This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Joe Biden's radical abortion agenda has taken a huge hit from the news administration of President Donald Trump, who has restored the Hyde Amendment that disallows using tax dollars for elective abortions domestically, and the Mexico City Policy, that bars federal funding for international groups that abort the unborn.
Liberty Counsel chief Mat Staver, whose legal organization often has fought on behalf of the unborn, said, "Through these pro-life executive actions, President Trump is protecting the most vulnerable and returning the federal government to the side of pro-life. American taxpayer dollars should never be used to murder innocent life."
A fact sheet posted online by the White House explains, Trump's executive order is "to end the use of federal taxpayer dollars to fund or promote elective abortion.
It recognizes that, "for nearly five decades, Congress has enacted the Hyde Amendment and a series of additional laws to protect taxpayers from being forced to pay for abortion. Contrary to this longstanding commonsense policy, the previous administration embedded federal funding of elective abortion in a wide variety of government programs."
The White House announcement said Trump reversed two of Biden's orders that violated the Hyde Amendment, his "whole-of-government" scheme to promote abortion and politicize the FACE Act, and an order by Biden arbitrarily declaring that elective abortion is "healthcare."
The Mexico City Policy provides similar protections for American taxpayers from being forced to pay for abortion internationally.
Trump's actions previously also cut funding for the United Nations Population Fund, which advocates for coercive abortion and forced sterilizations, stopped federal fetal tissue research and provided protections for healthcare entities and individuals' conscience rights.
The Hyde Amendment, first enacted in 1976, is an annual legislative provision included in federal spending bills to prevent American taxpayer dollars from directly funding abortions except in the rare cases of rape, incest, or to save the mother's life, Liberty Counsel explained.
It cited a 2016 report from the Charlotte Lozier Institute that estimated the amendment had saved more than two million lives by its 40th anniversary.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Citing an inability to trust they would be able to implement President Donald Trump's agenda, acting Attorney General James McHenry has fired a long list of Department of Justice workers who participated in, and helped with, Jack Smith's schemes to prosecute Trump.
The official action announcing the dismissal of an unspecified number of DOJ hires said, "In light of their actions, the acting attorney general does not trust these officials to assist in faithfully implementing the president's agenda."
It was estimated that more than a dozen DOJ lawyers who worked on the schemes by Smith, then a special counsel, to charge Trump over his comments and opinions about the 2020 election and his possession of certain government documents after he left office, were dismissed.
Incidentally, the DOJ under Joe Biden found similar evidence against Biden regarding his own possession of government documents, but gave him a pass.
Just the News reported the firings came after the Trump administration reassigned at least 15 from the DOJ to lesser roles.
"Today, Acting Attorney General James McHenry terminated the employment of a number of DOJ officials who played a significant role in prosecuting President Trump," the department said in its official statement."
Smith quit his own assignment earlier in the month, before Trump took office and had a chance to fire him, as he had promised.
According to Fox News, McHenry sent each fired worker a letter notifying them of their termination.
A DOJ official told Fox the move is "consistent with the mission of ending the weaponization of government."
It was the classified records case that was dismissed in July 2024 by U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida Judge Aileen Cannon, based on her ruling Smith was appointed unlawfully.
The other case was dismissed after Trump was elected president.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Now President Donald Trump, whose agenda includes "Drill, baby, drill," approval for exploration and mining, new energy pipelines, and much more, has been described as "the greatest environmental hero" of this century.
It is Marc Morano, the chief of the Climate Depot website for energy and environmental news, who gave him the label.
"This man has powers and abilities far beyond mortal men — Donald Trump," he explained.
His comments came in an interview on Fox.
He explained, "Who would have thought that the Audubon Society, Greenpeace, and the Sierra Club — would be silent on whale mortality and bird mortalities? Donald Trump is turning out to be the greatest environmental hero of the 21st century. And I don't mean — about endangered species in terms of offshore wind and whales, but even for those worried about global warming.
