House Democrats have introduced new legislation to create a commission to evaluate whether President Trump should be removed from office under the 25th Amendment.
The effort comes despite Republicans controlling Congress and the president retaining veto power, making the measure almost certain to fail.
More than 85 Democrats in Congress recently called for Trump to be impeached or removed through the 25th Amendment following comments he made about bombing Iran.
Democrat Rep. Jamie Raskin is once again introducing a bill to invoke the 25th amendment to remove President Trump.
Raskin admits he already tried this in 2017 and 2020.
Democrats are only focused on stopping President Trump, not helping the American people. pic.twitter.com/Q85IxaQzgW
The bill would rely on Section 4 of the 25th Amendment, which allows the vice president and Cabinet, or a body created by Congress, to declare a president unfit.
Under the proposal, the commission would conduct a medical evaluation to determine whether the president is “mentally or physically unable to discharge the powers and duties of the office.”
The legislation has 50 Democratic co-sponsors.
Members of the commission would be appointed by congressional leadership from both parties, along with former senior executive officials. The group would then select a chair.
Any action would still require approval from Vice President J.D. Vance.
Raskin wrote in a press release.
The Constitution explicitly vests Congress with the authority to create a body that will guarantee the successful continuity of government by responding to presidential incapacity to discharge the powers and duties of office.
We have a solemn duty to play our defined role under the 25th Amendment by setting up this body to act alongside the Vice President and the Cabinet. This body should have been set up Congress when the 25th Amendment was added to the Constitution in 1967.
We have 535 Members of Congress but just one President and this body is a necessary element of successful continuity of government. Congress should act now to establish a permanent and standing Commission on Presidential Capacity to Discharge the Powers and Duties of Office.
Public trust in Donald Trump’s ability to meet the duties of his office has dropped to unprecedented lows as he threatens to destroy entire civilizations, unleashes chaos in the Middle East while violating Congressional war powers, aggressively insults the Pope of the Catholic Church and sends out artistic renderings online likening himself to Jesus Christ.
We are at a dangerous precipice, and it is now a matter of national security for Congress to fulfill its responsibilities under the 25th Amendment to protect the American people from an increasingly volatile and unstable situation.
The White House responded by describing Raskin as a “stupid person’s idea of a smart person.”
“President Trump’s sharpness, unmatched energy, and historic accessibility stand in stark contrast to what we saw during the past four years when Democrats like Raskin intentionally covered up Joe Biden’s serious mental and physical decline from the American people,” said spokesperson Davis Ingle.
A new report released Tuesday by the Department of Justice outlined how the Biden administration weaponized the federal government against pro-life groups and what steps are being taken to fix it.
“The Justice Department’s Weaponization Working Group published a report detailing the Biden Administration’s weaponization of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act,” a government news release read.
“Based on a review of over 700,000 internal records, the report not only details specific ways the Biden Justice Department weaponized federal law, but also outlines the corrective action taken by the current Justice Department to make right the wrongs of the prior administration.
“This Department will not tolerate a two-tiered system of justice,” Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement.
“No Department should conduct selective prosecution based on beliefs,” he added. “The weaponization that happened under the Biden Administration will not happen again, as we restore integrity to our prosecutorial system.”
President Donald Trump promised to end the weaponization of federal government entities after he was charged in multiple state and federal cases, which eventually fell apart or were dismissed before the start of his second term.
The Biden administration has been accused of allowing pro-abortion groups to “track pro-life activists’ First Amendment activity,” according to the DOJ.
“Pro-abortion groups—especially the National Abortion Federation, Planned Parenthood, and Feminist Majority Foundation—capitalized on their relationship with the Biden DOJ to gain internal information and push targets for enforcement,” the press release explained.
“These groups compiled evidence and dossiers that ultimately gave rise to search warrants and charges. The Biden DOJ affirmatively asked pro-abortion groups about pro-life individuals’ travel and constitutionally protected advocacy.”
In some cases, career attorneys tracked pro-life activists for years before they were ever charged, while working at the Biden DOJ.
“Prosecutors knowingly withheld evidence that defense counsel requested to prepare an affirmative defense, tried to screen out jurors based on religion, and authorized aggressive arrest tactics instead of allowing pro-life defendants to self-surrender,” the release continued.
