Washington Reporter In our latest edition, we have an interview with Rep. Mike
Waltz, a story about a new shady organization trying to siphon votes from
Republicans, our endorsement of President Donald J. Trump, op-eds from Reps.
Stephanie Bice, Bryan Steil, and Dan Newhouse, and much more!

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October 29, 2024

In this edition


[1] Interview: Rep. Mike Waltz on his new book and on “making kicking ass
great again” <[link removed]>
[2] Heard on the Hill
<[link removed]>
[3] Exclusive: “Dirty tricks operation” spending $500,000 in top races
<[link removed]>
[4] Exclusive: Rep. August Pfluger introduces bill to prevent federal
bureaucrats from undermining the next president
<[link removed]>
[5] Scoop: Sen. Tom Cotton criss-crossing America to flip the Senate
<[link removed]>
[6] Republicans push back on Democrats’ call to expand IRS direct file: “clear
conflict of interest”
<[link removed]>
[7] Exclusive: “I don’t have an interest in deporting anybody”: illegal
immigration emerges as top issue in House race
<[link removed]>
[8] Dem opposed deporting teenager who impregnated his 12-year-old sister
<[link removed]>
[9] Op-Ed: Rep. Stephanie Bice and Rep. Bryan Steil: We’re making Congress the
“People’s House”
<[link removed]>
[10] Op-Ed: Rep. Dan Newhouse: The Biden-Harris assault on western America
must end <[link removed]>
[11] Op-Ed: Matt Brooks: Jewish voters must get out and vote
<[link removed]>


<[link removed]>
A strong national defense is essential to protecting our American way of life.

Veterans On Duty continues the fight back at home, advocating for military and
national security policies that will keep America safe, strong, and free.

In our latest edition, we have an interview with Rep. Mike Waltz, a story
about a new shady organization trying to siphon votes from Republicans, our
endorsement of President Donald J. Trump, op-eds from Reps. Stephanie Bice,
Bryan Steil, and Dan Newhouse, and much more!






[1] Interview: Rep. Mike Waltz on his new book and on “making kicking ass
great again”
By: Matthew Foldi

Rep. Mike Waltz (R., Fla.) couldn’t predict his role in Congress, but he did
“always want to join the military.” In 2018, he became the first Green Beret to
serve in Congress, and he’s used his platform to advance a host of pro-military
policies and to encourage other veterans to run for office.

Waltz released his third book, Hard Truths
<[link removed]>, in
October, and he spoke with theWashington Reporter about “the most dangerous
coalescing of America’s enemies with China, Russia, Iran and North Korea that
we've seen since World War One or World War Two, except now they all have
nukes” and the importance of “making kicking ass great again.”

There was no “grand strategy here, it was just when I got it done and when
the publisher wanted to do it,” Waltz said of the book. “Really what drove me
to write it was that I have continuously been asked ‘what is the difference
between a Green Beret and a SEAL and a Ranger?’... And then the other question
that I would often get asked is ‘how does being a veteran make a difference for
you in Congress? How do you apply that to your business, to politics?’” In
terms of literary inspiration, Waltz compares his latest book to “Jocko Willink
and how he didExtreme Ownership.”

Waltz is locked in a friendly battle royale of sorts with Rep. and recent
author Dan Crenshaw (R., Texas), over who can sell more books. “Well, I already
pretty much beat Dan in all things, including looks,” he said. “It's a healthy
competition with the SEALs, and he's been a great voice for veterans.”

All of Waltz’s proceeds from Hard Truths “will go to both the Green Beret
Foundation and the Matthew Pucino Memorial Foundation,” he said. “Matt Pucino
was one of my Green Berets who I lost. I talk about his story in the book; he
volunteered to go on point, literally, on every single mission…He volunteered
to go ahead on a motorcycle or a four wheeler ahead of our armored convoys, so
that he could be closest to the ground to see the trip wires.”

Click HERE
<[link removed]>
to read more from our interview with Rep. Mike Waltz about his new book, Hard
Truths, and about his work in Congress to make “kicking ass great again.”

Finish Reading ➝
<[link removed]>



[2]
Heard on the Hill

What we're hearing from people we trust on and around the Hill – please send
us more tips <[link removed]>!

