Free Republic

The United States Marine Corps has decided to retain the M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle for its close combat formations rather than adopt the Army’s M7 Next Generation Squad Weapon rifle, a Marine Corps spokesperson confirmed to Task & Purpose. “The Marine Corps will retain the M27 for our close combat formations as it best aligns with our unique service requirements, amphibious doctrinal employment of weapons, and distinct modernization priorities, while ensuring seamless interoperability across the Joint force and with coalition partners,” the spokesperson said in an email to the publication. *** The M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle, based on a Heckler...

New satellite imagery and flight-tracking data show a significant buildup of U.S. military aircraft at a key air base in central Jordan, as tensions rise over Iran's nuclear program, The New York Times reported Friday. Images captured Friday reveal more than 60 U.S. attack aircraft parked at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base — roughly three times the number typically stationed there.Flight data also indicate that at least 68 cargo planes have landed at the base since Sunday, suggesting a surge of personnel, equipment, and logistical support. More fighter jets may be positioned under protective shelters. The images show advanced aircraft, including...

Is a miserable pissant of epic proportions. Sir Keir Starmer is blocking a request by President Trump to allow American planes to use British bases to attack Iran, telling him that it would be in breach of international law. In a rift with Washington, the prime minister is understood to have told Trump that the UK would not allow the use of British facilities at Diego Garcia and RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, which is home to America’s fleet of heavy bombers in Europe. Under the terms of long-standing agreements with Washington, these bases can only be used for military operations...

The U.S. military is preparing for the possibility of sustained, weeks-long operations against Iran if President Donald Trump orders an attack, two U.S. officials told Reuters, in what could become a far more serious conflict than previously seen between the countries. The disclosure by the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the planning, raises the stakes for the diplomacy underway between the United States and Iran. U.S. and Iranian diplomats held talks in Oman last week in an effort to revive diplomacy over Tehran's nuclear program, after Trump amassed military forces in the...

Corey Lewandowski fired a Coast Guard pilot for leaving Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s blanket on a plane — but was forced to rehire them upon realizing there was nobody else to fly the plane, according to a stunning new report.Lewandowski, an unpaid special government employee who unofficially acts as chief of staff for Noem — with whom he’s had a years-long affair — has overseen a reign of terror over department staff since President Trump took office last year.According to the Wall Street Journal, Noem had to switch planes during an official trip due to a maintenance issue, but...

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has a clear lead in the Lone Star State’s Senate Republican primary over incumbent John Cornyn — putting the two on a collision course for a May runoff, according to a new poll commissioned by Paxton’s principal campaign committee. The Pulse Decision Science survey found that 36% of likely GOP primary voters support Paxton, 27% back Cornyn and 15% prefer Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-Texas). Another 22% said they were undecided about who to support.Early voting for the March 3 primary starts next week, with a runoff between the top two candidates set for May 26...

President Donald Trump has pardoned five former NFL players convicted of various offenses ranging from counterfeiting to drug trafficking*** Johnson revealed on social media Thursday that Trump has granted clemency to former New York Jets defensive lineman Joe Klecko, former Dallas Cowboys offensive lineman Nate Newton, former Baltimore Ravens running back Jamal Lewis, former Buffalo Bills running back Travis Henry and the late Billy Cannon. “As football reminds us, excellence is built on grit, grace, and the courage to rise again,” she wrote and added, “So is our nation.” Johnson also credited Cowboys owner Jerry Jones with relaying the news...

***U.S. District Judge James Boasberg ruled the government must pay to fly back or accept at a port of entry any of the men who are now in countries other than Venezuela. Upon arrival in the U.S., they will be detained as they fight accusations they are Tren de Aragua gang members. The judge previously ruled the government violated the due process rights of the 137 Venezuelan men, and they were entitled to a hearing. But Boasberg had left the door open for a legal process that didn’t entail their physical return. “Apparently not interested in participating in this process,...

Attorney General Pam Bondi ripped House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) as a “washed-up, loser lawyer” before clashing with lawmakers of both parties during a Wednesday hearing.President Trump’s top law enforcement official testified before the panel following the release of millions of files related to the prosecution of deceased pedophile Jeffrey Epstein — with several victims in attendance. Judiciary Democrats accused Bondi of ignoring those victims and having her Department of Justice harmfully release documents identifying some of them — while redacting members of Epstein’s rich and powerful circle. In heated exchanges with Raskin, the AG accused Democrats...

With all the recent attention on the remarkable price moves in gold and silver, it is surprising that the question of a comprehensive audit of the U.S. government’s gold reserves, a headline issue last year, has been conveniently memory-holed. For a time in early 2025, both President Trump and Elon Musk, in his semi-official capacity as head of DOGE (the so-called Department of Government Efficiency), were vocal advocates of a comprehensive accounting of U.S. gold reserves. President Trump announced plans to audit Fort Knox. Musk offered to video it. But then something happened. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent gave the public...

