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Republican Don Bacon Declines To Run For Re-election

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On Monday, Nebraska Congressman Don Bacon announced he will not seek re-election.

“After 30 years in the Air Force and 10 years in Congress, it’s time to spend my future with the love of my life, our four kids, and our wonderful grandchildren. Thank you, Nebraska!” Bacon announced Monday

Bacon’s announcement comes as Congress works overtime to pass President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” by their self-imposed July 4 deadline. Through the reconciliation process, the megabill seeks to deliver on the president’s key campaign promises, including tax cuts, immigration reform and energy production. 

Bacon has represented Nebraska’s second congressional district since 2017. He won re-election in 2024 by less than two percentage points. 

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) announced Sunday he would also not seek re-election next year. Like Bacon, Tillis has been willing to buck Trump and the Republican Party on key issues, including the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Tillis was one of just two Republicans who voted against a procedural vote on the bill in the Senate this weekend. 

Supreme Court to Hear GOP Effort to Strike Down Campaign Finance Rule

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Duncan Lock, Dflock, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

On Monday, the Supreme Court agreed to take up Vice President Vance and GOP committees’ bid to strike down federal limits on political parties’ spending.

The case, National Republican Senatorial Committee v. Federal Election Commission, was originally appealed to the court by the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), and on behalf of two Senate Republican candidates running for election in 2022— among them, now-Vice President J.D. Vance.

It centers on whether federal limits on campaign spending from political parties runs afoul of First Amendment protections, including free speech, under the U.S. Constitution.

Twenty-four years ago, the Supreme Court upheld “coordinated party expenditure limits,” which were originally passed as part of broader campaign finance reforms in the 1970s. 

In their petition to the high court, the plaintiffs said it is “past time” to clarify the earlier decision or overrule it outright. 

“And it likely marks the last chance this Court will get to tackle the question for quite some time, as neither committees nor candidates will squander their limited resources on another challenge if this petition is denied,” their attorneys at Jones Day wrote. 

The challenged provision limits how the Republican National Committee, Democratic National Committee (DNC) and committees can spend their funds when they’re cooperating with a candidate. 

The case comes as federal election spending has reached record highs. Presidential candidates in 2024 raised at least $2 billion and spent roughly $1.8 billion in 2024, according to FEC figures.

The Trump administration supported Vance’s ask that the Supreme Court to take up the challenge. 

“A party performs that function most effectively in cooperation with the candidates themselves. By restricting that cooperation, the party-expenditure limit severely burdens the rights of parties and candidates alike,” Solicitor General D. John Sauer wrote in court filings, telling the justices they should appoint outside counsel to argue the other side. 

The Hill reports that days later, the DNC, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee jointly asked to be the ones to defend the spending limits, a move no one opposed. 

“The Solicitor General’s reversal leaves the 50-year-old limitation on coordinated spending by political parties, and this Court’s 24-year-old precedent upholding it, entirely undefended before the Court,” it wrote in court filings. 

Steve Bannon Calls for Investigation Into Fox News Over ‘Israel First’ Coverage

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    Thor Brødreskift / Nordiske Mediedager, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

    During an interview with Bannon on One America News’ The Matt Gaetz Show, former congressman Matt Gaetz asked Bannon about his recent criticism of Fox News host Mark Levin and the network in general.

    “You have said that Fox News may be acting at the behest of a foreign government,” noted Gaetz. “I don’t suppose you’re suggesting it’s Australia, so for my audience, will you just connect the dots how you believe Fox News is acting at the behest of a foreign government?”

    Bannon responded, “Fox News has just been a cheerleader – just like they were cheerleaders for the Iraq War and for the extension in Afghanistan. It’s the Iraq War playbook. They had Ukraine, but as you know, through your good offices and others, we shut down the Ukraine nonsense, at least to the degree it could be shut down.”

