January 28th, 2026
In this edition
| [1] | INTERVIEW: Sen. Bill Cassidy on leading Republicans in protecting unborn life | | [2] | Heard on the Hill | | [3] | EXCLUSIVE: Schumer, Tester recruiting University of Montana President Seth Bodnar for potential Senate bid | | [4] | EXCLUSIVE: RSC's second reconciliation includes popular policies to help first time homebuyers | | [5] | EXCLUSIVE: House Republicans unveil legislation to award Congressional Gold Medal to a post-9/11 hero | | [6] | SCOOP: Rep. Darrell Issa explains how Judiciary Committee Republicans "expos[ed] the truth about Jack Smith and the Biden DOJ" | | [7] | SCOOP: Republicans rally at SCOTUS to protect women's sports | | [8] | SCOOP: Trump Kennedy Center to commemorate past and present anti-Semitism with programming during week of International Holocaust Remembrance Day | | [9] | SCOOP: Americans for Tax Reform slams revised credit card bill: "empower left-wing state AGs" | | [10] | SCOOP: Reps. Eric Burlison, Kevin Hern, and Michael Cloud on Obamacare, the wasteful 340B program, and PBM reform | | [11] | SCOOP: Tim Scott backs Trump crackdown on ESG financial policies | | [12] | OPINIONATED: Solicitor General Eric Wessan on why it is time to end the American Bar Association's monopoly, Daniel Turner on how Winter Storm Fern shows the importance of fossil fuels, and Adam Schwarze on why Minnesota's chaos is America's problem |
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| [1] | INTERVIEW: Sen. Bill Cassidy on leading Republicans in protecting unborn life
By: Matthew Foldi
As chair of the Senate's Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP), Sen. Bill Cassidy (R., La.) is at the forefront of some of the most important issues for social conservatives in Louisiana and across America.
Cassidy most recently helmed a since-viral hearing about the abuses of mail-order abortion pills; he spoke with the Washington Reporter from his hearing room floor about why that was important for him to do, as well as about his role in defending women's sports, which the Supreme Court is poised to definitively rule on in a few months.
"Our state is very concerned about the vulnerable," Cassidy said, explaining why it is important for him to be pro-life. "Our state is very concerned about that child who's in utero. There's a strong backbone of people of faith who recognize that that child in utero is a life in utero, and they don't want that child's life to be snuffed out. We want to support the young lady. You've gotta be pro-life and support the young lady, and you've got to be pro-life and support the child, and my state understands that."
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[2] |
Heard on the Hill
- AMERICAN LEGION PARTNERSHIP: The American Legion and the Defense Credit Union Council (DCUC) announced a partnership last week to advocate for the Veterans Member Business Loan Act, bipartisan legislation that would lift the federal cap on how much money credit unions can give to small businesses. Jason Stverak, DCUC's chief advocacy officer, told the Washington Reporter that, "when the Defense Credit Union Council and The American Legion stand shoulder to shoulder, Congress should pay attention. This partnership represents millions of veterans and the financial institutions that serve them every day — and our message is simple: it is time for Congress to act."
- CRYPTO UPROAR: The New York Post published a bombshell report about a lobbying blitz from Barry Silbert, the crypto leader facing fraud allegations. The report quickly made the rounds on Capitol Hill, and the Washington Reporter will be following the ramifications on how the revelations will impact the broader regulation of crypto.
- PBM PRESSURE: The House Judiciary Committee's landmark investigation into CVS's vertical integration is making waves in the health insurance industry. Terry Wilcox, the co-founder of Patients Rising, discussed the findings with the Washington Reporter, and she noted that "when one company controls the insurance, the pharmacy benefit, and the pharmacy counter, patients stop being customers and start being captives. This Judiciary Committee report shows how CVS used its power to block competition that would have given patients more choice, more transparency, and lower costs. That's not a market failure — it's a patient ripoff." The Washington Reporter will be breaking more news on the ramifications of the CVS report later this week, with exclusive comments from Mark Cuban and a leading Republican Congressman on what comes next.
- ENDORSEMENT SPREE: President Donald Trump went on his latest endorsement spree, backing Republicans Joe Mitchell in Iowa's 2nd District, Michael Alfonso in Wisconsin's 7th District, Ed Gallrein who is challenging Rep. Thomas Massie (R., Ky.), Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity in her campaign against Gov. Josh Shapiro (D., Pa.), Rep. Tom Tiffany in his campaign to flip Wisconsin's open governor's race, and a series of Indiana Republicans who are challenging Republican state senators who sided with Democrats in opposing a redrawing of Indiana's congressional districts.
