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Rep. Darrell Issa on the Schumer Shutdown’s global economic impact, a new controversial House Dem candidate emerges, and more
Why Grandma’s Boy would take a bullet for Trump, an exclusive on a House investigation, problems with 340B, and more!
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October 17th, 2025
Let’s dive in.
INTERVIEW: Rep. Darrell Issa on how “Schumer is putting us into an economic slowdown” and on Trump’s foreign policy wins
INTERVIEW: “I would dive in front of a bullet for Trump”: From Happy Gilmore to Happy Warrior: Allen Covert on Hollywood’s many problems
Heard on the Hill
EXCLUSIVE: House Admin Committee investigating swastika flag in GOP office that might be doctored
EXCLUSIVE: Top GOP candidates celebrate Israeli hostages’ return, while key Democrats ignore Trump’s success
EXCLUSIVE: Top Dem House recruit has “utterly disqualifying” extremist rhetoric
EXCLUSIVE: Babydog Justice celebrates her sixth birthday in style, demands Schumer end shutdown
SCOOP: “Patients deserve accountability, not virtue signaling”: Congress probes abuses of 340B program
SCOOP: “Shutdowns should never be used as leverage to get more wasteful spending”: Inside the Main Street Caucus’s partnership with the House GOP
SCOOP: Freedom Caucus and House GOP united as Schumer Shutdown heads into second month: “The Democrats are playing games all because they literally have nothing else to run on”
SCOOP: Why Save Our States is hitting banks for “tak[ing] control of our data and use it to crush competition”
OPINIONATED: Doug Blair on why Democrats still don’t understand their losses and Saul Anuzis on the upside of data centers for America’s seniors
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INTERVIEW: Rep. Darrell Issa on how “Schumer is putting us into an economic slowdown” and on Trump’s foreign policy wins
by Matthew Foldi
While Senate Democrats hold the American government hostage, the economy suffers. And Rep. Darrell Issa (R., Calif.) told the Washington Reporter in an interview that Sen. Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) “might well be edging us into a recession that is otherwise avoidable.”
“Schumer is putting us into an economic slowdown that we’re going to have to recover from, and it’s going to be on his shoulder,” Issa said.
“If you look at the market being jittery, it was doing its upward movement almost without even a pause, until Schumer shut down the government, and since that time, the ups and downs and the VIX, as they call it, have shown the concern to any indication,” the California lawmaker added.
Issa rattled off several economic developments that should send the economy to the next level, and yet due to the Schumer Shutdown, the economy is leveling off. “Taiwan’s semiconductor just announced that if they get no more orders, they’re fully booked for at least 48 months, and that includes that they’re increasing capacity during those 48 months, and they’re still fully booked,” he said. “If we get that kind of an announcement that AI is off to the races that everyone, including AMD and so on, that are making these investments that they weren’t making under Biden, the market should have gone up dramatically the last few days, and not with the fits and starts.”
INTERVIEW: “I would dive in front of a bullet for Trump”: From Happy Gilmore to Happy Warrior: Allen Covert on Hollywood’s many problems
by Matthew Foldi
For decades, Allen Covert has had a front row seat to Hollywood, as both an actor and as a producer. But he’s recently moved to Texas to work with Roseanne Barr on her upcoming comedy, which he described in an interview with the Washington Reporter as a show that is “no holds barred, pure comedy.”
Covert, a lifelong Republican, has seen Hollywood evolve from a place where “no one cared that I was a Republican or conservative” to a place where no one would green light an animated sequel to his most famous role, Grandma’s Boy.
“There was the rise of extreme political correctness and basically fucking Maoist levels of discipline,” he said — and comedies were among the first casualties.
“I was just a guy trying to make funny movies with my friends,” Covert, who described himself as “just a dad and an aging Gen X guy who likes to have fun and mock people.” And he found stunning levels of success. But his industry has been overtaken by what he’s described as an HRification.
Heard on the Hill
PARTY TIME? Democratic staffers were caught by the Washington Reporter as they partied on the Democratic National Committee’s (DNC) rooftop, while Sen. Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) continues his namesake shutdown.
HUGE ENDORSEMENT: The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is attacking Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R., Ala.) for his work to ban Sharia law in America. CAIR — an unindicted co-conspirator in the 2007 Holy Land Foundation (HLF) terror financing case — attacked Tuberville’s legislation as an “unconstitutional attack on the religious freedom of Alabamians and all Americans.” This week, Tuberville introduced the No Sharia Act, which prohibits the application of Sharia Law in America where it would violate constitutional rights, and the Preserving a Sharia Free America Act, which prevents all foreign nationals advocating for Sharia Law from entering the U.S.
BLUEGRASS VIEWS: Rep. Andy Barr (R., Ky.) lapped the field in the race to succeed Sen. Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.). In a memo obtained by the Washington Reporter, Barr’s campaign outlined his massive fundraising haul of almost $2 million, and showcased that he has almost $7 million in the bank. Amy McGrath, a failed Democratic candidate whom Barr beat in 2018, is running for the Democrats.