It also accused the Biden Justice Department of helping pro-abortion groups get funding, with FACE Act prosecutors serving as references on the National Abortion Federation’s application for a private grant.
In addition to promising longer sentences for pro-life defendants, Biden officials allegedly “provided extensive support to abortion clinics, while ignoring and downplaying vandalism and attacks against pregnancy resource centers.”
The DOJ cited Trump’s pardons for “pro-life Christians” who were “unfairly targeted by the Biden DOJ,” as the first step in fixing the cracks. It also cited civil suits the federal government has settled, along with the removal, or firing, of various employees.
Moreover, the “Trump DOJ issued a directive that, moving forward, DOJ prosecutors may only bring abortion-related civil actions and prosecutions under the FACE Act in extraordinary circumstances or in cases presenting significant aggravating factors.”
A full report on the Biden Administration’s activities regarding this matter was compiled from 700,000 internal records, which the DOJ reviewed, with Blanche allowing a “limited waiver of privileged information” to help illuminate the public.
The White House correspondent for The Daily Wire, Mary Margaret Olohan, posted about the report on X, writing, “NEW: The Justice Department just released an 800+ report on how President Joe Biden’s administration weaponized the FACE Act against pro-life Americans and Americans of faith. It’s worse than we thought.”
NEW: The Justice Department just released an 800+ report on how President Joe Biden’s administration weaponized the FACE Act against pro-life Americans and Americans of faith.
One email in particular showed Sanjay Patel referring to “@NatAbortionFed’s Michelle Davidson as an ‘MVP’ for flagging pro-life protests to prosecute, ‘which usually result in an investigation/prosecution,” according to her post. “Patel was fired yesterday by Todd Blanche for weaponizing the FACE Act, DOJ official tells me.”
“The behavior unearthed in this report is shameful,” Assistant Attorney General Daniel Burrows said. “Lawyers who should have known better withheld evidence, worked to keep committed religious people off juries, and generally allowed the Department of Justice to be used as the enforcement arm of pro-abortion special interests.”
The US Military on Tuesday blew up another drug boat in the Eastern Pacific.
Four narco-terrorists were killed.
Statement from SOUTHCOM:
On April 14, at the direction of #SOUTHCOM commander Gen. Francis L. Donovan, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations.
Intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations.
Four male narco-terrorists were killed during this action.
No U.S. military forces were harmed.
WATCH:
The US military has destroyed at least 50 drug boats in the Eastern Pacific and Caribbean since September.
Last month, US Southern Command announced that the US conducted a military strike on a narco-terrorist network in Ecuador.
“At the order of Secretary of War Hegseth, SOUTHCOM Commander Gen. Francis L. Donovan directed the joint force to support Ecuadorian forces conducing lethal kinetic operations against Designated Terrorist Organizations within Ecuador March 6,” US Southern Command said.
“We are advancing alongside our partners in the fight against narcoterrorism,” General Donovan said.
“I congratulate our joint forces and the Ecuadorian armed forces for the successful operation against narcoterrorists in Ecuador. This collaborative and decisive action is a strategic success for all nations in the Western Hemisphere committed to disrupting and defeating narcoterrorism.” General Donovan said.
“This operation demonstrates the power of coordinated action and sends a clear message: narco-terrorist networks will not find refuge in our hemisphere,” the Pentagon said.
“The United States remains steadfast in supporting nations that stand against narcoterrorism. Together, we will dismantle trafficking and corruption networks, hold these organizations accountable, and restore peace through strength,” the Pentagon said.
The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and President Donald Trump do not have a happy history, but Trump is urging congressional Republicans to extend one part of the law Trump says was not the one misused during the Russiagate hoax.
Trump made a public plea on Truth Social to extend Section 702 of FISA.
As noted by Politico, Trump followed that up by calling Republicans opposed to extending the law that allows warrantless wiretaps of non-U.S. citizens for the next 18 months to the White House.
“I am asking Republicans to UNIFY, and vote together on the test vote to bring a clean Bill to the floor. We need to stick together when this Bill comes before the House Rules Committee today to keep it CLEAN!” Trump wrote earlier in his Truth Social post.
