Darrell Issa talks ICE and the Middle East’s new moment; meet the anti-Israel nonprofit funding “Terrorist University”Speaker Mike Johnson delivers yet again, the Deep State’s worst nightmare unveils its plans, and more!
July 8, 2025Let’s dive in.
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If you have a tip you would like to anonymously submit, please use our tip form — your anonymity is guaranteed! INTERVIEW: Rep. Darrell Issa on new ICE legislation, the "time for choosing" in the Middle East, and moreby Matthew Foldi THE LOWDOWN:
Hours after domestic terrorists were arrested after allegedly shooting ICE officers in Texas, Rep. Darrell Issa (R., Calif.) announced plans to formally and “unconditionally condemn violent attacks against ICE agents enforcing our laws against criminal illegals.” He told the Washington Reporter that he hopes when push comes to shove, multiple Democrats will sign on. Issa added he "believe[s] in the redemption of souls,” but prominent Democrats from coast to coast are declining to take that route in favor of the opposite tack. Though Democrat Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D., N.Y.) recently spoke on the House floor for more than eight hours, Issa said that he doesn’t expect him to take even eight seconds to honor the ICE agents who were nearly murdered for doing their jobs during the McAllen, Texas attack. Even closer to Issa’s home, another top Democrat who was on President Joe Biden’s vice presidential shortlist just demanded ICE leave Los Angeles while it was carrying out immigration enforcement. Issa says this puts ICE officers’ lives in danger. “For Karen Bass to get in the way of totally lawful and core duties of ICE officers, and then to disparage them as that other deputy mayor did, truly puts them even more at risk,” Issa said. “Any time you diminish the importance and legitimacy of people who go in harm's way, you increase the chances of their harm,” he continued. Issa’s latest legislative move to back up ICE follows his successful steerage of the No Rogue Rulings Act, which is currently languishing in the Senate awaiting a vote. Issa said that the recent ruling by a judge that baselessly removed a provision from the Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill that stripped funding from Planned Parenthood demonstrates the need for his bill. Heard on the Hill
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EDITORIAL: Speaker Mike Johnson delivers for America — againby the Washington Reporter Editorial Board In his growing political epic, Speaker Mike Johnson (R., La.) sets a goal, is told by Democrats and the media that he can’t or won’t achieve it, and then pulls everything together. Sometimes this A-Team level of success happens at the last minute, and usually with unnecessary hiccups inflicted by his fellow Republicans. The One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) was only the latest in a saga of nail-biting wins befitting a House legend behind the gavel. This past week, Johnson, President Donald Trump, and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R., S.D) pulled off a political hat trick, delivering on Trump’s campaign pledges and handing Americans the largest tax cut in history. In so doing, the GOP’s leading trio showed conservative governance is the future of America and forced every Democrat in D.C. into a difficult position: get along with Republicans or side with their base that is literally demanding blood. Democrats — progressives and so-called moderates alike — all voted in lockstep against the historic legislation. Had they been successful, Americans would have seen the largest tax increase in history, to say the least, and with the same calls for violence against Republicans. We at the Washington Reporter would be remiss if we didn’t note that the cowardly Capitol Hill press corps did not press a single Democrat about the attempted tax hike, why they oppose work requirements for Medicaid, or why they oppose school choice provisions, among the litany of other common-sense provisions they fought tooth and nail against. We could go on. And we will. The OBBB’s key provisions are both popular and are ones that the Speaker has been backing, including in Washington Reporter interviews, for months. The American people demanded these changes in November. Trump, Johnson, and Thune delivered on those calls for change. EXCLUSIVE: Anti-Israel non-profit "just steps away" from Congress raises money for Palestinian "Terrorist University"by Matthew Foldi THE LOWDOWN:
A radical anti-Israel nonprofit that is located “at the heart of Capitol Hill just steps away from the halls of Congress” is partnering with and hosting fundraisers for a prominent Palestinian university that glorified Hamas terrorists as “martyrs” hours after the October 7th attacks, Middle Eastern experts told the Washington Reporter. Dar Alhurriya, the Palestine House of Freedom, is actively raising money for Birzeit University — a school that has been the subject of multiple congressional investigations due to its ties to Palestinian terrorism. One expert went as far as to call Birzeit “Terrorist University.” The school’s support for Palestinian terrorists has been a frequent topic of criticism by congressional Republicans, especially House Committee on Education and the Workforce chairman Tim Walberg (R., Mich.). SCOOP: “The Deep State’s worst nightmare” unveils next stepsby Matthew Foldi THE LOWDOWN:
