Washington Reporter Tulsi Gabbard's DNI explains election integrity push, an
"independent's" ties to Democrats may doom him in Montana, and more!

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February 4th, 2026

In this edition


[1] INTERVIEW: Rep. Bryan Steil pitches comprehensive election reforms
[2] Heard on the Hill
[3] SCOOP: Trump administration rolls Trump Accounts out as "the antidote to
socialism"
[4] SCOOP: Montana Senate race heats up with ad campaign, site launch focused
on Bodnar's Democratic ties
[5] SCOOP: DNI explains how election integrity, data security a core,
statutory part of its mission
[6] SCOOP: Sen. Ted Cruz's legislation, Trump Accounts, rolled out by Trump and
Bessent
[7] SCOOP: GOP heads into midterms flush with cash across outside groups
[8] OPINIONATED: Rep. John Faso on the problems with the current proposed ban
on congressional stock trading
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[1] INTERVIEW: Rep. Bryan Steil pitches comprehensive election reforms
By: Matthew Foldi

Rep. Bryan Steil (R., Wis.) wants to Make Elections Great Again, and as the
chair of the House Committee on Administration, he's set about doing that by
unveiling the Make Elections Great Again (MEGA) Act — a "comprehensive election
integrity reform package that lays out a series of reforms that are needed to
improve the operations of U.S. elections, and in particular, reinstill
Americans' trust in our elections," he explained during an interview with the
Washington Reporter.

This bill follows years of Steil trying to reform American election systems
and "jurisdictions that poorly administer their elections."

Election integrity has been a longstanding priority of President Donald
Trump, and Steil said that he "worked closely with the Trump administration as
we were drafting this legislation to make sure that we were working hand in
glove in a unified government on what's actually needed to strengthen America's
election system."

"We've incorporated in this legislation the president's executive orders as
they relate to elections," Steil added, "and it's my belief that passing this
legislatively, rather than simply through executive orders, is essential so
that future administrations can't unwind many of these really important
reforms."

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[2]
Heard on the Hill

* ANOTHER JOHNSON WIN: In what Rep. Virginia Foxx (R., N.C.) called "another
big win for Speaker Mike Johnson✨," House Republicans voted to end another
government shutdown.
* BICAMERAL SHARIA BAN: Sen. Tommy Tuberville joined Rep. Keith Self (R.,
Texas), Rep. Chip Roy (R, Texas) and other members of the Sharia-Free America
caucus to sound alarm on rise of Sharia law in America during a press
conference today.
* TRUMP ADMIN VS. BDS: Leo Terrell, the Chair of the Department of Justice's
(DOJ) Task Force to Combat Antisemitism, forcefully rejected an anti-Semitic
proposal at the University of Nebraska to boycott Israel. "Antisemitism has NO
place on college campuses. I'm calling on the student government at the
University of Nebraska to VOTE NO on the antisemitic BDS resolution pushed by
SJP, a group that has celebrated attacks by terrorist organizations and is now
targeting AMERICAN companies through its BDS campaign."
* GEORGIA SHAKEUP: Businessman Rick Jackson just threw his hat in the race
for Georgia governor with anad
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exclusively by theWashington Reporter that takes aim at Brad Raffensperger,
comparing Georgia's GOP Secretary of State to "Judas." Jackson announced plans
to immediately pour $40 million of his own money into his campaign.
* TIME FOR A REBUILD: A Trump Kennedy Center insider spoke with the
Washington Reporter about the coverage of how the center will shut down for at
most two years to complete full-scale renovations. "Trump is cleaning up the
massive mess left by Dems who were running this place," the source explained.
"He is temporarily closing it bc the building reached a breaking point
(literally)."
* BIRTHDAY SHOUTOUT: Happy Birthday to Rep. Claudia Tenney (R., N.Y.), friend
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of theWashington Reporter and conservative leader serving the great upstate
New York.
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[3] SCOOP: Trump administration rolls Trump Accounts out as "the antidote to
socialism"
By: Matthew Foldi

Trump Accounts are the "antidote to socialism," the administration lauded at
a star-studded event where everyone from President Donald Trump to Nicki Minaj
discussed how the accounts will revolutionize savings for millions of
newly-born Americans.

Brad Gerstner, a Hoosier venture capitalist who was one of the originators of
the idea, and Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas), helped kick off the summit, describing
the accounts as the opposite of universal basic income.

Trump Accounts, which were a key component of the GOP's One Big, Beautiful
Bill (OBBB), are new government savings accounts available for children born
between 2025 and 2028, to which parents, businesses, and philanthropies can
contribute thousands of dollars. The accounts are invested in low-cost index
funds for future use, and can only be accessed by the holders once they turn 18.

