Free Republic

Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) is the party goober right now. He was part of a five-vote bloc that was against advancing the reconciliation package that cuts taxes, kicks illegals off Medicaid, and secures our border. He was willing to set fire to all of that, all of President Trump and the GOP’s top domestic action items over Ukraine war funding. I’m not kidding: He voted and then disappeared for the remainder of Wednesday night. In the end, the four other ‘no’ votes—Reps. Thomas Massie (R-KY), Victoria Spartz (R-IN), Keith Self (R-TX), and Andrew Clyde (R-GA)–all fell in line with the...

President Trump is energetically pushing to pass his One Big Beautiful Bill. On June 3, 2025, the White House published 50 Wins in the One Big Beautiful Bill.The One Big Beautiful Bill does not do everything that needs to be done. It does not cut spending as much as needed, because the Republican majorities in the House and Senate are extremely thin. However, the One Big Beautiful Bill has many excellent policy changes. The policy decisions become law with the One Big Beautiful Bill, beyond Presidential Executive Orders, so they carry more weight and cannot be reversed by a change...

The Senate parliamentarian has rejected several more provisions in the Republican megabill to enact President Trump’s agenda, including language authorizing states to conduct border security and immigration enforcement, which traditionally have been duties of the federal government. Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough also ruled against language in the bill that would increase the Federal Employees Retirement Systems contribution rate for new civil servants if they do not agree to give up civil service protections to become at-will employees. Additionally, the parliamentarian advised against a section of the bill that would allow the executive branch to reorganize federal government agencies — or eliminate...

Aprovision added to the Senate iteration of Republicans’ proposed budget reconciliation package would give the White House $100 million to reorganize federal agencies as President Trump sees fit, without congressional input in what critics decried as an “abrogation” of Congress’ power and responsibility. The measure appeared in the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee’s portion of the legislation aimed at reducing federal spending in order to partially pay for tax cuts for the ultrawealthy and increased immigration enforcement, alongside proposals to make future feds pay more towards their retirement benefits, particularly if they wish to retain protections against being...

The growing popularity of suppressors among both hunters and tactical shooters has brought increased attention to the various mounting systems available on the market. When selecting a suppressor, the mounting system is a critical consideration that directly impacts performance, convenience, and versatility. The two primary mounting types—direct thread and quick-detach (QD)—each offer distinct advantages and disadvantages depending on your specific needs and usage scenarios. This comprehensive comparison examines both systems through the lens of practical application, helping you determine which option best suits your particular requirements. Whether you’re a hunter seeking noise reduction in the field or a tactical shooter...

WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader John Thune told Breitbart News exclusively he is targeting a July 4 deadline to get the big budget reconciliation plan that would extend President Donald Trump’s 2017 tax cuts– adding no tax on tips, Social Security income, or overtime wages–to the president’s desk for his signature. This is welcome news for the president and his team, as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also has recently said he hopes for a July 4 date for the package to be wrapped up. The package is also expected to fund more of the president’s immigration priorities, as well as...

Open question - Can Congress include the text of Trump's Executive Orders in their upcoming reconciliation bill(s)? It seems to me that it might be a way to counter all the lawfare challenges currently being filed against them. It's one thing to argue that an Executive Order violates existing law. But that's hard to do when it's actually been passed by Congress. Any thoughts?

The Trump Team fooled everybody, including me. Surely, we all thought, it would take Trump’s anti-bureaucrats some time to clear the judicial logjam. But all of us were wrong. It was a simultaneous coordinated assault, deployed with consummate skill in a single afternoon. It was all happening at once. We will start with Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and his incredible comments. The Speaker explained, “There’s a presupposition in America that the commander-in-chief is going to be a good steward of taxpayer dollars.” Johnson also pointed out that DOGE workers were better able to make decisions on government funding than members...

The GOP’s ambitious plan to quickly advance President Trump’s legislative agenda is hitting an early speed bump, with Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) being forced to punt an initial vote on the legislation. Johnson and House GOP leaders repeatedly said that they wanted to start the legislative process on the measure encompassing much of Trump’s agenda by advancing a budget resolution out of committee this week. But a source told The Hill on Monday that the vote will not take place this week amid jockeying among Republicans over how deep the spending cuts should ultimately be. * * *

WASHINGTON — Americans who earn tips, overtime or Social Security benefits may not have to wait long for federal taxes on that income to end, the White House says. President Trump wants all three of those major tax cuts to be included in a looming budget reconciliation bill that can pass with bare majorities in both the Republican-led House and Senate, press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Friday. “The president has made it very clear to our allies on Capitol Hill that is a critical piece of this reconciliation package,” Leavitt said in response to a question from The Post,...