HELP IS ON THE WAY: The Susan B. Anthony List announced that it will deploy “pro-life field teams” to help Reps. Marianette Miller Meeks (R., Iowa) and Zach Nunn (R., Iowa).
TIE 101: Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R., Okla.) posted an important video this week: he is teaching Chandler Rebel, his communications advisor, how to quickly tie a tie on the fly.
HELP IS ON THE WAY: Sen. Bill Cassidy (R., La.), the chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, blasted the National Education Association teachers union for celebrating “Indigenous Peoples’ Day,” while eliminating Israel from the map. The “NEA is pushing teachers to indoctrinate our children with the antisemitic lie that Israel doesn’t have a right to exist,” Cassidy said. “This is a dangerous attempt to erase thousands of years of Jewish history in their ancestral homeland.”
JONES’S PROBLEMS GROW: Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D., N.Y.) called the apology from Jay Jones, the Democrat running for Attorney General of Virginia, “appropriate” this week. Jones sent texts fantasizing about murdering his colleague in the state legislature.
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Big banks shouldn’t decide who gets access to the financial system. The open banking rule protects Americans from being debanked—keeping your data secure, your choices open, and your money under your control. Stand for a system that serves the people, not big Wall Street banks. Learn more.
EXCLUSIVE: House Admin Committee investigating swastika flag in GOP office that might be doctored
by Matthew Foldi
Rep. Dave Taylor (R., Ohio) is under fire because a junior staffer of his displayed what appears on camera to be an American flag with a swastika embedded in it.
The story went viral when a liberal Twitter account, The Rooster, tweeted that “a friend in DC had a Zoom call with Congressman Dave Taylor’s office today… Taylor’s legislative correspondent…had what can only be described as an American swastika flag prominently displayed in his background.”
But the Committee on House Administration, led by Rep. Bryan Steil (R., Wis.) is opening an investigation because, a source familiar with the matter exclusively told the Washington Reporter, all may not be what it appears.
From the onset, the allegations that Taylor’s legislative correspondent had a swastika embedded in the American flag seemed suspect. “No Hill staffer would knowingly put that up in their office,” a longtime Hill veteran told the Reporter.
EXCLUSIVE: Top GOP candidates celebrate Israeli hostages’ return, while key Democrats ignore Trump’s success
by Matthew Foldi
The world breathed a sigh of relief when President Donald Trump helped facilitate the return of the final living hostages in Gaza — among those celebrating were leading Senate GOP candidates across the country. But several leading Democrats ignored the news, and either boasted about their fundraising, celebrated Indigenous Peoples’ Day, or were altogether silent.
While upwards of 20 dead bodies are still held hostage by Hamas terrorists who have already violated Trump’s peace deal numerous times, Republicans were eager to celebrate the good news the week brought.
The contrast between the two parties was on clear display, as top Republican candidates in Iowa, Michigan, Georgia, and beyond both praised Trump for his work and celebrated the news.
In Iowa, for example, Rep. Ashley Hinson (R., Iowa) noted that “President Trump helped secure the release of the living hostages held by Hamas.” State Rep. Josh Turek, one of the Democrats challenging Hinson, spent the day talking with 15 voters, according to his social media account.
EXCLUSIVE: Top Dem House recruit has “utterly disqualifying” extremist rhetoric
by Matthew Foldi
President Donald Trump reversed centuries of Democratic Party dominance, and Democrats were briefly elated when Tejano singer Bobby Pulido announced that he would challenge Rep. Monica De La Cruz (R., Texas) in 2026.
Democrats need lightning to strike to have a chance of winning Texas’s 15th District, which Trump carried by 18 percent, and which De La Cruz won by double digits, and Pulido could have been just what they needed.
But a review of Pulido’s rhetoric over years shows a pattern of what one political observer called “violent, extreme political rhetoric.”
EXCLUSIVE: Babydog Justice celebrates her sixth birthday in style, demands Schumer end shutdown
by Matthew Foldi
At a time of seemingly intractable divisions in Washington, D.C., few things seem to be able to bring Democrats and Republicans together. One critical exception happened this week, when Babydog Justice turned 6 years old.
Babydog, the English bulldog that appears to always be by Sen. Jim Justice’s (R., W.Va.) side, was greeted and treated by hundreds of Capitol Hill staff and curious onlookers, as she and her proud owner beamed from his Senate office in Hart.
Just like her owner, Babydog was on message in her exclusive remarks to the Washington Reporter.
SCOOP: “Patients deserve accountability, not virtue signaling”: Congress probes abuses of 340B program
by Matthew Foldi
As the government braced for a Sen. Chuck Schumer-induced (D., N.Y.) shutdown, the House’s Ways and Means Committee exposed how tax exempt hospitals spend American tax dollars.