* A time for choosing: The Washington Reporter stands in solidarity with our
colleagues at theWashington Post, Los Angeles Times, and USA Today in opposing
Vice President Kamala Harris’s 2024 campaign. Read our full endorsement of
President Donald J. Trumphere
<[link removed]>.
* Surprise pickup down south?: Republican House sources tell us that
Caroleene Dobson — the Republican nominee for Alabama’s 2nd district — is
within the margin of error as she runs a strong campaign for a seat that
Democrats had counted in the bank. Expect more resources to flow to this race
in the final week.
* Rohit Chopra under fire: Mick Mulvaney and Eric Pan from ICI slammed Rohit
Chopra for Chopra’sspeech
<[link removed]>
to Harvard promising to crack down on specific financial services firms. Pan
pointed out toPolitico
<[link removed]>
“What’s the point of a notice and comment process if you’ve already decided
that you know what the outcome is?” Expect even more Congressional oversight of
Chopra if Republicans take the Senate.
* Team player: Rep. Darrell Issa (R., Calif.) is putting the team on his
back, helping out almost 50 House GOP incumbents and challengers in races
across the country. His team gave us the full list;read here for our full story
<[link removed]>
.
* Boeing strike continues: The Washington Reporter has covered Congress’s
concerns about the national security implications of Boeing’s strike. Last
week, Boeing’s union rejected a *35 percent* pay increase — apparentlylounging
<[link removed]>
at the casino and the beach beats working. Expect more Congressional hawks to
speak out.
* Empire state of mind: Rep. Elise Stefanik (R., N.Y.), one of the stars of
President Donald Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally, raised $500,000 just for
Trump this weekend, her team told theReporter. She’s raised millions of dollars
this cycle to date for Republicans up and down the ballot.
* Star power: Former Sen. Al D’Amato, a longtime staple of New York politics,
is starring in the latest ad for Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (R., N.Y.). D’Amato
spotlights how D’Esposito, a frequent contributor to theReporter, worked “day
and night as the chief of the fire department [during Hurricane Sandy] helping
people, saving people. That was always Anthony. That was in his blood, long
before he ran for public office.” Watch ithere
<[link removed]>.
* Richard Hudson torches Kamala Harris: Rep. Richard Hudson (R., N.C.)
blasted Vice President Kamala Harris’s agenda that would devastate “North
Carolina jobs, hurt economic growth, and give control to Chinese illicit
markets.” Read our full write-up of what Hudson told ushere
<[link removed]>
.
* Notable quotable: An op-ed that Matt Brooks, the president of the
Republican Jewish Coalition,published
<[link removed]>
with us is cited in Gabe Kaminsky’s latestpiece
<[link removed]>
over at theWashington Examiner.
* Another notable quotable: RealClearEnergy picked up our piece
<[link removed]>
about Power the Future’sbombshell
<[link removed]>
“Green Fail” report.
* On notice: Rep. Elise Stefanik (R., N.Y.) is warning that the FBI “ignored
my questions about its probe into Tehran’s malign effort at election
interference” in a must-readop-ed
<[link removed]>
in theWall Street Journal.

Share ➝ <[link removed]>


[3] Exclusive: “Dirty tricks operation” spending $500,000 in top races
By: Matthew Foldi

A newly-registered group that Republican strategists call a “dirty tricks
operation” is spending upwards of $500,000 in four key House and Senate
elections to attack Republican nominees and encourage voters to support
Libertarian nominees.

Save Western Culture says on its website that “America is the last great
protector of global freedom and the fortunes of western culture. We must save
America.” Its homepage includes exhortations to “eliminate foreign threats to
our nation” and “protect children from the LGBTQ gender mafia.”



The group is spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to tank Sen. Ted Cruz
(R., Texas) and Larry Hogan in Maryland, along with Tom Barrett in Michigan and
Laurie Buckhout in North Carolina. When the Reporter tried to contact Save
Western Culture using the contact form on its website, the form was unable to
be submitted.

Click HERE
<[link removed]>
to read more about a shady group spending big money to siphon votes from
Republicans to Libertarian Party spoiler candidates.

Finish Reading ➝
<[link removed]>



[4]
Exclusive: Rep. August Pfluger introduces bill to prevent federal bureaucrats
from undermining the next president
By: Matthew Foldi

Rep. August Pfluger (R., Texas) is hoping to prevent career bureaucrats
within the administration from undermining the next presidential
administration, with new legislation he rolled out this week, obtained
exclusively by theWashington Reporter.

