Contributing Writers

Iowa Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a bill on Friday that removes protections for transgender people in the state’s civil rights code. While not every state has protections for transgender people, Iowa Democrats added them to the civil rights code in 2007. Iowa is the first state to remove gender identity protection from its state civil rights code.

Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Cali., is demanding that Elon Musk and Acting Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Charles Ezell stop sending mass emails to staffers. In an open letter published Thursday, Padilla said several legislative branch offices and agencies have received mass emails from hr@opm.gov despite not being subject to personnel actions by the executive branch.

Things got awkward when Vice President JD Vance remarked on his previous comments on Britain’s free speech environment, just feet away from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer during an Oval Office meeting.Vance doubled down on his comments at the Munich Security Conference earlier this month when he said he feared that free speech was “in retreat” in Europe.

A judge in California blocked the Trump administration on Thursday from ordering departments and agencies to begin dismissing recently hired probationary federal workers, saying the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) lacks the power to fire employees.The move came during a court hearing over a lawsuit from labor unions and other groups challenging OPM’s mass terminations.

President Donald Trump was asked several times on Thursday about comments he made last week, when he called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a “dictator,” though he oftentimes either ignored the question or could not remember making the statement.Trump met with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the White House on Thursday, when the two leaders addressed peace talks between Ukraine and Russia.

Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Sean Duffy announced Thursday his plan to “supercharge” the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)’s air traffic controllers after numerous fatal plane crashes over the last two months.The FAA will be “streamlining” its eight-step hiring process into a five-step process, with hopes it will accelerate the time to hire for “critical positions,” according to Duffy, who shared the announcement in a post on X.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Roberts on Wednesday paused a federal judge’s order that required the Trump administration to pay around $2 billion in foreign aid funds to contractors by midnight. The ruling comes after the Trump administration asked the Supreme Court for an emergency order to block the release of U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) funding, which the federal judge had required by midnight.

Attorney General Pam Bondi made an explosive revelation on Wednesday when she told Jesse Watters on “Jesse Watters Primetime” that some information about Jeffrey Epstein would be released by the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Thursday.She told Watters there are over 250 alleged victims, and her office needs to ensure all of their identities are protected.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday requiring government payments and travel expenses to be justified and made public where possible.The requirement is part of Trump’s executive order to implement the cost efficiency initiative for the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).Using modern technology, the order aims to transform spending by putting all federal grants and contracts through rigorous standards to justify their existence.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) issued a letter ordering New York City’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) to eliminate its controversial congestion pricing tolls by mid-March.The letter, dated and signed by Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Executive Director Gloria Shepherd on Feb.

Democrats in the Senate failed to pass a resolution that would have reversed President Donald Trump’s executive order on “Unleashing American Energy” in a 53-47 party-line vote.The White House argued that scrapping the emergency would endanger nearly 900,000 jobs and have a negative $3.6 trillion impact. The order encourages domestic energy production on federal lands and nixed a Biden-era push to strive for more electric vehicles on the road.

Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin appears to be following through with a promise to help federal workers find new employment after their jobs were cut by the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. The Republican governor has announced a new website to assist them find employment in the Virginia government on virginiahasjobs.com. “We care about you,” Youngkin said at the Capital One Center in McLean.

Dolton, Illinois, mayor Tiffany Henyard, a Democrat, is projected to lose in a landslide in the village’s mayoral primary held on Tuesday amid various scandals and allegations of corruption.The embattled mayor predicted earlier on Tuesday that she would win in a landslide, according to Fox 32, but challenger Jason House overwhelmingly defeated Henyard in convincing fashion, securing 3,896 votes to Henyard’s 536.

The Georgia state Senate passed a bill on Monday that they are referring to as “DOGE lite.”Senate Bill 28, Red Tape Rollback Act of 2025, has the goal of reducing costs and increasing accountability for state agencies by having them review and update rules and regulations every four years.During the vote, Democrats were against the measure, accusing Republicans of trying to bring DOGE to Georgia.

DOGE leader Elon Musk suggested the United States has a “TYRANNY of the JUDICIARY” following a series of court rulings that have paused or blocked some of President Donald Trump’s executive orders, while also saying corrupt judges should be impeached and removed. In a post on X, Musk lamented judicial rulings that have blocked some of the Trump executive orders, many that have included slashing wasteful government spending and deporting illegal immigrants.

Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., announced plans to run for Florida governor next year during an interview on Fox News’ “Hannity” Tuesday night.The next Florida gubernatorial election is slated for Nov. 3, 2026. Speaking to host Sean Hannity, Donalds said he came to the decision to run “after a lot of prayer [and] a lot of thoughts with my family and my friends.””Sean, we have a wonderful state,” Donalds said.

President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk on Monday separately endorsed entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy in Ohio’s gubernatorial race.Ramaswamy, who ran against Trump in the 2024 GOP presidential primary, announced his candidacy earlier on Monday to replace term-limited Republican Gov. Mike DeWine in the 2026 election.Trump announced his endorsement in a post to his social media platform Truth Social.”VIVEK RAMASWAMY is running for Governor of the Great State of Ohio.

President Donald Trump turned his attention to the Keystone XL Pipeline on Monday evening, calling for the company building it to “come back to America, and get it built — NOW!”Trump said he was “just thinking” about how construction on the pipeline was “viciously jettisoned by the incompetent Biden Administration,” and promised things are different now under his leadership.

Billionaire Elon Musk, who’s slashing wasteful government spending with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), said federal workers who fail to respond to his productivity email may be given another chance, but warned if they fail to respond a second time, they’ll be terminated.

New FBI Director Kash Patel was also sworn in Monday as the acting head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), as he takes the helm of two separate Justice Department agencies.”ATF welcomes Acting Director Kash Patel to ATF, who was sworn in and had his first visit to ATF Headquarters in Washington, D.C. today. We are enthusiastic to work together for a safer America!” the agency posted Monday on X.

The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) warned employees that if they choose to reply to Elon Musk’s directive to submit a list of five accomplishments for the past week, they should assume it will be read by “malign foreign actors.

A member of the Boston City Council called out Border Czar Tom Homan in a post on social media, calling his promises to enforce President Donald Trump’s border policy “laughable.”Councilwoman Sharon Durkan posted her response on X after Homan said he would “bring hell” to Beantown after Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox recently doubled down on the city’s sanctuary policies.

President Donald Trump announced that Dan Bongino will serve as the next deputy director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).”Great news for Law Enforcement and American Justice,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social on Sunday night. “Dan Bongino, a man of incredible love and passion for our Country, has just been named the next DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF THE FBI, by the man who will be the best ever Director, Kash Patel.

The Trump administration is eliminating over a thousand positions at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), while also placing the majority of the remaining staff members on administration leave globally, just before midnight Sunday.The Associated Press reported that it learned from the Trump administration that 1,600 posts would be eliminated after reviewing notices that were sent to USAID workers.”As of 11:59 p.m.

On Feb. 23, 1945, six Marines teamed up for what would become one of the most iconic photos in American history.Marines fighting on Iwo Jima scaled Mount Suribachi and worked together to push up an American flag, a moment that was captured by military photographers and later became an enduring symbol of the Allied victory over Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan in World War II.Marines initially invaded Iwo Jima on Feb. 19, 1945, as part of the U.S.

President Donald Trump celebrated on Sunday after German conservative opposition leader Friedrich Merz claimed victory in a national election, ousting Social Democrat incumbent Chancellor Olaf Scholz.”LOOKS LIKE THE CONSERVATIVE PARTY IN GERMANY HAS WON THE VERY BIG AND HIGHLY ANTICIPATED ELECTION,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.