"Trump's a climate champion because he's bringing in more fossil fuels from the Western world, where we have the highest environmental standards, the highest technological advances, and the cleanest way to make energy. We're relying less on China, the Middle East, Venezuela, and Russia. This is how it's done. The climate activists should be embracing Trump."
He wondered where are the "Volvo-driving, the 1970s save-the-whale liberals? The artist formerly known as the bad Orange man — Donald Trump is now their champion. It is amazing."
He cited the failings of the so-called green wind power, as well as solar.
Worldwide they're only 14% of electricity "despite trillions in subsidies."
"Donald Trump is just saying the emperor has no clothes when it comes to wind and solar."
President Donald Trump made numerous changes to the decor of the Oval Office for his new term in office, removing many of the art pieces placed there by Joe Biden during his tenure and bringing back some of the pieces that were displayed during his first term, along with new ones and family photos.
It's a process that all presidents undergo so that the office reflects past presidents and other figures they respect and admire, as well as some personal touches.
Trump kept the Resolute Desk, as has every president since 1880 other than Johnson, Nixon and Ford.
He also kept a bust of civil rights icon Martin Luther King, Jr. while swapping out John F. Kennedy Jr.'s bust for one called "The Bronco Buster," which also appeared during his first term.
He switched out a portrait of progressive hero Franklin D. Roosevelt for one of first President George Washington, while keeping one of Benjamin Franklin up to emphasize science.
Not surprisingly, all of Biden's family photos were replaced by Trump's, including photos of his three older children in formal evening wear and one of First Lady Melania Trump with their son Barron when he was a baby.
He also brought back the bust of Winston Churchill which had been controversial previously--there were claims that Barack Obama removed it out of animus to the UK, but he only relocated it to the nearby White House Treaty Room.
Trump gets to decide everything about how the room is decorated, even the curtains.
He brought back a collection of military flags for each branch as part of his decor from his first term. Biden had apparently gotten rid of them.
While presidents do use the Oval Office to work, it is also a public place often shown in photos.
Trump used the office to sign a large number of executive orders on Inauguration Day, his first day in office.
The orders and his Oval Office decor choices have something in common--the attempt to erase Biden and his influence.
It's a new era of conservatism led by Trump, a pendulum swing back to the right after swinging far to the left over the last four years.
It's a chance to right the obvious and not-so-obvious wrongs of the Biden administration, at least for the next four years.
President Donald Trump quickly rescinded an executive order by Joe Biden that Republicans said amounted to using government funding to register Democrat voters, and Republicans are now demanding documentation of actions taken under the order.
The outrage concerns executive order 14019, known as "Promoting Access to Voting," which ordered all federal agencies to submit plans to Biden's domestic policy advisor for how they planned to increase voter registration and participation. It was rescinded by Trump on day one of his administration.
The order also increased coordination with "approved, nonpartisan third-party organizations" in voter registration drives.
But Republicans argued that the approved groups were anything but nonpartisan.
Republican lawmakers want to know more about actions taken under 14019, and they are insisting that records be turned over.
"I’m glad to see President Trump is already taking steps to enhance our election integrity," Rep. Bryan Steil (R-WI) told the Washington Examiner. "As chairman of the Committee on House Administration, I sent letters to the executive branch agencies that were suspected of violating the law demanding the preservation of documents related to Executive Order 14019. We look forward to receiving those documents from the previous administration and are eager to begin working with President Trump on this critical issue."
If a president can get away with ordering federal agencies to register voters using third party organizations that align with their own party's policies, election integrity in America might as well be dead.
That's why lawmakers can't just let it go and move on. They have to make sure nothing like this is allowed to happen again--in either party.
Subpoenas have been issued, and if Steil and his committee can prove the administration violated the Hatch Act and other such laws, they can send a clear warning against any further orders like this.
The efforts to uncover wrongdoing have been going on since May 2024, and are just now starting to get somewhere.
