Free Republic

White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, one of President Donald Trump’s most influential but least public-facing advisers, launched an X account Tuesday to share updates from inside the administration. "I’m joining X to share occasional updates about the work we do at the White House. We are relentlessly focusing on advancing President Trump’s agenda and delivering on promises to the American people," her first post read. "I welcome different viewpoints. Follow along for insights and information." Her newly formed account has amassed nearly 300,000 followers since its launch this week. Wiles is seen very often with the president, sitting...

Senators Elizabeth Warren (D, Massachusetts) and Josh Hawley (R, Missouri) introduced the Break Up Big Medicine Act, legislation aimed at prohibiting the joint ownership of health insurers, pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), providers, and wholesalers to reduce health care costs and restore competition... The legislation comes amid growing concerns about consolidation in the health care industry. In the US, 3 PBMs currently manage 80% of prescription drug claims, 2 and 3 wholesalers control 98% of prescription drug distribution... These entities are often vertically integrated, meaning a single parent company can own every component of the health care supply chain, from the...

Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) is pushing back on a Republican proposal to spend up to $400 million in federal funds on President Donald Trump’s planned White House ballroom, citing the nation’s mounting debt and deficit spending. Scott’s comments came after Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) announced legislation Monday that would help finance the ballroom project with federal dollars. Graham argued the facility would serve security and operational purposes beyond hosting events. “Underneath it will be a lot of military stuff. There will be a Secret Service annex, and we pay for it by offsetting it with customs fees,” Graham said at...

The president of Turning Point USA’s University of Georgia chapter says the organization has strayed from the mission it had under the leadership of Charlie Kirk. Caroline Mattox wrote on Instagram that she could not in good conscience stay with an organization that has “strayed so far from its original purpose and principles.” Mattox is not the first TPUSA chapter president to express dissatisfaction with the organization’s current direction. The University of Arkansas chapter cut ties with TPUSA last month. Former President Dino Fantegrossi also expressed the sentiment that TPUSA had strayed from its original mission.

Turning Point USA CEO and chair Erika Kirk helped organize the White House listening session this month that put disgruntled Make America Healthy Again advocates in the same room with President Donald Trump, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and their leading advisers, according to two people inside the Trump administration and two people familiar with the meeting, granted anonymity to discuss the details. It’s one of the first and most prominent examples of Kirk helping the Trump administration keep its coalition together ahead of what is expected to be a difficult midterm election cycle. Some of Kirk' supporters see...

Leaders of the Make America Healthy Again movement have pitched themselves as a political force that will make or break GOP prospects in the midterms. But they have yet to make a splash in the only Senate primary where they have entered the fray — Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy’s battle to fend off two challengers to his Louisiana seat... Defeating Cassidy — arguably the highest-profile Republican to challenge Kennedy’s rhetoric and policies on vaccines — would be a coup for the nascent movement... MAHA PAC leader Tony Lyons said his group is the largest donor to Letlow’s campaign and her...

The UNC Sheps Center, which tracks rural hospital infrastructure in the United States, has documented 195 rural hospitals that have closed or converted to outpatient facilities since January 2005. Six are in Pennsylvania. Closures have far outpaced the opening of new rural hospitals during this period. As a physician who has trained in rural communities and a researcher who studies community well-being and public health, we see that every rural hospital closure exerts a domino effect on surrounding communities and residents. This can be difficult to quantify but manifests as lost jobs and economic decline, poorer health and a pervasive...

President Donald Trump announced that the “Strait of Hormuz is fully open and ready for business” during his appearance Friday at a Turning Point USA rally in Phoenix... He also promised to release the Pentagon study on UFOs “very, very soon...I figured this was a good crowd because I know you people. You’re really into that,” the president said, about UFOs. “I don’t know if I am.”... The president touted his first year in office as “the most successful first year of any administration in the history” after ending eight wars. He included securing the southern border among his accomplishments....

Ron DeSantis isn’t committing to making another run for the presidency, saying he’s “got to run through the tape” and cautioning that it would make little sense to plan too concretely in such a dynamic environment. ..."Think of all the new things we’re talking about right now with what’s going on in the world and everything just in the last two months. And so who knows how all this stuff evolves?” Yet he warns that the midterm elections will be tough for his party. “I think the way the winds are blowing currently, I don’t think it’s insurmountable, but I...

“I recognize that young voters do not love the policy we have in the Middle East, OK,” the vice president said. “I understand.” Vance mapped out the administration’s successes — from Trump’s immigration agenda to economic policies — before adding, “I’m not saying you have to agree with me on every issue. What I’m saying is don’t get disengaged because you disagree with the administration on one topic.” “Get more involved. Make your voice heard even more,” he added. “That’s how we ultimately take the country back.”

