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WATCH: How to Turn Your Home Into a Fortress in 30 Minutes or Less

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Gun Owners Can Be Arrested For Concealed Carrying After Crossing State Lines — But There’s A Solution

While Americans acquire training to apply for concealed carry permits, Second Amendment groups are pushing Congress to pass concealed carry reciprocity legislation so gun owners are not arrested after crossing state lines.

The Daily Caller went to the National Rifle Association’s (NRA) gun range in Fairfax, Virginia, and attended Live Fire Instruction’s pistol fundamentals course in May.

Participants who complete the class are eligible to apply for a Virginia Concealed Carry Weapon (CCW) permit.

“We were so busy during COVID, we were booked months and months out,” Lisa Paris, founder and owner of Live Fire Instruction, told the Caller. “I probably could have taught a class every single day during COVID, because the level of fear was so high.”

Gun ownership, especially among women, spiked during COVID-19.

Women comprised 71 percent of first-time gun buyers from 2021 to 2024, according to a 2024 report by the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF).

Women “woke up” during the pandemic, Paris said.

“I think a lot of people were like, ‘the government, they’re not going to protect me. I’m going to have to do this myself.’ And a lot of women did that,” she added.

The summer of 2020 was embroiled in protests and riots after George Floyd’s death, prompting many Americans to purchase firearms for self-defense.

Gun purchases skyrocketed that year, and the majority of buyers were women, according to Harvard data.

“Over the past five years, a growing number of Americans became first-time gun owners, particularly women, motivated by the desire to protect themselves and their families,” Josh Savani, executive director of NRA General Operations, said in a statement to the Caller.

The majority of U.S. gun owners cited “protection” as the primary reason for having a firearm, according to a 2023 Pew Research study.

However, Americans can face legal troubles while concealed carrying, even with a government-issued permit.

Republicans in Congress are pushing for concealed carry reciprocity with the Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act.

The bill, introduced by Republican North Carolina Rep. Richard Hudson, would enable individuals to concealed carry across state lines. The legislation would allow an individual with a valid government permit to carry in another state, providing that state also recognizes concealed carry.

It was introduced in January 2025 and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

In Virginia, individuals must take a “competency class” to obtain a concealed carry license, according to Paris.

“Other states are way more demanding, and then you have other states that are nothing. So, Virginia is kind of in the middle of you have to do something, but it’s not extreme, right?” she told the Caller.

Virginia is a “shall-issue” state, and residents must file permit applications with their county circuit court, according to the United States Concealed Carry Association (USCCA). Residents need to complete a state-approved course.

Other states have stricter requirements.

New York requires applicants take a safety training course, present four character references, disclose who lives with them and be interviewed by a licensing officer.

West Virginia, a constitutional carry state, has no permit requirement.

Hudson’s legislation would ensure that law-abiding Americans can exercise their constitutional rights in states that allow concealed carry, Executive Director of the NRA Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA) John Commerford told the Caller.

“If you freely travel … today, you will go through states that don’t require a permit,” he said. “You’ll go through states that require a permit but have reciprocity with your current state permit. And then you’ll cross the state line, and you’ll automatically become a felon for conduct that was lawful a mile behind you, but now you cross into New Jersey or New York or Massachusetts, and your right to self-defense went out the window.”

Police have arrested gun owners for concealed carrying in states that did not issue their permit.

Lloyd Muldrow, a Marine Corps veteran, had a concealed carry permit in Virginia. Muldrow claimed he “disarmed a man who was threatening people” in a pub in Baltimore, Maryland. He was arrested because his permit was not considered valid in Maryland.

Muldrow is not the only person to have fallen prey to concealed carry regulations, either.

Commerford pointed to the case of Shaneen Allen. She was pulled over in New Jersey and later arrested for carrying a handgun with a Pennsylvania concealed carry permit, NBC 10 reported in 2017.

She could have faced years in prison, but Allen was ultimately pardoned by then-Republican New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.

“[The] Second Amendment doesn’t discriminate on zip code,” Commerford emphasized.

There are various ways for new gun owners to learn the fundamentals of firearms so they can acquire a concealed carry license if their state of residency requires one.

Paris said the two most signicant takeaways for participants in her class are safety and enjoyment.

“Probably the biggest thing from this particular class is safety. You’re not hurting yourself, and you’re not hurting anybody else,” she said. “And then enjoy the sport. Once you love the sport, you’ll come to the gun range and shoot for fun. And then you’ll also be a responsible gun owner, because you’re practicing the sport.”

The NRA provides several firearms training classes, including courses for women.

“As the nation’s leader in firearms safety and training, the NRA is a trusted resource for new gun owners from all walks of life who are seeking top-tier instruction and education,” Savani said in a statement to the Caller.

“With a nationwide network of over 100,000 certified instructors, NRA courses equip gun owners with the skills and confidence to safely handle, store, and maintain their firearms. We’re especially proud to offer programs tailored specifically for women, including our Women on Target® Instructional Shooting Clinics, as well as specialized self-defense and concealed carry training,” he continued. “The NRA is committed to empowering all law-abiding Americans to exercise their Second Amendment freedoms and the right to self-defense.”

Hudson’s bill is not the only legislation making its way through Congress that could dramatically impact gun rights.

The House of Representatives passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in May, including Section 2 of the Hearing Protection Act. That provision would remove suppressors from the National Firearms Act (NFA).

If the legislation is implemented, it would “be the biggest win for gun owners in my generation,” Commerford told the Caller.

The NFA mandates that suppressors (otherwise known as “silencers”) be registered with the federal government, according to the NRA. The Hearing Protection Act would also remove the $200 tax, and buyers would be subject to a background check instead of an “onerous federal transfer process,” according to the NRA Hunters’ Leadership Forum.

The NFA falls under the Bureau for Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), and the Trump admin is taking steps to make the agency less hostile to gun owners.

The ATF updated its national policy on federal firearm licensee inspections in May, replacing the Biden administration’s “zero-tolerance” policy.

The ATF previously announced that the bureau, along with the DOJ, will be reviewing two other Biden-era firearms policies.

AUTHOR

Eireann Van Natta

Associate Editor.

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EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

DERELICTION OF DUTY: Chief Justice John Roberts Admits It’s His Job to Rein in the Judicial Insurrection—and He’s Not Doing It

The deep state and its allies have launched a judicial insurrection against President Donald Trump, and Chief Justice John Roberts effectively just admitted he’s not doing his job to stop it.

Roberts made a rare public statement back in March, criticizing Trump and other Republicans who have suggested impeaching judges to prevent them from taking it upon themselves to make national policy through injunctions. Yet Roberts refused to address the underlying issue, and he dodged again in public remarks Wednesday.

“What do you think of these calls for impeachment of judges based on the decisions that they’ve made?” Judge Lawrence Vilardo asked Roberts in an interview in Buffalo, New York.

“Impeachment is not how you register disagreement with decisions,” the chief justice said, repeating the substance of his comments in March.

“That’s what you’re there for,” Vilardo responded.

“That’s what we’re there for,” Roberts agreed.

Again, Roberts overlooked the underlying issue. Republicans aren’t calling for the impeachment of justices because they disagree with one particular decision—they’re exasperated because judge after judge after judge is effectively usurping the president’s authority by issuing so many nationwide injunctions.

The Judicial Insurrection

When woke bureaucrats stared down the barrel of a second Trump term, they strategized about how best to tie the new president’s hands. Public-sector unions made new collective bargaining agreements to protect work-from-home perks. Employees changed their titles to hide “diversity, equity, and inclusion.” Perhaps most importantly, bureaucrats and their allies outside the administration geared up to sue the Trump administration, targeting friendly judges.

Sure enough, the ink was barely dry on the president’s executive orders rooting woke ideology out of the government before public-sector unions (which represent federal bureaucrats) and leftist groups had taken the new administration to court. Many of these groups also hand-picked jurisdictions with judges more likely to give them the injunctions they seek.

According to the Congressional Research Service, judges issued 86 nationwide injunctions against President Trump in his first administration, with 36 of them involving immigration and 10 involving federal funding related to immigration. By contrast, judges issued only 28 nationwide injunctions against Biden. Between Jan. 20 and March 27 of this year, judges issued 17 injunctions—more than half of the number in Biden’s entire term.

Many of the unions and leftist groups filing these lawsuits also staffed and advised the Biden administration, as I expose in my book, “The Woketopus: The Dark Money Cabal Manipulating the Federal Government.” The ACLU, for instance, pushed the Biden administration to open the border, and now the ACLU is filing lawsuits to block Trump’s border policies.

The judges—many of them appointed by Democrats, surprise surprise!—have taken the opportunity to issue “nationwide injunctions.” While temporary injunctions allow a judge to protect one of the parties in a case from harm while the court considers the case, judges have weaponized this power, claiming to protect people across the country who aren’t parties to the suit.

This practice of “judge shopping” enables activist groups to succeed in early stages of litigation before ultimately failing when the case reaches the Supreme Court. This gives judges a chance to carry out a judicial insurrection. It also gives the case the appearance of success, motivating the leftist groups and their supporters, while tying up the government in the meantime—all in pursuit of a vain claim.

The Supreme Court Acts

For instance, judges blocked Trump’s order removing gender ideology from the military and ordered the government to re-hire probationary employees after they had been fired.

The Supreme Court rightly struck down these injunctions, but the judges only handled them on a case-by-case basis.

Judges have blocked the State Department’s move to restructure the U.S. Agency for International Development, ordered the administration to halt its freeze on federal spending, demanded the government restore deleted websites, and more.

This deluge of injunctions calls for a robust response from the nation’s highest court—or, at the very least, direction from the man who heads the entire U.S. judicial system, Chief Justice Roberts.