    “And now they are very focused on Israel and an Israel-Persian or Israel-Iran war,” he continued:

    It’s at the behest of the Israel First crowd, and [Mark] Levin’s the worst but by far not the only at Fox News. They never put on a counter argument. I just think there ought to be an investigation. Are they dealing directly with foreign intelligence services? Are they dealing with foreign political parties? Where are they getting their talking points? How much communication– I mean, the American people should be able to know this because it’s so over the top, and any time you mention any criticism they lose it, like Levin. I mean, look, we don’t get into throwing our toys out of the pram, we’re just saying, hey, Tel Aviv Levin and these guys have lost. The president couldn’t be clearer. The 12-Day War is over, he obliterated the nuclear– both the scientific capability and the industrial production, which is actually harder. It’s over and it’s time to pivot into focusing on more important things. I might note, Matt, as I was doing the show this morning, to show how relentless they are, they had a breaking news that Pakistan is now– they believe, the intelligence service believes Pakistan is working on an ICBM that can have intercontinental–

    As Gaetz laughed, Bannon continued, “I’m not even kidding. You can’t make it up, right? As soon as Trump shuts down the window on one, they say they may have an ICBM capability for the United States because you always know Israel’s next target was always Pakistan. So it’s just ludicrous now.”

    Last week, Bannon called specifically for an investigation into Fox News hosts Sean Hannity, Kayleigh McEnany, and Levin.

    Supreme Court Allows Trump To Partially Enforce Birthright Citizenship Order

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      Duncan Lock, Dflock, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

      Just in…

      The Supreme Court granted a partial stay Friday of President Donald Trump’s request to block lower courts from issuing universal injunctions, granting a par victory for the administration as it looks to execute many of its top priorities via executive order and action. 

      In a 6-3 ruling along ideological lines allowed President Trump’s executive order restricting birthright citizenship to go into effect in some areas of the country, for now, by curtailing judges’ ability to block the president’s policies nationwide. 

      Ruling that three federal district judges went too far in issuing nationwide injunctions against Trump’s order, the high court’s decision claws back a key tool that plaintiffs have used to hamper the president’s agenda in dozens of lawsuits. 

      But it does not yet definitively resolve whether Trump’s restrictions on birthright citizenship are constitutional, a hefty legal question that could ultimately return to the justices. 

      “The applications do not raise—and thus we do not address—the question whether the Executive Order violates the Citizenship Clause or Nationality Act,” Justice Amy Coney Barrett said, writing for the majority. “The issue before us is one of remedy: whether, under the Judiciary Act of 1789, federal courts have equitable authority to issue universal injunctions.”

      “A universal injunction can be justified only as an exercise of equitable authority, yet Congress has granted federal courts no such power,” she added.

      This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.

      Karoline Leavitt Says Trump Won’t Give Security Details Back to Ex-Officials Amid Iran Tensions

      Karoline Leavitt speaking with attendees at the 2022 Student Action Summit at the Tampa Convention Center in Tampa, Florida. [Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore ]

      In a bold reaffirmation of his America First leadership style, President Donald J. Trump is standing firm in his decision not to reinstate security details for former officials—even amid rising tensions with the Iranian regime.

      White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt made it clear on Thursday that the issue isn’t even up for debate. “That’s not in consideration,” she said when asked if Secret Service protection would be restored to former National Security Adviser John Bolton, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and former Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley.

      This refusal reflects Trump’s long-standing belief that federal security resources should be allocated wisely and not squandered as political favors for former insiders who may no longer reflect his administration’s priorities.

      John Bolton, a self-styled foreign policy hawk who distanced himself from Trump after leaving the administration, went public in January claiming he was “disappointed but not surprised” when his Secret Service detail was revoked. But critics of Bolton note that his policy stances often ran counter to Trump’s vision of restraint abroad and strength at home.

      Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his top aide Brian Hook also had their security details pulled shortly after Bolton’s. Both men were instrumental in enforcing sanctions and confronting Iranian aggression. But as Leavitt and others close to Trump suggest, their job was to serve the country during his presidency—not to become lifetime beneficiaries of the national security apparatus.

      Pompeo and Hook are reportedly still under threat from Tehran, but many MAGA supporters argue that American taxpayers shouldn’t be expected to foot the bill indefinitely, especially for those now spending more time on book tours and speaking engagements than protecting the Republic.

      Perhaps the most controversial figure in the mix is Gen. Mark Milley, who lost his protection by the end of January. Milley, who had a strained relationship with President Trump following the 2020 election, was provided security after Trump took decisive action to eliminate Iranian terrorist Qasem Soleimani.