President of the conservative Capital Research Center think tank in Washington, D.C. Scott Walter alleged that Democrats would be up in arms if the same kind of executive order were signed by Trump.
"Imagine if, say, the Heritage Foundation drafted an executive order for President Trump to boost voter turnout, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives worked with the National Rifle Association to carry it out while ignoring subpoenas from Democratic-run committees," Walter said. "The mainstream media and Democratic leaders would be properly outraged. Americans deserve accountability now from bureaucrats who ignored the law to boost partisan turnout."
"Joe Biden spent his entire term turning the federal government into a get-out-the-vote machine for the Left and hiding the evidence," said FGA Federal Affairs Director Stewart Whitson, formerly FBI, said.
"Our lawsuit is ongoing, and we're pursuing those records so the American people can see the full scope of the Biden administration's attempts to use the federal government to change the outcome of an election," Whitson said.
As President Donald Trump takes office and begins the work to rebuild America to the level of greatness it experienced under his first term in office, the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to tackle several big cases this term.
According to the Associated Press, the high court will soon weigh approval for the nation's first publicly funded religious private school, which would be constructed in Oklahoma.
The high court agreed to take the case after an "Oklahoma Supreme Court decision that invalidated a state board’s approval of an application by the Catholic Church in Oklahoma to open a charter school," the AP noted.
The fact that the Supreme Court agreed to take the case is good news for those in favor of the school, as it has signaled a willingness to accept such an initiative in recent years.
The case will likely not be heard and argued until this spring, probably in April, according to court watchers.
Interestingly, Justice Amy Coney Barrett is not taking part in the case, and chose not to reveal why at this time.
The AP noted:
Last June, Oklahoma’s top court held by a 7-1 vote that a taxpayer-funded religious charter school would violate the part of the First Amendment that prohibits government from making any law “respecting an establishment of religion.”
It added:
The decision followed a 3-2 vote in 2023 by the Statewide Virtual Charter School Board to approve an application by the archdiocese for the St. Isidore of Seville Virtual Charter School.
Online classes through the school were supposed to start last fall until several groups banded together to file a lawsuit that would ultimately stop the program in its tracks.
"Under Oklahoma law, a charter school is a public school," Justice James Winchester, a Republican-appointed judge, wrote in the Oklahoma Supreme Court’s majority opinion. "As such, a charter school must be nonsectarian."
He added, "However, St. Isidore will evangelize the Catholic school curriculum while sponsored by the state."
The Alliance Defending Freedom, the Christian legal advocacy group representing the state board, celebrated the U.S. Supreme Court agreeing to take the case.
"There’s great irony in state officials who claim to be in favor of religious liberty discriminating against St. Isidore because of its Catholic beliefs," the group's lead counsel wrote.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and other groups against the idea wrote, "The law is clear: Charter schools are public schools and must be secular and open to all students."
President Joe Biden and his administration worked overtime to dismantle President Donald Trump's border wall project that he launched during his first term in the White House, but that's all changing now.
Among the many promises kept to the American people within his first week of being back in office, Trump's Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced this week that border wall construction has resumed, according to Breitbart.
Gaps in the border wall in areas around Deming, New Mexico are already being patched thanks to Trump’s new border patrol chief, Michael Banks.
Banks made the announcement over the weekend and elicited mountains of praise from Trump's supporters and from Americans who are sick and tired of what's happening at the southern U.S. border.
In an X post over the weekend, Banks highlighted what's already taking place barely a week into the Trump administration.
"USBP actively strengthens border security by refining strategies to deliver effective impedance and denial capabilities, addressing illegal cross-border activity head-on. Efforts like installing wall panels to fill critical gaps in Deming, New Mexico, exemplify our commitment to enhancing infrastructure and operational effectiveness. Agents drive these solutions by leveraging advanced technology and their ingenuity to adapt to evolving challenges, ensuring a more secure and managed border," he wrote on X.
