DeWine’s Executive Order on Trans Surgeries Missed Mark. A Veto Override Would Be Right on Target.

• Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine recently rattled the GOP when he vetoed HB 68, the Saving Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act.
• The bill would have both protected fairness in women’s sports and prohibited cross-sex hormones, puberty blockers, and body-modifying gender-related surgeries for minors under the age of 18. Shortly after his veto, however, DeWine issued a transgender-focused “emergency” executive order. But it fell abysmally short of HB 68’s aims.
• Banning only transgender surgeries for minors was a grasp at low-hanging fruit. And DeWine’s veto of a comprehensive legislative package that was passed by a supermajority of his state’s legislators—one that identifies the immutability of sex and protects vulnerable populations—was nothing more than capitulation to a minuscule, but vocal minority.
• Now, the state Senate will get its chance to weigh in, set for Wednesday, and needs 20 votes in the 33-member body to override DeWine’s veto.
• With an override, the Senate has a chance to honor the will of the people of Ohio. Let’s hope it does just that.

Schedule an Interview: Sarah Parshall Perry

Concerns About Proposed Senate Border Security Compromise

• A proposed Senate border security compromise includes significant funding to help illegal immigrants enter the country and would codify President Biden’s open border policies into law.
• Congress should reject these border insecurity requests rather than continue to fund the demise of our nation’s sovereignty.
• The bill would give illegal aliens work permits immediately when they are released at the border. Giving out work permits on arrival would lock into law the already existing massive incentive to come here illegally. 
• The proposal would reportedly stop the Department of Homeland Security from giving parole to aliens who cross into the United States between ports of entry. Sounds good, but that’s like enforcing vehicle speed limits only where there are no paved roads—because Biden’s bogus programs actually allow inadmissible aliens to fly to U.S. airports and then apply for parole.
• Finally, in a sop to immigration activist attorneys, the proposal would also reportedly provide taxpayer-funded defense lawyers to illegal aliens under 18 or with special needs to fight against their deportation.
• In the end, the White House’s supplemental request for $13.6 billion to continue funding NGOs and mass migration should be a nonstarter. The Senate shouldn’t further compound the border crisis by also codifying Biden’s and Mayorkas’ egregious open border tactics.

Schedule an Interview: Simon Hankinson and Lora Ries

Corruption in China’s Military is No Excuse for American Complacency

• We now have new revelations of corruption in the Chinese People’s Liberation Army resulting in, among other things, “missiles filled with water instead of fuel” and missile silos “with lids that don’t function.”
• According to U.S. officials, this latest bout of corruption “led to an erosion of confidence in the [PLA’s] overall capabilities” and made President Xi Jinping “less likely to contemplate major military action.” Xi responded by purging at least a dozen PLA leaders implicated in the scandal.
• This report is a reminder that the PLA faces significant challenges — and that the United States should use every opportunity to exacerbate those difficulties.
• But the United States should not use this episode as an excuse to grow complacent. The preponderance of evidence shows China’s military is still modernizing rapidly, regardless of corruption.
• The Biden administration may not want to confront China, but Xi Jinping is clearly preparing for war with the United States. So long as the administration is determined to avoid doing what is required to deter China, then risk of conflict will only grow.

Schedule an Interview: Alex Velez-Green