January 6, 2025

In this edition

1. Interview: Rep. Jack Bergman on making “MAGA mainstream” and how apathy is our greatest national security threat

2. Heard on the Hill

3. Exclusive: President Donald Trump to the Washington Reporter: “I like you guys”

4. Exclusive: Family of murdered ISIS hostage and former al Qaeda hostage back Tulsi Gabbard: “American hostage families know that Tulsi Gabbard has always been on our side”

5. Sen. Tim Scott’s historic achievement snubbed by liberals

6. Exclusive: Power the Future releases roadmap on how to “actually come up with an American energy policy”

7. Op-Eds: Rep. Tony Wied on his plans to work with President Trump, Rep. Marc Molinaro on the threats of Islamic terrorism, Rep. Anthony D’Esposito on Biden’s “unprecedented decision” to commute 37 death penalty sentences, Bonnie Glick on why Marco Rubio will be a terrific Secretary of State, and Carl Holshouser on how Trump can restore America’s global leadership in the digital economy

8. What we’re reading

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In our latest edition, Rep. Jack Bergman speaks with us about the threats facing America, President Donald Trump dishes on how he likes our work, liberals snub Sen. Tim Scott, and much more!

Interview: Rep. Jack Bergman on making “MAGA mainstream” and how apathy is our greatest national security threat

by Matthew Foldi

While Joe Biden was receiving multiple deferments during the Vietnam War, Jack Bergman was getting shot at in helicopters in Southeast Asia. The careers of both men started in the Vietnam era, and while Biden chose to spend decades in elected office, Bergman spent 40 years in the Marine Corps, retiring as a three-star general, before being elected to Congress in Michigan in 2016.

The parallels between America’s withdrawal from Vietnam and surrender in Afghanistan haunt veterans like Bergman. “It left a hole in my stomach,” he told the Washington Reporter in an interview. “We didn't have leadership in our country that was doing the right thing diplomatically for our men and women in uniform. And why would anybody want to join a unit and become part of the military if they knew that their leadership and the government didn't have their back, that it was going to just haphazardly put them in here, pull them out there, with no plan? What we saw in Afghanistan was a failure of leadership from the Biden administration. It sent a signal to the world that America's weak, and it also sent a signal to the young men and women, or the influencers of those young men and women, who would have considered joining the military. What am I going to go there for?”

After the recent Islamic terror attack on New Years Day, during which a veteran plowed a truck into a New Orleans crowd, murdering 15 innocent bystanders, Bergman said that the internet is the “the single biggest challenge or opportunity that is provided to us.” He added that “we use it for good. The bad guys use it to recruit. [The New Orleans suspect] was recruited on the internet. He was trained on the internet. He was seduced, if you will, on the internet, and we still have not grasped the need that government has to grasp the fact that the internet can be a force for good, but it can all be also be a tool for evil, and we're a little bit behind, and it's on us to to catch up.”

Bergman has long believed that “apathy” is “the single biggest threat to our country.”

“The bottom line is,” he said, “if you're apathetic, things are going to be allowed to happen that get you into the war, so step up. Don't be the entertained generation. Don't be the internet expert a mile wide and an eighth of an inch deep on things.” Americans tend to make three mistakes based on a combination of apathy and indifference.

FINISH reading

Heard on the Hill

• New caucus dropping soon: Rep. Claudia Tenney (R., N.Y.), one of the GOP’s most pro-Israel lawmakers, is going to launch the Friends of Judea and Samaria Caucus on January 15, per an invite obtained by the Washington Reporter.

• History lesson: On Christmas, Rep. Mike Haridopolos (R., Fla.) published a history-filled op-ed with us about the “timeless lessons of Apollo 8's astronauts.” Read his full piece here.

• Home state rejection: Sen. John Barrasso (R., Wyo.) had strong words about President Joe Biden giving former Rep. Liz Cheney (R., Wyo.) a Presidential Citizens Medal. “President Biden was either going to pardon Liz Cheney or give her an award,” he said. “She doesn’t deserve either. She represents partisanship and divisiveness — not Wyoming.”

• Party time: Rep. Brandon Gill (R., Texas) had a star-studded swearing-in party. Spotted: Luke Thompson, Ryan Girdusky, Ryan McGregor, Raheem Kassam, Roma Daravi, Caroline Bryant, Ethan Harper.

• Johnson triumphant: As expected, Speaker Mike Johnson (R., La.) proved his critics in the press corps wrong and was reelected on the first ballot. The Washington Reporter covered this race in depth, including the involvement of President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, the accomplishments Johnson has already notched that give all aspects of the GOP something to be excited about, and the support he had from leading conservative economists ahead of the vote. Congratulations, Speaker Johnson!