“I was a victim of the worst and most illegal abuse of FISA in our Nation’s History, by Radical Left Lunatics, who lied to the FISA Court to spy on my 2016 Presidential Campaign in their attempt to RIG the Election in favor of Crooked Hillary Clinton. Their use of this instrument in the 2020 Presidential Election was even worse! When the Dirty Cop, James Comey, the failed Head of the FBI, went after me, he was using FISA Title I, the Domestic Collection, not FISA 702, the Foreign Collection, which needs to be extended today,” Trump continued.
“While parts of FISA were illegally and unfortunately used against me in the Democrats’ disgraceful Witch Hunt and Attack in the RUSSIA, RUSSIA, RUSSIA Hoax, and perhaps would be used against me in the future, I am willing to risk that as a Citizen in order to do what is right for our Country,” he wrote.
Trump said that Section 702 is a tool the military needs.
“Our Military desperately needs FISA 702, and it is one of the reasons we have had such tremendous SUCCESS on the battlefield, both in Venezuela and Iran,” he wrote.
“Since the first day of my already Historic Second Term, my Administration has worked tirelessly to ensure these FISA Reforms are being aggressively executed at every level of the Executive Branch to keep Americans safe, while protecting our sacred Civil Liberties guaranteed by our Great Constitution,” he added.
“With the ongoing successful Military activities against the Terrorist Iranian Regime, it is more important than ever that we remain vigilant, PROTECT our Homeland, Troops, and Diplomats stationed abroad, and maintain our ability to quickly stop bad actors seeking to cause harm to our People and our Country,” Trump said.
“The fact is, whether you like FISA or not, it is extremely important to our Military. I have spoken to many Generals about this, and they consider it VITAL. Not one said, even tacitly, that they can do without it — especially right now with our brilliant Military Operation in Iran.”
Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, seconded Trump in a letter to legislators, according to Politico.
“The loss or reduction of FISA section 702 authorities would increase risk to the Joint Force, degrade our worldwide combat lethality, and significantly impair U.S. security,” Caine wrote.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley said he also wants a clean 18-month extension of Section 702, according to a news release on Grassley’s website.
The Iowa Republican noted that the Biden administration restricted congressional attendance at Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court and Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review proceedings.
The Trump administration, he said, has lifted the restrictions he opposed.
“With Congress’s access fully restored, the Trump administration has faithfully implemented the reforms Congress called for in its last FISA reauthorization and proven its commitment to transparency and the protection of civil liberties,” Grassley said.
“Section 702 is one of our nation’s most valuable national security tools. Especially given the current threat environment, it’s imperative Congress doesn’t allow this critical authority to lapse,” he added.
“We must ensure American lives aren’t put at risk by a potential Section 702 expiration on April 20. The best path forward is for the House to pass a clean, 18-month FISA extension.”
Russia has specialized railway troops. Europe is energy-dependent and unwilling to fight to preserve its oil imports. Photo courtesy of the Russian Ministry of Defense.
It found that Russia holds decisive advantages in ground-force experience, armored production, submarine power, Arctic dominance, and tactical nuclear weapons. Europe’s theoretical hardware advantages are undermined by readiness failures, fragmented command, and a complete lack of peer-level conventional warfare experience.
Raw firepower is only part of the equation. Wars are won or lost on the ability to sustain operations over time. That means keeping weapons factories running, fuel flowing, soldiers fed, and supply lines open under fire. On every one of those dimensions, Russia’s position is stronger than Europe’s. In some cases, the gap is not even close.
European defense spending has risen sharply since 2022, but remains structurally insufficient for a peer conflict. At the 2025 NATO Summit in The Hague, allies committed to investing 5 percent of GDP by 2035, with at least 3.5 percent on core defense. Commitments and current reality remain far apart, however. Sixteen European allies barely exceed the 2 percent threshold, spending between 2 and 2.1 percent of GDP in 2025, and only Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland are projected to reach 3.5 percent this year.
By contrast, Russia’s total defense spending reached RUB 6.3 percent of GDP and 32.5 percent of the federal budget.
