Washington Reporter Trump approval remains strong with seniors, Rep. Scott
Fitzgerald slams CVS, Sen. Tim Scott on ESG, and more!

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January 30th, 2026

In this edition


[1] INTERVIEW: Senate GOP Whip John Barrasso lays out legislative goals for
2026, celebrates wins ofTrump’s first year
[2] Heard on the Hill
[3] EXCLUSIVE: Mark Cuban tells us he agrees with the House report slamming CVS
— “this is where you fix the problem”
[4] EXCLUSIVE: Rep. Tom Barrett introduces legislation to prevent tragedies
like the 2025 DCA crash
[5] EXCLUSIVE: Rep. Buddy Carter to introduce resolution praising Trump DOJ
for prosecuting “insurrectionists” that stormedMinnesota church service
[6] EXCLUSIVE: Rep. Mark Alford wants Congress to honor Trump’s “historic
leadership” in securing permanent sovereignty inGreenland
[7] EXCLUSIVE: Rep. Fitzgerald slams CVS after House Judiciary Committee report
[8] EXCLUSIVE: 27 State AGs demand withdrawal of politically charged reference
manual for federal judges
[9] SCOOP: Rep. Rob Bresnahan outraises Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti for
second consecutive quarter
[10] SCOOP: Rep. Brad Finstad’s bills to crack down on welfare fraud score RSC
endorsement
[11] SCOOP: Trump approval remains positive with seniors across 19
battleground districts, poll shows
[12] OPINIONATED: Rich Goldberg fact-checks how Amos Hochstein, Jake Sullivan,
and Brett McGurk are trying to re-write Middle East history,Mercedes Schlapp on
the March for Life — and what comes next for the pro-life movement, andAiden
Buzzetti on the threats illegal vapes from China continue to pose to Americans
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[1] INTERVIEW: Senate GOP Whip John Barrasso lays out legislative goals for
2026, celebrates wins of Trump’s first year
By: Matthew Foldi

Americans should expect a lot of activity from Senate Republicans in 2026
before the midterm elections, Sen. John Barrasso (R., Wyo.) — the Majority Whip
— told theWashington Reporter in an interview.

“What a difference a year makes,” Barrasso said, days after Trump celebrated
one year back in the White House. “We came into the year having won the
election, because Democrats were the party of high prices and open borders, and
it was the worst inflation in 40 years. 10,000 illegal immigrants were coming
across every day.”

Now with Trump back in office, “the border has been successfully shut and
protected,” but Barrasso and his colleagues want to keep the spotlight on the
contrast between the two parties. He was just at the southern border with Sens.
John Thune (R., S.D.), John Cornyn (R., Texas), Jon Husted (R., Ohio), Pete
Ricketts (R., Neb.), Mike Rounds (R., S.D.), and Ashley Moody (R., Fla.), along
with Michael Whatley and Mike Rogers.

“The last time we were there, it was 10,000 a day coming across, and nobody
was coming at this point now that President Trump is back,” Barrasso said. “And
it wasn’t that we needed new laws. We just needed to enforce the laws that were
on the books… From that standpoint of high prices and open border, the border
problem has been solved by this president.”