      Usha Vance Addresses Possibility Of Becoming First Lady In 2028

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      By Office of Vice President of the United States - @VP on X, Public Domain,

      Second Lady Usha Vance is taking it day by day.

      During a recent interview, the second lady responded to speculation her husband, JD Vance, is angling to be the next Republican presidential nominee.

      “People do ask about it,” Usha Vance told Meghan McCain on her podcast “Citizen McCain.”

      While she acknowledged the possibility of her husband, Vice President JD Vance, running for president, Usha Vance emphasized that she moved into the Washington area with “no intention whatsoever” of considering his political future. However, she pointed out that she also had no intention of being involved in politics four years ago.

      For now, Usha Vance said she is focused on the present, though she did not completely dismiss the idea.

      “My attitude is that this is a four-year period where I have a set of responsibilities to my family, to myself, to obviously the country and that’s really what I’m focused on,” Usha Vance said. “I’m not plotting out next steps or really trying for anything after this.”

      She continued, “In a dream world, eventually I’ll be able to live in my home and kind of continue my career and all those sorts of things. And if that happens in four years, I understand. If that happens in some other point in the future, I understand. Just sort of along for the ride and enjoying it while I can.”

      As vice president, Vance is considered the political frontrunner to be the Republican nominee for president in 2028.

      “I really am just not focused on politics. I’m not focused on the midterm elections in 2026, much less the presidential election in 2028. When we get to that point, I’ll talk to the president. We’ll figure out what we want to do,” Vance told Lawrence Jones in a “Fox & Friends” exclusive interview in April.

      In March, Tucker Carlson, co-founder of the Daily Caller News Foundation, forecasted that Vice President JD Vance will emerge as the Republican Party’s presidential nominee in 2028. Carlson’s statement, made on the “VINCE” podcast, sheds light on the increasing influence of Vance within the party and the likelihood of him becoming the successor to Donald Trump’s political legacy.

      Despite Donald Trump declining to endorse Vance during a February Fox News interview, where he stated there were “a lot of very capable people” in the Republican Party, Carlson is optimistic that the former president will ultimately support the vice president in 2028. Trump’s comment, which may have seemed like a rejection to some, was interpreted by Carlson as a temporary stance, not a definitive end to any future support.

      “I think people want to leave a legacy, all of us do, and great men especially do. And the only person in the entire Republican Party from my position who’s capable of carrying on the Trump legacy and expanding it, making it what it should fully be, is JD Vance,” Carlson explained. He also praised Vance’s loyalty to Trump and his profound service, indicating that Trump’s current withholding of endorsement may have been a strategic decision.

      Rosie O’Donnell Demands ‘Recount’ Months After Trump’s 2024 Landslide Victory

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        By David Shankbone - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3937757

        Comedian and longtime critic of Donald Trump, Rosie O’Donnell, promoted a demand for a “recount” of the 2024 presidential election, despite President Trump’s historic victory over former Vice President Kamala Harris.

        In a post shared to her Instagram Story, O’Donnell amplified a message from influencer Joe Braxton, who alleged that Tesla and X CEO Elon Musk had somehow “hacked and stole the election.” The post claimed Musk manipulated the results and later covered his tracks by deleting evidence and purging those who could expose the alleged scheme through his DOGE efforts.

        The claim directly contradicts certified results and independent audits showing that Trump won both the popular vote and all key battleground states, securing an overwhelming victory, especially as the first Republican to win the popular vote in 20 years.

        O’Donnell’s amplification of the recount call has drawn attention not only for its baselessness, but also for its irony.

        For years, the comedian accused Trump and his supporters of denying the 2020 election results. But now, after Trump decisively defeated Kamala Harris in 2024, it’s O’Donnell herself who appears to be indulging in election denial — something she once vehemently opposed.

        Political commentators online were quick to note the reversal. “Rosie O’Donnell is now the election denier,” one user wrote. “She’s become the very thing she once mocked.”

        This isn’t the first time O’Donnell has claimed election interference without evidence. In a widely criticized outburst last month, she claimed that Trump had repeatedly “admitted” the elections were rigged and expressed disbelief that “no one does anything about it.”

        Observers were quick to point out that Trump was referring to the 2020 election — not the one he just won. The confusion further fueled criticism that O’Donnell’s political commentary has become increasingly erratic and detached from facts.

