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November 4th, 2025
Reminder: Join us for our next premiere event — happy hour with the Washington Free Beacon’s Editor in Chief, Eliana Johnson, on November 6th at 5:30pm at Google’s D.C. office.
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Let’s dive in.
INTERVIEW: Rep. Darrell Issa on the Trump-Nixon commonalities and conflicts
INTERVIEW: Kevin Hassett, Richard Grenell, and Red Carpet VIPs discuss the Kennedy Center’s future at Aida’s opening night
Heard on the Hill
EXCLUSIVE: Rep. Stephanie Bice confirms that Oklahoma troops made payroll amidst Schumer Shutdown
EXCLUSIVE: Halo composer hires Trump strategists in House campaign
SCOOP: PBMs under fire from Republicans across the country
SCOOP: Democrats pose with $1,395 sofa across the country in bizarre New York Magazine profile
SCOOP: Tulsi Gabbard touts Donald Trump’s record as a peacemaker to Manama Dialogue in Bahrain
OPINIONATED: Seth Lederman on veterans’ health care
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INTERVIEW: Rep. Darrell Issa on the Trump-Nixon commonalities and conflicts
by the Washington Reporter
At the 2025 Grand Strategy Summit for the Richard Nixon Foundation, the Washington Reporter’s editor-in-chief Matthew Foldi had the honor of headlining a keynote dinner with Rep. Darrell Issa (R., Calif.), who answered Foldi’s questions about the similarities between 1968 and 2025 in terms of politics and presidents, as well as about how the presidencies of the two Republicans compared and contrasted.
President Richard Nixon is often painted in a negative light because of unfaithful politics that led to his early departure from the presidency, yet he turned the tide in American politics for decades to come. Issa explained that “Nixon is greater today than when he left the White House prematurely, and he is appreciated in a way that many predicted he would never be appreciated.”
“Nixon, Reagan, Trump, they pulled us back from a wrong direction that was going to lead to the demise of this 250-year-old experiment in democracy, and each of them, in a significant way, gave us a new lease on or a new extension, that has gotten us to 250 and then at 300 they’ll say, we only got the 300 because George Washington did the right thing,” Issa said. “Abraham Lincoln stood for the right things. Nixon made differences that kept us out of World War Three for the next 100 years, but his work needed a boost during Reagan and needed another boost during Trump.”
Issa praised his fellow California Republican for the risks he took going into China that ultimately caused a rift between the Soviet Union and China, aiding in the collapse of the Soviet Union later on, and Nixon’s encouragement of a voluntary military that created a greater sense of patriotism in the United States that Issa said he felt first-hand as an enlistee in 1970.
INTERVIEW: Kevin Hassett, Richard Grenell, and Red Carpet VIPs discuss the Kennedy Center’s future at Aida’s opening night
by Matthew Foldi
Stars of all ages and backgrounds flocked to the Kennedy Center’s latest red carpet extravaganza for the kickoff of the legendary opera, Aida. Several spoke with the Washington Reporter during the pre-show festivities, and Ambassador Richard Grenell explained how the center’s “common sense programming” has led to the center right-sizing its financial footing after years of what Grenell has previously called criminal mismanagement by his predecessors.
“Because the programming is geared towards common sense programming, we have corporations and individuals that have been giving like never before,” Grenell explained to the Reporter from the red carpet. “Financially, we’re doing great. We’ve really turned the corner, and we’ve got amazing shows that are coming.”
Grenell’s remarks were echoed by someone who knows a thing or two about economics: Kevin Hassett, the Director of the National Economic Council of the United States.
“President Trump has a vision that this place can be great again, but it needs to be a house for the arts, for people of all income levels, and you can’t do that if you’re running a giant deficit, and Ambassador Grenell has come here and he’s turned the place around so quickly,” Hassett told the Reporter, while crashing Grenell’s interview. “That’s just astonishing. So right now, they’re in the black, or almost in the black, and what that means is that their programs are available to all Americans. If you want to see the arts and see a great show like Aida, you should come now and know that the Kennedy Center is fully funded and can handle the load of making this place available to everyone.”
Heard on the Hill
HAPPY ELECTION DAY! If you live in a state where you can vote, remember to do so! Countless generations of Americans have fought and died for our right to freely cast a ballot. Multiple congressional Democrats spent the day with their offices closed and locked to any constituents who might have needed their help, as we reported here [ [link removed] ].
340 ABUSE: A new report [ [link removed] ] from the Job Creators Network revealed that some hospitals in the 340B drug-pricing program have stashed almost $20 billion offshore.
NEW AND IMPROVED COLLEGE RANKINGS: The Manhattan Institute rolled out its own version of college and university rankings, prioritizing issues like meritocracy and pluralism. See where your school ranks here [ [link removed] ].