- PAY TO SLAY CONTINUES: Secretary of State Marco Rubio's State Department found that "the Palestinian Authority paid more than $200 million to terrorists and their families in 2025, the same year PA president Mahmoud Abbas claimed he ended the ‘pay-to-slay' program," the Washington Free Beacon's Adam Kredo found in his latest bombshell story.
| | | [3] | EXCLUSIVE: Schumer, Tester recruiting University of Montana President Seth Bodnar for potential Senate bid
By: Matthew Foldi
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) and former Sen. Jon Tester (D., Mont.) are actively recruiting Seth Bodnar, the longtime Democrat and president of the University of Montana, to enter this year's U.S. Senate race in Montana as a supposedly independent candidate; however, Bodnar's extensive ties to local and national Democrats threaten to immediately undercut any ability by the first-time candidate to distance himself from the Democratic Party, which is broadly unpopular in Montana.
Should Bodnar run, which local outlets like the Montana Free Press report that he will, the move could be viewed by many as Tester's attempt to avenge his 2024 defeat by now-Sen. Tim Sheehy (R., Mont.), which Sen. Steve Daines (R., Mont.) prioritized as the chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) for the 2024 cycle.
While Bodnar is reportedly planning to run as an independent, following his recent resignation as president of the University of Montana, he has deep ties to Democrats.
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[4] |
EXCLUSIVE: RSC's second reconciliation includes popular policies to help first time homebuyers
By: Matthew Foldi
Rep. August Pfluger (R., Texas) and his colleagues at the Republican Study Committee (RSC) are rolling out a Making the American Dream Affordable Again plan as a potential target for a second reconciliation, which could be a popular idea according to polling obtained exclusively by the Washington Reporter.
For months, Pfluger has worked with committee chairs, outside stakeholders, and industry experts on his rollout for a second reconciliation. At the core of his proposal is home ownership. "For Democrats, affordability is a buzzword," the RSC's proposal reads. "For us, it's a mission."
Pfluger's plan's very first point is to "restore the American Dream of homeownership by incentivizing the sale of affordable homes, selling off underutilized government buildings, and enabling the free market to slash the cost of mortgages and down payments." This plan comes as President Donald Trump and his administration are rolling out a series of measures to lower costs of home ownership.
| | | [5] | EXCLUSIVE: House Republicans unveil legislation to award Congressional Gold Medal to a post-9/11 hero
By: Matthew Foldi
House Republicans are rolling out legislation, obtained exclusively by the Washington Reporter, that would award one of the heroes of 9/11 a Congressional Gold Medal that they believe is long overdue.
The Frank Siller Congressional Gold Medal Act, introduced by Rep. Neal Dunn (R., Fla.), would "award a Congressional Gold Medal to Frank Siller, in recognition of his contributions to memorialize all who lost their lives in the tragic events of 9/11, his efforts to support affected loved ones, and his enduring advocacy to serve those who serve their country," according to the legislation, which is cosponsored by Reps. Don Bacon (R., Neb.), Chuck Fleischmann (R., Tenn.), Buddy Carter (R., Ga.), Dan Meuser (R., Pa.), Chuck Edwards (R., N.C.), Maria Salazar (R., Fla.), and John Rutherford (R., Fla.).
Dunn explained to the Reporter that it is important for him to honor Siller's courage "as a veteran myself."
"I am deeply moved by Frank's advocacy and commitment to those who serve our country," Dunn added. "There are few more deserving, Frank Siller truly represents the best of the American spirit, and I am proud to introduce this legislation to award him a Congressional Gold Medal to honor his impact on our nation."
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A message from our sponsor.
In America, parents—not the government—should decide what's best for their kids.
The App Store "Accountability" Act strips away your choice, forcing app stores to share your child's personal information with apps.
Tell Congress to keep parents in control of their families online.