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[2]
Heard on the Hill

* EDUCATION FOR ALL: Rep. Vince Fong (R., Calif.), wants Gov. Gavin Newsom
(D., Calif.) to join the bipartisan group of governors, including potential
2028 hopeful Gov. Jared Polis (D., Colo.), in joining the Federal Tax Credits
Scholarship Program that offers dollar-for-dollar federal tax credit of up to
$1,700 for donations to approved Scholarship Granting Organizations (SGOs).
* MEGA MEGAA: Rep. Bryan Steil (R., Wis.) unveiled his long-anticipated
elections reform act, dubbed the Make Elections Great Again Act. Steil’s bill,
among other things, requires photo identification for voting, proof of
citizenship when registering to vote, amends how states maintain their election
systems, and requires mail-in ballots to be received by the end of Election Day.
* DNI VS. NPR: Alexa Henning, the deputy chief of staff to Director of
National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard rejected claims by NPR’s Steve
Inskeep that “Gabbrd’s [sic] claim is that she found mysterious hidden
documents that Georgians forgot to burn, and in less than 24 hours somehow
correctly analyzed the ‘intent’ of the authors, which perfectly fit the
narrative Trump asked for” by simply stating “nowhere does she say that.”
* $ENATE LEADERSHIP FUND: When it comes to outside help, Senate Republicans
are in a great position thanks to the massive cash advantage that Senate
Majority Leader John Thune’s (R., S.D.) Senate Leadership Fund (SLF) and its
allied groups have. The GOP groups outraised their Democratic counterparts by
almost $80 million in 2025. “SLF and affiliated groups absolutely destroyed SMP
in 2025, outraising them by $72 million,” SLF’s communications director Chris
Gustafson noted. “You can’t blame them for trying to bury that!”
* RNC ON DHS: The Republican National Committee’s (RNC) National Press
Secretary, Kiersten Pels, signaled that the GOP’s support for the work of the
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) isn’t going anywhere, as Democrats
attempt to leverage DHS’s funding ahead of a potential government shutdown.
“Imagine how out of touch with reality you must be to hold DHS funding hostage
in order to grandstand about federal immigration law being upheld in our
country,” Pels noted.
* OFF TO THE RACES: Austin Rogers, the former counsel to Sen. Rick Scott (R.,
Fla.), kicked off his campaign in Florida’s 2nd District to succeed Rep. Neal
Dunn (R., Fla.); theWashington Reporter previously covered that a campaign by
Rogers could be imminent. “I’ve seen firsthand how broken Washington is,”
Rogers said. Our nation needs more fighters who will fearlessly root out waste,
fraud and abuse in government.” One Florida politics veteran told theReporter
that “Rogers is the man for the job — he's brilliant, principled, and steadfast
in his dedication to the Panhandle.”
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[3] EXCLUSIVE: Mark Cuban tells us he agrees with the House report slamming
CVS — “this is where you fix the problem”
By: Matthew Foldi

Billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban is calling on Congress to move
aggressively against pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and healthcare
consolidation following a blistering new House Judiciary Committee report
targeting CVS Health and its vertically integrated business model.

Cuban has previously spoken with the Washington Reporter multiple times on
antitrust issues, the presidential campaign, and on the case for PBM reform.

The House Judiciary Committee’s report concluded that consolidation among
insurers, PBMs, and pharmacies has reduced competition, raised drug prices, and
boxed out independent options for patients. The report focused on CVS’s use of
contracts to, according to the report, limit competition and innovation.

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[4]
EXCLUSIVE: Rep. Tom Barrett introduces legislation to prevent tragedies like
the 2025 DCA crash
By: Matthew Foldi

Rep. Tom Barrett (R., Mich.) spent 22 years in the Army logging thousands of
flight hours in advanced helicopters, like the Black Hawk helicopter that was
involved in the fatal plane crash at Washington, D.C.’s Reagan National Airport
in early 2025.

In the year since that tragic accident in which 67 people died, Barrett has
worked to reform how planes take off and land in America. In light of the
one-year anniversary of the crash, Barrett is introducing two more bills,
obtained exclusively by theWashington Reporter, that will help update
technology to help prevent similar collisions in the future.

One of Barrett’s bills, the Military ADS-B Out Loophole Act, clarifies
current law, which allows the Department of War (DOW) to turn off Automatic
Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast (ADS-B) equipment in an aircraft if the
aircraft is “performing a sensitive government mission for national defense,
homeland security, intelligence or law enforcement purposes and transmitting
would compromise the operational security of the mission or pose a safety risk
to the aircraft, crew, or people and property in the air or on the ground.” The
Black Hawk involved in the 2025 crash had its ADS-B turned off.

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[5] EXCLUSIVE: Rep. Buddy Carter to introduce resolution praising Trump DOJ
for prosecuting “insurrectionists” that stormed Minnesota church service
By: Matthew Foldi

With all eyes on Minnesota, Rep. Buddy Carter (R., Ga.) plans to introduce a
resolution, obtained exclusively by theWashington Reporter, that reaffirms the
constitutional rights of Americans to “religious freedom, and commending the
Department of Justice for its prompt investigation” into a series of left-wing
agitators who disrupted a church service in the North Star State.

On January 18, a group of protesters filmed themselves disrupting church
services at Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota. Carter’s resolution notes
that the protesters “shouted over clergy, physically obstructed the service,
intimidated worshipers, and created a threatening environment for families and
children in attendance.”

Within hours of the protest that disrupted church services, Attorney General
Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel announced that charges had been filed
against several of the agitators, who argued that they stormed the service in
protest of one of its pastors leading a local field office for Immigration and
Customs Enforcement (ICE).

