Free Republic

When House Speaker Mike Johnson (R–La.) lashed out at last weekend's "No Kings" rallies soon to arrive on Washington's National Mall, he reached for an old conservative refrain: "They hate capitalism. They hate our free enterprise system." I am sure he's correct about some of the protesters. But the message rings hollow coming from a party leader that stands by as President Donald Trump does precisely what Johnson rightly decries: substituting political control for market choice and ruling by executive order. Indeed, what began as a populist revolt against so-called elites has become a program of state ownership, price fixing...

U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is in talks with several quantum-computing companies to take equity stakes in exchange for federal funding, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. Companies including IonQ (IONQ.N), Rigetti Computing (RGTI.O), and D-Wave Quantum (QBTS.N), are discussing the government becoming a shareholder as part of the agreements, the report said, adding that the discussions include minimum funding awards from Washington of $10 million each. Other companies such as Quantum Computing (QUBT.O), and Atom Computing are considering similar arrangements, the Journal added. Reuters could not immediately verify the report. Earlier this...

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is looking to provide an additional $20 billion in financing for Argentina through a mix of financing from sovereign funds and the private sector.That would come on top of the $20 billion credit swap line that the U.S. Treasury pledged to Argentine President Javier Milei and his government this month to bolster the South American nation's collapsing currency.“We are working on a $20 billion facility that would complement our swap line, with private banks and sovereign funds that, I believe, would be more focused on the debt market,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters...

President Donald Trump said Thursday that he will use tariff revenue to offer cash bailouts for farmers who are struggling with trade uncertainty and other economic headwinds. “We’re going to take some of that tariff money that we made, we’re going to give it to our farmers, who are, for a little while, going to be hurt until the tariffs kick into their benefit,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “So we’re going to make sure that our farmers are in great shape, because we’re taking in a lot of money.” Trump officials expect that Congress will need to...

The Libertarian Party of North Carolina has denounced what it calls a dangerous expansion of federal power under the Trump administration, warning that recent policing actions by the government undermine constitutional rights and “erode the foundations” of a free society. In a statement published August 19, LPNC Chair Ryan Brown said that recent domestic-policing measures by the administration reflect a “blatant disregard for the rights of American citizens.” He pointed specifically to the deployment of military personnel in California and Washington, D.C., calling them violations of the Posse Comitatus Act, a federal law limiting the use of armed forces in...

Top officials at the Pentagon are “thinking about” whether the U.S. should acquire equity stakes in leading defense contractors such as Lockheed Martin, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Tuesday. The Cabinet secretary, in an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” revealed the Defense Department’s interest in taking those stakes days after the U.S. government acquired 10% of Intel stock in a roughly $9 billion deal. Lutnick was asked if the Trump administration would repeat that move with other companies that do business with the government. “Oh there’s a monstrous discussion about defense,” Lutnick replied. Lockheed, which makes most of its revenue...