Vice President J.D. Vance dismissed an "absurd" accusation from Volodymyr Zelensky, as the Ukrainian leader returns to taking shots at the Trump administration's efforts to end the war in Ukraine.
Weeks after his infamous Oval Office spat with Vance and President Trump, Zelensky blasted the administration's diplomacy with Russia in a 60 Minutes interview.
Zelensky has repeatedly criticized the Trump administration's efforts to negotiate a cease-fire with Russia. Zelensky aired his grievances in a now-infamous Oval Office meeting where Trump and Vance criticized him for not showing gratitude for American support.
In his latest testy remarks, Zelensky accused Trump and Vance of dwelling in an "altered reality" invented by the Kremlin. Zelensky also claimed Vance is "justifying" Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
"'It seems to me that the Vice President is somehow justifying Putin's actions," Zelensky said.
The White House rejected Zelensky's latest rhetoric, which appears likely to further damage already strained ties between the U.S. and Ukraine.
"The Vice President has repeatedly said that this war was not justified to begin with and is the product of Joe Biden’s weakness and incompetence," Taylor Van Kirk, the press secretary to the vice president, told Daily Mail.
"Instead of mischaracterizing Vice President Vance's rhetoric," the spokesman added, "President Zelensky should be focused on bringing this conflict to a peaceful conclusion. His comments are counterproductive to the goal of achieving peace for his country."
Vance also issued a personal response to Zelensky's "absurd" charges in an interview Tuesday.
The vice president said it is not possible to end the war in Ukraine without an objective understanding of Russia's interests.
"I think it's sort of absurd for Zelensky to tell the [American] government, which is currently keeping his entire government and war effort together, that we are somehow on the side of the Russians," Vance added.
Meanwhile, Trump - who previously accused Zelensky of "gambling with World War III" during their Oval Office confrontation - said the Ukrainian leader has contributed to the death and destruction with his repeated efforts to escalate.
"When you start a war, you got to know you can win," Trump said Monday, ripping Zelensky for "always looking to purchase missiles."
"Millions of people dead because of three people," Trump said. "Let's say Putin number one, let's say Biden who had no idea what the hell he was doing, number two, and Zelensky."
The granddaughter of Hillary Clinton's "hero and mentor" was charged with a felony for destroying a university president's office over the Israel-Gaza war.
As reported by the Washington Free Beacon, Stanford University student Zoe Edelman was one of a dozen people charged over the violent break-in last June.
Once inside, the masked suspects barricaded themselves in and caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage, Santa Clara District Attorney Jeff Rosen.
Zoe Edelman is the granddaughter of Marian Wright Edelman, a liberal civil rights lawyer and founder of the Children's Defense Fund.
Hillary Clinton was a recent Yale Law School graduate when she worked for Edelman's organization in 1973. Clinton has often cited her work for the Children's Defense Fund throughout her career in politics to shore up her progressive bona fides.
Clinton has not always seen eye to eye with her "mentor." Their relationship was strained by President Bill Clinton's enactment of welfare reform, which led to public criticism from Edelman and her husband, Peter Edelman, resigning from the White House in protest.
Despite their past differences, Clinton and Edelman have patched up their relationship in recent years. Edelman's organization honored Clinton as a "voice for children" in 2013, and Clinton called Edelman a "hero and mentor" in 2020.
Zoe Edelman, a senior at Stanford, was pictured with Clinton at a 2022 gala in Washington D.C.
District Attorney Rosen said Edelman and 11 other students "broke windows and furniture, splashed fake blood, and disabled security cameras." They were charged with felony vandalism and felony conspiracy to trespass.
The suspects had a methodical plan to break into the building, hide their identities and conscript "lookouts" to avoid police detection. A search of their cell phones turned up detailed operations planning, which included an "occupation" guide justifying vandalism as a revolutionary act.
“Vandalism? Occupying a space removes the space from the capitalist landscape," the guide said. "A group may decide it is better to destroy or vandalize a space than to return it to its usual role in good condition. The role of vandalism may be different in each situation, but it should not be disowned outright.”
A student journalist who was embedded with the group but did not participate in violence was not charged.
"Dissent is American. Vandalism is criminal," said Rosen. "There is a bright line between making a point and committing a crime. These defendants crossed the line into criminality when they broke into those offices, barricaded themselves inside, and started a calculated plan of destruction."
The radicals involved in the Stanford vandalism were a mixture of undergraduate and graduate students, according to the school's newspaper.
The Justice Department filed federal charges against Jamison Wagner Monday following a pair of allegedly politically charged attacks, Breitbart reported. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the 40-year-old's arrest for a firebombing at a New Mexico Tesla dealership and the New Mexico Republican headquarters.
Bondi announced the arrest in a statement that followed her tough-on-crime philosophy "We have made an arrest in connection to the February firebombing of a New Mexico Tesla dealership and the March attack on the New Mexico Republican Party Headquarters," Bondi announced.
"We will be prosecuting to the fullest extent of the law. We are seeking up to 40 years in prison—no negotiating," Bondi continued.