Trump, Congress Consider Other Solutions

Roberts only got involved after Trump expressed exasperation over the injunctions.

Trump has pledged to comply with the judges’ orders, though he has rightly contested them in court.

He responded angrily to a judge’s order directing him to turn around planes carrying alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, however. The president noted that he won the 2024 presidential election in part by promising to oppose illegal immigration.

“I’m just doing what the VOTERS wanted me to do,” Trump wrote. “This judge, like many of the Crooked Judges’ I am forced to appear before, should be IMPEACHED!!!”

Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, introduced articles of impeachment against the judge in question, but Trump and other Republicans have taken efforts to address the systemic issue, as well.

The House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the injunctions last month.

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, introduced the Restraining Judicial Insurrectionists Act of 2025, establishing a three-judge panel to swiftly review injunctions or other forms of declaratory relief against the president and the executive branch, with a quick appeal process to the Supreme Court.

Lee said the judges “have presumed to run the military, the civil service, foreign aid, and HR departments across the Executive Branch—blatantly unconstitutional overreach.”

Meanwhile, Trump issued a memo in March directing the heads of executive agencies to request that judges follow the Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 65(c), which requires the party requesting an injunction to put up “security in an amount that the court considers proper to pay the costs and damages sustained by any party found to have been wrongfully enjoined or restrained.” Rule 65(c) may not apply to every legal case, however.

John Roberts’ Job

Each of these efforts addresses one aspect of the problem, and Lee’s bill would likely address the issue most effectively. However, there is one person who has authority over the U.S. judiciary and could direct judges to be more circumspect before they issue nationwide injunctions that effectively make policy.

His name is… drumroll please… John Roberts.

When Roberts says reversing lower court mistakes is “what we’re there for,” he’s exactly right. In fact, as head of the judiciary, addressing major nationwide issues like the judicial insurrection is what he’s there for, specifically.

Perhaps, instead of complaining about Trump’s call to impeach judges, Roberts could solve the underlying problem himself by outlining how judges should act when considering temporary injunctions.

If he wants Trump and others to stop talking about impeaching judges, maybe he should step up and address the root problem.

AUTHOR

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EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Signal column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.


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Florida’s Red Flag Law

The below article is a good follow-up of presentation I made at Winter Haven 912 meeting on that portion of Florida Red Flag Law allowing unconstitutional Risk Protection Orders to seize firearms, ammo, permits from someone accused of being a threat to themselves or others, e.g. based on something that has not happened yet, with no Due Process as a hearing is only provided after the seizure occurs. The few district court actions on this process which have been conducted so far upholding RPOs as constitutional are just wrong — period !

There are already existing laws/procedures on books which could authorize weapons seizures as needed e.g. Baker Act, Marchman Act and Court injuntions — the RPO is not needed.


How Do Red Flag Laws Work

Robert Sadowski — 

A red flag law is the common name given to Extreme Risk Protection Orders, Emergency Substantial Risk Orders, Firearm Restraining Orders, and a number of other official names that vary from state to state.

Essentially, red flag laws allow a civil court—a judge—to temporarily remove firearms from a person who is considered a threat to themselves or others. Other items deemed dangerous weapons can also be seized depending on the state. Red flag laws were enacted to protect people as a suicide-prevention tool, a method to stop domestic violence, or averting a potential mass shooting.

I think we—gun owners and non-gun owners—are all in favor of laws that protect our family, friends, and communities, but when the government, in this case, the state government, seizes our property, is that a violation of the 4th Amendment against unlawful search and seizure? What about the 2nd Amendment and the right to bear arms?

What States Have Red Flag Laws?

The following states have enacted Red Flag Laws:

  • California
  • Colorado
  • Connecticut
  • Delaware
  • Florida
  • Hawaii
  • Illinois
  • Indiana
  • Maine
  • Maryland
  • Massachusetts
  • Michigan
  • Minnesota
  • Nevada
  • New Jersey
  • New Mexico
  • New York
  • Oregon
  • Rhode Island
  • Vermont
  • Virginia
  • Washington
  • District of Columbia

Other states are considering adopting a red flag law.

The first state to enact a red flag law was Connecticut in 1999. A shooting at the Connecticut Lottery headquarters in 1998, where an employee shot and killed four of his supervisors and then killed himself, was the act that caused Connecticut to pass the law.

In 2022, under the Biden administration, the federal government created the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act to encourage states to adopt red flag laws. The act offers states grants if the state enacts and enforces red flag laws.

How Red Flag Laws Work

Each state has its own procedures on starting the process to seize a gun owner’s firearms, but generally operate the same way. Law Enforcement and/or family members petition a judge for an emergency order. That order would temporarily remove firearms from a person found to be at risk of harming themselves or someone else.

In all 21 states where red flag laws exist, law enforcement is allowed to petition a judge for an order. In New Mexico and Florida, law enforcement is the only one eligible to petition a judge. In states like California, Colorado, and Hawaii, family members, teachers, and medical professionals can also petition a judge.

Here’s how the scenario plays out. Someone is threatening to harm themselves or another person or people. Law enforcement, family members, teachers and medical professionals know or believe that person has access to a firearm, so they submit a petition to a judge.

The judge has the final word on whether the situation warrants an immediate order and evaluates it based on the specificity of the person’s threats and that person’s access to firearms. If the judge deems the risk of violence high, the judge can issue an emergency ex parte order, which goes into effect immediately without the person being present or notified in advance. An ex parte decision is one decided by a judge without requiring all of the parties to the dispute to be present.

The burden of proof on which the judge bases his or her decision is remarkably low for the initial seizure hearing, especially when you consider that no crime has been committed.

The length of time the guns are kept away from their owner varies by state and situation, but typically, a set time is established, and then the guns are returned unless other court hearings extend the period of confiscation.

The person named on the order can request their guns back and fight the order in court, at the person’s own expense, where they can present their side to the story. When guns are returned, law enforcement may conduct a background check before returning the firearms.

Do Red Flag Laws Work?

There is no central database that collects information on the effectiveness of red flag laws, but states like Connecticut credit the laws with a decrease in suicide. California touts that the law prevented mass shootings targeting schools.

On the other side of the coin, 42 states have declared themselves Second Amendment sanctuaries where law enforcement will not enforce gun policies that it believes violate the 2nd Amendment.

Do Red Flag Laws Violate the 2nd and 4th Amendment?

In recent years, red flag laws have been challenged and failed, with courts ruling that they are constitutional.

We should all understand how red flag laws work in the state we live.

Every law has loopholes that could potentially weaponize it against an unsuspecting person, even if the law was enacted in good faith.

©2025 . All rights reserved.

While Dems Flounder, GOP Speeds toward More Wins

Just how bad are things for the Democratic Party? Apart from the quiet mutiny against Senate leadership, the party of Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) is staring down its worst approval ratings in the history of NBC polling. Only a quarter of voters (27%) have positive views of the party, and a microscopic portion (7%) say those views are “very positive.” Making matters worse, the panic is blinding Democrats to their biggest threat — a Republican Party that keeps on winning.

At this point, pollster Jeff Horwitt shook his head, “The Democratic Party is not in need of a rebrand. It needs to be rebooted.” CNN’s grim numbers confirm it. Like NBC, the outlet found that the party’s favorability was also at a historic low, dropping 20 points (to 29%) since Joe Biden won the White House. But the problem staring down the grassroots is the same one facing headquarters: who should lead?

Most voters had trouble rallying around any one person who they felt “best reflects the core values” of the party. Managing just 10% of the vote, the Squad’s Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) just barely edged out former Vice President Kamala Harris (8%) as a possible standard-bearer. Ironically, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) who isn’t even a Democrat clocked in at 6% with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) tying him at 6%. Four percent named former President Barack Obama and Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas), and the current persona non grata, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), in the basement at 2%. Perhaps more telling, more than 30% of participants couldn’t say. “No one,” one respondent answered. “That’s the problem.”

The Democrats’ identity crisis exploded on Thursday when Schumer shocked both sides by announcing his support for the GOP bill to keep the government open. Hardline leftists melted down, urging, as Crockett did, for Democrats “to decide whether or not Chuck Schumer is the one to lead in this moment.” Former Obama advisor Van Jones invoked former Senate Minority (and Majority) Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) as the kind of sandpaper Democrats need. “I remember when Obama had all the cards, Mitch McConnell drove Obama nuts — twisted his pinky, broke his kneecaps, and got stuff done for Republicans when they shouldn’t have gotten an inch. They got miles. We have a Senate majority leader who is beloved in this party, but we want somebody who’s gonna stand up to this bully.”

Others, like the only House Democrat to vote for the Republicans’ bill to extend government funding — Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) — believe the American people want a party that will stop “shift[ing] into full resistance” to Donald Trump and get something done. Asked if his party was any closer to finding a “cohesive message and strategy,” the Mainer bluntly replied, “No.” In fact, he told NBC, the party is farther than ever from finding a solution to the blowout of last November. I think it’s very important that Democrats not forget to focus in on ourselves, why the American people voted, not just for President Trump, but for a Republican-led Congress in both the Senate and the House. And we better figure it out,” he warned.

While Golden’s party is scrambling, congressional Republicans seem more galvanized than ever. Fresh off their miracle government funding win, Johnson’s team is full speed ahead on the next big-ticket items on the docket: appropriations, rescission, and reconciliation. While the Democrats quarrel, the GOP is moving on an “aggressive timetable,” the speaker insisted to Family Research Council President Tony Perkins on Saturday’s “This Week on Capitol Hill.” The goal? Getting that “one big beautiful bill” on tax cuts, border security, defense, and the debt ceiling to the president’s desk by Memorial Day. “It’s going to take a lot of hard work around the clock,” Johnson stressed, “quite literally.”

