Free Republic

It seems to me that what’s been lost in the discussion about the fedgov shutdown is the fact that this country has been operating under “omnibus” CRs for some time. The proper appropriations process seems to be a forgotten function of Congress, what do we pay these people for? Even under Republican control, there seems to be no desire to do what should be done regarding funding the government; not even “King” Trump has spoken on this issue (as far as I know), and nothing from loudmouths such as Rand Paul, Tom Massie, or MTG, why? Of course, this how...

The Federal Budget Balance, a key indicator of the health of the U.S. economy, has reported a significant swing into surplus territory. The actual figure for the month came in at $198.0 billion, a stark contrast to the previous month’s deficit of $345.0 billion. This substantial change in the budget balance has exceeded all expectations. Analysts had been forecasting a continued deficit, making this surplus a welcome surprise. The shift from a hefty deficit to a surplus indicates a robust increase in the federal government’s income relative to its expenditure for the reported month. The surplus of $198.0 billion not...

WASHINGTON (AP) — With every passing day of the government shutdown, hundreds of thousands of federal employees furloughed or working without pay face mounting financial strain. And now they are confronting new uncertainty with the Trump administration’s promised layoffs. “Luckily I was able to pay rent this month,” said Peter Farruggia, a furloughed federal worker. “But for sure I am going to have bills that are going to go unpaid this month, and I really don’t have many options.” Farruggia is the head of the American Federation of Government Employees local representing employees at the Centers for Disease Control and...

WASHINGTON — The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is among the offices being permanently downsized as a result of the ongoing partial government shutdown, The Post has learned. The RIFs (reductions in force), which started Friday, will fire many of CISA’s 2,540 employees as well as thousands more within the federal bureaucracy — after President Trump repeatedly threatened to target offices cherished by Democrats if the party’s senators refused to reopen the government. In an indication of the possible scale of the RIF, CISA had planned to keep just 889 employees on duty during a shutdown while furloughing 65%...

These are career bureaucrats who don’t want accountability. The system is finally being exposed for what it is. The question is — is this a crisis or the reset America needs? Thoughts? ⬇️

President Donald Trump claimed on Sunday that tariffs are driving more than $15 trillion in new U.S. investment and that if courts should strike them down, the U.S. would likely become a "Third World Nation." Trump’s post comes in direct response to a federal appeals court delivering a major legal setback to his trade policy, declaring most of his sweeping tariffs unlawful under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA. The decision supports earlier rulings by the U.S. Court of International Trade. Although they are still in effect, the tariffs face an uncertain future unless the Supreme Court intervenes....

They brought the hammer down on the worst of the worst. Federal authorities have swept up 264 wanted criminals — including two illegal migrants wanted for sex crimes — in New Jersey in an ongoing mission dubbed “Operation Apex Hammer” that nabbed suspects wanted for murder, robbery and sexual offenses, including those against children. Those arrested include 17 homicide suspects, 95 gang members, including several others wanted for serious violent and sexual offenses, federal officials said. U.S. Marshal Juan Mattos Jr. and Acting U.S. Attorney Alina Habba called the collaboration among federal, state, and local law enforcement “a major success...

President Donald Trump celebrated after the Supreme Court moved to block lower courts from issuing universal injunctions, something that had impacted his executive orders. The president held a news conference just over an hour after the ruling was issued and said the Supreme Court had stopped a "colossal abuse of power." "I was elected on a historic mandate, but in recent months, we've seen a handful of radical left judges effectively try to overrule the rightful powers of the president to stop the American people from getting the policies that they voted for in record numbers," Trump said on Friday....

Nadine Arslanian Menendez is requesting a new trial due to the “blatant violation of her Sixth Amendment right to counsel of her choice,” according to documents filed by her attorneys in federal court. Menendez, the wife and co-defendant of former U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, was found guilty in April on 15 counts of bribery and fraud charges. Arslanian Menendez's attorneys are arguing that because of one of the superseding indictments during the ongoing case, prosecutors created a potential conflict between her and her attorney at the time, David Schertler. According to the filing, prosecutors said during hearings that they intended...

Solar stocks were plummeting as President Donald Trump’s tax-and-spending bill narrowly passed in the House of Representatives early Thursday, threatening the huge tax benefits granted to clean-energy companies during the Biden-era. Clean-energy producers like solar companies have worried that the Trump administration will cut back or completely overhaul tax credits introduced by former President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act from 2022. Those credits can be of up to 50% of a project’s value. “[The] latest draft represents among the most restrictive interpretations we have heard speculated and the closest to ‘complete’ gutting of [the] bill we’ve ever seen,” Jefferies analyst Julien...