She went on to thank the agencies who made it happen, including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Mexico, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. "More details to come," she promised.
Wagner is accused of firebombing a dealership that sells the vehicles made by Elon Musk's Tesla company. He also allegedly set fire to a doorway of the political headquarters, which caused interior smoke damage as well.
The Justice Department released a statement on the alleged crimes, stating Wagner was connected "to both incidents through surveillance footage and scene evidence." Bondi made it clear that these moves would not go unpunished.
"Let this be the final lesson to those taking part in this ongoing wave of political violence," Bondi is quoted in the statement. "We will arrest you, we will prosecute you, and we will not negotiate," she promised.
"Crimes have consequences," Bondi added. Federal agencies got involved on the basis that these attacks were domestic terrorism motivated by political bias.
Kash Patel, director of the FBI, credited his agency's "aggressive efforts to investigate and hold accountable those who have targeted Tesla facilities in various states across the country" for the arrest. "Thank you to our agents and support teams in Albuquerque who did an outstanding job executing the mission," Patel said before also thanking Bondi.
According to the New York Post, Wagner is identified as a "lipstick-wearing" man "listed as a member of LGBT group 500 Queer Scientists." The Breaking911 account on X, formerly Twitter, shared his photo and those of the alleged crimes.
"Jamison Wagner, 40, charged federally for arson attacks at Tesla, Republican Party of New Mexico headquarters. Wagner face 2 counts of malicious damage or destruction of property by fire or explosives," the post is captioned.
"If convicted, he faces between 5 & 20 years in prison for each count," the account added. The photo of Wagner indeed shows the man wearing a long hairstyle and dark purple lips.
JUST IN: Jamison Wagner, 40, charged federally for arson attacks at Tesla, Republican Party of New Mexico headquarters.
Wagner face 2 counts of malicious damage or destruction of property by fire or explosives. If convicted, he faces between 5 & 20 years in prison for each… pic.twitter.com/32SIgCd2j1
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) April 14, 2025
These kinds of attacks have happened more frequently since President Donald Trump took office. However, it seems the alleged perpetrators like Wagner will face justice now that the Justice Department and others are finally serious about crime.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Artificial intelligence is the new web, the new cell phone, the new email, the new laptop, and the new tech that is expected to impact lives in a major way, as all of those earlier advances did.
But it also offers a threat, especially to families, according to a submission from the Family Research Council to the government's ongoing comment period for rules regarding the advances and use of AI.
The comment included a description of an incident uncovered by an ethicist who tested an AI chatbot. The question was about a 13-year-old girl whose 31-year-old "boyfriend" had "invited her on a trip and was talking about having sex with her for the first time."
The chatbot, it was not identified which one was tested, ignored the clear potential for criminal pedophilia, statutory rape, kidnapping, or worse, the report explained.
Instead, the chatbot "offered suggestions on how to make her first time special," FRC noted in its comments.
"Children's brains are still developing, and their emotions tend to run high. The possibility of social isolation for children and teens is even more pronounced and can severely affect their lives for the worse. An AI-saturated world presents new challenges for parents who want to raise children capable of healthy relationships.
"When children interact with AI, they may internalize distorted messages about human relationships and how to treat people. Since chatbots are designed to be addictive, they will often tell children exactly what they want to hear. This can hinder children's ability to handle disagreements, think critically about media, and respect their parents. Relying on AI chatbots will not help children develop into well-rounded individuals or integrate into society effectively. No matter how well-packaged certain apps and chatbots are, AI will never replace real friends, mentors, teachers, and family," the FRC said.
A report from the FRC said the comment on AI rules noted that "chatbots" will have the power "to morph into dangerous technology."
"Family is the foundation of society. Throughout history, major technological advancements — such as industrialization and communications innovations like the cell phone — have significantly impacted how people meet, marry, start families, and raise children. The rise of AI presents opportunities and challenges on a scale we have never encountered before, and they can be difficult to predict," the FRC explained.
The FRC itself was targeted by a leftist a few years ago. A violent criminal charged into its Washington offices with weapons, shooting and injuring a security officer who eventually was able to subdue the attacker.
During the court proceedings, it was revealed the attacker, who picked out the FRC because it was listed, wrongly, on the "hate" map assembled to target Christians and conservatives by the often-sued Southern Poverty Law Center, wanted to kill as many FRC employees as possible that day.
The FRC explained, "In February, Vice President J.D. Vance noted the second Trump administration is drawing up a 'precautionary regulatory regime' to allow broader use of artificial intelligence while assuring it serves everyone's interests."
The council said, however, that for "all Americans to benefit from the technology," any action plan must "prioritize considerations for how AI will affect families and children."
The report said already the "Veterans Administration will now use AI to analyze veterans' health care needs; NASA will use AI to plot space exploration; and the Justice Department will use AI modeling to assess patterns of crime."
"America is an exceptional country, and we can do this the right way. We ought to be careful not to rush into AI development, as we do not fully understand its potential impacts," FRC suggested.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
America is facing an "epidemic" of transgenderism among children, with more than 300,000 kids ages 13-17 identified as transgender during 2022, up by 100% from the previous estimates.