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A message from our sponsor.

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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
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[6] EXCLUSIVE: Rep. Mark Alford wants Congress to honor Trump’s “historic
leadership” in securing permanent sovereignty in Greenland
By: Matthew Foldi

President Donald Trump’s historic deal with Greenland won quick praise from
Rep. Mark Alford (R., Mo.), who introduced a resolution, obtained exclusively
by theWashington Reporter, commending Trump for establishing permanent United
States sovereignty in Greenland.

Alford, who noted that Trump’s deal with Greenland will also provide America
with control over critical military installations in Greenland, strengthen
America’s Arctic security, and counter malign Russian and Chinese influence in
the region, said that Trump “once again displayed the Art of the Deal on the
world stage” in securing the commitments.

“The historic Greenland accord will deliver a new era of global security in
the Arctic,” Alford said. “By securing this deal to deter Russian and Chinese
aggression through diplomacy, rather than force, this administration is showing
America First does not mean America alone. I’m proud to introduce this
resolution to recognize the President’s steadfast leadership and this
extraordinary accomplishment.”

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[7] EXCLUSIVE: Rep. Fitzgerald slams CVS after House Judiciary Committee report
By: Ava Nicholson

The House Judiciary Committee’s report scrutinizing CVS’s market power raises
serious antitrust concerns and justifies continued congressional oversight,
Rep. Scott Fitzgerald (R., Wis.) told theWashington Reporter.

The Judiciary Committee report examined consolidation across the pharmacy
benefit manager (PBM) and retail pharmacy markets, with CVS identified as the
dominant player. The report investigated alleged anticompetitive actions
including during a period when current CVS CEO David Joyner ran Caremark.
Lawmakers have raised alarms that vertical integration in the healthcare sector
could squeeze independent pharmacies, suppress competition, and limit patient
choice.

In an exclusive statement to the Reporter, Fitzgerald said the investigation
focused on ensuring competition is protected and that large corporations do not
use their size to disadvantage smaller players:

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[8]
EXCLUSIVE: 27 State AGs demand withdrawal of politically charged reference
manual for federal judges
By: Matthew Foldi

27 state attorneys general called on the Federal Judicial Center (FJC), the
taxpayer-funded education and research agency of the federal judiciary, to
immediately withdraw their recently released edition of their “Reference Manual
on Scientific Evidence” for promoting partisan climate ideology and citing
widely discredited activists.

In a letter — obtained by the Washington Reporter — to Robin Rosenberg, the
FJC’s director, the AGs wrote that the manual, intended to serve as a
“gold-standard” impartial reference tool “‘has been provided to more than 3,000
federal judges and even more state court judges and others and has been cited
in over 1,700 opinions.’ So accuracy and impartiality in the Manual is vital.”

The letter, spearheaded by West Virginia’s attorney general JB McCuskey, was
joined by GOP AGs from Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho,
Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana,
Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South
Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming.

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[9] SCOOP: Rep. Rob Bresnahan outraises Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti for
second consecutive quarter
By: Matthew Foldi

For the second consecutive quarter, Rep. Rob Bresnahan (R., Pa.) outraised
his opponent in the race for Pennsylvania’s 8th Congressional District,
Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti, according to newly filed fundraising reports.

In 2025’s penultimate quarter, Cognetti — one of House Democrats’ top
recruits — raised just over $500,000, while Bresnahan raised $598,000. The
fundraising gap widened further in the fourth quarter; Cognetti reported
raising $640,000. Bresnahan, meanwhile, brought in more than $675,000, despite
scaling back fundraising during the federal government shutdown.

“Congressman Bresnahan is humbled by the continued support for his campaign,”
his campaign manager Peter Brath told theWashington Reporter. “Voters are
responding to Rob’s focus on what is best for all the people of Northeastern
Pennsylvania, while Mayor Paige Cognetti remains focused on the far-left
extremism pushed by her and the leaders of her party.”

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[10]
SCOOP: Rep. Brad Finstad’s bills to crack down on welfare fraud score RSC
endorsement
By: Matthew Foldi

A Minnesota lawmaker’s bills that would crack down on welfare fraud are
getting a major boost, with the largest conservative caucus in Congress
endorsing the proposals.