Before the spat over a government shutdown, Johnson pulled off another stunner — squeaking the House framework for reconciliation through his chamber by a 217-215 vote. Now that his party agrees on the blueprint, they’ll get to work on the particulars of this process which would essentially roll all of Trump’s biggest legislative priorities into one package that can be passed by a simple majority. As Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) reminds everyone, this strategy is how most modern presidents have won their most transformational agendas. “They passed Obamacare through reconciliation. They passed the Inflation Reduction Act through reconciliation,” he said referring to Democrats under Obama and Biden. “It [would] be a political malpractice for us not to do it,” he argued on Thursday’s “Washington Watch.

Right now, Johnson said, conservatives are looking at a “floor of $1.5 trillion in savings” through reconciliation. “But many of us would like to go much higher than that,” he stressed. “So that’s where all the details, all the negotiation, all the deliberation over the coming weeks will come in.”

But that’s just one part of a three-track train. On top of reconciliation, Republicans are already hard at work on budgeting for the federal agencies, which they’ll have until September 30 to finish. Now that the continuing resolution is in effect, the House is teeing up appropriations for FY 26, “which is the much more exciting prospect,” Johnson believes. “That’s when we will codify all the DOGE cuts of fraud, waste, abuse, [and tap into] the new revenue streams that President Trump and the administration are bringing about. It’s going to be a very different budgeting and appropriations cycle than we’ve ever seen,” he promised. In part, because it could be the first time Congress passes a federal budget through regular order in about 20 years.

In the meantime, the White House is zeroing in on its own basket of cuts that it will send over for congressional approval. “It’s a bit wonkish,” Graham agreed, “but rescission allows [the president] to cut the discretionary budget without 60 votes.” In other words, all of these boondoggles that Elon Musk is identifying can be rolled back legislatively if a simple majority of both chambers agree with the president’s request. “We’re very excited about that,” Johnson said, “because this is the point that we’ve been trying to get to most of our careers. We finally have a White House that is willing to work with conservatives in Congress to scale down government.”

“All of the crazy stuff,” Graham pointed out — the transgender comic books and birth control in Afghanistan and so many other absurd projects — could be erased. “The White House needs to give us the top 10 or 20 examples of wasteful spending that DOGE found, send them over to the Senate and the House — and within 45 days, we have to act. I want the American people to see … that we’re going to clean the underbrush and take the garbage out of the budget. And I want them to see that we’re going to rebuild our military and secure our border” — and still spend less than Biden.

When it comes to waste, “We’re going to qualify it, quantify it, and then codify it,” the speaker declared. And there’s no time like the present, Graham agreed. “We’ve had the House, the Senate, and the White House as Republicans four times in the last hundred years.” This is our chance, he urged. “We should take it.”

AUTHOR

Suzanne Bowdey

Suzanne Bowdey serves as editorial director and senior writer at The Washington Stand.

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EDITORS NOTE: This Washington Stand column is republished with permission. All rights reserved. ©2025 Family Research Council.


The Washington Stand is Family Research Council’s outlet for news and commentary from a biblical worldview. The Washington Stand is based in Washington, D.C. and is published by FRC, whose mission is to advance faith, family, and freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview. We invite you to stand with us by partnering with FRC.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ State of the State Address for 2025

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis gave the State of the State address on March 4th, 2025. The following excerpts are of great interest to those of us who support the 2nd Amendment, including Constitutional Carry and rescinding Risk Protection Orders, part of Florida’s Red Flag Law.

Governor DeSantis is spot on with both.


“We need to be a strong Second Amendment state so let’s get some positive reform done for the people of Florida,” DeSantis said.

Some GOP lawmakers have filed bills to repeal that provision in recent years, but they haven’t passed. Moreover, Albritton has said he opposes a move for open carry – allowing firearms to be carried openly in public – because law enforcement officials are against it. DeSantis, though, has said he’ll sign such a bill if it passes the Legislature.

At a press conference immediately after the State of the State speech, DeSantis said he wanted to re-evaluate the state’s red flag law, for example. It allows law enforcement to remove guns from someone who is deemed a threat to themselves or someone else.

DeSantis said he has a problem when the law puts the burden on the person to convince a court they are not a threat. The burden should be on the government, he said: “I think it’s a huge due process violation.”


Governor Ron DeSantis Delivers State of the State Address

March 4, 2025

TALLAHASSEE Fla.—Today, Governor Ron DeSantis delivered the 2025 State of the State address to the joint legislative session from the Florida House of Representatives chamber in Tallahassee. Watch the full address here. You can find a full transcript of his State of the State address below:

Mr. Speaker, Mr. President, members of the cabinet and Legislature, and fellow citizens:

Florida leads.

We lead with purpose and conviction.
We lead with determination and strength.
We lead with faith, and we lead with hope.

Anyone can hold the helm while the sea is calm.

Leadership matters when it is hard.

Florida is the leader among the states because we lean into challenges, tackle the big issues, and deliver results for the people we serve.

In these endeavors we are mindful of the adage from an American philosopher:

“If you don’t know where you are going, you might wind up some place else.”

Yogi Berra was right to articulate—as only he could—the need for clear direction.

We are guided in our efforts by a strong commitment to the principles on which our country was founded and that have endured for centuries:
That our rights come from God, not government.
That constitutional limitations on government’s power are essential to preserve liberty.
That ours is a government of laws, not of men.
That government derives its power from the consent of the people.

The sturdy foundation of American principles is the guide that the free state of Florida must never abandon.

We have stood in the breach and protected our people from noxious ideologies and trendy—but empty—social fads.

We chose freedom over fear; education over indoctrination; law and order over rioting and disorder.

We are proud of our state’s accomplishments while we recognize the work that lies ahead.

Our rudder is set.
Our compass is in hand.
True north is our destination.

We can—and we must—continue to lead.

We are convening for the regular Legislative session having already enacted groundbreaking legislation to fulfill the historic mission of delivering on President Donald Trump’s mandate to end the illegal immigration crisis once and for all.

No state has done more, and no state did it sooner than we did in Florida.

Thanks to the recent legislation, it is now a crime to enter Florida illegally, the days of catch and release are over, and all state and local law enforcement have a duty to assist in interior immigration enforcement efforts.

The voters have spoken—and Florida has responded—we will be part of the solution, not part of the problem.

Joining us today are two great leaders in this effort: Immigration Czar Larry Keefe and Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey.

With leaders like Larry and Wayne, Florida will get the job done.

We are not a sanctuary state; we are a rule of law state!

Florida has also led the way in creating a strong economic environment.

For the past two years, Florida’s economy has ranked #1 in these United States.

We also rank #1 in entrepreneurship, #1 in new business formations, #1 in GDP growth among large states, and have an unemployment rate that is lower than the national average for more than 50 months straight!

We represented the refuge for freedom and sanity during the coronavirus pandemic, not just for the rest of the country but for the entire world.

People moved here. Businesses flocked to our state. And investment in Florida surged.

We continue to set tourism records. 2024 saw more than 142 million visitors to our state.

This includes 3.3 million visitors from Canada. Not much of a boycott.

Maybe they wanted to get a glimpse of what a Stanley Cup-winning hockey team looks like!

The Legislature has enacted historic reforms that have improved economic conditions and addressed difficult issues like insurance.

Because of these reforms, automobile insurance rates are finally coming down—between 6 and 10.5% average reductions for the three largest companies—even as rates continue to skyrocket nationwide.

And our homeowners’ insurance market is seeing stability:

  • 1 new companies have entered the market.
  • 130,000 new private policies over the past year.
  • In 2024, Florida had the lowest increase in rates of all 50 states.
  • 73% of citizens homeowners in Miami-Dade are scheduled to receive a decrease on average of 6.3%.

The fact is that the Legislature has devoted more time and effort to address insurance reforms over the past few years than at any other time in the history of Florida.

I hope that the Legislature continues these efforts by providing funding for those on the My Safe Florida Home waitlist—these grants have helped tens of thousands harden their homes and generate rate relief.

The program is a testament to the Legislature’s commitment to helping homeowners—it has made a difference and can do so again.

Our economy is strong in part because our spending and budget policies are sensible.

We are actually spending less money in the current fiscal year than we did in the previous year. Where else have they actually reduced spending?

We have the lowest number of state government workers per capita in the country.

Over the past six years, we have more than tripled our state’s rainy day fund.

Florida just celebrated its 180th birthday and I’m happy to say that just since 2019, we have paid off 41% of the debt accumulated over those 180 years.

Our state has among the lowest per capita state debt in America.

The share of Florida’s debt for each citizen is about $660; the share of the national debt for each US citizen is more than $100,000.

Can the Congressmen in Washington, D.C. please take a page out of Florida’s fiscal playbook?

Florida is a free state in part because we are a low tax state.

We have one of the top five tax environments in the nation, have no income tax, and have enacted billions of dollars in tax cuts over the past six years.

We must continue to be a friend to the taxpayer.

In addition to our traditional tax holidays, I am proposing we add holidays for marine fuel to help our boaters and anglers and a Second Amendment summer for the purchases of firearms, ammo and accoutrements.

Florida remains the only state in America to tax business rent—and while we have reduced the rate of the tax it is time to eliminate it.

While Florida property values have surged in recent years, this has come at a cost to taxpayers squeezed by increasing local government property taxes.

Escalating assessments have created a gusher of revenue for local governments—and many in Florida have seen their budgets increase far beyond the growth in population.

Taxpayers need relief.

You buy a home, pay off a mortgage—and yet you still have to write a check to the government every year just to live on your own property?

Is the property yours or are you just renting from the government?

I know members of the Legislature are studying the issue in anticipation of formulating a proposal to place on the 2026 ballot to provide constitutional protections for Florida property owners.

Please know you have my support.

Oh, and one other thing—don’t let anyone tell you we will seek to raise state taxes, because we will not.