        Since Trump returned to the White House in January 2025, O’Donnell has been a loud opponent of his second-term agenda. She recently claimed that the GOP’s signature tax reform and spending bill — dubbed the “Big, Beautiful Bill” by Trump — would lead to mass suffering.

        “Millions of people are going to go hungry. Millions of people are going to die,” O’Donnell said during a recent video tirade, offering no evidence for the dramatic claim.

        Musk, who acquired X (formerly Twitter) and has become a polarizing public figure in politics, has not been linked to any election irregularities. Federal and state election officials have found no credible evidence of statistically significant fraud favoring Trump in the 2024 election.

        Adding to the controversy surrounding her public image, O’Donnell also recently appeared in HBO’s Sex and the City reboot, And Just Like That…, where she played a lesbian nun who has a one-night stand with Miranda Hobbes, portrayed by Cynthia Nixon. The storyline was widely condemned by Catholic groups and religious leaders, who labeled it sacrilegious, offensive, and “deliberately provocative.”

        This Trump Cabinet Member Is On ‘Thin Ice’

        Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

        The tides are turning against this Trump Cabinet member…

        Michael Wolff, the Trump biographer who has long studied the president, revealed on The Daily Beast Podcast this week that the Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard is getting increasingly close to being fired.

        Over the weekend, the U.S. launched an attack on three nuclear enrichment sites in Iran. Despite Trump’s declared victory, however, early intelligence assessments suggest that the strikes did not destroy the facilities at all.

        “It’s always important in the Trump script, the fallback is always who to blame, who to blame,” Wolff told The Daily Beast’s Joanna Coles. “Just have to have someone to blame. Tulsi is in the line of fire.”

        To Trump, he added, she is a “stooge” at this point.

        Reports of the still-existent nuclear sites are at odds with Trump’s repeated claims that the strikes “completely and totally obliterated” the facilities.

        Tulsi Gabbard via Gage Skidmore Flickr

        Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told CNN: “This alleged assessment is flat-out wrong and was classified as ‘top secret’ but was still leaked to CNN by an anonymous, low-level loser in the intelligence community.”

        But now that the assessment is available for the public to judge for themselves, Wolff said that Trump is in search of someone to throw under the bus.

        “There is an investigation that is going on,“ said Wolff. ”They will try to find someone to blame. Within the White House, within the West Wing, what they are saying as of this morning, who this is being pinned on, is Tulsi.”

        White House staff have confirmed that the leak is already being investigated.

        “President Trump’s Peace through Strength foreign policy is a tried-and-true approach that keeps America safe and deters global threats,” White House Communications Director Steven Cheung told the Daily Beast in a statement. “Efforts by the legacy media to sow internal division are a distraction that will not work. President Trump has full confidence in his entire exceptional national security team. DNI Gabbard is an important member of the President’s team and her work continues to serve him and this country well.”

        Watch:

        Gabbard was awkwardly snubbed by President Donald Trump this week after he dismissed her Congressional testimony that countered the administration’s justification for bombing Iran.

        “The intelligence community continues to assess that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon and Supreme Leader Khomeini has not authorized the nuclear weapons program that he suspended in 2003,” she said in March.

        But this month, Trump publicly slammed Gabbard when her comments resurfaced.

        “I don’t care what she said,” Trump said of Gabbard’s comments. “I think they were very close to having them.”

        Trump later doubled down, telling reporters that Gabbard was “wrong” about the issue.

        Gabbard bowed down to Trump’s assertions, quickly posting on X that the “dishonest media is intentionally taking my testimony out of context and spreading fake news as a way to manufacture division.”

        Rubio Cracks Up At Trump’s Reaction To NATO leader Calling President ‘Daddy’

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          Secretary of State Marco Rubio couldn’t keep it together when Donald Trump gave his reaction to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte calling the commander in chief “daddy” earlier Wednesday. 

          During their bilateral meeting in The Hague, Netherlands, Trump discussed the U.S.’ role in brokering a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Iran, saying both countries were like “two kids in a school yard” who “fight like hell” for a short time before “it’s easier to stop them.” 

          Rutte interjected, “Then daddy has to sometimes use strong language.” 