Holy chutzpah! State lawmakers have quietly tucked a sweetheart measure into one of the must-pass budget bills that would put taxpayers on the hook for legal bills Attorney General Letitia James racks up facing federal probes. The $10 million criminal-defense slush fund would seemingly cover any state employee 1) facing any federal “legally compulsive process” (e.g., subpoenas and so on) as of Jan. 1, 2025, 2) who can claim the federal probe is “a result of the employee’s New York State employment or duties.” Insiders are clear that it would cover James, even though nothing official links her day-job work...

"The Judge learns that ICE was outside to get the guy, because he had been deported in 2013, came back into our country, charged with committing these crimes, victim is in court. Judge finds out. She goes out into the hallway. Screams at the immigration officer. She's furious. Visibly shaken. Upset. Sends them off to talk to the chief judge. "She comes back into the courtroom. You're not going to believe this. Takes the defendant and the defense attorney back in her chambers. Takes them out a private exit and tells them to leave. While the state prosecutor and victims...

President Trump signed an executive order this afternoon that targets the broken college accreditation system. Basically, colleges and universities become accredited through third-party agencies, which play a big role in determining whether these higher education institutions can receive federal funds. And, President Trump [requires] these college accrediting agencies to change their criteria to prioritize merit over woke ideologies. ... Colleges and universities are accredited to ensure they meet basic standards by third-party entities, not the federal government, though the Department of Education decides which accrediting agencies to recognize. The accreditation process has broad implications since the government uses it to...

Shortly after taking office, the Trump administration offered federal employees a deal many couldn’t refuse: resign voluntarily and receive full benefits and paid leave lasting until September.Demonstrators rally outside the U.S. Office of Personnel Management in Washington on Feb. 5, 2025. Nathan Howard/ReutersMore than 75,000 workers eventually accepted the Deferred Resignation Program, or buyout, which came as part of the administration’s broader efforts to shrink the size of the federal bureaucracy. Since the beginning of President Donald Trump’s second term, the government has already laid off hundreds of thousands of federal employees and contractors.As the federal government concludes a second...

Workers and their families are finding catharsis at the Gorman Road overpass, a hot spot in Howard County for political messaging....

The Government now asks us to stay the district court’s preliminary injunction. Among other things, the Government argues that the States lack Article III standing to challenge the terminations and that the district court lacked subject-matter jurisdiction because the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978, Pub. L. No. 95-454, provides the exclusive means for review of personnel actions taken against federal employees.... The Government is likely to succeed in showing the district court lacked jurisdiction over Plaintiffs’ claims, and the Government is unlikely to recover the funds disbursed to reinstated probationary employees.

April 8 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court blocked on Tuesday a judge's order for President Donald Trump's administration to rehire thousands of fired employees, acting in a dispute over his effort to slash the federal workforce and dismantle parts of the government. The court put on hold San Francisco-based U.S. Judge William Alsup's March 13 injunction requiring six federal agencies to reinstate thousands of recently hired probationary employees while litigation challenging the legality of the dismissals continues.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday halted a federal judge's ruling requiring several federal agencies to reinstate around 16,000 workers the Trump administration had sought to fire. The decision to grant the administration's request means the federal government doesn't have to take steps to bring back some workers who were laid off while litigation moves forward before a federal judge in California.

On October 8, 2020, only one month before arguably the most hotly contested election in American history, Michigan State Police and the local Muskegon Police Department uncovered a massive, statewide voter registration fraud scheme by the Democrat-funded GBI Strategies. Muskegon- MI AG Inspector Stephen Morse interviews one of the key suspects in the GBI Strategies statewide voter registration fraud scheme On October 8, 2020, only one month before the 2020 general election, Muskegon, MI City Clerk Ann Meisch noticed a black female (whose name was redacted from the police report) dropping off between 8,000-10,000 completed voter registration applications at the...

Rumors are swirling around ActBlue, a key fundraising platform for the Democrats, which has repeatedly given money to progressive politicians and far-left groups like Black Lives Matter. Critics, including lawmakers and investigative journalists, have noticed suspicious financial activity that may indicate a vast network of fraud. For context, the House Administration Committee recently uncovered evidence that illegal donations from China, Russia, Iran, and Venezuela might have been laundered to Democratic campaigns through ActBlue. In response, the committee sent a letter to ActBlue CEO Regina Wallace-Jones to begin an investigation. In any case, Walter Curt, a prominent investigative journalist, took to...