November 14, 2024
In this edition
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 Bost, the launch of an exclusive campaign against Gary Gensler, a Polish foreign policy faux pas, op-eds from Rep. Trey Gowdy, incoming Rep. Julie Fedorchak, and much more!
| [1] | Interview: Rep. Mike Bost’s case to chair Veterans' Affairs: “The VA was created for the veterans. Sometimes the bureaucrats in the VA forget about that.”
By: Matthew Foldi
Rep. Mike Bost’s (R., Ill.) family has served in the military for generations, dating back to his grandfather and ending with his grandson. A Marine Corps corporal, Bost “never thought” he “would have [the] opportunity] to serve in Congress,” let alone as the Chairman of the House’s Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.
As chairman, Bost has made major strides in the creation of a national anti-fraternization policy in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) following a lurid sexual harassment scandal he blew the lid off of, and in exposing sketchy voter registration activities that the VA was doing in areas “where it just glows blue.”
Now, the lawmaker wants to chair the committee for another two years, and he’s leaning on his record of success to pitch the House’s Steering Committee on why he’s the man for the job.
With Republicans poised to have unified control of the government for the first time in years, Bost is eager to work with a second Donald Trump administration to get the VA back to its mission: “the VA was not created for the VA,” he said in an interview with the Washington Reporter. “The VA was created for the veterans. Sometimes the bureaucrats in the VA forget about that and they think that it's about their jobs. It's not about their jobs. We want to have employees that do a good job and that are happy to serve our veterans in that position, but when it becomes more about your job than it does about the veterans you're serving, there's a problem, and that's why we have to have accountability.”
Click HERE to read more from Rep. Mike Bost about his plans to chair the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, his legislative plans, and whether he has ever seen southern Illinois’s big muddy monster!
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[2] |
Heard on the Hill
What we're hearing from people we trust on and around the Hill – please send us more tips!
- The GOP’s $414,242,254 man: Sen. John Cornyn (R., Texas) raked in $32,965,037 this cycle which he used to elect Senate Republicans, his campaign announced. Since he was first elected to the Senate in 2002, he has raised a staggering $414,242,254. Cornyn, who has been in the Senate for 22 years, has raised an average of $18,829,193.36 every year since he was sworn in. Read our full story about Cornyn’s fundraising prowess here.
- Death of Direct File: Hill staff and Trump allies tell us that the IRS’s controversial “direct file” system is going to be terminated in the new administration. A Republican Senate aide told the Washington Reporter that “this was an unconstitutional power grab by the IRS. It’s dead on day one. And anyone who worked on it should be reassigned to the IRS’s office in Siberia.”
- Troy Downing, team player: Troy Downing, an incoming “pro-Trump, pro-wall, and pro-America” congressman from Montana, has already donated $235,100 to elect Republicans across the country. Read our full story about Downing’s national campaign swing here.
- Arnold Ventures is reeling: Of the many losers on election night, one of the biggest is the left-wing billionaire John Arnold, who has pushed ranked choice voting, anti-Trump policies, and soft-on-crime initiatives. Arnold lost big on all three.
- Bono called out: John Ondrasik, the talent behind Five For Fighting, spoke with the Reporter at this weekend’s Stand Together rally in Washington, D.C. about his Yellow Ribbon campaign that draws awareness to the hostages who are still being illegally held in Gaza by Palestinian terrorists. Ondrasik is urging Americans to tie a yellow ribbon on their property — “that means you Bruce Springsteen. That means you Barbara Streissand. That means you Bono,” he said.
- Nice tax exempt status you’ve got there: Rep. Claudia Tenney (R., N.Y.) suggested revoking Harvard’s tax exempt status following an op-ed written by the student president of the school’s Institute of Politics, in which he argued that “we can no longer be nonpartisan.”
| | | [3] | WATCH: Poland’s Prime Minister flips on Trump: “I have never made such suggestions” that Trump is a Russian asset
By: Matthew Foldi
President Donald Trump’s reelection is already prompting global forces to reassess the United States. In Poland, Prime Minister Donald Tusk was confronted about saying as recently as last year that “it is no longer debatable” that “Trump [has] dependence on Russian intelligence” and that “Trump was actually recruited by Russian intelligence thirty years ago.”
Following Trump’s win, Tusk was asked about his claims that Trump is tied to Russia. Tusk responded that, “no, I have never made such suggestions.”