Join with fellow FREEPERS to pray for AMERICA: For those in Authority in Government, Family, Military, Business, Healthcare, Education, Churches, and the Media. I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone: for kings and all those in authority that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. 1 Timothy 2:1-2 Religion Forum threads labeled “Prayer” are closed to debate of any kind.

As much as I admire Trump advisor Steve Bannon’s fighting spirit, two recent experiences have convinced me that his call for legal retribution is impractical, perhaps impossible. My first experience was the March trial of Rebecca Lavrenz in Washington, D.C.’s federal district court. Lavrenz, one of the 10 women I profile in “Ashli: The Untold Story of the Women of January 6,” is a great-grandmother. On January 4 and 5, 2021, she drove 25 hours by herself to D.C. to pray for the nation. On January 6, when a Capitol door opened from the inside, Lavrenz walked in, prayed for...

FALLS CHURCH, Va. — A federal judge on Monday issued a temporary restraining order barring removal of a memorial to Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. A group called Defend Arlington, affiliated with a group called Save Southern Heritage Florida, filed a lawsuit Sunday in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, seeking the restraining order. A hearing has been scheduled for Wednesday. Work to remove the memorial had begun Monday before the restraining order was issued, but the memorial remains in place on cemetery grounds. A cemetery spokesperson said Monday that Arlington is complying with the restraining order, but referred all...

The Biden regime has moved in the demolition crews to remove the Confederate statue in Arlington Cemetery in Washington DC. John Reid from Richmond’s Morning News with John Reid posted photos on Sunday of the demolition crew moving into the cemetery to remove the monument. John posted video from Arlington Cemetery this morning where he reported on the destruction of the famous statue. The crane was moved in and the removal is expected to take place on Monday.

Why should Americans oppose the decision of the now disbanded “Congressional Naming Commission” to remove from Arlington Cemetery the Moses Ezekiel Reconciliation Monument—one of the greatest works of art in that hallowed ground?A fundamental reason to halt the monument’s removal is found in its 1914 unveiling proclamation by President Woodrow Wilson who said, “the monument represented the best of America—a spirit of reconciliation, democracy, freedom, heroism and patriotism.”Two contemporary strategic reasons to oppose removal is that such an act validates the communist agenda to erase Americans’ connection with their virtuous history, and destroy the American military fighting capability.That radical agenda...

Walter Reed National Military Medical Center has issued a “cease and desist order” to Holy Name College, a community of Franciscan Catholic priests and brothers, who have provided pastoral care to service members and veterans at Walter Reed for nearly two decades.

Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema are known as the moderates of the Senate Democratic Caucus. There are problems with that designation, of course, such as the fact that Manchin's and Sinema's lifetime ACU ratings are 27% and 15%, respectively - not exactly the definition of "moderation." But the universe of Democratic Party officeholders has moved so far left that they now officially regard Josef Stalin as "squishy," so the definition of "moderate" has had to be softened a bit as well, in recent years. Since the Democrats usurped complete control of both the national executive and legislative branches in 2020,...

Tuesday on FNC’s “Fox News Primetime,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said he was not surprised his colleague Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) came out to oppose the so-called Build Back Better agenda promoted by President Joe Biden. According to Graham, one of the takeaways was Manchin was “telling the world” reconciliation to pass spending bills was dead.

The latest version of Democrats’ $4 trillion Build Back Better reconciliation bill includes a provision to empower the government to set Medicare drug prices.Government price-setting of prescription drugs is zombie legislation that just won’t die. After briefly being excised due to opposition from moderate legislators, the latest version of congressional Democrats’ $4 trillion Build Back Better reconciliation bill includes a provision to allow the government to set Medicare drug prices. “Democrats announced they have sealed a deal [on] pharmaceutical drug costs for seniors,” announced the Associated Press last week. The consequences of prescription drug price-setting in terms of reduced access...

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is frog-marching her vulnerable members to a political suicide vote on a bill that’s likely dead on arrival in the Senate.On November 2, five House Democrats—enough to block the passage of the spending spree that the party hopes to enact via the budget reconciliation process—wrote to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, urging her “to only bring a bill to the floor for which we have a strong level of confidence…will be ruled in order by the Senate parliamentarian and earn passage in the U.S. Senate.”The lawmakers have justifiable reason for concern. Major pieces of the 2,135-page...