City Hall on January 28. Here is a transcript and video of his remarks. Excerpt: I want to speak directly to New Yorkers, who have for too...

On the eve of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s first preliminary budget rollout, Gov. Kathy Hochul handed him what amounted to a $1.5 billion gift card, courtesy of state taxpayers. On Tuesday, the mayor thanked the governor for the promised new state aid — by handing her a ticking political bomb. Despite the added money, Mamdani said, the city faces a “historic” $5.4 billion budget gap — which can only be closed by proceeding along what the mayor characterized as two “paths.” Path one, he said, would be for the state to give the city authority to “raise [income] taxes on the...

Follow live updates on New York City politics as Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced a record $127 billion budget proposal Tuesday. The eye-popping amount — that one insider called “insanity” — is up around $11 billion from the current year. The socialist city leader’s plan includes a whopping 9.5% proposed property tax hike on New Yorkers, which he claims would be a “last resort” — while allocating another $1.2 billion for migrants. Mamdani, 34, unveiled his preliminary budget from the Blue Room at NYC City Hall this afternoon. Get the latest news, analysis and more from our local politics reporters with...

The House of Representatives passed a $1.2 trillion funding deal to end the four-day partial government shutdown Tuesday, sending it to President Trump’s desk for his expected signature. Lawmakers voted 217-214 to pass the compromise funding package, which cleared the Senate late Friday and keeps about 97% of the government operating through Sept. 30. Now Congress faces a 10-day scramble to negotiate a deal to fund the Department of Homeland Security before its key agencies run out of cash Feb. 13, a timeline Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) described as “an impossibility.” *** The GOP holdouts were mainly miffed...

What to know about the partial government shutdown:President Trump signed a massive funding bill to end the partial government shutdown on Tuesday, bringing an end to the standoff after four days with a new fight over immigration on the horizon.The House voted earlier in the day to approve the package by a vote of 217 to 214, with 21 Republicans and 21 Democrats crossing the aisle. Getting the bill across the finish line presented some challenges earlier in the day for Speaker Mike Johnson, who ultimately convinced a handful of GOP holdouts to advance the measure for a final vote.The...

Bill passes 217-214 despite GOP opposition over election integrity provisions and DHS funding concerns Twenty-one Republicans broke with President Donald Trump and Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., on Tuesday evening in an attempt to derail a $1.2 trillion spending bill to end a government shutdown, citing concerns that the legislation didn’t do enough to advance GOP priorities.Among a range of reasons, lawmakers argued the bill needed to include provisions shoring up election integrity, come with full-year funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and eliminate Democrat-requested earmarks.The lawmakers that voted against the measure included:Reps. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., Lauren Boebert, R-Colo.,...

Maybe the UN can sell Dictator Scouts cookies as we stop footing its bills. The BBC reported, “The United Nations is at risk of ‘imminent financial collapse’ due to member states not paying their fees, the body’s head has warned. “António Guterres said the UN faced a financial crisis which was ‘deepening, threatening program delivery,’ and that money could run out by July. “He wrote in a letter to all 193 member states that they had to honor their mandatory payments or overhaul the organisation’s financial rules to avoid collapse. “It comes after the UN’s largest contributor, the U.S., refused...

(CNN) — House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told Speaker Mike Johnson on Saturday that Democrats won’t help Republicans pass a funding bill to reopen the government if they attempt to fast-track the measure Monday, according to two sources familiar with a call between the leaders. Jeffries’ move is a major gamble since he would be rebelling against a deal cut by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and President Donald Trump to approve funding for much of the federal government through the end of September. The deal only funds the Department of Homeland Security for two weeks to allow for long-term...

Transcript SummaryThe transcript discusses an impending partial U.S. government shutdown at midnight, with 78% of federal funding set to expire.A deal between the White House and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer would separate DHS funding from a larger package of six funding bills. The DHS portion would receive a two-week stopgap while ICE reforms are negotiated, allowing the other five bills to pass with bipartisan support.Republican Senator Lindsey Graham is holding up the deal by placing a hold on the legislation. He demands a guaranteed vote on his bill to criminalize sanctuary cities before lifting the hold. He spoke on...

A freelance journalist reported on billions of dollars stolen from welfare programs in Minnesota. Congress did not uncover this scandal; a member of the public did. How did Congress respond? Did they open their own investigation, or claw back money from Minnesota? No, they simply decided to spend another $5 billion on welfare. If Congress cared so much about addressing welfare fraud of the kind found in Minnesota, why is the Senate considering a spending package that includes yet another $5 billion in taxpayer funded welfare for refugees? Can Democrats and big government Republicans be so obtuse as to propose...

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) announced Friday afternoon that the Senate is poised to vote on a series of amendments and then pass a massive package of appropriations bills to fund the federal departments and agencies. Thune announced votes on seven amendments, including a proposal by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) to repeal $75 billion in funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and another by Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) to bar the Trump White House from rescinding funding through pocket rescissions. The Senate will also consider an amendment sponsored by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) to remove $5 billion from...

Senate rallies, advances funding package in key test after earlier stumbleSenate Republicans and Democrats locked in an agreement to move forward with a behemoth funding package, smashing through resistance on both sides of the aisle. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., teed up the final vote for the package Friday after hours of quelling resistance among Senate Republicans. Lawmakers will plow through several amendments before voting on the package, which is expected to pass and head to the House. That also means that, despite their best efforts, a government shutdown is all but guaranteed given that the deadline to fund...

The Senate’s race to avert a shutdown hit the skids late Thursday night as Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) placed a hold on the government funding package, forcing leaders to punt the vote. Senators had been hoping to vote on the so-called minibus after leaders struck a deal earlier in the day and President Trump endorsed it. Under the agreement, the Senate was set to vote on a package of five full-year funding bills and a stopgap measure funding the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for two weeks. But as lawmakers awaited word on the vote late Thursday, a fired-up Graham...

“President Donald Trump’s deployment of National Guard and active-duty Marine personnel to U.S. cities cost approximately $496 million between June and December last year, according to an estimate from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.”

The Senate struck a deal to fund a large portion of the government on Thursday evening, just a day before a shutdown deadline.The agreement will split the bill funding the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) off from a “minibus” package of five other major funding bills. The Senate will instead move a stopgap bill known as a continuing resolution (CR) that would fund DHS at current levels until Feb. 13.The two sides had haggled over the length of the CR, with Democrats insisting on the two-week version that won out.

So much for insensitivity and heartlessness, every time Republicans try to do this. Senate Democrats recently signaled that they would be willing to shut down much of the government—again—rather than vote for a package that includes funds for immigration enforcement. This seems a bit tone deaf, as securing the border and immigration enforcement were two of the main reasons President Trump was elected. Several things are at play here. Democrats are so scared of losing the new and burgeoning voting bloc they illegally imported into the U.S. that they will do anything to protect it, American citizens be damned. If...

Fox News contributor Marc Thiessen and former DNC deputy press secretary Jose Aristimuno discuss the looming government shutdown as Democrats oppose DHS funding on ‘The Story.’

President Donald Trump’s budget office this week ordered most government agencies to compile data on the federal money that is sent to 14 mostly Democratic-controlled states and the District of Columbia in what it describes as a tool to “reduce the improper and fraudulent use of those funds.” The order comes a week after Trump said he intended to cut off federal funding that goes to states that are home to so-called sanctuary cities that resist his immigration policies. The memo, obtained by The Associated Press, directs federal agencies to submit information by Jan. 28 to the president’s budget office....