Rep. Brad Finstad’s (R., Minn.) proposals would direct the president to
temporarily freeze foreign assistance to any country that refuses to assist
America in identifying and returning taxpayer dollars illegally sent to foreign
nationals. They would also require states to provide beneficiary-level SNAP
data to the Department of Agriculture (USDA) in order to provide the federal
government with the information necessary to detect and prosecute welfare fraud.

The Republican Study Committee (RSC), led by Rep. August Pfluger (R., Texas),
is endorsing both Finstad’s Fraud Accountability and Recovery Act and SNAP Data
Transparency and Oversight Act, theWashington Reporter can exclusively confirm;
this move is the latest by the RSC to bolster programs that prevent large-scale
fraud. “This is part of the mandate we were sent to Washington to deliver,” an
RSC insider told theReporter.

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[11] SCOOP: Trump approval remains positive with seniors across 19
battleground districts, poll shows
By: Matthew Foldi

In battleground races across America, seniors continue to approve of the work
that President Donald Trump is doing, according to a new poll obtained by the
Washington Reporter.

Seniors Matter for America (SMFA), a new coalition launched by Sean Spicer,
polled voters across 19 battleground districts and found that Trump continues
to boast an approval rating of net four percent with the key voting demographic.

The poll, which was conducted from January 5-9, 2026, finds that almost all
voters in battleground districts are concerned about a billionaire-backed
dark-money effort that could take away Medicare Advantage, which involves the
billion dollar commodity Arnold Ventures that is looking to cut senior
benefits. Arnold Ventures openly opposes Medicare Advantage and is
“disappointed” with the Trump administration’s leadership on protecting
Medicare and Medicare Advantage.

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[12]
OPINIONATED


Op-Ed: Rich Goldberg: The Biden administration was like an arsonist playing
firefighter in the Middle East. Here’s the reality.
By: Rich Goldberg

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week set off a firestorm on
the American and Israeli left when he accurately claimed that some Israeli
soldiers died in battle due to the policies of the Biden administration.

Former Biden senior officials like Amos Hochstein and Brett McGurk rushed to
condemn Netanyahu, claiming his statements were untrue. According to their
version of history, Biden saved Israel from destruction and Netanyahu should
just say thanks.

Well here are three truth bombs to set the record straight.

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Op-Ed: Mercedes Schlapp: The March for Life is about more than abortion — it’s
about human dignity
By: Mercedes Schlapp

Every January, tens of thousands of Americans converge in Washington, D.C.,
for one of the largest human rights demonstrations in the world: the March for
Life. And each year, critics try to reduce it to a partisan spectacle — a
“culture war rally,” a “religious protest,” or a political talking point. One
of the protesters held a sign: “Talk to me, I was once religiously
brainwashed.” She was yelling while those in the march respectfully prayed and
sang.

The critics are wrong.

The March for Life is not ultimately about elections, parties, or
politicians, or even abortion. It is about a moral truth that transcends
politics: every human life has inherent value, from conception to natural
death. I witnessed this firsthand when I met teenage mothers who went to the
Saint Gianna & Pietro Molla Maternity Home for help when they felt all alone
and needed support. Kate was 19 years old when she became pregnant, and now she
and her 17-year-old son Dominic marched together in support of life. Ron
marched for the first time this year. He and his wife Dorothy adopted five
children.

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Op-Ed: Aiden Buzzetti: China is still flooding America with poison, and
President Trump must finish the job
By: Aiden Buzzetti

Washington talks a lot about protecting the public health of Americans, but
what it rarely does is enforce the law. The previous administration illustrated
that in action. While American parents worried about what their kids were
buying at corner stores, President Joe Biden let dangerous illegal Chinese
vaping products flood the country at historic levels.

Under Biden, the government replaced enforcement with warnings, with
regulators issuing letters and shuffling paperwork instead of taking action.
We’ve paid the price. Today, roughly 86 percent of e-cigarette sales in the
United States are illegal, unregulated products, overwhelmingly manufactured in
China with dubious quality and safety controls. The weak borders and hollow
enforcement under the previous administration turned American neighborhoods
into dumping grounds for products that never should have made it into the
country.

China knows these products are dangerous. That is why they are banned there.
Secretary Robert F. Kennedy spelled it out clearly. You will go to jail and
worse in China if you try to sell these products to Chinese citizens. The same
factories that cannot legally sell to their own people mass-produce flavored
nicotine devices and ship them to American communities instead.

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