Learn more at netchoice.org/keepappstoressafe |
| [6] | SCOOP: Rep. Darrell Issa explains how Judiciary Committee Republicans "expos[ed] the truth about Jack Smith and the Biden DOJ"
By: Matthew Foldi
Jack Smith, the former Special Counsel at the Department of Justice (DOJ) testified before the House Judiciary Committee in a long-awaited public hearing, and Rep. Darrell Issa (R., Calif.) forced the Trump foe to admit that he withheld critical information to target President Donald Trump and other Republicans.
"You spied on the Speaker of the House and the Senators and so on, and informed no one, and in fact put on a gag order, so they could not discover it," Issa told Smith during the contentious hearing, with a list of Republicans who were on the "Biden DOJ Enemies List" behind him that was held up by Issa's Legislative Director, Giulia DiGuglielmo.
Issa's questioning went "off the rails" in the words of Forbes when Rep. Jamie Raskin (D., Md.), the ranking member on the Judiciary Committee, accused him of not giving Smith sufficient time to respond to his line of questioning. "Let me finish this," Issa told Raskin. "The amazing thing here today is that we have…the evidence that an Article I representative on the president withheld" key information. "I yield back in disgust of this witness," he said, with Raskin shouting objections over him. | | | | [7] | SCOOP: Republicans rally at SCOTUS to protect women's sports
By: Matthew Foldi
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments recently in a case that will determine if men can participate on women's sports teams; the Washington Reporter spoke with Republicans from across the country, who showed up at the Supreme Court to rally for women's sports.
Rep. Mike Simpson (R., Idaho) told the Reporter in an interview on the steps of the Supreme Court that he's "very proud" that his home state is one of the two being represented at the court. Idaho, he noted, was "the first state to ban transgender women in women's sports. That was a huge step" that didn't surprise him, because "Idahoans have common sense, and what this is is common sense."
"We've got to protect Title IX, protect women's rights, protect their ability to get scholarships to move on to college and other things." Throughout the day, speakers noted that virtually no federally elected Democrats have sided with their Republican counterparts in voting to defend women's sports. | |
[8] |
SCOOP: Trump Kennedy Center to commemorate past and present anti-Semitism with programming during week of International Holocaust Remembrance Day
By: Matthew Foldi
The Trump-Kennedy Center is rolling out a series of shows to counter anti-Semitism during the week of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, with senior center leadership telling the Washington Reporter that it is a priority for the prestigious arts center to lend its credibility to "honor victims, confront hatred, and bring people together around our shared humanity," especially "at a time of resurgent anti-Semitism."
The first show is called Enduring Music: Compositions from the Holocaust, and its organizers told the Reporter that it is "a landmark concert of music…composed in ghettos and death camps, performed in defiance of resurgent anti-Semitism."
The Counter Extremism Project's Daniel Roth told the Reporter that the performance, which will take place on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, "will bring classical, folk, and popular music nearly erased by atrocity back into public consciousness through the work of world-renowned composer, conductor, and musicologist Francesco Lotoro." | | | | [9] | SCOOP: Americans for Tax Reform slams revised credit card bill: "empower left-wing state AGs"
By: Matthew Foldi
Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) is pouring cold water on a revised credit card mandate bill from Sens. Roger Marshall (R., Kansas) and Dick Durbin (D., Ill.) as the bill may come up for consideration as an amendment to crypto legislation before the Senate Agricultural Committee.
Mike Palicz, the vice president of federal affairs at ATR, told the Washington Reporter following substantial changes to the Credit Card Competition Act (CCCA) that "Senators Durbin and Marshall have managed to make a bad bill even worse." The latest changes to the proposal, Hill sources explained to the Reporter, could "empower left-wing state AGs and allows the AGs to sue on behalf of illegal aliens."
In the new version of the CCCA, state attorneys general are given "parens patriae authority," which allows the state attorneys general to sue on behalf of residents. Conservative legal scholars have frequently criticized giving expanded authority to state attorneys general as an abuse of standing requirements.
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[10] |
SCOOP: Reps. Eric Burlison, Kevin Hern, and Michael Cloud on Obamacare, the wasteful 340B program, and PBM reform
By: Matthew Foldi
Obamacare is the "biggest bait and switch in history" a trio of House Republicans said in the latest episode of the Republican Study Committee's (RSC) Right to the Point podcast, which was obtained exclusively by the Washington Reporter.
Reps. Eric Burlison (R., Mo.), Kevin Hern (R., Okla.), and Michael Cloud (R., Texas) didn't plan to be in Congress, but each had a set of circumstances that led to them successfully running for office. All three had lengthy and distinguished careers in the private sector in their respective states, and they leaned on that background in discussing what Burlison called the "monumental crisis" of Obamacare.