We are—and will remain—a taxpayer-friendly state!

Florida has also led on education—and has been ranked #1 in America for the past two years.

We are the top state in America for school choice. This has changed lives.

Joining us today is Harli McCullough, whose son, Thorne, is a recipient of Florida’s family empowerment scholarship for unique abilities.

Thorne attends the Jacksonville School for Autism because of the scholarship. He can now pursue an education that fits his unique needs instead of being forced into a one-size-fits-all approach.

Our universal school choice program works—families and students have benefitted, and the academic bar has been raised throughout the state.

It is a great testament to the Legislature that Florida was the first state to enact such an ambitious and far-reaching choice program.

We recognize the importance of recruiting and retaining great teachers.

We have enacted a teachers bill of rights, provided protection against coerced union dues, and invested a record $4.6 billion to raise teacher salaries.

I’m pleased to be joined by Hernando County teacher Jaime Suarez, who has been selected as Florida’s Teacher of the Year. Jaime is a High Impact teacher, is the grade team lead and mentor, and serves on the district’s textbook selection committee.

Thanks for making a difference, Jaime!

I am again recommending an increase in money dedicated to increasing teacher salaries, as well as continuation of the civics bonus program that gives a $3,000 bonus to all teachers that complete our civics seal of excellence training course.

Our universities have earned strong commendations—we currently have four state universities ranked in the top 50 public universities in the nation.

Universities must be dedicated to the pursuit of truth, the promotion of academic rigor and integrity, and the preparation of students to be citizens of our republic.

We led the way in being the first state to eliminate DEI from our higher education system.

We continue to lead by holding the line on tuition. We have not allowed a tuition increase since I’ve been governor and Florida has the lowest in-state tuition in America.

Florida families deserve state universities that provide education, not indoctrination. And that education must be attainable regardless of financial status. I’m happy to report that, in this regard, we are delivering.

Florida has led on some of the most intractable issues, ranging from substance abuse to child welfare.

Hope Florida was devised by our First Lady, Casey DeSantis to transform the way government agencies provided services to our fellow citizens in need.

Rather than perpetuate dependence on a Great Society-style bureaucracy, Hope Florida seeks to use government to connect individuals and families to more than 5,600 faith-based, community and private sector partners.

Ginger Faulk illustrates Hope Florida’s impact. Ginger was struggling to make ends meet and her goal of becoming a physical therapist seemed like an elusive dream. Thanks to the help of a Hope Florida navigator, Ginger was connected to resources that helped her complete a physical therapy program. She is now a Physical Therapy assistant and has achieved her dream.

By the end of 2024, Hope Florida has helped nearly 30,000 participants reduce or eliminate their reliance on government assistance, netting the taxpayers over $108 million in annual savings.

In the aftermath of Hurricanes Debby, Helene, and Milton, Activate Hope—the emergency relief arm of Hope Florida—helped over 57,000 Floridians with essential supplies and provided more than 33,000 with referrals to overcome disaster-related hardships.

The Hope Florida model is now being replicated by other states around the country.

Thanks to Casey for her leadership and ingenuity!

We are fortunate to live in a naturally beautiful state.

We promised to leave Florida to God better than we found, and we are doing just that.

The Florida Wildlife Corridor—established in 2021—now spans 18 million acres, with 10 million acres already protected. Last year, we directed FDOT to enhance connectivity within the corridor. Since 2019, we have approved over $129 million for 38 crossings, ensuring safer passage for species like the Florida panther.

We have shattered records for state support for Everglades restoration, for water quality improvements, and for beach renourishment.

While our efforts have been strong, the federal government has lagged in its responsibilities regarding Everglades restoration. I am happy to report that the Trump administration is receptive to block granting money to us so that we can complete these projects ourselves.

Florida time is faster than Army Corps of Engineers time.

Our Florida paradise was interrupted by a series of hurricanes over the past year. These storms brought major destruction but also witnessed a strong emergency response across state and local governments.

Utility lineman were pre-staged and millions of customers who lost power were restored in record time.

Massive amounts of debris were removed, including a round-the-clock emergency effort to marshal state assets to remove Hurricane Helene debris in advance of Hurricane Milton.

The search and rescue effort was momentous. This includes the rescue of a dog that had been abandoned on the side of I-75 in advance of Milton. FHP Trooper Orlando Morales rescued the dog as water was rising to the dog’s neck. The dog has ben renamed “Trooper” and is now in a safe and loving home.

Thank you, Trooper Morales!

We have utilized available levers—from the Florida Disaster Fund to the small business loan program—to help individuals and businesses get back on their feet.

We are joined by Cainnon Gregg, the Founder of Pelican Oyster Co. His farm was devasted by Hurricane Michael and, after rebuilding, was hit again by Helene and Milton. Mr. Gregg will be a recipient of grant funds to support his rebuilding efforts and to get his business back to normal.

The recovery efforts after major hurricanes persist long after the cameras leave. I know more needs to be done and you can count on me to be supportive of future legislative support for these important recoveries.

We know we have other issues to address:

  • Petition/amendment fraud
  • Condos
  • Second Amendment

Before I conclude I would be remiss if I didn’t remind everybody of some of the other accomplishments that, together, we have achieved over the past six years:

We banned China from purchasing land in Florida.

We enacted a digital bill of rights.

We protected Floridians against the imposition of a central bank digital currency.

We instituted the death penalty for pedophiles.

We created a program to accelerate the repayment of state debt – saving hundreds of millions of dollars in interest costs.

We enacted protections for the sanctity of life.

We codified parental rights in education.

We created a law enforcement bonus and scholarship program to recruit and retain great police officers.

We divested state financial holdings from Chinese banks and investment firms.

We kneecapped so-called ESG in our pension fund, in the workplace and in financial institutions.

We brought transparency and accountability to pharma companies to lower drug costs.

We initiated the Moving Florida Forward program to accelerate over 20 infrastructure and congestion relief projects across the state.

We provided billions of dollars in tax relief, including the permanent elimination of sales tax on essential baby items.

I could go on, but in the interest of time I’ll just say that, working together, we have amassed a record that is without peer anywhere in the country.

To our presiding officers, Speaker Perez and President Albritton, I look forward to work together to advance our shared goals.

Speaker Perez represents the busy, fast-paced modern Miami, the gateway to the Americas—a unique place not just in our state but in our country.

President Albritton represents the Florida heartland that is sometimes overlooked but that has served as the backbone of our state for generations.

While coming from differing backgrounds, these leaders have a strong desire to make Florida a better place. Congratulations on earning this opportunity to lead your respective chambers.

To our Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis—thank you for your service to our state as you prepare to get called up to the big leagues to serve in Congress. My advice is stay true to Northwest Florida values and don’t catch Potomac fever. Oh, and if you can get them to handle the budget up there like we do down here you will be doing a great service to the country!

Commissioner Simpson, you will soon be the most tenured member of the cabinet. Your department has made significant improvements since you’ve taken over from your predecessor. You have stepped up as part of our state immigration board to assist in the state’s effort to combat illegal immigration and I thank you for it.

Our new Attorney General James Uthmeier has been instrumental in many of the successes I’ve outlined today. I was happy to appoint him to be the state’s top law enforcement officer and he is already off to a great start!

To the members of the Legislature, you are entrusted by your constituents to exercise sound judgment on their behalf. You have been more productive than any Legislature in America over these past six years. You should be proud of that work and of your willingness to serve.

As Teddy Roosevelt famously said:

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while doing greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

My friends, we have great opportunities over the next sixty days.

The people of Florida are watching.

Let’s work together to solidify our successes and address the challenges before us.

Our voyage is not yet complete.

Our goal is to one day say, in the words of Walt Whitman:

“O Captain! O Captain! Our fearful trip is done,

The ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won.”

Good luck and God bless!

©2025  . All rights reserved.

The Democratic Fork in the Road and the Woke Repudiation Imperative

Yogi Berra, the mid-century New York Yankees Hall of Fame catcher known for his pithy and often humorous life observations, once famously quipped: “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.” It was sound advice, perhaps, for a traveler on the go and in search of a quick meal. But the modern Democratic Party, rudderless and confused and reeling from a pitiful collective performance during Tuesday evening’s presidential joint address to Congress, now confronts a fork in the road that’s no joke.

On the one hand lies the path of least resistance: doubling down on the status quo—the progressive culture-warring, woke/identity politics-driven agenda that has dominated the party ever since Barack Obama upset Hillary Clinton in the 2008 Democratic presidential primary. On the other hand lies the more difficult but ultimately more promising path: repudiation of that post-2008 legacy and a conscientious return to a politics of the prudential center. Which path Democrats choose from here will go a long way toward determining their relevance as a national political party for the foreseeable future.

Obama’s shocking upset over the madam-president-in-waiting was an inflection point for the institutional trajectory of the Democratic Party. Voters rejected the cultural centrism that was a Clinton-era hallmark in favor of the “hope” and “change” promised by Obama’s “coalition of the ascendant.” Initially, perhaps, that may have looked like a smart bet: Obama trounced John McCain in the 2008 presidential general election. But the one-time “coalition of the ascendant” transmogrified into an identitarian and deeply off-putting “coalition of aggrieved interests.” Culturally militant wokeism eventually reached its pernicious apex during Joe Biden’s presidency—which saw the first explicitly “DEI” Supreme Court justice selection (Ketanji Brown Jackson, after Biden vowed to nominate a black woman) and a diversity, equity, and inclusion vice presidential running mate (Kamala Harris, after Biden was pressured to choose a black woman).

