Free Republic

President Donald Trump will be leaving Washington soon, but the most powerful Republican of the past four years isn't going anywhere. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, says a former member of the White House staff who advised Trump throughout the first three turbulent years in office, "was sort of Trump's 'Washington whisperer.' He offered quiet advice, and provided critical help on some very big stuff," says the former staffer, who requested anonymity in order to talk candidly. ''You could call him kind of a co-president." Much of Trump's legacy, when it comes to domestic policy at least, will be fleeting....

SAN FRANCISCO -- The Obama administration has repealed a rule that would have threatened employers with prosecution unless they fired workers whose Social Security numbers did not match entries in a government database, ending a two-year battle in a San Francisco federal court. Although the Department of Homeland Security formally withdrew the "no-match" rule Wednesday, the administration is supporting another program enabling employers to check workers' names against electronic records that are supposed to screen out illegal immigrants. That program, E-Verify, is voluntary for most employers but mandatory for the 170,000 companies holding federal contracts and for their subcontractors. This...

Sometimes wishful thinking can lead to embarrassing flights from reality. A case in point was a recent ACLU press statement with a giddy headline that blared, “Government Abandons Current No-Match Rule Harmful to Legal Workers.” What prompted this rejoicing was the government’s decision to issue a supplementary rule in response to a recent court decision temporarily halting our no-match rule. The rule gives businesses guidance on handling letters from the Social Security Administration informing them of workers whose names and Social Security numbers don’t match government records. It provides a safe harbor for honest employers while discouraging dishonest ones from...

In an apparent crackdown on illegal immigrants that may signal more to come, Cintas, the large uniform manufacturer, placed six employees from its San Jose plant on unpaid leave Monday. The move came after the workers failed to verify their Social Security numbers, a document required by employers to prove their workers have the right to be employed in the United States. About 60 Cintas workers, labor organizers and immigrant advocates, rallying outside the East San Jose plant Monday afternoon, denounced the action. With 30,000 workers in five states, Cintas, is believed to be the first company in the country...