Polish sources told the Washington Reporter that the journalist who asked Tusk about his Trump criticisms, who works at the weekly magazine of the Solidarity labor union, “was informed that she will be banned from the Prime Minister’s press conferences.”
Click HERE to read more about how Donald Trump’s win is already scrambling European foreign policy.
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[4] |
Scoop: Donald Trump Jr. tells Senate GOP to hold line against Democrats’ lame duck push
By: Matthew Foldi
Donald Trump Jr. is giving Senate Republicans backup amidst the lame duck session, telling them to “hold the line and not allow Schumer to push Biden’s radical judges and legislation.”
Trump told the Washington Reporter that “my father is about to take office with a Senate majority; the American people expect Republicans to stop the Democrats and enact the MAGA agenda.”
That message is resonating with Republican Senators, who tell the Reporter that Biden’s “bad faith” efforts to ram through partisan activists aren’t succeeding. Sen. Thom Tillis (R., N.C.) blasted the “last-ditch effort by Senate Democrats and the Biden administration to install an activist judge,” Ryan Park, in the lame duck. “The Biden administration has constantly worked in bad faith to fill this vacancy and even originally tried to nominate a partisan Democrat who ran against Sen. Ted Budd,” he said. “Americans spoke loud and clear last week: no more activist judges. No partisan lame duck confirmations.”
Click HERE to read more about Trumpworld’s push to have the Senate punt on all of President Joe Biden’s radical nominees and priorities.
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[5] |
Exclusive: “Goodbye Gensler” campaign launches: “restore integrity to the SEC”
By: Matthew Foldi
Although President-elect Donald Trump has not yet chosen who will head the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), he’s all but certain to replace its current chair, Gary Gensler — a new campaign, shared exclusively with the Washington Reporter, is eager to help.
Consumer Action for a Strong Economy (CASE) rolled out an anti-Gensler campaign, called “Goodbye Gary,” this month, which includes a series of ads and information about his failures. “Chairman Gary Gensler has turned the SEC into a laughingstock,” one of CASE’s ads says. “A judge says Gensler committed a ‘gross abuse of power,’” it adds. The campaign also includes a microsite where visitors are encouraged to sign a “goodbye Gary” card to “help Gary out the door.”
“Under Chairman Gensler, the SEC has become weaker, less effective, and less trusted by the American people,” Matthew Kandrach, CASE’s president, said. “He’s wasted millions of taxpayer dollars on failed lawsuits against lawful American companies, actively undermining the U.S.’s role as a global innovation leader.”
Click HERE to read more about the campaign launched to “help Gary [Gensler] out the door,” which was first shared with the Washington Reporter.
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| [6] | "MAGA McClain" moves up the ranks
By: Matthew Foldi
Rep. Lisa McClain (R., Mich.), is the House GOP’s chair-elect. A top House Republican staffer described her as “MAGA McClain” to the Washington Reporter; she had a busy 2024 campaign schedule that went well beyond her home state of Michigan, which flipped back to President Donald Trump in last week’s elections.
The Michigan Republican donated over $1 million directly to the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), as well as to dozens of House Republican incumbents and challengers across the country, including to returning Reps. Ken Calvert (R., Calif.), Tom Cole (R., Okla.), and Mike Ezell (R., Miss.).
In addition to routing massive sums to Republican candidates, McClain also built her own small dollar fundraising program that has thousands of recurring donors, her team told the Reporter.
Click HERE to read more about the ascent of “MAGA McClain” in the House GOP ranks.
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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. |
| | [7] | Op-Ed: Julie Fedorchak: A new era of U.S. energy dominance begins
By: Rep. Julie Fedorchak
Few people in America understand how vulnerable our power grid is today. Two-thirds of America is at risk of not having enough power to meet demand. They could be sitting in a dark room wondering what to do next, at the mercy of a long line of leaders who didn’t do their jobs.
We all can agree that in a nation blessed with energy resources of all types that we should never be without power. Fortunately, my state of North Dakota is well positioned to cover our needs thanks to our diverse and innovative energy industry and leaders who have fought hard to advance and protect it. But America as a whole is on the edge. Truly, our nation is committing energy suicide.
The problem is that much of our energy policy is driven by advocates — not by scientists or by engineers. This is threatening our economy, our families, and our national security.