Conservative activist Riley Gaines brushed off President Donald Trump's criticism of her on Monday, saying she does "nothing for the approval of man." Gaines, a former NCAA swimmer, was one of the many Trump supporters critical of an AI-generated image the president shared on social media on Sunday portraying himself as a Jesus-like figure. Trump has since deleted the post. "Seriously, I cannot understand why he'd post this. Is he looking for a response? Does he actually think this?" she wrote on X on Monday, commenting on the image. "Either way, two things are true. 1) a little humility would...

On Thursday, Turning Point USA hosted a conversation between Erika Kirk and Karoline Leavitt. The two spoke about President Donald Trump, Charlie Kirk, conservative policy, and more at George Washington University.

Fox News anchor Mark Levin and former Fox News star Megyn Kelly continued mocking each with high school-esque sexual insults on Saturday, extending their smutty feud that began two weeks ago. The latest round started on Friday, when Levin branded Kelly [EXPLICIT] referring to the 1972 porno flick — after she mocked him for suggesting President Donald Trump bring in Secretary of State Marco Rubio or Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff to manage the relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, rather than Vice President JD Vance. “Oh the stories I hear,” Levin said about Kelly. “Filthy mouth."

Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chair Rand Paul (R-Ky.) confronted Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) Wednesday about his past comments calling him a snake, saying “tell it to my face.”Paul said Mullin has “anger issues” and said the public must be wondering whether the nominee has the temperament to lead the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).The beef between the two men stems from comments Mullin made after Paul was attacked by his neighbor.Paul said Mullin made the comments when confronted by constituents rather than defend a vote.“Instead of explaining your vote to continue these welfare programs for refugees, you...

As a career prosecutor, I have a deep understanding not only of how our criminal statutes work, but also of the personal toll crime takes on families. For years, I have witnessed the devastation caused when loved ones are lost to violent crime. That loss, and the pain left behind, is what drove me to run for office. Simply put, I know what needs to change in our laws to prevent more people from becoming victims. This year, however, it has become increasingly clear why New Mexico remains so dangerous. What follows may sound like “insider baseball,” but it is...

SBA suspends more than 111,000 borrowers in the state Earlier this week, the White House announced plans for a new anti-fraud task force targeting welfare abuse in California and other states, and assigned Vice President J.D. Vance, Andrew Ferguson of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and Attorney General Pam Bondi. California Attorney General Rob Bonta fell all over himself Thursday claiming that the California Department of Justice was working to tackle fraud in the state. He even “pushed back” against the Trump Administration’s characterization that California programs are overrun by fraud and that state government is somehow facilitating this fraud....

Florida Republican Sen. Rick Scott told "The Charlie Kirk Show" on Thursday that Senate Republicans are going to pass the SAVE Act to mandate voter ID and verification of citizenship to register to vote, and if Democrats want to stop it, they'll have to do a talking filibuster. "The concept that you don’t have to show your ID to vote is foreign," Scott said. "We're going to get this done. The president is on board. He knows we have to use the talking filibuster to get his agenda done." "Is it a pain in the rear? Yeah. But so what?...

At first blush, Trump’s insistence on Greenland sounds outlandish, but recall over 20 yrs ago I began warning of foreigners aggressively claiming Arctic resources and waterways - while America slept. Russia was flagging underseas energy sources, our inventory of icebreakers dwindled to ONE reliable (against DOZENS of foreign-flagged vessels), and DC ignored my concerns of countries hogging new transportation routes that would screw us over. In explaining Alaska’s strategic location (30% of which is in the #Arctic) I was mocked for ringing the warning bells… but really I was just before my time. So now that attention is finally paid,...

The Trump Administration has told states to stop the long-standing practice of taking Social Security benefit checks from some children and youth in foster care. In a letter to governors, sent in early December, Alex Adams, an assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, told states to end what he calls "the orphan tax." Adams, who oversees federal child welfare policy, told states to quit taking Social Security survivor benefits from children in foster care. The monthly benefit is paid to a child whose mother or father has died but had worked and paid Social Security...

Members of New Mexico’s U.S. House delegation have signed on to cosponsor articles of impeachment against Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem after a Minnesota woman was killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer last week. “I know a lot of people are feeling very frightened out there, but we want you to know that we are conducting oversight; we are taking action,” said Rep. Melanie Stansbury, D-N.M. Videos of Renee Good’s final interaction with a federal immigration officer before he shot and killed her have flooded social media feeds and fueled a national debate over whether the...