This version of the Democratic Party, which featured the progenitor of wokeism, Obama himself, as the leading presidential campaign trail surrogate for Harris, was thoroughly rejected in November by the American people. It turns out that voters didn’t really know what they were signing up for when they embarked on an extended political journey of “hope” and “change.” They weren’t interested—and aren’t interested—in legitimizing the juvenile genital mutilation and chemical castration that has been euphemistically sold as “gender-affirming care.” They weren’t interested—and aren’t interested—in assenting to wide-scale importation and resettlement of foreigners whose cultures and customs are antithetical to our own.

Some leading Democrats do finally seem to get the memo. Former Clinton strategist James Carville, for instance, has called for Democrats to distance themselves from the excesses of woke civilizational arson. But many others disagree. There is no indication at all, for instance, that the ladies of “The View” have done any introspection: Shortly after November’s electoral shellacking, cohost Sunny Hostin attributed Harris’ loss to Donald Trump to “racism” and “misogyny.” Surveying the left-of-center punditocracy scene, it often seems that there are far more Hostin-like voices of escalation than there are Carville-like voices of sobriety.

Democratic elected officials are also deeply split. California Gov. Gavin Newsom made headlines this week by repudiating certain facets of wokeism during an interview with Charlie Kirk, but congressional Democrats attending Trump’s joint address to Congress on Tuesday evening took the opposite approach, beyond refusing to applaud: Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, obnoxiously heckled the president and was kicked out of the House chamber within the speech’s first few minutes–deservedly so. In general, their conduct was positively buffoonish.

In what world do Democrats think they do themselves any political favors with these antics and, more important, these underlying substantive political stances? One guest of Trump on Tuesday, Payton McNabb, is a female former high school athlete who was grievously injured during a match against a team with a biological male player. On this issue, recent CNN polling indicates that roughly four-fifths of Americans oppose biological male participation in female athletic competitions. Even Newsom, in his podcast episode with Kirk, called the practice “deeply unfair.”

Newsom seems to be reading the tea leaves—unlike congressional Democrats. There is a similar divide on the issue of illegal immigration and so-called sanctuary jurisdictions; consider, for instance, New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ high-profile flip on the issue, which has brought him into line with Trump.

To make matters even worse, a majority of Democratic elites too often now come across not merely as schoolmarmish and excessively self-righteous—but as heartless and lacking compassion, to boot. Party leaders undoubtedly think of themselves as “compassionate,” especially for those perceived as being “oppressed” (on the neo-Marxist intersectional scale of victimization status). But where is the compassion for McNabb? Where is the compassion for the family of Laken Riley, the Athens, Georgia, student whose life was tragically cut short by an illegal alien who never should have been on our soil?

In order to recover their standing and regain lasting relevance as an electorally feasible national political party, Democrats are going to have to repudiate the entirety of their post-2008/post-Obama cultural legacy. That is the simple truth. The American people want a stable pocketbook, a stable border and a stable world stage. They’re not interested in the Obama-Biden-Harris Democratic Party’s idiosyncratic conception of waging a culture war.

Are Democrats up to such a challenge? The intraparty civil war is on—but I certainly have my doubts. Unless and until they do repudiate their cultural militance, however, Democrats will continue to flounder about in irrelevance. Perhaps they’ll need to get their clocks cleaned at the ballot box a few more times. That wouldn’t be the worst thing.

COPYRIGHT 2025 CREATORS.COM

We publish a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of The Daily Signal.

AUTHOR

Josh Hammer, a syndicated columnist, is senior editor-at-large at Newsweek and a research fellow with the Edmund Burke Foundation. He also is counsel and policy adviser for the Internet Accountability Project and contributing editor for Anchoring Truths. Josh on X: .

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EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Signal column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.


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Teenage boy confronted by two armed home invaders and guess what happened?

Things did not turn out well for the two middle-aged men who thought they’d rob a soft-target household while the child’s parents were not home. 

A 14-year-old Kentucky boy protected his home from two armed intruders during a brazen pre-dawn home invasion that occurred around 4:24 a.m. on Feb. 15 in the sleepy little town of Manchester, population 1,500.

According to Kentucky State Police (KSP), the boy was home alone when two men, identified as Roger Smith, 44, of McKee, Ky, and Jeffrey Allen, 51, of Manchester, forcibly entered the residence with guns drawn.

The two men reportedly wanted to steal firearms from the family safe. The teenage boy immediately confronted the intruders, who were each holding pistols, and acted swiftly to protect himself and his home.

Faced with the immediate threat, the 14-year-old retrieved a handgun and fired multiple shots at the intruders before escaping through a bedroom window.

Smith was transported to Advent Health Manchester but later succumbed to his wounds, while Allen was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police determined the boy acted in self-defense and will not face any charges.

Manchester Police Chief Jeff Couch told NBC News it is unclear how the teen was able to find the handgun, which belonged to his father.

However, I think the chief and NBC News missed the point. The issue wasn’t how did he find his dad’s handgun, it’s how did be become so adept at using it?

This boy could not have taken out two armed criminals, who were likely pretty gun savvy themselves given their ages and line of work, if he had just “retrieved” his dad’s gun and started firing away at the intruders. He had to have been well trained, probably by his dad. I could see getting lucky with one shot, but not when outgunned two-to-one and you still hit both of your targets with kill shots before they’re able to hit you. That takes real skill, especially under the stress of the moment that this child faced.

The pro-Second Amendment website GunsAmerica.com hit closer to the issue at hand than NBC, stating:

“This incident shows why it’s important to teach responsible kids how to safely handle firearms. When faced with real danger, this young man’s knowledge and quick thinking helped protect him and his home.”

Imagine if Kentucky had laws in place like some blue states that require citizens to keep their firearms unloaded and stored in a safe. This boy would likely not be alive right now because he would not have been able to confront and stop the threat if he’d had to go to the safe, remember the combination to unlock it, and then load a gun.

Question: How young is too young to train children in the proper use of firearms? I’m guessing it depends on the child and the family situation. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below.

©2025 . All rights reserved.


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IDF Reveals 10-Month-Old Baby, 4-Year-Old Brother Beaten To Death By Hamas Terrorists

Daniel Hagari, the Israel Defense Forces’ (IDF) spokesperson, announced that the dead children returned Thursday to Israel from Gaza were beaten to death by terrorists.

“We can confirm that baby Kfir Bibas, aged just 10 months old, and his older brother Ariel, aged four, were both brutally murdered by terrorists while being held hostage in Gaza no later than November 2023,” the spokesperson said. “Contrary to Hamas’ lies, Ariel and Kfir were not killed in an airstrike. Ariel and Kfir Bibas were murdered by terrorists in cold blood. The terrorists did not shoot the two young boys. They killed them with their bare hands.”

The two boys were taken hostage by Hamas along with their mother, Shiri and their father, Yarden, during the Oct. 7, 2023 terror attack against Israel. Yarden was released on Feb. 1. Hamas paraded the coffins of the dead children in a ceremony accompanied by a cheering crowd Thursday where they handed the remains of the hostages to the Red Cross.

They were expected to hand over the remains of Shiri as well but the body they handed over was not hers, the Institute of Forensic Medicine (IFM) said, The Jerusalem Post reported. The IFM and Israel Police jointly performed forensic analyses to identify the remains. Officials said the act violated the agreement between Israel and Hamas, adding that the organization was under an obligation to return the bodies under the ceasefire agreement that took effect Jan. 19

“Not only did they kidnap the father, Yarden Bibas, the young mother, Shiri, and their two little babies. In an unspeakably cynical way, they did not return Shiri to her little children, the little angels, and they put the body of a Gazan woman in a coffin,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wrote on social media in Hebrew.

The IDF identified Oded Lifshitz, who was among the remains Hamas handed over Thursday, according to The Jerusalem Post.

AUTHOR

Ilan Hulkower

Contributor.

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Who kidnaps a little boy and a baby and murders them? Monsters. That’s who.

EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

The First Indian-Origin FBI Director and a New Chapter in U.S. Law Enforcement

Kashyap “Kash” Patel has made history as the first Indian-origin Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), a role he achieved after a contentious and politically charged confirmation process. On February 20, 2025, Patel secured his position as the head of the FBI with a narrow Senate vote of 51-49. This vote highlighted deep political divisions, setting the stage for a leadership marked by promise and controversy. Patel’s rise to this significant role is a personal victory and a landmark achievement for the Indian-American community, merging cultural heritage with an unwavering pursuit of professional ambition.

Born in New York to Gujarati Indian parents who immigrated from Uganda in the 1970s, Kash Patel’s background exemplifies the immigrant experience in America. His parents sought better opportunities, fleeing ethnic discrimination in their homeland, and Patel grew up with a strong sense of cultural identity. Despite facing challenges as the child of immigrants, Patel excelled academically and professionally, embodying the immigrant narrative of determination and success.

Patel pursued his education with a distinct focus on law and public service. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice and History from Richmond University in 2002 before obtaining a Juris Doctor (JD) from Pace University School of Law in 2004. His dedication to advancing his legal education took him to University College London, where he earned a certificate in international law. This academic foundation would become the cornerstone of his outstanding career in law enforcement and national security.

Patel’s professional journey began in Florida, where he served as a public defender for the state. This role gave him invaluable courtroom experience by managing complex cases, including murder and financial crimes. His early exposure to the criminal justice system significantly shaped his understanding of the law and the complexities of defending individuals within the legal framework. It wasn’t long before Patel’s skills were recognized, leading him to transition to federal positions within the Department of Justice (DOJ), where he took on the responsibilities of a trial attorney, focusing on counterterrorism cases.

In 2017, Patel’s career experienced a major shift when he became the senior counsel for counterterrorism on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI). Here, Patel gained recognition for his close connections to former President Donald Trump, promoting transparency and questioning the FBI’s handling of politically sensitive investigations. His vocal criticisms of the FBI, particularly in the inquiry into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, earned him both praise from conservatives and backlash from liberals, cementing his status as a polarizing figure in Washington.