Putin claimed in December 2025 that since February 2022, Russia increased tank production by 2.2 times, aircraft by 4.6 times, strike weapons and ammunition by 22 times, infantry fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers by 3.7 times, electronic warfare and communications equipment by 12.5 times, and rocket artillery by 9.6 times, with the defense sector now employing approximately 4.5 million people and accounting for 20 percent of all manufacturing jobs.
General Christopher Cavoli told the US Senate Armed Services Committee in April 2025 that Russia is replacing battlefield losses at an unprecedented rate due to industrial expansion and full transition to a war economy.
In addition to increased production, Russia has been receiving munitions from allies. As of March 2026, approximately 33,000 North Korean freight containers had delivered artillery shells, ballistic missiles, self-propelled guns, and multiple-launch rocket systems to Russia.
Europe’s defense industrial base remains fragmented, with procurement duplicated across dozens of national programs and ramp-up timelines that have repeatedly slipped. European nations remain heavily dependent on US systems for the most advanced capabilities, including stealth aircraft, strategic lift, satellite intelligence, and missile defense. Critical raw materials including rare earths, cobalt, lithium, and titanium are sourced substantially from adversarial or unstable states, with China controlling the processing of many of these inputs globally.
According to RAND analysis cited by NATO military planners, Europe would need 1,400 tanks, 2,000 infantry fighting vehicles, 700 artillery pieces, and one million 155mm artillery shells for just the first three months of a Russian breakthrough scenario in the Baltics, stocks Europe does not currently hold.
Russia is essentially fully energy self-sufficient and is a major exporter. Russia has the largest known natural gas reserves of any state on earth, the second-largest coal reserves, and the eighth-largest oil reserves, with the oil and gas sector accounting for up to 30 percent of federal budget revenues in 2024. Russia produced 10.5 million barrels per day of total liquid fuels in 2024, and Russian refiners produce roughly double the diesel needed for domestic demand.
In a wartime scenario, Russia can sustain its military and civilian economy from domestic energy production indefinitely, without dependence on any external supply route or maritime chokepoint.
Europe’s position is structurally the opposite. As of 2025, the EU is still buying 60 percent of its energy from abroad, including 90 percent of its gas and 97 percent of its oil. The post-2022 effort to reduce Russian energy dependency has not produced genuine self-sufficiency; it has produced a new dependency. Russian pipeline gas to the EU fell from 150 billion cubic meters in 2021 to 38 billion cubic meters in 2025, largely replaced by US LNG, which now accounts for 45 percent of the replacement supply.
Replacing Russian pipeline gas with American LNG has simply substituted one strategic vulnerability for another, while adding exposure to Atlantic shipping lane disruption. Europe is facing its third energy crisis in four years, Russian gas cutoffs in 2022, Red Sea chokepoint disruptions in 2023 and 2024, and now the Strait of Hormuz disruption triggered by the US-Iran conflict in 2026. Each crisis has exposed the same structural failure and produced the same promises of reform that have not materialized. European gas storage currently stands at around 30 percent, well below the required 90 percent fill target for November 2026.
Russia is not waiting passively for a future conflict to exploit these vulnerabilities. Russia is already conducting hybrid operations against European energy infrastructure, targeting electricity cables and gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea. The Baltic states currently have just four interconnections to the broader European grid, three of which run through maritime zones regularly transited by Russian ships.
A wartime scenario involving sustained hybrid attacks on undersea cables and pipelines, combined with naval interdiction of LNG tanker routes, would place Europe’s energy system under simultaneous pressure from multiple directions it currently has no adequate answer to.
Russia is a net agricultural exporter and self-sufficient in all major food categories. It is the world’s largest wheat exporter and produces sufficient fuel, food, and raw materials to sustain its population and military indefinitely from domestic sources. Europe is broadly self-sufficient in many staple crops but depends on global supply chains for fertilizers, historically sourced predominantly from Russia and Belarus.
Sanctions have already disrupted those fertilizer supply chains, raising production costs across the continent. In a prolonged conventional conflict involving Russian naval interdiction of Atlantic supply lines, Europe would face simultaneous pressure on energy supply, food production, and military resupply, three compounding vulnerabilities with no quick fix.