• Oklahoma Ozempic: Amid the drama of last week’s speaker vote, several sources on the Hill reminded us of the importance of the slimmed down continuing resolution that the House passed, following criticisms from Trump, Musk, and others. Reps. Stephanie Bice and Tom Cole, both Oklahoma Republicans, spearheaded much of the negotiations to get the shorter version rolled out in record time. This helped smooth over many of the objections some had to Johnson.

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Exclusive: President Donald Trump to the Washington Reporter: “I like you guys”

by Matthew Foldi

President Donald Trump spent time in the weeks before his inauguration chatting with the Washington Reporter and sharing a series of op-eds and editorials published in the Reporter in support of Pete Hegseth.

“I like you guys,” the former and future president said in an interview on December 19. Days later, Trump shared on Truth Social the Reporter’s editorial endorsing Hegseth for Secretary of Defense and an op-ed from Jeremy Hunt and Garrett Exner that explained why Hegseth is the man for the job.

Trump’s mentions follow a series of interviews the Reporter has conducted with key figures in the upcoming administration, including incoming Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt and incoming Counselor Alina Habba.

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A message from our sponsor.

Both sides agree: NOW is the time to pass real PBM reform.

Rein in the middlemen pharmacy benefit managers and require them to increase transparency, share discounts with seniors, and delink PBM profits from the cost of medicines in Medicare.

Pass S. 2973 and S. 3430 today. Help America's seniors.

Exclusive: Family of murdered ISIS hostage and former al Qaeda hostage back Tulsi Gabbard: “American hostage families know that Tulsi Gabbard has always been on our side”

by Matthew Foldi

The parents of former ISIS and al Qaeda hostages, and a former al Qaeda hostage, are backing President Donald Trump’s selection of Tulsi Gabbard to be his next Director of National Intelligence (DNI), writing in a letter first obtained by the Washington Reporter that “American hostage families know that Tulsi Gabbard has always been on our side.”

The letter’s signatories are Carl and Marsha Mueller, the parents of Kayla Mueller, an aid worker who was taken hostage by ISIS and who was murdered by terrorists almost ten years ago, and Theo Padnos and his parents, Nancy Curtis and Michael Padnos. Theo was held hostage by al Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate for almost two years.

The group, which knows all too well the barbarism of ISIS and al Qaeda, wants the Senate to quickly confirm Gabbard. “Given the threat that has lately surfaced in New Orleans, we feel that the sooner the senate confirms Tulsi Gabbard the better, as the nation needs leadership that will keep Americans safe,” they wrote.

FINISH reading

Sen. Tim Scott’s historic achievement snubbed by liberals

by Matthew Foldi

Sen. Tim Scott (R., S.C.) became the longest-serving black senator in American history in January — an accomplishment groups such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) haven’t acknowledged.

“This milestone reinforces the staggering progress we've made and experience in America,” Scott said. “I'm so blessed to be a South Carolinian, where people consistently judge, not on the color of one's skin, but by the content of your character.”

Scott, the incoming chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), was praised by his fellow Republicans for making history. “Congratulations to my good friend Tim Scott for his remarkable achievement,” Sen. Tom Cotton (R., Ark.) said. “Tim will also be an outstanding chairman of the Banking Committee. I can't think of anyone better to ensure that our banking system is sound and serves the American people.”

A Washington Reporter review of social media feeds of prominent black activists, including Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, Kamala Harris, Al Sharpton, and Stacey Abrams, found no left-wing praise for Scott.

While some liberal outlets did cover Scott’s milestone, the Washington Post, which infamously dedicated an entire fact check to Scott’s ancestry, did not, per a review of its site.

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Exclusive: Power the Future releases roadmap on how to “actually come up with an American energy policy”

by Matthew Foldi

A leading energy independence group’s ten-point plan could help carve out a “coherent American energy policy,” it said in a 2025 report, obtained exclusively by the Washington Reporter.

“If Congress is savvy, it can use this model to roll back the worst of the remaining spending blowouts, right-size the tax code to maximize return to the taxpayer, and even provide pilot projects for what reasonable energy and permitting policies would look like,” Power the Future (PTF) said in its latest report.

“Despite Biden inaccurately messaging improvements to the runaway inflation occurring under his watch, disinflation is not the same as deflation,” PTF said. “The rate of inflation is no longer accelerating at historic highs, but it remains above the two-percent target of the Federal Reserve and those long lost, more affordable prices are not coming back.”

FINISH reading

Op-Ed: Rep. Tony Wied: I'm ready to work with President Donald Trump to bring common sense back to Washington

by Rep. Tony Wied

In November, the people of Wisconsin, alongside the rest of America, sent a clear message to Washington: we will no longer tolerate the status quo of open borders, historically high inflation, and global instability. President Donald Trump and House Republicans were given a mandate to govern, and I look forward to getting to work with the incoming administration on January 20th to address these issues for the people of Northeast Wisconsin.