In 2019, Patel became the senior director of the Counterterrorism Directorate at the National Security Council, where he oversaw U.S. intelligence operations and special forces. His tenure in this position earned him a reputation for emphasizing national security, particularly counterterrorism efforts. Later, he enhanced his influence by serving as chief of staff to the acting Secretary of Defense under President Trump. His work within national security circles and rising reputation as a strong conservative voice positioned Patel for his prominent role as FBI Director.

Patel’s appointment as FBI Director was far from smooth. His confirmation faced intense scrutiny and opposition due to his perceived partisanship and controversial ties to former President Trump. The Senate vote of 51-49 highlighted the deep divides in Congress over Patel’s qualifications and the direction he would take the FBI.

Critics of Patel, particularly Democrats, raised concerns about his lack of traditional law enforcement experience. They questioned his impartiality, accusing him of aligning too closely with Trump’s political agenda. Democratic Senator Dick Durbin called him “dangerous” and “inexperienced,” citing his outspoken criticisms of the FBI during politically charged investigations. His past involvement in drafting the Nunes memo, which criticized the FBI’s actions during the Russia probe, further fueled suspicions that Patel might use the FBI for political purposes.

The confirmation process also included fierce questioning during Patel’s hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Senators scrutinized his history of public advocacy, particularly his outspoken support for Trump and controversial stances on law enforcement. Despite the partisan divide, Patel received significant support from Republicans, who praised him as a reformer capable of restoring accountability to an agency that had become politicized.

As the new FBI Director, Patel’s vision for the agency centers on transparency, accountability, and a commitment to justice. His statement, “Let good cops be cops,” captures his approach—highlighting the need to restore public trust in law enforcement agencies that have faced considerable scrutiny in recent years. Patel also clarified that national security would be a top priority, accompanied by a stern warning to criminals: “We will hunt you down in every corner of this planet.”

Supporters of Patel’s appointment argue that he will reform the FBI, especially after years of criticism regarding the agency’s handling of politically sensitive cases. However, his lack of traditional law enforcement experience and the controversies surrounding his ties to Trump have led to significant concerns about the politicization of the agency under his leadership.

Patel’s appointment is a milestone not just for the FBI but also for the Indian-American community. As a Hindu leader in one of the country’s most influential law enforcement positions, Patel represents a significant cultural achievement. His rise to the top of the FBI showcases the growing presence and influence of Indian-Americans in high-profile roles within U.S. society. For many in the Indian diaspora, Patel’s success inspires, signaling that individuals from diverse backgrounds can reach the highest echelons of American power.

Kash Patel’s journey from the son of immigrants to becoming the first Indian-origin Director of the FBI exemplifies ambition, resilience, and controversy. His career, marked by a blend of legal expertise and national security experience, has equipped him for the significant challenges of leading one of the world’s most powerful law enforcement agencies. As he navigates the delicate balance of rebuilding trust, addressing national security threats, and preserving the FBI’s independence, Patel’s leadership is set to influence the agency’s future. At the same time, his appointment will continue to ignite discussions about race, politics, and the role of law enforcement in modern American society.

Kash Patel will be closely watched in the coming years as he strives to uphold justice and integrity within the FBI. His capacity to reconcile his controversial past with his new leadership role in a federal agency will likely shape his legacy within the FBI and the broader realm of American governance.

©2025 . All rights reserved.

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President Eisenhower and President Trump Both Strategic High IQ Thinkers

The massive corruption, fraud, waste and abuse of our tax money, illegally confiscated from our paychecks and retirement accounts then laundered through the U.S. Treasury to fund unconstitutional expenditures is finally getting exposed by President Trump and his superior high IQ DOGE team led indirectly by Mr. Elon Musk.

Let’s not forget though that in July 1954, President Eisenhower initiated the same initiative or investigation of government waste and abuse but he directed his attention directly on parts of the operational readiness of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)

President Eisenhower requested that General Doolittle oversee a group of consultants and investigate the effectiveness and efficiency of various covert operational activities of the aforementioned CIA.

President Eisenhower classified this operation as Top Secret and all results of this investigation were to be routed directly back to him considering the nature of the clandestine work.

He wanted a broad range of study to see if the CIA can be ran more efficiently with less money much like what the Trump and DOGE team are uncovering in 2025.

Eisenhower directed and implemented the following plan:

  1. recommending methods and procedures for reducing expenditures to the lowest amount consistent with the efficient performance of essential services, activities and functions;
  2. eliminating duplication and overlapping of services, activities, and functions;
  3. consolidating services, activities, and functions of a similar nature;
  4. abolishing services, activities, and functions not necessary to the efficient conduct of Government;
  5. eliminating nonessential services, functions, and activities which are competitive with private enterprise;
  6. defining responsibilities of officials; and
  7. relocating agencies now responsible directly to the President in departments or other agencies.

This plan by former President Eisenhower in 1954 mirrors the current Trump approach to downsizing our federal government but Eisenhower focused on a single operational entity within the CIA.

The Trump plan is restructuring our entire system of governance to save our republic from a catastrophic economic financial collapse created by years of abuse and out of control spending by an incompetent criminal enterprise operating in our Congress and more recently under Biden’s watch.

The basis for Eisenhower’s request was focused upon the growing influence of global Communism in the former Soviet Union and China. President Trump could claim the same strategic position but our Communist infiltration is within the halls of our very own Congress.

It looks like our republic is going to be saved from this internal Communist Marxist infiltration by a man whose face needs to be sculpted alongside other great presidents on Mount Rushmore National Monument in South Dakota.

We the people just need to help Trump finish the job by voting out those left wing Marxist canker sores infested in our Congress.

Let’s start by stripping Congresswoman and Hamas sympathizer Ilhan Omar of her fraudulently obtained U.S. citizenship and deport her ass back to Somalia.

©2025 . All rights reserved.

Trump Moves On Ukraine, Euros Panic

Isn’t this a great time to be alive in America! We finally have a president who cares for this country, who puts our interests first, and who is willing to tell the truth as he sees it, not as our “allies” or adversaries want to hear it.

This week, of course, it was Ukraine. As I have said before in this space, we have finally reached what Churchill called the “end of the beginning.” Now the real negotiations begin.

Of course the Europeans were upset that Trump didn’t include Zelensky in the opening round of exploratory talks with the Russians in Saudi Arabia. So what did the Z-man do? He flew to Turkey hoping to enlist the Islamist Erdogan to make his case to the Europeans.

Trump’s demands are not complicated. First, he notes that the United States has given Ukraine $350 billion in assistance, and that Zelensky himself has acknowledged that half of it has gone “missing.”

Missing? Really? I saw it last week while skiing at Courcheval. So many BMW 700-series sedans and Mercedes G-wagons with Ukrainian license plates, whole families enjoying the slopes – on our dime.

You and I are currently paying the salaries of Ukrainian civil servants, as well as their pensions, and we don’t have a lot to show for it. The Euros have provided the Ukes with $200 billion in loans, which they expect to get paid back. Trump found that unfair.

So he sent Treasury Secretary Scott Beeson to Kyiv to make an offer: you pay us back with access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals, uranium, and iron. The Z-man flat out refused. Big mistake.

Now Trump is calling for the Ukrainians to hold presidential elections, which were initially scheduled for May 2024 — until the Z-man canceled them. After all, we are supposed to be supporting “democracy,” right? Isn’t that what we’ve been told this is about? The Z-man is now REALLY worried.

So Zelensky’s next step was to trot off to Munich and propose creating a pan-European army to defend Ukraine and presumably the rest of the continent from Russian aggression. President Macron of France (aka “Little Cookie”), has been calling for the same for several years, as have earlier French presidents.

Some have even offered to place Europe under a French nuclear umbrella. That was a proposal dragged out of the dustbin of history this week by Friedrich Merz, the CDU party leader who is currently leading in the polls to become Germany’s next chancellor in elections to be held on Sunday.

My advice to Mr. Merz: be careful what you wish for. A French nuclear umbrella, or even a British-French one, would be a very leaky umbrella. Do you really think the French are going to sacrifice Paris or Lyons to defend Kyiv? I sure don’t.

Deterrence is a fragile thing. For it to work, it must be credible. A Franco-British nuclear umbrella over Ukraine and Europe is not.

President Trump’s Ukraine-Russia envoy, Lt. Gen. (ret.) Keith Kellogg, was also at the Munich security conference (along with Sec/Def Pete Hegseth and JD Vance, whose speech I wrote about in this space last week). He suggested that the US was hoping “to force” Putin into actions he was “uncomfortable with,” including disrupting Russia’s alliances with Iran, North Korea, and China.

Given that Russia formalized a 20-year military and security treaty with Iran in January, and that China also has such a deal, such a development would be a huge win for President Trump and for Americans.

There was also talk in the media this week about “Track 2″ diplomacy in Geneva, off-the-record discussions between Americans and Russians close to their respective administrations.

Parallel diplomacy – half-blessed, but off-the-record – has been going on for years. If you have purchased my latest book, The Iran House, you will find an amusing account of my own involvement in Track 2 talks at an Italian seaside resort with Iranian officials in Chapter 8, “Becoming a Target.”

As usual, the President encapsulated his thoughts on the Ukraine-Russia negotiations in a tweet. Legacy media commentators see “chaos” in Trump’s approach. I see absolutely brilliance.

I discuss these issues on this week’s Prophecy Today Weekend. As always, you can listen live at 1 PM on Saturday on 104.9 FM or 550 AM in the Jacksonville, Florida, area, or by using the Jacksonville Way Radio app. If you miss us live, you can listen to the podcast here.

Yours in freedom.

©2025 . All rights reserved.