          Trump had used profanity in front of reporters outside the White House before boarding Marine One on Tuesday, saying about Israel and Iran that they “have been fighting so long and so hard that they don’t know what the f— they’re doing. ” 

          At a subsequent press conference Wednesday, Rubio broke into hysterics when a reporter from Sky News asked Trump about the remark. 

          The reporter reminded Trump that Rutte, “who is your friend.… He called you daddy.” 

          “Do you regard your NATO allies as kind of children?” the reporter asked. 

          Trump responded lightheartedly, and Rubio could be seen standing next to him starting to smile and laugh. “No, he likes me. I think he likes me. If he doesn’t, I’ll let you know. I’ll come back, and I’ll hit him hard. Okay?” Trump said jokingly. 

          “He did. He did it. Very affectionate,” Trump added of Rutte. “‘Daddy, You’re my daddy.'” 

          Watch:

          NATO leaders on Wednesday committed that the member states would contribute 5% of GDP annually to defense and security obligations by 2035. 

          “You’re obviously appreciative of that,” the reporter said. “But do you hope that actually they’re going to be able to defend themselves, defend Europe on their own?” 

          “I think they’ll need help a little bit at the beginning, and I think they’ll be able to,” Trump said. “I think they’re going to remember this day and this is a big day for NATO. You know, this was a very big day.” 

          “It’s been sort of an amazing day for a lot of reasons, but also for that,” Trump added, referencing how the greater contributions were decades in the making. Trump claimed it was not possible until he came along. 

          Special Envoy Steve Witkoff Accuses CNN’s Anonymous Sources of ‘Treason’

          CNN Headquarters via Wikimedia Commons

          U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff accused several anonymous CNN sources of “treason” on Tuesday.

          In an exclusive report from CNN, three sources briefed on intelligence of the operation claimed that the damage done to Iran’s nuclear program “likely only set it back by months” despite Trump’s claims to have “completely and totally obliterated” it by U.S. bombing.

          “This leaked intel assessment, it’s an early look at what was actually accomplished on the ground,” said Fox News host Laura Ingraham during an interview with Witkoff. “But it was leaked. Somebody decided to leak this from the DIA and it’s being used in the media, and it’s all over today, that, ‘Aha, Trump said it obliterated, but it’s not obliterated. It’s set back months, but it’s not over.’”

          Witkoff replied, “Well, it goes without saying that leaking that type of information, whatever the information, whatever site it comes out on, is outrageous. It’s treasonous. So it ought to be investigated, and whoever did it, whoever’s responsible for it should be held accountable.”

          He concluded, “It could hurt lives in the future. This leaking is a completely unacceptable thing.”

          CNN spoke to seven anonymous sources in total, who described the Defense Intelligence Agency’s (DIA) assessment of the Trump administration’s strikes. Two of the sources “said Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium was not destroyed,” according to the CNN report, while “one of the people said the centrifuges are largely ‘intact.’”

          “Another source said that the intelligence assessed enriched uranium was moved out of the sites prior to the US strikes,” CNN reported.

          White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth lashed out at CNN’s report, calling it “flat-out wrong.”

          “This alleged assessment is flat-out wrong and was classified as ‘top secret’ but was still leaked to CNN by an anonymous, low-level loser in the intelligence community,” Leavitt said. “The leaking of this alleged assessment is a clear attempt to demean President Trump, and discredit the brave fighter pilots who conducted a perfectly executed mission to obliterate Iran’s nuclear program. Everyone knows what happens when you drop fourteen 30,000 pound bombs perfectly on their targets: total obliteration.”

          While Leavitt tried to pin the leak on a single source, CNN — in its report — cited “three people briefed” on the U.S. intelligence assessment.

          Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, in a separate statement, likewise claimed the sites were leveled in the blasts:

          Based on everything we have seen and I’ve seen it all, our bombing campaign obliterated Iran’s ability to create nuclear weapons. Our massive bombs hit exactly the right spot at each target and worked perfectly. The impact of those bombs is buried under a mountain of rubble in Iran. So anyone who says the bombs were not devastating is just trying to undermine the president and the successful mission.

          In a statement to Mediaite, a CNN spokesperson said, “CNN stands by our thorough reporting on an early intelligence assessment of the recent strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, which has since been confirmed by other news organizations. The White House has acknowledged the existence of the assessment, and their statement is included in our story.”