The Stop Resistance Activities by Federal Employees Act (STRAFE) Act would
“require the Director of the Office of Personnel Management to develop and
implement mandatory training for covered Federal employees regarding compliance
with directives from the President, Vice President, and other political
appointees, and for other purposes,” according to the bill.

Pfluger’s bill would require trainings for covered employees which explain
prohibited activities that obstruct the administration’s policies; it also
inflicts penalties that could include fines or “removal, reduction in grade,
debarment from Federal employment for a period not to exceed 5 years,
suspension, or reprimand.”

Click HERE
<[link removed]>
to read more about Rep. August Pfluger’s latest legislation, which would
prevent federal bureaucrats from undermining the next president.

Finish Reading ➝
<[link removed]>



[5] Scoop: Sen. Tom Cotton criss-crossing America to flip the Senate
By: Matthew Foldi

Sen. Tom Cotton (R., Ark.) is traveling America and working to flip the
Senate as he runs to chair the Senate Republican Conference, the number three
position in the upper chamber.

Cotton has quietly campaigned in virtually every consequential Senate race of
this cycle. In Montana he worked with the National Republican Senatorial
Committee (NRSC) to boost now-nominee Tim Sheehy in the primary, and tocajole
<[link removed]> “Maryland Matt
Rosendale” to the sidelines.

Cotton traveled
<[link removed]>
to Montana last month to rally for Sheehy, but it’s far from his only stint on
the campaign tour this year.

Click HERE
<[link removed]>
to read more about Sen. Tom Cotton’s nationwide campaign swing to help
Republicans flip the Senate.

Finish Reading ➝
<[link removed]>




<[link removed]>
A strong national defense is essential to protecting our American way of life.

Veterans On Duty continues the fight back at home, advocating for military and
national security policies that will keep America safe, strong, and free.


[6] Republicans push back on Democrats’ call to expand IRS direct file: “clear
conflict of interest”
By: Matthew Foldi

After 57 Democratic Representatives and Senators sent
<[link removed]>
a letter to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) urging the agency to expand the
controversial “direct file” program to include Americans overseas, Republicans
pushed back, slamming both the IRS for its power grab and Democrats for
enabling the agency to create a single-choice filing system run by the
government.

“The IRS wants to be the tax collector, auditor, enforcer, and now tax
preparer — a judge, jury, and Lord High Executioner,” Sen. John Barrasso (W.,
Wyo.) said in aninterview
<[link removed]>
with theWashington Reporter. “The private sector has provided taxpayers with
free file options for years…The IRS is recklessly spending money on an
unnecessary program that puts Americans and their private data at risk. It
gives the government full control over the tax filing system. Republicans will
continue to push policies that shrink the size of this supersized IRS.”

Barrasso led a push
<[link removed]>
over the summer that “blast[ed] the IRS for wasting taxpayer dollars on an
illegitimate and unnecessary direct file tax preparation program,” his office
said.

The IRS’s latest move was met with condemnation from tax policy experts. “The
IRS should prioritize answering the 74 of 76 taxpayer service calls it failed
to answer in the Treasury Inspector General’s report,” Mike Palicz, the
Director of Tax Policy at Americans for Tax Reform, told theWashington Reporter
. “Instead, the IRS is focused on becoming its own version of software
companies that already exist.”

Click HERE
<[link removed]>
to read more about Republicans’ opposition to the IRS’s attempts to act as the
“judge, jury, and Lord High Executioner” of your tax preparation.

Finish Reading ➝
<[link removed]>




[7] Democrat’s record of opposing deportation for a teenager who impregnated
his sister could jeopardize his candidacy
By: Matthew Foldi

The prosecutorial record of Democrat Carl Marlinga, a failed House candidate,
former prosecutor and judge, is under scrutiny in the final days of the 2024
election, with a specific focus on his opposition to deporting a teenager who
impregnated his 12-year-old sister in 1998.

Following the high-profile crime, Marlinga, who was then serving as a Macomb
County Prosecutor, opposed the deportation of the teenager; he further called
the incident a “youthful sexual experimentation.” His remarks were condemned
immediately by health care advocates.

“When you're having sexual intercourse with your sister, that is not youthful
experimentation,” Patricia Fresard, the head of the prosecutor office's sex
crimes unit,said
<[link removed]>
at the time. “There is something terribly wrong there.”

Click HERE
<[link removed]>
to read more about how Democrat Carl Marlinga’s record as a prosecutor looms
large over his repeat House candidacy.

