Free Republic

A USAID worker who managed to survive widespread cuts by DOGE has described the horror watching their coworkers being fired. President Trump has gone scorched-earth against the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) this week, claiming it is 'corrupt'. Amidst huge amounts of layoffs at the agency, one staff member described to NPR how during a virtual staff meeting on Monday people started leaving one by one as their access was cut off. The staffer said: 'It was like from a horror film', after the administration ordered at least 8,000 staffers and contractors onto permanent leave or furlough. "There...

President Donald Trump has suspended dozens of government officials for trying to circumvent his executive order on freezing all foreign aid. Dozens of career government officials at the U.S. Agency for International Development were placed on leave on Monday. One agency staffer told the Wall Street Journal that 57 people were affected. 'We have identified several actions within USAID that appear to be designed to circumvent the President's Executive orders and the mandate from the American people,' said the newly installed acting administrator, Jason Gray, in an email obtained by The Washington Post. 'As a result, we have placed a...

Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump's pick for defense secretary, was investigated for an alleged sexual assault in 2017 but no charges were filed. The alleged incident took place in the early morning hours of Oct. 8, 2017, at the address of the Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel and Spa in Monterey, California, the city said in a statement. The police department investigated 'an alleged sexual assault' involving Hegseth, a Fox News host and Army National Guard veteran, that was reported four days later, according to the statement. The victim's name and age are confidential. No weapons were involved, according to the statement,...

The exact circumstances that led to President Joe Biden's dramatic withdrawal from the 2024 election race have been the topic of frenzied conversation for weeks. Ever since Biden tweeted his digitally signed letter announcing the decision on Sunday, June 21, the line from the White House has been clear: The president was not pushed. This was his choice alone. Sympathetic insiders described a weekend of 'reflection' for the president – who had recently tested postive for COVID and was holed up in isolation with his wife Jill and a handful of trusted aides at the Biden family home in Rehoboth...

Melania Trump spent her four years in the White House in an epic internal battle with her step-daughter Ivanka, met repeatedly with her lawyers about her pre and post-nups, and used her clothing - including that jacket - to speak for her. The Slovenian-born first lady spent her time in the role 'bucking expectations,' notes Katie Rogers in her forthcoming book 'American Woman: The Transformation of the Modern First Lady, from Hillary Clinton to Jill Biden.' She was rarely seen in public, gave few interviews and even her signature initiative 'Be Best' left people wondering exactly what it meant (and...

Arab American organizations in Michigan are urging President Joe Biden to 'step down' as they push for Democratic voters in the state to cast their ballot for 'uncommitted' in the February 27th primary. Arab Americans have been furious with the president since the Israeli-Hamas war began in October. Biden has strongly backed Israel's counter strikes in the West Bank. In Gaza, the Health Ministry said the death toll had risen to 29,092 since the start of the war with around two-thirds of them women and children. Now that anger could have political consequences in a state that could decide which...

President Joe Biden on Friday admonished Lloyd Austin for his lapse in judgment when the defense secretary chose not to reveal his hospitalization, but said he still has confidence in him. While visiting small businesses in Allentown, Pa., Biden was asked if he has confidence in Austin, to which he responded: 'I do.' Asked if it was a lapse in judgment for Austin to not inform him of his hospitalization, Biden said: 'Yes.' The president also made a bit of a blunder when he entered the Nowhere Coffee shop.

* Trump, 76, was indicted on fraud charges last night by a Manhattan grand jury * He will travel to New York to be arraigned on Tuesday afternoon * Attorney Joe Tacopina says he won't be handcuffs - but may be perp-walked ************************************************************* After recovering from the 'initial shock' of a grand jury indictment against him, President Trump is now raging about the judge who is expected to preside over the case. Trump, 76, will be arraigned in Manhattan at 2.15pm on Tuesday on an array of business fraud charges relating to 2016 hush money payments to porn star Stormy...

Grinning Biden refused to answer questions from reporters in the Oval Office Reporters shouted questions on the documents - but he just sat and smiled And new report found DoJ cut a deal with Biden team to keep FBI out Justice agreed to let Biden's team search solo White House is under intense scrutiny for their response to the files scandal It took them two months from the first discovery to acknowledge them ******************************************************************************** President Joe Biden smiled and laughed Tuesday as he ignored a barrage of questions about the classified documents scandal that has engulfed his administration while a...