WE LIKE MIKE: President Donald Trump rolled out a series of congressional endorsements, including for Rep. Mike Simpson (R., Idaho), known as “MAGA Mike.”
CONGRATS: Victoria Garrastacho started as a counsel to her home state senator, Sen. Rick Scott (R., Fla.).
MEANT TO FLY: Superstar rapper Nicki Minaj thanked President Donald Trump, UN Ambassador Mike Waltz, and others in the White House for their work to save Nigerian Christians. “Thank you to The President & his team for taking this seriously. God bless every persecuted Christian,” the world-famous rapper tweeted. “Let’s remember to lift them up in prayer.”
A NEW DAY: President Donald Trump praised Ambassador Richard Grenell’s stewardship of the Kennedy Center. Trump, himself a construction guru, said that the premiere arts center looks “like a different place” following some of Grenell’s renovations. “We are bringing this building back to life,” Trump remarked. “It was dead as a doornail, but it will soon be beautiful again!”
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The proposed acquisition of a GLP1 manufacturer could give rise to antitrust concerns. It’s out of line with President Trump’s America First goals. Learn more [ [link removed] ].
EXCLUSIVE: Rep. Stephanie Bice confirms that Oklahoma troops made payroll amidst Schumer Shutdown
by Matthew Foldi
As the Schumer Shutdown drags on to its second month — with no obvious off ramp in sight — Rep. Stephanie Bice (R., Okla.) confirmed to the Washington Reporter that at least for now, troops in and around her district are still getting paid.
Bice, who sits on the House’s Appropriations Committee and on its Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Subcommittee, said that Friday’s pay period was notable for how uneventful it was for troops in Oklahoma, which is home to five active military installations: Tinker Air Force Base, Fort Sill, Vance Air Force Base, Altus Air Force Base, and the McAlester Army Ammunition Plant.
The Oklahoma lawmaker previously laid out to the Reporter in multiple interviews [ [link removed] ] how the Schumer Shutdown has devastated communities and states like hers.
While troops in Oklahoma, at a minimum, made payroll at the end of last month, funds are poised to run out for troops across America. Timothy Mellon, a reclusive billionaire, donated over $100 million to pay for soldiers’ salaries, but the cost needed will quickly surpass anything that he could continue supplying.
During one of her recent Reporter interviews, Bice laid out what she described as the “off ramp” for Democrats to take.
“The off ramp is voting for the continuing resolution we already passed,” she previously said. “The House passed a continuing resolution on September 19th, it had no partisan riders, no extraneous policy riders on there. It was literally the same bill that Chuck Schumer voted on in March of this year — exactly the same — and that he had voted on several times prior…This is really a political exercise. This has nothing to do with policy initiative. The Democrats want to make it about policy, but it’s not.”
A message from our sponsor.
President Trump promised to protect Medicare for seniors — but the No UPCODE Act would cut Medicare Advantage by billions of dollars. This after cuts from the previous administration have already reduced benefits and increased costs for millions of beneficiaries. Protect seniors. Stop the No UPCODE Act.
EXCLUSIVE: Halo composer hires Trump strategists in House campaign
by Matthew Foldi
It’s been a big week for Republican congressional candidate, Marty O’Donnell — who composed the legendary Halo soundtrack that generations of gamers committed to memory.
First, President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and the White House leaned into a series of Halo-inspired memes after the announcement that Halo will finally be available on PlayStation.
Now, the Washington Reporter can exclusively confirm, O’Donnell is rolling out a team of Trump-aligned strategists in his latest quest: unseating Rep. Susie Lee (D., Nev.) next year.
O’Donnell’s team now includes Grassroots Targeting and David Lee from Fabrizio Lee. O’Donnell told the Reporter of his hiring that “Grassroots Targeting and Fabrizio Lee’s data and polling operations played a crucial role in President Trump winning our district a year ago, and I am excited to have them on our team to replicate that success against Kamala clone Susie Lee.”
“Susie Lee is an open borders Democrat who repeatedly supported Biden-Harris policies that are crushing families with high prices and we are building a campaign that will get that message to the voters we need and turn them out in 2026,” O’Donnell added.
SCOOP: PBMs under fire from Republicans across the country
by the Washington Reporter
In 2025, a new front opened in the war over healthcare costs, with Republicans joining Democrats in focusing on Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) as one of the drivers of high costs for prescription drugs. PBMs are the firms that are hired by employers and insurers to negotiate prices with drug manufacturers.