The GIUK gap, the Baltic straits, and the Bosphorus are all chokepoints where Russian naval and submarine forces could interdict European commerce. Containing Russia’s Northern Fleet alone would require intensive, sustained deployment of maritime patrol aircraft, attack submarines, and destroyers under carrier-based air cover, a capability Europe cannot maintain at that scale without the United States.
European merchant fleet capacity and port infrastructure are adequate for peacetime trade volumes but have not been stress-tested against wartime interdiction, and Europe currently holds no strategic stockpiles calibrated for a major conventional war lasting more than weeks.
The results of this analysis show that Russia can fuel its military indefinitely from domestic energy. It can feed its population without imports. Its defense industry has been operating on a full war footing for three years and has demonstrated the capacity to replace losses at scale. As detailed in the analysis previously published at The Gateway Pundit, Europe lags far behind Russia across most military asset categories. This analysis shows that Europe is not only weaker militarily but also less capable of sustaining a prolonged war, while Russia has already proven it can endure for years.
Without the United States, Europe would stand very little chance against Russia. European leaders appear to be operating under one of two illusions. Either they believe Europe can defeat Russia, or they assume the United States will bail them out. The first is mathematically implausible, and the second becomes less likely following Europe’s refusal to side with the United States against the Iranian regime.
This past weekend, the former Democrat congresswoman wrote multiple posts in support of Swalwell’s many accusers, only to receive community notes citing her own allegedly disgusting conduct.
Multiple women have accused Swalwell of transgressions ranging from predatory behavior to sexual assault. Thus, after suspending his gubernatorial campaign on Sunday, Swalwell announced his resignation from Congress Monday.
Porter undoubtedly views Swalwell’s withdrawal from the governor’s race as a boon to her own campaign. After all, according to the latest aggregate of polls from RealClearPolling, Swalwell held a narrow lead over a crowded Democratic field of candidates, with Porter polling a close second. Of course, those poll results preceded Swalwell’s decision to exit the race amid scandal.
“The allegations against Congressman Swalwell are horrifying,” Porter wrote on Friday. “I’m thinking of the courageous women who have come forward to share their stories. We believe you and we stand with you.”
But X users can spot political posturing from a mile away. So they affixed the first of three community notes Porter received this weekend alone.
“Katie Porter is an alleged domestic abuser who poured scalding potatoes on her ex husband’s head. She’s also been seen on camera verbally berating staff for minor sleights and has been described as abusive herself,” the first community note read.
The allegations against Congressman Swalwell are horrifying. I’m thinking of the courageous women who have come forward to share their stories. We believe you and we stand with you.
In October 2025, Porter’s prickly disposition came under scrutiny when a video of a testy interview with a local CBS reporter in California went viral.
That scrutiny included “resurfaced divorce documents” alleging Porter’s abusive behavior toward her former spouse, according to the New York Post. Matthew Hoffman, Porter’s ex-husband, accused her of dumping scalding-hot mashed potatoes on his head, among other things.
Likewise, Politico released a video showing an enraged Porter using profanity to berate an unnamed staffer.
Thus, X users were not about to allow the deranged Democrat to pose as anyone’s moral superior.
“Too often, men escape any consequence for sexual misconduct by stepping out of power. That is a first and necessary step towards justice because it limits the ability for further harm. I stand with these women as they seek justice,” Porter wrote as part of a second Friday post on X calling for Swalwell to end his gubernatorial campaign and resign from Congress.
“Katie Porter has escaped consequence of physically and verbally abusing both her husband (with a pot of scalding hot mashed potatoes) and staff,” a second and even more hilarious community note read.
In light of the allegations of sexual assault, Eric Swalwell should resign from Congress and end his campaign for public office. But those decisions do not absolve him of taking responsibility for his misconduct, especially when he has attempted to silence and retaliate against…
Then, on Sunday, Porter shared an excerpt from the San Francisco Chronicle urging Democrats to rally around her.
“The longtime rap against the former congresswoman is that she didn’t play well in the sandbox with her fellow House members,” the Chronicle excerpt read in part.