The hearing, titled Virtue Signaling vs. Vital Services: Where Tax-Exempt Hospitals are Spending Your Tax Dollars, focused on the oft-maligned 340B drug program. Rep. Jason Smith (R., Mo.), the chair of the committee, asked witnesses about how urban hospitals are often “masquerading” as rural facilities in order to get benefits from both Medicare and from the 340B drug program.
“There are a growing number of urban hospitals masquerading as rural facilities in order to get even more generous benefits under the Medicare and the 340B drug program,” Smith remarked. “Benefits that are supposed to go to truly rural hospitals…Regulatory loopholes put the money on the table that these hospitals cannot resist. If Congress does not act, probably very soon, the majority of nonprofit urban hospitals will become duly classified in order to access those urban rural only perks.”
Rep. Greg Murphy (R., N.C.), a urologist who is also the co-chair of the GOP Doctors Caucus, honed in on the almost comedic abuses of funds that 340B hospitals make across the country.
SCOOP: “Shutdowns should never be used as leverage to get more wasteful spending”: Inside the Main Street Caucus’s partnership with the House GOP
by Matthew Foldi
Rep. Lisa McClain (R., Mich.), the Chairwoman of the House GOP Conference, continued making the rounds with the various Republican factions, joining with the Main Street Caucus to showcase the GOP’s unity in the face of unprecedented Democratic obstruction.
“Shutdowns should never be used as leverage to get more wasteful spending,” McClain said on the call. “But that’s exactly what Democrats are doing. They are fighting for a radical $1.5 trillion package that spends your tax dollars on benefits for illegal immigrants.”
“Hope is not a strategy, especially when you’re dealing with the Democrats,” McClain added — but it’s clear that she is approaching the messaging war with the team she needs. All members of the Main Street Caucus sided with President Donald Trump and voted to keep the government open, only for Senate Democrats to repeatedly stymie their efforts.
SCOOP: Freedom Caucus and House GOP united as Schumer Shutdown heads into second month: “The Democrats are playing games all because they literally have nothing else to run on”
by Matthew Foldi
Rep. Andy Harris (R., Md.), the Chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, continued his partnership with House GOP leadership as the Schumer Shutdown prepares to head to its second month.
In the latest instance of Harris teaming up with other GOP heavy hitters, Harris was joined by Rep. Lisa McClain (R., Mich.) — the House GOP Chairwoman — and several of his fellow Freedom Caucus members.
The two groups, which have been at serious odds even during this Congress, stressed that amidst unprecedented Democratic obstruction, they are united.
The lawmakers want what Republicans have stressed since Senate Democrats voted to shut the government down: a clean continuing resolution to reopen the government; this bill was passed by the House with unanimous Freedom Caucus support but was repeatedly blocked in the Senate by Democrats.
SCOOP: Why Save Our States is hitting banks for “tak[ing] control of our data and use it to crush competition”
by the Washington Reporter
The world’s top bankers are poised to confront a grassroots campaign run by Save Our States as they descend on Washington, D.C. for the Institute for International Finance’s annual meeting this week.
Ahead of the meeting, Save Our States rolled out a mobile billboard campaign in the latest part of its “Banks vs. America” campaign, which spotlights what the group calls a growing threat to consumer financial freedom.
The Washington Reporter saw the campaign’s mobile billboards have been near the White House and across downtown D.C. that say “Don’t Let The Big Banks Put a Toll on Your Data.”
OPINIONATED
Op-Ed: Doug Blair: Democrats still don’t understand why they keep losing
by Doug Blair
After major defeats, political parties typically release post-mortems to explain what went wrong and how to avoid future losses. Democrats just released theirs for 2024, and it shows they’ve learned nothing from their shellacking.
Politico reported the DNC’s post-mortem identified “late spending, a mid-campaign candidate switch, and a lack of attention to voters’ top concerns” as the core reasons Democrats lost the White House.
Politico’s framing alone shows how little Democrats grasp why voters rejected them.
Take crime. For years, Democrats have treated ballooning crime as a perception problem, not a policy one. Major cities like Chicago, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. saw carjackings, robberies, and murders spike under progressive prosecutors who refused to enforce the law. Yet Democrats still think the issue is messaging better about why cities are rapidly decaying and not simply throwing the book at criminals.
Spending more money can’t fix that.
Op-Ed: Saul Anuzis: Why data centers matter for America’s seniors
by Saul Anuzis
Across America, communities are debating whether to welcome or resist new data centers. Some environmental activists and local leaders oppose their construction, citing power use or local impact. But this debate misses a far larger truth: data centers are not just about the future of technology — they are about the future of people, especially our nation’s seniors.
Today’s seniors depend more than ever on technology for their health, security, and quality of life. From telemedicine to remote monitoring, digital banking to social connectivity, the infrastructure that powers these services lives in one place — data centers. Without them, the promise of modern care and convenience simply doesn’t exist.
When critics push back against building these facilities, they’re not just opposing corporate projects. They’re standing in the way of the systems that deliver critical care, protect sensitive information, and connect families across generations.
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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.
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