InfoWars host and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones has jettisoned his support for Donald Trump and is backing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for the 2024 presidential race. Jones, who was recently ordered to pay $49.3 million to parents of a Sandy Hook school shooting victim in a defamation case, admitted he's 'pigheadedly' supported Trump throughout the years. But, he said on his InfoWars podcast, he's now backing DeSantis, who is 'way better than Trump.'

The United States killed al Qaeda boss Ayman al-Zawahiri in a drone strike Saturday, following a more than 20-year effort to assassinate the terrorist. Labeled by US officials as Osama bin Laden’s number-two, al-Zawahiri, 71, was a key plotter of the September 11 terrorist attacks and took over as the leader of the notorious terror group following bin Laden’s death in 2011. The strike was carried out early Sunday at an Afghanistan safe house the elderly terrorist had be holed up in, at 6:18 am local time and 9:48 pm Saturday in the US. The early morning attack saw al-Zawahiri...

Republican Rep. Liz Cheney and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky are among the five people named Thursday as recipients of the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award for acting to protect democracy. Cheney was chosen for how she broke with her party to defend the constitution, the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation said in its announcement. Zelensky was chosen for his leadership of the Ukrainian people during the Russian invasion. The other honorees are Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers and Fulton County, Georgia, elections worker Wandrea 'Shaye' Moss.

President Joe Biden on Thursday slammed the 80 million Americans who have yet to get a COVD vaccine shot, asking them 'what more is there to wait for.' 'This is not about freedom or personal choice. It's about protecting yourself and those around you, the people you work with, the people you care about, the people you love. My job as president is to protect all Americans,' he said in remarks in the State Dining Room at the White House. 'We've been patient but our patience is wearing thin. And your refusal has cost all of us. So please do...

The White House on Friday argued it did not need to have a briefing from COVID experts amid changing face mask guidelines because President Joe Biden, a 'trusted voice,' was speaking about the matter. 'I would argue that we had the President of the United States speak to this yesterday, he gave more than 30 minute speech about where we are as a country, and he is a trusted voice, he's the leader of our country. We heard from him,' White House deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said when asked why the country wasn't hearing from medical experts at this...

President Joe Biden was slammed after joking about running over a journalist who wanted to ask him a thorny question about Israel. While test-driving the Ford F-150 Lightning at the carmaker's factory in Dearborn, Michigan, Biden pulled up alongside a group of reporters to show off his driving skills. 'Mr. President, can I ask you a quick question on Israel before you drive away since it's so important?' a reporter asked.

Liz Cheney said on Sunday that the 74 million Americans who voted for Donald Trump for president were 'misled' and 'betrayed.' She also accused House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy and Rep. Elise Stefanik, the woman who replaced her as GOP Conference Chair, of being complicit in Trump's lie that he won the 2020 election. The Wyoming Republican, who voted for Trump in last year's contest, said she regrets that decision and argued the former president is a 'real danger' to democracy with his false claims of election fraud.

Rep Matt Gaetz allegedly asked President Donald Trump for pre-emptive pardons for himself and his congressional allies for any crimes they may have committed months before he was revealed to be under federal investigation for sex trafficking. Two sources with knowledge of the situation told the New York Times that Gaetz, one of Trump's fiercest defenders, approached the president with the extraordinary request in his final weeks in office. It came as investigators with the Department of Justice began questioning Gaetz' associates about allegations against him, including that he'd had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl, according to the...

Donald Trump and his allies have stayed quiet on Matt Gaetz Their silence is deafening as Gaetz struggles to save his political career Gaetz was one of Trump's top allies on Capitol Hill Trump, who has not been shy about blasting out statements on an array of matters, has yet to send one out on Gaetz Anyone that has ever spent 10 minutes with the guy would realize he's an unserious person,' one former Trump campaign aide told Politico of Gaetz

.... Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell would not promise a vote on Trump's nomination to the Supreme Court before the election 'When the nomination comes out of committee, then I'll decide when and how to proceed,' he said Timing would be tough with less than 40 days for the nominee to meet with senators, have a confirmation hearing and then a floor vote ... When the nomination comes out of committee, then I'll decide when and how to proceed,' he said after the Senate Republicans' lunch on Capitol Hill Tuesday. He would not address if that vote would be before...

President Donald Trump brushed off a question about why more black people are dying at the hands of police, arguing 'so are white people' 'So are white people. So are white people. What a terrible question to ask. So are white people,' he told CBS News. 'More people, by the way. More white people' While black Americans account for less than 13 per cent of the U.S. population, they are killed by police at more than twice the rate of white Americans Trump called the killing of George Floyd 'terrible' Trump administration was criticized for its handling of race relations...