‘We Must Hold the Line and Support ICE’: House Republicans Say Schumer’s Demands Are ‘Non-Starter’

Republicans accused Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., of “trying to handcuff” immigration enforcement as Democrats refused to advance a bill to keep government open on Thursday. “Chuck Schumer and Senate Democrats are trying to handcuff ICE because their party is committed to open borders,” Rep. Andy Barr told The Daily Signal. “We must hold the line and support ICE.” Schumer, motivated by the immigration enforcement involved fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, laid out demands for keeping the government open on Wednesday. Schumer has demanded an end…

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HHS IG nominee pledges to support Trump’s initiatives

The nominee for inspector general at the Department of Health and Human Services has pledged to support the Trump administration’s agenda, marking an unusual statement from a nominee for a role that is considered independent. “If confirmed as inspector general I will examine, evaluate, audit, and investigate to support the initiatives of President [Donald] Trump and Secretary [Robert] Kennedy,” Thomas March Bell wrote as part of written testimony prepared for his confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Finance today. Bell is a lawyer and former Senate staffer who also…

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IRS needs 11,000 hires to ‘maintain’ phone support for 2026 filing season, plans on 60% cut to IT staffing

The IRS is preparing for major budget and staffing cuts next year, but simultaneously, congressional Republicans are trying to pass a budget reconciliation package that would create much more work for the tax agency. Former IRS leaders say they’re concerned the agency will have fewer resources to provide an acceptable level of customer service during next year’s filing season — especially if President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” makes it through Congress. The tax-and-spending cuts bill would have the IRS scrambling to prepare its IT systems and employees for…

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Why Mike Johnson’s bid to remain House speaker could be a struggle despite Trump’s support

WASHINGTON (AP) — Mike Johnson is fighting for his political life, again. The Louisiana Republican’s hold on the House speaker’s gavel and his position as second in line to the presidency will be tested Friday when a new Congress convenes and House Republicans weigh whether to reelect him to the post. The challenge, as always, is that Johnson will need almost every Republican vote to win. Johnson has a singular asset in his favor: President-elect Donald Trump endorsed him for speaker in a social media post at the start of…

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Muslim American Support for Trump Is an Act of Self-Sabotage

Over the weekend, a group of Arab American and Muslim American leaders in Michigan appeared onstage at a Donald Trump rally and urged their communities to vote for him. The outreach might be working: A recent poll showed Trump with a narrow lead among Arab American voters. This is shocking, but hardly surprising. It’s shocking because Trump’s stated policies—on Palestine, on political freedom, and on the very presence of Muslims in America—are antithetical to so much of what most of these voters believe in. It’s unsurprising because we Arab and…

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