According to the all-caps community note, however, “ALLEGATION AGAINST PORTER WEREN’T THAT SHE CLASHED W/ OTHER POLITICIANS – IT WAS THAT SHE WAS ABUSIVE TO HER EMPLOYEES.”
“Democrats can pull victory from the jaws of defeat by coalescing around Porter.” pic.twitter.com/ARv2DN73Ex
The Los Angeles District Attorney has launched an investigation into Eric Swalwell over allegations of sexual assault.
The LA DA, Nathan Hochman, confirmed the investigation to The Hill after a fifth Swalwell accuser came forward with shocking allegations during a press conference in Beverly Hills on Tuesday morning.
Former Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) is under investigation in Los Angeles over allegations of sexual misconduct, the county’s district attorney confirmed to The Hill.
Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman said in a statement that his office has assigned its Sex Crimes Division to work closely with law enforcement partners “as this investigation unfolds.”
“When and if a case is presented, seasoned prosecutors will review the facts and evidence to determine whether there is sufficient evidence for charges to be filed,” he said. “When a filing decision is made, we will ensure the public is made aware.”
Hochman’s statement came in response to an inquiry from The Hill regarding a new allegation of sexual assault made against Swalwell.
Another Swalwell accuser came forward and spoke at press conference in Beverly Hills on Tuesday morning.
The 5th Swalwell accuser to come forward, Lonna Drews, is represented by attorney Lisa Bloom.
“I represent a brave Eric Swalwell accuser. Her disturbing story is forthcoming. We call upon him to resign from Congress and the governor’s race, and we will cooperate with authorities in their investigation,” Lisa Bloom (Gloria Allred’s daughter) said on Monday evening before the press conference.
Lisa Bloom also disclosed that three other women have contacted her in the last 24 hours with accusations against Eric Swalwell.
Lonna Drews recounted how Eric Swalwell drugged and raped her in 2018 and choked her to the point of unconsciousness in a West Hollywood hotel room.
“In 2018, while I was living and working as a model in Beverly Hills, and I also owned a fashion software company, I had contact with Eric Swalwell on three separate occasions,” the alleged sexual assault victim, Lonna Drews, said.
“I knew he was married at the time and that his wife was pregnant. He was my friend. On the third occasion, I believe he drugged my drink,” she said.
Lonna Drews said Swalwell drugged her drink and violently raped her.
“He raped me, and he choked me. And while he was choking me, I lost consciousness. And I thought I died. I did not consent to any sexual activity,” she said threw tears.
“I would never have engaged in a consensual sexual encounter with Eric Swalwell,” she said.
Swalwell is also under investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office after a former staffer came forward to CNN and said the California Democrat raped her in 2024.
The Swalwell staffer said she was sexually assaulted by Swalwell in 2019
The staffer also said Swalwell raped her years later in 2024 after she left his employment.
The unidentified former female staffer sat down with CNN and recounted some of the horrific details about the alleged rape that occurred in 2024.
“I went to the bathroom, and I don’t remember anything after that,” she said, adding that she “remembered the next day.”
“I can see flashes of that evening of him on top of me, me pushing him off, him grabbing me. It was a lot more aggressive. It was aggressive,” she said about the 2024 assault.
Tax refunds are up over 10 percent this year, on average, as tens of millions of Americans take advantage of the “No Tax on Tips” and “No Tax on Overtime” provisions, among others, in the “Big Beautiful Bill.”
“As of March 27, IRS filing season statistics show the agency had issued nearly 63 million refunds, with a cumulative total of $221.7 billion refunded. The cumulative refund amount was up 13.6% over 2025, while the average refund amount was up 11.1% over last year. On average, taxpayers are receiving $3,521 back this year,” Reuters reported.
The White House noted that Americans earning $15,000 to $80,000 per year are receiving a 15 percent tax cut on average.
More than 5.5 million Americans have claimed “No Tax on Tips” so far, with an average deduction of over $7,100, while over 25 million have claimed “No Tax on Overtime,” with an average deduction of over $3,000.
Raj Aman, who runs a bar attached to a golf course in New York, told the New York Post that “No Tax on Tips” has made it far easier to find employees.