A federal grand jury refused to hand up an indictment Tuesday against six Democratic lawmakers accused by President Trump of “seditious behavior” this past fall. DC US Attorney Jeanine Pirro led the failed effort to indict Reps. Jason Crow (D-Colo.), Maggie Goodlander (D-NH), Chris Deluzi (D-Pa.) and Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.) and Sens. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) and Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) over a video posted on social media this past November urging members of the military and intelligence community to “refuse illegal orders.” *** Slotkin, who previously accused Trump of “directing the FBI to target us” and “weaponizing the federal government” against...

A federal judge blocked the Trump administration's attempt to force Michigan to hand over its full, unredacted voter registration rolls. The judge ruled that federal law does not require the state to disclose voters' private information. U.S. District Judge Hala Jarbou of the Western District of Michigan dismissed a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice after Michigan refused to provide a complete voter list containing personally identifiable details. Jarbou, who was appointed by President Donald Trump during his first term, granted the state's request to toss out the case. The dispute began last year as the Justice Department...

Representative Jamie Raskin has said unredacted copies of certain documents in the Epstein files appear to contradict President Donald Trump’s longstanding assertion that he barred the late sex offender from his Florida club. *** the Maryland Democrat said one of the documents he reviewed at the Justice Department’s new satellite office in Washington, D.C., was an email from Jeffrey Epstein to his co‑conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell. He said the email included details relayed by Epstein’s lawyers about a conversation with Trump’s attorneys around 2009. Raskin*** said Trump was quoted as saying that while Epstein was never a member of his Mar-a-Lago...

In an age of rage, it is often difficult to stand out in the mob as so many pander to the perpetually irate. However, New York Times columnist Jamelle Bouie has found a way to win the race to the bottom. In a posting on Bluesky, Bouie mocked the account of the addiction of the mother of Vice President J.D. Vance, saying that she should have sold her son for drugs. Bouie used Bluesky (the digital safe zone for the viewpoint intolerant on the left) to post one of the most reprehensible attacks on Vance. Bouie wrote that “this is...

President Donald Trump's favorability ratings remain stagnant as he enters the 13th month of his second term, according to an I&I/TIPP poll. The poll, conducted at the end of January, found 41% of voters view Trump favorably, while 50% rated him unfavorably.Last month, Trump had a 41% favorability rating and a 49% unfavorable rating. Republicans, who gave Trump an 80% favorable rating and just a 13% unfavorable rating in January, gave a 77% favorable rating and 17% unfavorable in this month's poll. Among Democrats, Trump's favorability fell from 13% in January to 10% in February, while his unfavorability remained at...

Democrats seem to be getting their mojo back as the midterm season heats up. Democrats topped Republicans on the generic congressional ballot by a considerable six points, 52% to 46%, scoring the highest of any party on that metric in the history of the survey commissioned by Fox News.The minority party also made massive gains on key issues, crushing Republicans on affordability by 14 points, health care by 21 points, helping the middle class by 14 points, transgender issues by 22 points, and even taxes by one point.<“Democrats are taking back the House in November,” a confident Democratic Congressional Campaign...

President Donald Trump said he has directed Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to keep the federal government from intervening in protests or riots in Democrat-led cities unless local officials request help, while ordering a strong federal response to protect federal property. In a post to Truth Social, Trump said the administration "under no circumstances" would participate in handling unrest in "poorly run Democrat Cities" unless state or local governments ask for assistance.He added that federal authorities will "guard, and very powerfully so, any and all Federal Buildings" that come under attack. Trump said he has instructed Immigration and Customs Enforcement...

Republicans have faced a bitter blow after a set of special election results on Sunday morning revealed that a former GOP stronghold has flipped to the Democrats. On the state level, Democrat Taylor Rehmet flipped the 9th District in the Texas State Senate, defeating Republican Leigh Wambsganss in a runoff.The Fort Worth-area district went for Donald Trump by 17 points in 2024 - and the sweeping win this weekend could offer warning signs for Republicans ahead of this November's midterm elections. The president had urged his supporters to vote for Wambsganss in Saturday's election in a Truth Social post.Rehmet, a...

President Trump and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) reached an agreement Thursday on a deal to keep the government funded — but it likely won’t be approved in time to avert a partial shutdown. The deal would strip funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from a six-bill package that cleared the House last week to keep a large swath of the government open through the end of the fiscal year.A two-week extension for DHS, which oversees the federal law enforcement agencies handling the administration’s controversial immigration crackdown, will be provided under the terms of the deal. The...

Kristi Noem has been left utterly humiliated as her hard-charging ICE agents were given new rules last night to ignore 'agitators' and only arrest 'criminal' migrants as part of Trump's new deportation agenda. *** Trump appointed Homan to take command of immigration enforcement in Minnesota. Homan is a longtime rival of Noem and her rumored lover, Corey Lewandowski. [Ed. note: gratuitous, superfluous] 'This is common sense cooperation that allows us to draw down the number of people we have here. Yes, I said it. Draw down the number of people here,' Homan told reporters.New guidance for ICE directs agents to...