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Op-Ed: Rep. Marc Molinaro: The consequences of a "globalized Intifada" can't be ignored

by Rep. Marc Molinaro

The events that unfolded in Manhattan, on the first day of the New Year, should be a matter of grave concern for every American. A large crowd gathered in the heart of New York City to advocate for a “global intifada” — a chilling rallying cry that calls for violent upheaval on an international scale.

This was not an exercise in peaceful dissent or the free exchange of ideas. It was an unsettling display of incitement, crossing the line from expressing alternative views to promoting violence.

Protesters chanted slogans that glorified global conflict and celebrated ideologies steeped in terror. Some demonstrators even carried flags associated with known terrorist organizations, sending an alarming message that cannot be ignored.

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Op-Ed: Rep. Anthony D'Esposito: President Joe Biden’s Christmas gift is mercy for murderers and rewards for rapists

by Rep. Anthony D’Esposito

President Joe Biden’s unprecedented decision to commute the sentences of 37 out of 40 federal death row inmates is the cherry on top of the most shameful, contemptible presidency in modern American history. It should come as no surprise that, as an abject failure for most of his life, Biden would spare the lives of monsters as a Christmas gift to grieving families — but it must be condemned.

President Biden’s decision was evil but it was also, in typical Joe Biden fashion, illogical. Joe Biden is allowing the executions of Dylann Roof, Robert Bowers and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to proceed. This, as was placing them on death row to begin with, is the correct decision. These animals engaged in conduct so unfathomably evil that they have forfeited their right to remain among us on earth.

However, what is utterly inexplicable, is the idea that the 37 other death row inmates have not also forfeited their right to life.

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Op-Ed: Bonnie Glick: Marco Rubio's State Department will foster American exceptionalism

by Bonnie Glick

From standing up to old biddies from Code Pink harassing him in the corridors of the Senate to staring down pro-Hamas jihadi-supporters before Christmas mass, Sen. Marco Rubio (R., Fla.) continues to prove Donald Trump’s wisdom in selecting Rubio as his Secretary of State.

Rubio doesn’t take guff from anyone, and he is firm in his convictions that America plays an essential role in the world: the role of leader, of moral compass, and of exceptional ally. America under President Trump is not, as Rubio regularly demonstrates, a pushover, as President Joe Biden presented it to be. We are the comeback superpower demonstrating peace through strength whether we’re speaking out against the mullahs presiding over sharia law in Iran, Lebanon, Yemen, Turkey, Gaza, or anywhere else, or whether it’s the intellectual property-thieving, TikTok-pushing, cyberbullying communists in China.

America is back. The man delivering the message is Florida’s own Senator, Marco Rubio, and he has made that message abundantly clear.

FINISH reading

Op-Ed: Carl Holshouser: America’s global leadership in the digital economy is under threat. Donald Trump must act

by Carl Holshouser

For decades, the United States has been the undisputed leader in technological innovation. From Silicon Valley to Main Street, American ingenuity has transformed industries, created millions of jobs, and added over $2.6 trillion to our gross domestic product (GDP).

But today, that leadership faces unprecedented challenges from anti-American policies abroad and a failure to stand up for jobs and innovation at home. President-elect Donald Trump has a chance to fix that.

Foreign governments are rapidly advancing discriminatory trade policies that unfairly target U.S. companies, and the Biden administration has emboldened those efforts.

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What we’re reading

• Wall Street Journal: The Consumer Fraud Promotion Bureau, by the Editorial Board.

• Washington Free Beacon: In Last-Ditch Executive Order, Biden Plans To 'Permanently' Handicap Trump's Offshore Drilling Agenda, by Blake Mauro.

• Daily Wire: EXCLUSIVE: DOJ Spent Over $100 Million Pushing DEI, Restorative Justice In Classrooms, Report Finds, by Mary Margaret Olohan.

• Washington Free Beacon: Bernie Sanders Says Amazon Warehouses are 'Uniquely Dangerous.' He's Spent Nearly $2 Million in Campaign Cash There, Disclosures Show, by Joseph Simonson.

• Jewish Insider: How the Antisemitism Awareness Act fell apart, by Marc Rod.

• National Review: Joe Biden Is Weakening American Energy Production on His Way Out of Office, by Andrew Follett.

• Washington Free Beacon: Biden Lobbied To Grant Clemency to Culprit Who Leaked Tax Returns of the Wealthy to Left-Wing News Outlet, by Meghan Blonder.

• Fox News: Congress must deliver President Trump's agenda quickly, by Reps. Mike Johnson, Steve Scalise, Tom Emmer, and Lisa McClain.