USBP actively strengthens border security by refining strategies to deliver effective impedance and denial capabilities, addressing illegal cross-border activity head-on. Efforts like installing wall panels to fill critical gaps in Deming, New Mexico, exemplify our commitment to… pic.twitter.com/kCQ4pZwawm
— Chief Michael W. Banks (@USBPChief) January 24, 2025
Trump has several other border wall-related initiatives set to kick off soon.
Breitbart noted:
The expanded concrete-and-steel wall will complement Trump’s many other border measures. Those changes include the deployment of more border guards and the rollout of legal changes that minimize loopholes in the border law.
Experts believe the measures will undoubtedly stem the flow -- perhaps significantly -- of illegal aliens crossing into the United States.
Many users across social media reacted to Banks' announcement.
"Awesome to see this happening again!!!" one X user wrote.
Another X user wrote, "Hopefully the technology will include AI monitoring on the border. So happy will be protected again!"
While stopping the flow of illegals entirely will be difficult under any circumstances, it's these types of measures taken that Americans want to see.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Seeing the need for some government programs isn't that difficult. A generation ago a national speed limit helped conserve fuel during a time of supply shortages. Inspection programs at restaurants keep food secure and Americans healthy.
But then there are others, like the "Diversity, Equity and Inclusion" ideology that exploded in size under the departed President Joe Biden.
That program essentially discriminated against people based on their race and gender, and was pushed by leftists who claimed that their various "under-represented" social groups had to have special treatment.
So it happened, prompting President Donald Trump to campaign against it, and give executive orders that it be discontinued once he was in office.
Now a U.S. senator has explained the simple logic behind Trump's plan, in a single sentence.
"I think the American people have spoken very clearly … that the best way to stop discriminating against people on the basis of race and gender … is to stop discriminating against people on the basis of race and gender."
Kennedy's comment came in response to a question about Trump's orders that government DEI ideology offices be closed and those employees be on leave.
Many on social media gave a thumbs up to Kennedy.
"Wow, the definition of equality in one sentence! Who would thunk it could of been done?" said one.
Said another, "I couldn't agree more."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
In the wake of President's Donald Trump's assertion that U.S. banks are debanking Americans with conservative political views, Congress is now investigating.
The matter was discussed on "Sunday Morning Futures" with Maria Bartiromo on the Fox News Channel, as she asked House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky.: "Are you investigating whether or not U.S. banks are debanking conservatives?"
"Yes, we are," Comer replied. "We've heard numerous instances of conservatives being debanked.
"And what we want to know is, is this a process of the banks' ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) policy? Is, or is this our government stepping in like what we found with Twitter and Facebook where the government stepped in and said they wanted certain conservatives deplatformed and censored and certain conservative content removed.
"We want to know, again, is this government involvement, another dirty trick by the Joe Biden administration, or this just bad liberal policy that discriminates against conservatives by the banks."
Bartiromo noted: "Wow. So you have evidence of some banks debanking conservatives."
"Yes," said Comer, "especially people that were involved in different energy-type businesses and things like that as well as very well-spoken or outspoken conservative activists. So there are numerous instances, enough to open an investigation.
"Again, is this ESG policy? Which is discriminatory and, ironically, the Democrats have passed all this banking legislation that prohibits discrimination. Is this discriminatory because of ESG, or is it the government, are the bank examiners, as President Trump hinted in his remarks you played earlier, are these bank examiners with a wink and a nod saying don't let this person bank at your bank?"
Bartiromo added: "Well, this is a very important question because with we know what happened with social media. One thousand people from government agencies were working with social media to censor Americans, censor conservatives, certainly. What will be the impact to these banks? What should these what should these banks expect in the coming month from your office?"
Comer responded: "Well, they're going to be asked a lot of questions, and I will say this for the banks, during the Biden influence-peddling investigation, the banks were the one entity that did cooperate with us. So I expect that the banks will cooperate with our questions. And, hopefully, we can get some answers.