“Three years ago, I couldn’t get any servers or bartenders,” Aman explained. “This year, we have people calling us that said, ‘Do you have a job opening?’ And we’ve already, for the start of the season of the golf course, we’ve already interviewed over 85 people from zero.”
“So basically, everybody wants their tips not being taxed,” Aman said. “They’re making a lot more money than they would ever imagine.”
Claire Kerrigan, a bartender at AJ’s Bar and Grill, called the tax cuts “great,” explaining that she did not have to worry about putting a certain amount of her tip income aside to cover taxes, but could spend it.
“I’m not going to be putting it aside, like, ‘Oh, I have to pay my property taxes with it,’ or, something like that. It’s really, truly a big help,” Kerrigan said.
Sergio Esposito, former president of the Yorktown Chamber of Commerce and current town councilman, told the New York Post, “There’s going to be more money out there. People are going to be out there. They’re going to be spending more. They might go out to dinner an extra time or two. They might go out and buy something that they ordinarily couldn’t afford.”
To highlight the benefit that the “No Tax on Tips” policy was having for taxpayers, Trump received a DoorDash delivery at the White House from driver Sharon Simmons.
She delivered McDonald’s to the president at the Oval Office. Simmons earned $11,000 in tips last year, all of which was tax-free, the White House said.
The White House just released more details on the DoorDash Grandma, who just delivered an order of McDONALD’S to President Trump in the Oval Office
Sharon Simmons from Arkansas:
– Is grandma of 10
– Started dashing in 2022
– Completed 14,000 DELIVERIES
– Has saved $11,000 in… pic.twitter.com/bmaK67SIGv
The IRS pointed out that the maximum deduction for “No Tax on Tips” is $25,000, and for “No Tax on Overtime,” the maximum amount is $12,500, or $25,000 for joint filers.
The deduction phases out for taxpayers with income over $150,000, or $300,000 for joint filers.
Other noteworthy deductions contained in the “Big Beautiful Bill” are “No Tax on Car Loan Interest” for American-made cars, up to $10,000 per year.
Also, the standard tax deduction increased by $6,000 — $12,000 for joint filers — for individuals 65 and over, meaning essentially “No Tax on Social Security” income. The deduction phases out for those earning over $75,000, or $150,000 for joint filers.
This is not a joke; California Democrats are trying to advance legislation that is being called the “Stop Nick Shirley Act” in an attempt to stop citizen journalists from exposing fraud.
Why would these California lawmakers be so scared of Nick Shirley and others like him?
In a move straight out of a totalitarian playbook, the California Assembly Judiciary Committee voted 11-2 on Monday to advance AB 2624, the so-called “Stop Nick Shirley Act,” a disgusting Democrat power grab designed to make it illegal for brave citizen journalists like Nick Shirley to expose the rampant fraud bleeding American taxpayers dry in immigrant service centers.
This is nothing less than an all-out assault on the First Amendment by the radical left in the People’s Republic of California.
The bill, authored by far-left Assemblywoman Mia Bonta (wife of Attorney General Rob Bonta), would slap investigative reporters with massive civil sanctions starting at $4,000 minimum if a fraudster from one of these “immigrant service centers” decides they don’t want to be caught on camera committing their scams.
The crook can then run to court for an injunction banning the journalist from filming or exposing them on camera for up to four years.
And if the journalist refuses to take down the original video? Triple the damages, $12,000, just for telling the truth!
In the worst cases, if the journalist is accused of “doxxing” or creating an “imminent threat” by simply reporting the facts, they could face criminal charges and $10,000 fines.
Not only is this an attack on the First Amendment, but it appears to be something of an admission.
Democrats appear to care more about protecting fraudster illegal aliens and criminals than they do about the First Amendment and the truth!
Citizen journalists, like Nick Shirley, have become one of the most effective ways to expose the truth, and Democrats simply can’t allow that.
That’s the question many Americans are now asking after longtime Obama strategist David Axelrod was spotted meeting with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican just days before the Chicago-born pontiff ramped up his criticism of President Donald Trump and U.S. policy.
David Axelrod, the chief strategist behind Barack Obama’s two presidential campaigns and a key player in the Obama White House, was spotted at the Vatican last week meeting with the newly installed “American” Pope Leo XIV, the first U.S.-born pontiff in history and a Chicago native with deep ties to the same political circles that produced Obama.