For over a decade, President Donald Trump has prioritized rooting out the “Deep State” bureaucrats who have sought to undermine him before he was even first elected. Now, his administration is rolling out its biggest steps to date in that mission. Tulsi Gabbard, the Director of National Intelligence, is rolling out her latest steps to “tak[e] on the rotted Intelligence Community,” a DNI official told the Washington Reporter. Under Gabbard, a national security official noted, the DNI has been “the Deep State’s worst nightmare.” The DNI created the Director’s Initiatives Group (DIG), which the ODNI consists of the “best and brightest minds from across the intelligence community, including interagency experts, with active members from ODNI, CIA, DIA, NSA, DoD, and FBI, among others.” The new efforts, which the Reporter obtained a preview of, are in sync with Trump’s desire for transparency on issues from America’s past and future. One of DIG’s new projects is “interviewing whistleblowers who have first-hand experience and concrete evidence of the politicization of intelligence. For example, interviewing analysts that can expose James Clapper and other Deep State actors on the Russian Collusion hoax and Hunter Biden laptop scandal.” K-STREET, 10,000 FEET:After OBBB, Senate insiders suggest there’s still a path forward for an AI moratoriumby the Washington Reporter THE LOWDOWN:
Artificial intelligence (AI) remains a hot topic in the Beltway and across America, especially as the technology evolves and is inserted into everything from our smartphones to social media and beyond. The Senate is, obviously, not immune in this conversation, and the body’s decisions impact the financial side of the AI equation as much as the societal facet. During the negotiations around the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB), one of the most contentious points of the legislation was an amendment proposed by Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas) to impose a decade-long federal moratorium on AI. Cruz and proponents of the moratorium argue that without this measure, California, Illinois, and other blue states would regulate AI in a manner that would be harmful for the country–something California has already started to do. On the opposite side of the issue, Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R., Tenn.) became a leading voice against the AI moratorium, introducing an amendment to strike the language from the OBBB. Blackburn and her allies argued that a moratorium would also block conservative states from passing reasonable regulations on AI, such as Tennessee’s work to protect likeness and identity of performers, and Arkansas’s work to protect children from exploitation. While Blackburn’s amendment ultimately prevailed in the Senate in a 99-1 vote, the two had initially announced a legislative compromise the day of the Senate’s vote-a-rama, leading Senators to believe that the moratorium would pass in the final package. However, later that day, Blackburn came out against the compromise and encouraged her colleagues to vote against it. A draft version of the amendment also made its way through D.C. media, which revealed that the compromise would have dropped the 10-year moratorium to a five-year timeframe with carve-outs included to protect state’s rights. OPINIONATEDOp-Ed: Rep. Mike Simpson: The time is now to secure a legal workforce for American agricultureby Rep. Mike Simpson (R., Idaho) Whether we realize it or not, every American depends on agriculture every single day. From the milk in our morning coffee to the produce on our dinner plates, our farmers and ranchers help meet the needs of millions of Americans. Idaho is home to nearly 25,000 farms and ranches, producing more than 185 commodities. As the representative of one of the most productive agricultural districts in the nation, I have been proud to fight for the interests of farmers and ranchers in Washington. However, as I’ve spoken with farmers over the years, the most common issue brought to my attention is the need for a stable and reliable agricultural workforce. Agriculture throughout the nation faces a growing workforce crisis. If Congress doesn’t act to reform our agricultural immigration system, all Americans will feel the painful impact. That said, Americans nationwide felt the impact of President Joe Biden's disastrous open-border policies. Reforming this comprehensive immigration policy to create a stable and legal workforce was impossible under the Biden administration because President Biden's policies created an unprecedented crisis. President Donald Trump entered the Oval Office and secured the southern border. His administration has taken the necessary steps to remove dangerous illegal immigrants from our communities. It has sent a clear message to these individuals that they are no longer welcome to come into the United States. Our country is once again prioritizing the safety of border patrol agents, rural communities, and American families. Op-Ed: Maud Maron: Public safety isn't the social experiment that Democrats want it to beby Maud Maron For years, far-left politicians have used New York City’s one-party rule to push dangerous ideas and elect extremists like Alvin Bragg and now Zohran Mamdani. They’re not focused on safety or sanity. They’re using their offices to run ideological experiments that put everyday New Yorkers at risk. The result? Our city is less safe. Law-abiding New Yorkers are fleeing to places like Florida, where former New Yorkers are driving up real estate prices and enjoying safer streets, better schools, and cities where crime victims are prioritized and police are respected. It’s no secret: Alvin Bragg has turned the Manhattan DA’s Office into a revolving door. He refuses to prosecute entire categories of crime, downgrades violent offenses, and gives repeat offenders a free pass. Now Mamdani wants to go even further. He’s running for mayor on a reckless plan to gut the NYPD and hand law enforcement responsibilities to a made-up “Department of Community Safety.” It’s Bragg’s failed philosophy, just on a bigger scale. Even more disturbing: Mamdani refuses to denounce violent anti-Israel rhetoric and has a long history of supporting groups like Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP). He co-founded his college chapter of SJP and still won’t reject calls to “Globalize the Intifada,” even as Jewish Americans are attacked and killed in the U.S. 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. |