The Trump Accounts launch was praised by financial experts in and out of the
government. Jonathan Gould, the Comptroller of Currency and finance veteran,
told theWashington Reporter that "President Trump and Secretary [Scott] Bessent
are revolutionizing the financial future of the next generation of Americans.
Trump Accounts provide a pathway for every individual to invest in our nation's
competitive marketplace and take part in American prosperity."

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[4]
SCOOP: Montana Senate race heats up with ad campaign, site launch focused on
Bodnar's Democratic ties
By: Matthew Foldi

Montana's sleepy Senate race is heating up as Republicans take aim at a
potential independent candidate who hasn't even launched a campaign yet.

A new site, "BOTH WAYS BODNAR," launched — and Republicans are texting the
microsite to voters and launching a statewide ad campaign. One Montana
political veteran told theWashington Reporter that the site "is getting texted
to every R voter in MT." The newly-launched website, paid for by the National
Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), relies on theReporter's latest coverage
of the race.

Seth Bodnar, the now-former president of the University of Montana, is likely
to run for Senate against Sen. Steve Daines (R., Mont.) as an independent. The
Reporter previously covered how Sen. Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) and ousted Sen.
Jon Tester (D., Mont.) are closely involved in Bodnar's efforts. Bodnar's
extensive ties to Democrats would likely still sink his bid in the conservative
state.

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[5] SCOOP: DNI explains how election integrity, data security a core,
statutory part of its mission
By: Matthew Foldi

Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard's recent trip to Fulton
County, Georgia, focusing on election integrity efforts is in line with the
DNI's responsibilities, a spokesperson explained to theWashington Reporter,
following Gabbard's trip.

In one of President Donald Trump's first cabinet meetings of his second term,
Gabbard explained the "long list of things that we're investigating," with
"election integrity being one of them. We have evidence of how these electronic
voting systems have been vulnerable to hackers for a very long time and
vulnerable to exploitation, to manipulate the results of the votes being cast."

Shortly after those remarks, she noted that the DNI is continuing "our
extensive investigations around exposing the very serious issues we have
related to election integrity, illegal abuses of FISA, Crossfire Hurricane, and
others."

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A message from our sponsor.

<[link removed]>
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
<[link removed]>


[6] SCOOP: Sen. Ted Cruz's legislation, Trump Accounts, rolled out by Trump
and Bessent
By: Matthew Foldi

President Donald Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent hosted Speaker
Mike Johnson (R., La.), Sens. Ted Cruz (R., Texas) and Katie Britt (R., Ala.),
Gov. Brad Little (R., Idaho), Rep. Jason Smith (R., Mo.), Brad Gerstner,
Michael Dell, Kevin O'Leary, Nicki Minaj, and others at the Andrew W. Mellon
Auditorium for a summit on Trump Accounts, which were a key component of the
One Big, Beautiful Bill that Cruz worked extensively on.

Trump Accounts are historic investment accounts for American children that
are now law thanks to Cruz's successful push to include them in the OBBB last
year.

From the summit's main stage, Cruz explained how the idea came to be. "Brad
[Gerstner] got on a plane, flew from Silicon Valley to D.C., pitched the idea
to me, I said ‘I love it.' We drafted the legislation, that is what is in the
bill — that idea that came from a 2 A.M. poker game with Phil Hellmuth."

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[7] SCOOP: GOP heads into midterms flush with cash across outside groups
By: Matthew Foldi

As both parties brace for November's midterm elections, the GOP has outraised
Democrats when it comes to money raised by party committees, super PACs, and
with candidates, according to both parties' latest campaign finance records.

Republicans have just shy of $1 billion across organizations like the
Republican National Committee (RNC), the National Republican Senatorial
Committee (NRSC), the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), the
Congressional Leadership Fund (CLF), and the Senate Leadership Fund (SLF),
combined with other outside groups in the Trump orbit.

The GOP's standard party committees raised over half a billion dollars in
2025; when combining what elections analyst Rob Pyers calculated as the "$385
million or so more spread across the Trump SuperPAC, leadership PACs, and joint
fundraising committees" of the president's orbit, the GOP is flush with cash as
it attempts to defy historical trends and maintain its narrow control of both
houses of Congress.

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[8]
OPINIONATED


Op-Ed: Rep. John Faso: The proposed congressional stock trading ban isn't the
answer
By: Rep. John Faso

A few short weeks ago, everything seemed like smooth sailing for the proposed
congressional stock trading ban, the Stop Insider Trading Act, which was on
track to pass with overwhelming bipartisan support.

Then, last week, some members jumped ship, claiming that the bill didn't go
far enough. It still ultimately cleared the committee on a party-line vote.

The bill will thus soon be considered by the full House. It would prohibit
members of Congress, their spouses, and their dependent children from
purchasing publicly traded stocks. Members would still be able to keep stock
assets in investment and retirement funds holding broad categories of financial
assets, but they would not be able to trade individual stocks. Most Americans
support such restrictions.

Members have voiced several objections, including that the bill would allow
lawmakers to keep stocks they already own.

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