Pope Leo XIV on Thursday met with David Axelrod, a longtime Democratic strategist and former senior advisor to former President Barack Obama.
The meeting has many wondering if the pope might soon have a formal meeting with Obama himself.
Leo was born in Chicago and raised in south suburban Dolton. While Axelrod was born in New York, like Obama, he attended the University of Chicago, and after working as a reporter at the Chicago Tribune in the 1980s, he later helped Obama get elected president in 2008.
While the Vatican did not provide any details on Axelrod’s meeting with Leo on Thursday, six weeks ago, Obama made it clear he’d like to meet his hometown pope.
“Being president, or even being an ex-president, I can kind of meet everybody. So, I’ve met a lot of folks. The person who I have not yet met, and that I’m looking forward to meeting – and I hope I get an opportunity sometime in the future – is the new pope, who’s from Chicago, and a White Sox fan,” Obama said on Bryan Tyler Cohen’s podcast in February.
Then, almost immediately, Pope Leo XIV and a trio of cardinals began hammering President Trump and his America First policies in unusually aggressive terms.
Judicial Watch president Tom Fitton weighed in on X, blasting the optics of the appearance and the glaring double standard of three cardinals.
“America kills about 1,000,000 unborn human beings a year through abortion and yet three leading cardinals go on 60 Minutes to promote left-wing talking points on Trump, the illegal immigration invasion, etc.”
“The Catholic vote swung big for Trump in 2024… So the issue now, of course, is what can be done to bring the Catholics back to the Democrats. So you have an op coming on multiple fronts.”
Cernovich pointed to what he described as a contradiction in messaging from Church leadership:
“The Pope plays this game where he goes, well, of course a country can have a border… But then the bishops are on 60 Minutes going, these mass deportations are inhumane. Well, how can you have a border if you don’t have deportations?”
He continued, questioning the selectivity of moral outrage:
“Where’s the Pope’s moral authority when it comes to condemning official Democrat policies on abortion? You’re not seeing it. You’re seeing an op.”
Cernovich also criticized what he sees as a broader pattern of political alignment:
“Understand that we’re being attacked by false doctrine… You have to take the straight narrow path right in between that.”
On a recent segment on CNN, Hal Lambert, former director at Credit Suisse and manager at JP Morgan, laid it out crystal clear:
“100% political. Okay. This is all about trying to hurt President Trump’s Catholic vote during the midterms and Republicans during the midterms. If you look at what— play out the dots here. David Axelrod goes and visits Pope Leo last week… David Axelrod goes and visits Pope Leo last week. They’re talking about Obama going to visit Pope Leo. Pope Leo’s from Chicago. All of a sudden, now Pope Leo is out attacking Trump and the policies of the United States and Israel.”
Lambert continued:
“You have 3 cardinals come out today attacking the immigration policy. This is all about trying to get the Catholic vote against Trump… Axelrod is chief strategist for Obama. The pope is saying he’s not political? Why is he meeting with the chief strategist for both Obama’s campaign and in the White House?”
When challenged by a skeptical Abby Phillip, Lambert fired back without hesitation, pointing out the glaring double standard on foreign policy:
“Let me ask you this. Why Pope Leo been— when Iran killed 30,000-plus of their own citizens, he didn’t call out the Iranian regime at all. He said we need to stop violence. That was very milquetoast. That wasn’t calling out the Iranian regime. And yet he’s calling out the United States and Israel. Why is that?”
Exactly. Why the selective outrage?
WATCH:
HAL LAMBERT JUST CALLED IT OUT
“David Axelrod goes and visits Pope Leo…all of a sudden, now Pope Leo is out attacking Trump and the policies of the United States and Israel.”
“Axelrod is the chief strategist for Obama. The Pope was saying he’s not political. Why is he… pic.twitter.com/AQ4vwcoLty
Catholic voters handed Trump historic margins in 2024. The globalist left knows it. They also know that if they can peel away even a portion of that support by weaponizing the “American Pope,” they can flip key districts and slow down Trump’s America First agenda.
HAL LAMBERT JUST CALLED IT OUT