All three lawmakers are members of the RSC, which has established itself as a leading voice as Republicans deliberate what a second reconciliation would look like. Tackling health care is at the forefront of those discussions, alongside issues like homeownership, as the Reporter has previously covered. | | | | [11] | SCOOP: Tim Scott backs Trump crackdown on ESG financial policies
By: Matthew Foldi
Banking Committee Chairman Sen. Tim Scott (R., S.C.) is supporting President Donald Trump's effort to roll back what Republicans describe as years of pressure that pushed banks to restrict services to lawful but politically controversial industries, including firearms manufacturers and fossil fuel companies.
"As Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, I've pushed back on Washington regulators who tried to pressure banks into cutting off lawful businesses and everyday Americans," Scott told the Washington Reporter. "President Trump understands that no one should be locked out of the financial system, which is why he signed an executive order to stop this practice. We're already seeing real results – regulators are pulling back rules that punished banks for serving legal customers, thanks to the President's action and my FIRM Act."
Scott's comments come as federal reviews and executive actions have renewed scrutiny of how political activism, proxy advisory firms, and bank supervision intersected during the height of environmental, social, and governance (ESG)-driven policymaking.
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[12] |
OPINIONATED
Op-Ed: Eric Wessan: It is time to end the American Bar Association monopoly
By: Eric Wessan
It is long past time for the Department of Education to put forward a formal Request for Proposals for alternative accreditors for America's law schools. The American Bar Association (ABA) is not able to fairly and neutrally ensure high quality education for law students.
How many Amendments to the United States Constitution have been ratified? The correct answer is 27. Perhaps a complete answer on a law school exam could note that the Twenty-First Amendment repealed the Eighteenth. Yet somehow, the monopoly law school accreditor for the entire country — until recently — says that there are Twenty Eight. That risible claim induced then-President of the United States, Joseph R. Biden, to rely on the ABA to make the same claim.
America's law students deserve better. The venerable ABA has been completely consumed by activists unmoored from their goal. It has become a hyper-partisan organization that publishes articles endorsing filing ethics complaints against the sitting Attorney General for zealous advocacy on behalf of the President of the United States. During an unprecedented multi-year assault on the legitimacy of the U.S. Supreme Court, the ABA has not once issued a statement in defense of Justices Clarence Thomas or Samuel Alito. And a quick search of ABA's website has never issued a statement condemning violence against judges in relation to Justice Brett Kavanaugh. | |
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Op-Ed: Daniel Turner: Winter Storm Fern shows the importance of fossil fuels
By: Daniel Turner
It's frigid now, but summer is coming, and with the summer will come heat and heated arguments which drive energy policy. Read on and this will make more sense.
This week, as nearly a million Americans were shivering without power from Winter Storm Fern, wind and solar failed us. Fossil fuels — natural gas, coal, and nuclear — collectively provided roughly 80 percent of U.S. electricity. Despite the untold green "investments" of the Biden era, wind and solar combined for only about 15 percent of the total.
When the two sides are stacked against each other, with all the costs, labor, raw materials, production, jobs, revenue, shortcomings, fossil fuels win every single time.
Yet those citizens without actual power have been denied reliable by elected officials wielding political power. That is pure evil. | |
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Op-Ed: Adam Schwarze: Minnesota's chaos is America's warning
By: Adam Schwarze
America, let Minnesota be your warning.
Radical leftists running their "resistance" playbook in Minnesota have thrust our state into chaos once again. We're in the headlines daily for the cover-up of rampant fraud, attacks on federal agents trying to do their job to enforce the law, and irresponsible politicians pushing for more violence in the streets. Minnesota, what are we doing?
I will tell you what's happening. Extremist liberals with zero accountability have completely lost the plot. A woman is dead after intentionally targeting an ICE officer who was just doing his job. Just like our liberal Lieutenant Governor, Peggy Flanagan, said, she "put her body on the line" and tried to stand between law enforcement and their job to keep our community safe.
Elected officials, fresh off a billion-dollar fraud scandal that put Minnesota in the national news (again), were quick to encourage more violence. Disgraced Gov. Tim Walz (D., Minn.) declared that Minnesota was in a "civil war" with the federal government. | |
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