Proponents of PBMs, like former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo [ [link removed] ] and former Sen. Pat Toomey (R., Pa.) argue [ [link removed] ] that they are private market forces that put downward pressure on the price of drugs. Opponents argue [ [link removed] ] that PBMs distort the free market, and the complicated pricing practices prevent customers from knowing the true cost of drugs — a necessary feature of any free market. The result, lawmakers argue [ [link removed] ], is a complicated, confusing system that drives prices up for consumers and squeezes out local pharmacists.
At the federal level, lawmakers are beginning to apply new scrutiny to companies like CVS that have both [ [link removed] ] pharmacy and PBM business lines. In Arkansas, lawmakers have moved aggressively to draw a line in the sand.
Arkansas now stands at the forefront of state efforts to rein in pharmacy benefit managers. On April 16th, 2025, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R., Ark.) signed HB1150 [ [link removed] ], now Act 624 [ [link removed] ], making Arkansas the first [ [link removed] ]state in the nation to prohibit PBMs from owning or operating pharmacies within its borders.
SCOOP: Democrats pose with $1,395 sofa across the country in bizarre New York Magazine profile
by Matthew Foldi
New York Magazine decided to spotlight 25 “young(ish)” Democrats who aren’t household names, but who might play a pivotal role as the Democratic Party continues its identity crisis.
In a bizarre decision, however, the magazine put willing Democrats atop what appears to be what Republicans are calling a “thousand-dollar throne,” casting serious doubt on the Democrats’ ability to relate to average Americans; the magazine, for its part, calls the chair a “weathered tufted armchair”; the Washington Reporter found what looks like the same model [ [link removed] ] with a sticker price of $1,395.
Republicans, on the flip side, calculated [ [link removed] ] that working families will receive an average tax cut of almost that exact same amount.
The profile, which spotlights incumbents like Rep. Sara Jacobs (D., Calif.) who sat in a pickup truck bed along the southern border in the cherry red sofa, as well as failed politicians like Rebecca Cooke, who is running a third time against Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R., Wis.); in Cooke’s photoshoot, she is seated shoeless on the chair in a field.
SCOOP: Tulsi Gabbard touts Donald Trump’s record as a peacemaker to Manama Dialogue in Bahrain
by Matthew Foldi
Tulsi Gabbard, President Donald Trump’s Director of National Intelligence (DNI), helped kick off the annual Manama Dialogue in Bahrain, bringing the White House’s message of peacemaking with her to the prestigious global conference.
Gabbard greeted her “fellow peacemakers” who convened at what she described as a “pivotal time in global history,” and she reminded her international audience that Trump’s America First vision does not mean America alone.
During Trump’s second term, Gabbard has emerged as one of the administration’s top point people on addressing world leaders at conferences like this one; the Washington Reporter was on site with Gabbard in New Delhi, earlier this year when Gabbard addressed the legendary Raisina Dialogue, which is India’s flagship conference on geopolitics and geoeconomics.
During that conference, Gabbard sat for an interview [ [link removed] ] with the Reporter in which she laid out her thoughts on the U.S.-India relationship, the future of Afghanistan, and the Trump administration’s work with her agency to declassify documents from throughout American history.
OPINIONATED
Op-Ed: Seth Lederman: Veterans deserve freedom from chronic pain
by Seth Lederman
They risked everything for our country. Yet far too many veterans face a battle they never trained for when they come home. More than one in three receiving Veterans Health Administration (VA) services — about 2.1 million — live with chronic pain. From combat injuries and years of wear and tear to the lasting effects of blast exposure and traumatic brain injury, constant pain is one of the most common and least visible legacies of service.
Their suffering is often compounded by post-traumatic stress and depression. According to the VA, about one in five veterans with chronic pain has PTSD, and more than half of those with PTSD experience chronic pain. Known in veterans’ healthcare as the “polytrauma triad,” these conditions disproportionately affect those with traumatic injuries, particularly veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan. The result is a vicious cycle that erodes health, strains families, and raises suicide risk — the second leading cause of death among veterans under 45.
When opioids are prescribed, more damage can follow. Veterans are especially at risk for opioid overuse and overdose, and for those with trauma-related conditions, the unintended harms can include disrupted sleep, heightened anxiety, and prolonged disability. After decades of limited options, safe and nonaddictive pain treatments could bring relief to many of the nearly 3 million men and women who’ve served abroad since 9/11, as well as countless other Americans with chronic pain.
Unlike opioids, next-generation analgesics have the potential to relieve chronic pain by recalibrating nerve activity rather than masking it. These treatments are thought to work by either altering how the brain perceives pain or reducing heightened nerve activity before it reaches the brain. Some target restorative sleep, which is known to help ease chronic pain. What once seemed out of reach — effective, nonaddictive pain relief — is closer than ever.

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