Finish Reading ➝
<[link removed]>



[8]
Exclusive: “I don’t have an interest in deporting anybody”: Republican debuts
ad slamming opponent’s border policies
By: Matthew Foldi

Democrat Curtis Hertel, Jr. is under fire in the closing days of the 2024
election for telling Michiganders “I don’t have an interest in deporting
anybody.” His opponent, Republican Tom Barrett, is seizing on the remarks.

In a new ad, obtained exclusively by the Washington Reporter, Barrett closes
his campaign out with a contrast between himself and with Hertel on the issue.
“Your congressman should fight for you, not illegal immigrants,” he says.

<[link removed]>

Click HERE
<[link removed]>
to read more about how Tom Barrett is making illegal immigration a winning
issue in his House race.

Finish Reading ➝
<[link removed]>



[9] Op-Ed: Rep. Stephanie Bice and Rep. Bryan Steil: We’re making Congress
the “People’s House”
By: Rep. Stephanie Bice and Rep. Bryan Steil

As we approach Veterans Day, it is important that we honor America’s
servicemembers for their dedication, sacrifice and patriotism. Without their
steadfast commitment to defending our county, we would not enjoy the freedoms
that we hold dear. This day gives us an annual opportunity to pay tribute to
these brave men and women, but their allegiance to America deserves year-round
attention.

As Members of Congress, we have the privilege of meeting with veterans who
travel from across the country to visit our nation’s Capitol and share their
experiences and views. We consider these meetings invaluable. They inform the
way we think about and work to address veterans’ issues in Congress.

However, for many veterans a trip to Capitol Hill is much harder than it
should be.

Click HERE
<[link removed]>
to read more from Reps. Stephanie Bice and Bryan Steil about their work to
make Congress accessible to everyone.

Finish Reading ➝
<[link removed]>



[10] Op-Ed: Rep. Dan Newhouse: The Biden-Harris assault on western America
must end
By: Rep. Dan Newhouse

Since day one of the Biden-Harris administration, the American West has been
under attack. Between stringent regulations, land withdrawals intentionally
designed to lock up resource-rich swathes of land in the West, and a relentless
assault on American energy production, the Biden-Harris administration has
implemented policies that make it tougher for Western America to achieve
prosperity.

Luckily, the region has many allies in Congress. The Congressional Western
Caucus, of which I serve as Chairman, has consistently pushed back against an
administration determined to make life more difficult for the families, small
businesses, and industries that help drive our nation’s economy. The Western
Caucus is comprised of members of Congress who believe in local control and
private property rights, while ensuring that public lands remain open and
accessible.

If the administration truly cared about Western Americans, then they would
prioritize policies that unleash energy production on federal lands, streamline
permitting for all industries, and get government out of the way of those who
want to provide for themselves. Instead, we’ve seen the opposite. Time and time
again, the Biden-Harris administration has ignored local perspectives while
implementing a top-down environmental agenda that will only do more harm than
good.

Click HERE
<[link removed]>
to read more from Rep. Dan Newhouse about his efforts as Chairman of the
Congressional Western Caucus to fight against the Biden-Harris administration’s
attacks on rural Americans.

Finish Reading ➝
<[link removed]>



[11] Op-Ed: Matt Brooks: Jewish voters must get out and vote
By: Matt Brooks

It’s such a cliché to say that this election is “the most important election
of our lifetimes,” but in 2024, it’s true. Republicans know it and Democrats
know it. You can see it in the desperate, ad hominem attacks on President
Donald Trump and down ballot GOP candidates. You can hear it in the mainstream
media’s breathlessly positive coverage of Vice President Kamala Harris’s rare
public appearances, and in their silence about the serious problems in this
country that the Harris-Biden administration has caused, intensified, and
ignored.

That sense of urgency about the 2024 election is real — and visceral,
especially for American Jews. Our country’s security – and our community’s
safety — are truly hanging in the balance. That is why the Republican Jewish
Coalition (RJC) has engaged in the largest ever effort to identify, persuade,
and turn out Jewish voters in the key battleground states, where a small shift
in votes can have an historic impact.

Click HERE
<[link removed]>
to read more from RJC president Matt Brooks about the stakes of the 2024
elections.

Finish Reading ➝
<[link removed]>




****




About the Washington Reporter

We created the Washington Reporter to give Republicans in Congress an outlet
for insights to help you succeed, and to cover the toughest policy fights that
don't get the attention they deserve. We hope you'll send us tips, story ideas,
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