RELATED ARTICLE: Trump Realigns Russia-Ukraine Peace Talks

DEI Wall Crumbling in U.S. Military

The Center for Military Readiness does great work. Our military should never have been subjected to Marxist CRT/DEI pushed by Obama3/Biden and their clones DOD Secy Lloyd Austin and the equally bad JCS who supported him.

DOD has put into place a total opposite of a merit based system at the cost of combat readiness, loss of fear by our enemies, recruiting, morale, etc.


In a December 2024 CMR Policy Analysis titled How to End Wokeism in the Military, the Center for Military Readiness predicted:

“Dismantling the Pentagon’s DEI infrastructure won’t be easy, but there was a time when the Berlin Wall appeared impregnable too.  Leadership and focused political pressure could cause the Diversity Industrial Complex to crack and fall sooner than anyone thinks.” 

A blizzard of Executive Orders and Memoranda from the newly inaugurated Commander-in-Chief and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have targeted harmful policies and reinforced the best qualities of military culture: merit and non-discrimination, readiness, morale, cohesion, and lethality in war.

This CMR Policy Analysis provides excerpts from consequential Executive Orders that President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have issued as of February 14, 2025, and summarizes key directives:

CMR Policy Analysis: DEI Wall Crumbles Under Pressure from New Commander-in-Chief

Taken together, these Executive Orders and mandates deliver on promises to directly address Wokism in the Military – defined as progressiveness taken to extremes and imposed with coercion, even if it hurts the institution.

Still, as this detailed CMR Special Report explained last December, Congress must act legislatively to make President Trump’s Executive Orders permanent.  The U.S. Constitution assigns to Congress the power and responsibility to make sound policies for our military, and commonsense personnel policies enjoy widespread public support.

This brief outline and excerpts are encouraging, but there is no time to rest:

I. 
MERITOCRACY “YES,” DIVERSITY, EQUITY & INCLUSION (DEI) “NO” 

A.    Executive Order: Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and PreferencingJan. 20, 2025.

“Americans deserve a government committed to serving every person with equal dignity and respect, and to expending precious taxpayer resources only on making America great.”

B.  Executive Order: Initial Rescissions of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions, Jan. 20, 2025.

“[I]t is the policy of the United States to restore common sense to the Federal Government and [to] unleash the potential of the American citizen.”

C.  Executive Order: Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity, Jan. 21, 2025.

This EO repeals eight previous orders, including President Lyndon Johnson’s 1965 EO 11246.  In its 2023 opinion in Students for Fair Admissions vs. Harvard & University of N. Carolina, the U. S. Supreme Court noted how the 1965 Executive Order was stretched beyond its original, limited purpose.  As a result, officials imposed the full range of arbitrary preferences and mandates favoring some demographic groups at the expense of others.

D.  Executive Order: Restoring America’s Fighting Force, Jan. 27, 2025.

As Chief Executive and as Commander in Chief, I am committed to meritocracy and to the elimination of race-based and sex-based discrimination within the Armed Forces of the United States.  No individual or group within our Armed Forces should be preferred or disadvantaged on the basis of sex, race, ethnicity, color, or creed.”

E.  Memorandum of Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth: “Restoring America’s Fighting Force, Jan. 29, 2025.

“The DoD will strive to provide merit-based, color-blind, equal opportunities to Service members but will not guarantee or strive for equal outcomes.”

II.  GENDER IDENTITY, DYSPHORIA, AND COMMONSENSE DEFINITIONS

A.  Executive Order: Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal GovernmentJan. 20, 2025

“‘Sex’ is not a synonym for and does not include the concept of ‘gender identity.’”

 B.  Transgenders in the Military

Executive Order: Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness, Jan. 27, 2025.

“Success in [the military’s] existential mission requires a singular focus on developing the requisite warrior ethos and military excellence, which cannot be diluted to accommodate political agendas or other ideologies harmful to unit cohesion.”

C.  Memorandum – Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to Senior Pentagon Leadership, Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness, Feb. 7, 2025.

“The Department must ensure it is building ‘One Force’ without subgroups defined by anything other than ability or mission adherence.” 

D.  Executive Order: Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation, Jan. 28, 2025.

“[M]edical professionals are maiming and sterilizing a growing number of impressionable children under the radical and false claim that adults can change a child’s sex through a series of irreversible medical interventions.  This dangerous trend will be a stain on our Nation’s history, and it must end.” 

      III.  AFFIRMING SOUND PRIORITIES, NOT CRITICAL RACE THEORY (CRT)

A.  Executive Order, Jan. 29, 2025, Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling

“In many cases, innocent children are compelled to adopt identities as either victims or oppressors solely based on their skin color and other immutable characteristics.  In other instances, young men and women are made to question whether they were born in the wrong body and whether to view their parents and their reality as enemies to be blamed.  These practices not only erode critical thinking, but also sow division, confusion, and distrust, which undermine the very foundations of personal identity and family unity.”

B.     EO “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity, Jan. 21, 2025, cited above also states:

“Success in [the military’s] existential mission requires a singular focus on developing the warrior ethos and military excellence, which cannot be diluted to accommodate political agendas or other ideologies harmful to unit cohesion.”

C.    News Release, Guidance from the Secretary of Defense: Identity Months Dead at DoD, Jan. 31, 2025.

“We are proud of our warriors and their history, but we will focus on the character of their service instead of their immutable characteristics.”

D.    Executive Order, Jan. 24, 2025, Enforcing the Hyde Amendment

“It is the policy of the United States, consistent with the Hyde Amendment, to end the forced use of Federal taxpayer dollars to fund or promote elective abortion.”

E.  Executive Order, Jan. 27, 2025, Reinstating Service Members Discharged Under the Military’s COVID-19 Vaccination Mandate

“The vaccine mandate was an unfair, overbroad, and completely unnecessary burden on our service members.  Further, the military unjustly discharged those who refused the vaccine, regardless of the years of service given to our Nation, after failing to grant many of them an exemption that they should have received.  Federal Government redress of any wrongful dismissals is overdue.”

     IV.  ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTS OF INTEREST

     V.  WHAT SHOULD HAPPEN NEXT

The Trump Administration has done an excellent job addressing issues of concern to CMR with Executive Orders and Memoranda, but the administration cannot act unilaterally to repeal statutory language.

The new 119th Congress should take advantage of what may be a once-in-a- lifetime opportunity to eliminate statutory barriers, and to write well-defined legislation that restores sound priorities and establishes durable, high standards that will withstand legal challenges in court.

Major topics should include meritocracy as the sole consideration in personnel decisions, clear definitions and allowances for situations requiring exceptions, prohibitions on the use of Defense Department funds for questionable policies that deny reality and common sense, and defunding of the Diversity Industrial Complex infrastructure, which has been promoting wokeism in our military regardless of the consequences.

As Defense Secretary Hegseth stated in his February 7 Memorandum:

“The strength of the DoD comes from our unity and our shared purpose.  We will focus on lethality, meritocracy, accountability, standards, and readiness.  Providing Servicemembers an equal opportunity to excel will help us remain the strongest and most lethal fighting force the world has ever known.”

ABOUT THE CENTER FOR MILITARY READINESS

Prepared by the Center for Military Readiness, an independent public policy organization, founded in 1993, which reports on and analyzes military/social issues.  This CMR Policy Analysis is not intended to promote or oppose legislation.  More information is available at www.cmrlink.org, and tax-deductible contributions to CMR can be made by clicking here.

©2025 . All rights reserved.

What is RFK Jr’s real job as Secretary of Health and Human Services?

Robert F. Kennedy Jr’s confirmation as the Secretary of Health and Human Services in the US is the ultimate repudiation of the Covid policy response.

The scheme of lockdown-until-vaccination was the biggest effort of government and industry on a global scale on historical record. It was all designed to transfer wealth to winning industries (pharma, online retail, streaming services, online education), divide and conquer the population, and consolidate power in the administrative state.

By 2021, RFK Jr had emerged as the world’s most vocal, erudite, and knowledgeable critic of the scheme. In two brilliant books – The Real Anthony Fauci and The Wuhan Cover-Up – he documented the entire enterprise and dated the evolution of the pandemic industry from its postwar inception to the present. There was simply no way to read these books and think about the corporatist cabal in the same way.

The circumstances that led to his appointment at HHS are themselves implausible and remarkable. Perceiving President Biden to be a weak candidate – one who had forced masks and shots on the population and brutally censored tech and media – he decided to make a run for president, presuming that there would be an open primary. There wasn’t one, so he was forced into an independent run.

That effort was chewed up by the usual political dynamic that befalls every third-party effort – too many ballot-access barriers plus the usual logic of Duverger’s law. That left the campaign in a difficult spot. At the same time, two huge political shifts had become clear. The Democratic Party had become a vessel and a front mainly for the administrative state with a veneer of woke ideology, while the Republican Party was being taken over by refugees from the Democrats, in effect creating a new Trump party out of the remnants of the other two.

The rest is legendary. Trump linked up with Elon Musk to do to the federal government what he did when he took over Twitter, taking the company private, gutting the place of embedded federal assets, and firing 4 out of 5 workers. In the midst of this, and faced with a terrifying flurry of legal attacks, Trump dodged an assassin’s bullet. That triggered terrible memories of RFK, Jr.’s father and uncle, and thus sparked discussions about coming together.

Within a matter of weeks, we had a new coalition that brought together old antagonists, as many people and groups seemingly in the same instant realized their conjoined interests in cleaning up the corporatist cartel. With the newly freed platform of X to reach the public, MAGA/MAHA/DOGE was born.

Trump won and chose RFK Jr to lead the most powerful public health agency in the world. The barrier was Senate confirmation, but that was achieved through some incredible triangulation that made it extremely difficult to vote no.