"Number one, find out if our government was involved in this, if this is another side operation by the Biden administration where they were attacking conservatives. At the very least, we want to change this. We're not talking about debanking meaning they denied a loan. That happens every day in the banking world. This is just opening up saving accounts and checking accounts. I mean this is unheard of, to do this, and it's against the law. The laws, ironically, that the Democrats created against discrimination."
During a virtual appearance Thursday at the World Economic Forum, President Trump, who himself was debanked by two Florida-based financial institutions, called out Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan, saying: "I hope you start opening your bank to conservatives because many conservatives complain that the banks are not allowing them to do business within the bank, and that included a place called Bank of America."
In response to Trump's allegation, Bank of America issued a statement saying it "serves more than 70 million clients and we welcome conservatives. We would never close accounts for political reasons and don't have a political litmus test."
First Lady Melania Trump indicated in an October 2024 interview that she herself had been debanked due to her political beliefs. (WATCH Melania's interview with Maria Bartiromo:)
Less than one week into his second term in office, President Donald Trump is pulling no punches when it comes to his take on the current situation in wildfire-ravaged Los Angeles.
During a frequently contentious roundtable discussion on Friday night, Trump took L.A. Democrat Mayor Karen Bass to task over local government's management of the crisis and suggested that her inaction is causing unnecessary delays for residents eager to begin the process of rebuilding their lives, as the Daily Mail reports.
After touring the devastation of the Pacific Palisades area, Trump took part in a roundtable session with Bass, Rep. Brad Sherman, and other area officials, with a group of frustrated, displaced homeowners also in attendance.
It was not long before the event took a tense turn, as Newsweek reports, with Trump taking issue with Bass' characterization of the current level of access residents have to what remains of their homes.
The mayor referenced the ability of Angelenos to quickly begin the process of rebuilding, an assertion Trump countered by noting concerns he heard from “at least eight groups of homeowners” that delays of up to 18 months were likely before any such action could commence.
Though Bass attempted to negate Trump's claim and said that her city was moving “as fast as we can,” but that properties would need to be declared “safe” for residents to gain access, the president said, “But the people are willing to clear out their own debris. It doesn't cost a lot. You should let them do it, because by the time you hire contractors, it's gonna be two years.”
Trump continued, “You have emergency powers just like I do. I'm exercising my emergency powers. You have to exercise them also...I mean you have a very powerful emergency power, and you can do everything within 24 hours,” and though Bass insisted that residents could return to their homesites “within a week,” the president remained unsatisfied, saying, “That's a long time, a week.”
It was not only Bass who drew a very public rebuke from Trump on Friday night, but with Sherman also called to account for contributing to the conditions the president believes are exacerbating the current crisis, as RealClearPolitics explains.
As he called for enhanced federal assistance to those impacted by the fires, Sherman stated, “Mr. President, without your help, they're only going to get $43,000 from the federal government even if they have a half-million-dollar in insurance loss.”
Trump countered, “Well, you know, you did something, Brad, where every insurance company in the country left California. That's why you have no insurance, because you made it so impossible. People that think like you made it so impossible.”
Sherman snapped back, “I don't know. I don't know what you know about my thinking.”
The president held firm, saying, “I'll tell you this, I've never seen a state where almost nobody has insurance. And I said, 'what happened?' And they said, like, six months ago, they all left. And two years ago, they had different, you know, quadrants. But they left. And you have very little insurance here. I mean, I've never seen anything like it.”
Despite the fraught nature of the firehouse roundtable, Trump has committed to helping California in its recovery from the historically catastrophic recent events, pledging collaboration even with those who have been hostile toward him in the past.
Speaking alongside frequent foe Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) shortly after his arrival in California, Trump said, “We're looking to get something completed, and the way you get it completed is to work together. He's the governor of this state. And we're gonna get it completed, they're gonna need a lot of federal help.”