Click HERE to read more from incoming Rep. Julie Fedorchak about the energy revolution that’s about to be unleashed. | |
| [8] | Op-Ed: Rep. Trey Gowdy: Patent proposals would be an early misstep for the new administration
By: Rep. Trey Gowdy
Our country is coming out of an election cycle where each candidate offered differing proposals for how to spur the American economy. While former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris have different views on taxes, regulation, trade, and health care — among other important issues — there are some issues which rise above the partisan din.
For example, when it comes to our intellectual property system, certain principles — like maintaining high quality standards for issued patents which promote innovation and competition — have helped deliver decades of American prosperity. Regrettably, a trio of patent proposals, recently introduced in Congress, would set back our intellectual property system and deliver a blow to our innovation economy.
Click HERE to read more from Rep. Trey Gowdy about the dangers to American innovation that are being posed by a series of bills right now. | | | | [9] | Op-Ed: Jeremy Hunt: Honor our heroes by delivering peace through strength
By: Jeremy Hunt
It’s no secret that the state of the world has changed dramatically in the last four years under President Joe Biden. We are facing threats greater and more complex than at any time since the Cold War. The last four years have proven that weakness and appeasement are dangerous. The American people have chosen Donald Trump and U.S. Marine Corps veteran JD Vance to lead the United States, and the world, through these tumultuous times.
The significance of this shift cannot be understated. The American people have delivered a clear mandate to rebuke the policies of the Biden-Harris administration that have resulted in a weakened economy, an insecure border, and foreign policy failures that have greatly diminished America’s standing on the world stage.
Click HERE to read more from Jeremy Hunt about his message to veterans everywhere this week.
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| [10] | Op-Ed: David Cook: Donald Trump dodged bullets so we won’t have to
By: David Cook
This Veterans Day is not about politics, but we cannot ignore the coming reversal in policy affecting the military and veteran communities. The immediate shift in international posturing from our enemies and allies following Donald Trump’s decisive victory reveals an anticipation towards new approaches in national defense and national security.
This, after four years of the Biden administration, is a vindication for the military that overwhelming strength is the only way for a world leader to keep peace. Deterrence only works when policymakers and a Commander-in-Chief have the will to wield the tools at their disposals.
Click HERE to read more from David Cook about his message to veterans everywhere this week. | |
| [11] | Op-Ed: Matt Brooks and Bonnie Glick: Jewish canaries in coal mines voted for Donald Trump. Why?
By: Matt Brooks and Bonnie Glick
Over 40 percent of New York, Florida, Pennsylvania, and Nevada Jews voted for President Donald Trump last week. Nationally, President-elect Trump received 32 percent of the Jewish vote — more than any other Republican President since Ronald Reagan in 1980.
How did Trump do it? How did he secure the Jewish vote in such high numbers? And how will he continue to increase Jewish votes for Republicans into the future? Breaking a glass ceiling is tough work, and now that it’s broken, it is time for a rocket booster through that hole.
A lot of the Trump wave among Jews, of course, was related to October 7 and the pro-Hamas wing of the Democratic Party’s efforts to steer today’s progressives in an increasingly anti-Semitic direction. But there was something additional, something that convinced American Jews, even so-called progressive Jews, that there was something about the Republican special sauce that was on offer.
Click HERE to read more from Matt Brooks and Bonnie Glick about why American Jews voted at historic numbers for Donald Trump and for Republicans down ballot.
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| [12] | Op-Ed: Robert Luther: Joe Manchin’s broken promise on judicial nominations
By: Robert Luther
Sen. Joe Manchin (I., W.Va.) presents himself as a man who keeps his word. We will soon find out whether that is true. For now, there is cause for doubt.
As Associate Counsel to the President in the Trump White House, my job was to help select judicial nominees who were committed constitutionalists. During that period, Manchin had a reputation as a pragmatist who would break party lines and vote to confirm solid judges who would uphold the Constitution.
Earlier this year, Manchin’s pragmatism returned. After voting for nearly all of Biden’s judicial nominees, Manchin expressed frustration with their highly partisan backgrounds and vowed to ensure the Democrat-controlled Senate didn’t become a rubber stamp. So Manchin drew a sensible line in the sand and promised not to vote for any judicial nominee lacking bipartisan support.
Click HERE to read more from Professor Robert Luther about Sen. Joe Manchin’s promise on judges that hangs in the balance. | | | | | |
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