In the big picture, you can measure the size of this titanic shift in American politics by the way the votes in the Senate lined up. All Republicans but one voted for the most prominent scion of the Democratic Party to head the health empire while all Democrats voted no. That alone is striking, and a testament to the power of the pharma lobby, which, during the hearings, was exposed as the hidden hand behind the most passionate opponents of the confirmation.

Is our nightmare over? Not yet. Writing not even a month into the second presidential term of Donald Trump, it is still unclear just how much authority he truly exercises over the sprawling executive branch. For that matter, no one can even agree on how large this branch is: between 2.2 million and 3 million employees and somewhere between 400 and 450 agencies. The financial bleed in this realm is unthinkable and far worse than even the biggest cynic can imagine.

Five former secretaries of the Treasury took to the pages of the New York Times with a shocking claim. “The nation’s payment system has historically been operated by a very small group of nonpartisan career civil servants.” This has included a career employee called “fiscal assistant secretary—a post that for the prior eight decades had been reserved exclusively for civil servants to ensure impartiality and public confidence in the handling and payment of federal funds.”

There is no reason even to read between the lines. What this means is that no person voted into office by the people and no one appointed by such a person has access to the federal books since 1946. This is startling beyond belief. No owner of any company would ever tolerate being barred from the accounting offices and payment systems. And no company can offer any public stock without independent audits and open books.

And yet almost 80 years have gone by during which time neither has been true for this gigantic enterprise called the federal government. That means that US$193 trillion has been spent by an institution that has never faced granulated oversight from the people and never met the normal demands that every enterprise faces every day.

The usual habit in Washington has been to treat every elected leader and their appointments as temporary and transitory marionettes, people who come and go and disturb little to nothing about the normal operations of government. This new administration seems to have every intention to change that but the job is inconceivably challenging. As much public support as MAGA/MAHA/DOGE enjoy for now, and as many people from those groups are getting embedded in the power structure, they are outnumbered and outmaneuvered by millions of agents of the old order.

This transition will not be easy if it happens at all.

The inertia of the old order is mighty. Even on the issue of health and pandemics, there is already confusion. CBS News has reported that Fauci-loyalist and mRNA pusher Gerald Parker will head the White House Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response or OPPR. The report cited only unnamed “health officials” and the appointment has been celebrated by Scott Gottlieb, the Pfizer board member who nudged Trump into backing lockdowns in 2020.

All the while, this appointment has not been confirmed by the White House. We do not know if OPPR, created by Congressional charter, will even be funded. The reporter will not reveal his sources – raising the question of why any appointment having to do with health should be surrounded by such cloak-and-dagger machinations.

If Dr. Parker becomes ensconced in this position and another health emergency is declared, this time for Bird flu, HHS and Robert F. Kennedy Jr will not be in any kind of decision-making position at all.

The larger problems have to do with a broader question: is the president really in charge of the executive branch? Can he hire and fire? Can he spend money or decline to spend money? Can he set policy for the agencies?

One might suppose that the whole answer to these questions can be found in Article 2, Section 1: “The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America.” And yet that sentence was written almost 100 years before Congress created this thing called the “civil service” that nowhere appears in the Constitution. This fourth branch has grown in size and power to swamp both the presidency and the legislature.

Courts are going to have to sort this out, and already an avalanche of lawsuits has hit the new administration for daring to presume control over agencies and their activities of which the president is and must necessarily be held accountable. Lower federal courts seem to be demanding that the president be that in name only, while the Supreme Court might have a different opinion.

The much-ballyhooed “constitutional crisis” consists of nothing other than an attempt to reassert the original constitutional design of government.

This is the background template in which RFK Jr takes power at HHS, and oversees all the sub-agencies. These agencies played a huge role in covering for the attack on liberty and rights over five years. His confirmation is a symbolic repudiation of the most egregious public policies on record. And yet, the repudiation is entirely implicit: there has been no commission, no admission of error, no one truly held responsible, and no real accountability.

The trajectory on which we find ourselves affords many reasons for champagne celebrations, but sober up quickly. There is a very long way to go and enormous barriers in place to get us to the point that we are really safe again from the marauding corporatist/statist complex and their plots and schemes to rob the public of rights and liberties. In the meantime, to invoke a common phrase, keep these new appointees in your thoughts and prayers.


Does this analysis of the need for MAGA convince you?   


AUTHOR

Jeffrey Tucker is Founder, Author, and President at Brownstone Institute. He is also Senior Economics Columnist for Epoch Times, author of 10 books, including Life After Lockdown, and many thousands of articles in the scholarly and popular press. He speaks widely on topics of economics, technology, social philosophy, and culture.

This article has been republished from the Brownstone Institute under a Creative Commons licence.

EDITORS NOTE: This Mercator column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

‘Trump Administration Is Serious’: America’s Southern Border Hasn’t Been This Quiet Since The 1960s

As the Trump administration continues to overhaul the country’s immigration enforcement apparatus, encounters along the southern border are bottoming out to levels not experienced in decades, federal data shows.

Border czar Tom Homan, who is spearheading the White House’s ambitious deportation operation, revealed Monday that there were merely 229 Border Patrol encounters along the U.S.-Mexico border within the previous day, a figure he suggested to be the lowest rate since he first joined the U.S. Border Patrol in 1984.  A review of past Border Patrol encounters, which are encounters made between ports of entry, shows he’s correct — and the numbers haven’t been this low since the 1960s.

If Border Patrol agents working along the southern border encountered 229 migrants every single day, the fiscal year total would equate to 83,585. If encounters continue to decline throughout the year, the final tally for fiscal year 2025 could be even lower.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) provides annual encounter numbers along the U.S.-Mexico border dating back more than half a century. Calculating the daily average encounter rate from the CBP data shows Border Patrol agents haven’t experienced average numbers this low since fiscal year 1968, when there were only 62,640 reported encounters along all of the southwest sectors.

While daily encounters fluctuate throughout the year, immigration experts say the recent drop in numbers is a clear consequence of the policy changes handed down by President Donald Trump.

“We’re seeing an unprecedented decrease in the number of encounters at the border,” Eric Ruark, research director for NumbersUSA, a Washington, D.C.,-based immigration organization, said to the Daily Caller News Foundation. “Obviously, that is a Trump effect.”

“There’s every reason to believe that we’re going to see historic lows when it comes to encounters now between ports of entry and people trying to sneak across,” Ruark said of future border activity under Trump. “The Trump administration is serious and they’re going to continue to be serious about not just talking about ending illegal immigration, but doing everything they can do to prevent it going forward.”

On average, the Biden administration was overseeing about 5,605 Border Patrol encounters at the U.S.-Mexico border every single day. The highest single-day record was broken on Dec. 18, 2023 when more than 12,600 migrant encounters were made on just that one day.

Since returning to office, Trump has undertaken an exhaustive list of actions aimed at controlling and discouraging illegal immigration, such as executive orders declaring a national emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border and ending birthright citizenship to individuals born on American soil to illegal migrant parents. The administration has defunded or entirely nixed Biden-era initiatives that promulgated immigration, such as the Safety Mobility Initiative, the CBP One app and parole programs for foreign nationals.

In the most recent action, Trump signed an executive order Wednesday that directs federal agencies to identify programs that provide taxpayer-funded benefits to illegal migrants and cease action. The order further prohibits federal funds from being used to promote sanctuary policies at the state and local level.

Soldiers deployed along the southern border have been able to assist Border Patrol agents and other CBP personnel with their mission, providing an added layer of security to stem the flow of illegal immigration and illicit drugs.

Many illegal migrants waiting in Latin America simply gave up and turned around after Trump was elected in November, figuring there was no hope of making it through under the new administration. That many migrants are not even bothering to attempt to reach the southern border is indicated in the incredible drop in crossings through the Darien Gap — a large jungle region between Panama and Colombia traversed by northbound migrants hoping to make it into the U.S.

The current border numbers are a far cry from the illegal immigration crisis that waged under the Biden administration.

There were roughly 2,045,800 Border Patrol encounters along the southern border in fiscal year 2023 and roughly 1,530,500 encounters in fiscal year 2024, according to CBP data. When including both Border Patrol and CBP encounters at ports of entry, fiscal years 2023 and 2024 were the highest and second highest in the country’s history, respectively.

Faced with tough re-election prospects and sinking approval ratings on his handling of the immigration crisis, then-President Joe Biden issued an executive order in June that limited the number of asylum seekers appearing before the border. That order began a downward trend in activity, but the numbers plummeted even further after Trump entered office and got to work on his immigration enforcement agenda.

“The actions taken by President Trump to secure our border and make America safe again have been nothing less than historic, including by reducing illegal border crossings by over 60 percent in his first week in office alone,” House Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green said in a Wednesday press release. Green pointed to Trump policies for the downturn, such as the rollback of the CBP One app and the “fraud-ridden” CHNV program that paroled thousands of Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan and Venezuelan migrants into the country.

The administration’s border enforcement effort is “without question” the biggest crackdown in American history, according to Ruark, who pointed out that Trump’s second term will likely far outpace the immigration record of his first administration.

“You had a lot of people initially who weren’t really on board with Trump’s immigration agenda,” Ruark said of the president’s first-term staff. “That’s totally different in the second term, and these are people who, from day one, and we’ve seen the results, have come in and are putting in effective policies that are in line with what Trump campaigned off.”

“We have every reason to be optimistic going forward, so we’ve certainly been happy, but again, the big challenge is, ‘what do you do you do about all the people who are who are here?’” Ruark pointed out. “And that’s going to be, I think, a huge challenge for the Trump administration because you had anywhere from seven to nine million people who got in illegally under the Biden administration, and many of them are still here.

AUTHOR

Jason Hopkins

Immigration reporter.

RELATED ARTICLE: DHS Pilots Patrolling Southern Border Have A New Foe — Lasers

EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.


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