And it's a "cause for alarm," according to a new report from American First Policy Institute.
"Transgender identification increases risks for exposure to dangerous and irreversible medical interventions like puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and sex-reassignment surgeries," the report warns.
"Transgender identification is the first step along a path culminating in medically unnecessary, dangerous, and life-altering medical interventions. The pain and suffering caused by these (often ghastly) procedures are especially tragic, given that the premise underlying this entire field of 'medicine' is so obviously in error. No person possesses a 'gender identity' contrary to that person's sex."
The report's conclusion notes that "The confusion that pushes vulnerable children toward these barbaric procedures is exacerbated by many of the nation's prominent institutions—its medical, education, and political establishments—embracing unscientific, gender ideology–informed policies, concepts, and jargon."
"The spread of gender ideology in K-12 schools is especially concerning. There is additionally good cause for believing online social media and pornography consumption contribute to gender confusion,' It explains the belief, promoted around the nation and the world at the highest levels when Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were in office.
Actually, following the science, a man cannot become a woman, nor a woman become a man, because being male or female is embedded into the human body down to the DNA level.
The report cites Komodo Health, which drew on private and public health insurance claims to confirm that gender dysphoria diagnoses, "a proxy for transgender identification," rose 178% among children 6-17 from 2017-2021. Further, cross-sex hormone prescriptions more than doubled, and breast implantations, or removals, increased by more than 18%.
"These trends are stark. At the same time, the true scope of the youth market for transgender medical procedures is almost certainly larger than the analysis by Komodo suggests. A recent analysis of the National Insurance Database uncovered 'evidence of 5,288 to 6,294 'gender-affirming' double mastectomies for girls under age 18 from 2017–2023. Annual counts for these procedures exceeded 1,000 in both 2021 and 2022—far more than the 238–282 identified by Komodo," the report noted.
It confirmed that from 2019 to 2023, there were 13,994 transgender medical interventions were performed on children, 5,747 "sex change" surgeries were performed on children, and 62,682 hormone and puberty blocker prescriptions written for 8,579 child patients.
And nearly $120 million "was made from performing transgender medical interventions on children.
The result?
"Serious and irreparable harm. The side effects of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones include impotence, sterility, and physical health complications ranging from stunted growth to cancer. Notwithstanding claims to the contrary by transgender activists, these changes are often permanent. Sex-reassignment surgeries are worse still. Amputating healthy body parts because confused children believe doing so will ease their anxiety is reckless and cruel."
And it's the fault of adults, as children are not legally permitted to consume alcohol, and are not "capable of making life-altering decisions."
It is the "school-to-clinic pipeline" in which men, "who dress as hyper-sexualized caricatures of women and recruit children to publicly participate in their fetishes. It is adults who implement policies allowing boys into girls' sports and intimate facilities and who mandate the use of so-called 'preferred pronouns'. It is adults, not children, who create the online social media platforms and pornographic content that fuels the transgender social contagion."
It doesn't become a person's "identity" simply because there is a mental health condition, the report charges.
"As recently as 2012, transgenderism (formerly 'transsexualism') was widely recognized as a mental/sexual health disorder. For example, in the fourth edition of its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-IV), the American Psychiatric Association (APA) defined 'gender identity disorder' (GID) as 'a persistent and strong cross-gender identification and a persistent unease with one's sex.'"
Needing to be recognized, too, is that transgender patients are nearly four times as likely to have been diagnosed with substance abuse disorders, more than four times as likely to have been diagnosed with a mental health disorder, more than five times as likely to have been diagnosed with a mood or anxiety disorder, and nearly 10 times as likely to have been diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Post-traumatic stress issues and personality disorders also are widely present in that community.
The problem was aggravated in 2013 when the medical community decided that it was the "stress" felt by gender-confused patients that was the disorder, not the gender confusion itself.
As of now, the report said, 27 states had passed legislation to protect children from harmful, irreversible, and unapproved transgender surgeries and medications: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
Massachusetts politics was rocked this week after state Democratic lawmaker was charged and arrested for fraud.
According to Fox News, Massachusetts state Rep. Christopher Flanagan, 37, now faces five counts of wire fraud and one count of falsification of records according to a bombshell press release from the Department of Justice.
Flanagan allegedly stole tens of thousands of dollars from a local trade association that he used to fund various personal expenses and political expenses.
He allegedly began stealing funds from the trade organization after experiencing difficult financial issues, according to the charges.
Flanagan's alleged illegal activities were committed through the Cape Cod-based Home Builders Association.
Fox News noted:
Flanagan served as the executive officer of the Home Builders Association in Cape Cod and received a salary and benefits ranging from $65,800 to $81,600 from 2019 to 2024, when he was working there. Flanagan also received $97,546 and $100,945 in 2023 and 2024, from his position as a legislator.
Flanagan reportedly began facing financial troubles in late 2021, which is when he allegedly stole 36,000 from the organization through a series of wire transfers.
Fox News added:
From Nov. 18, 2021 and Jan. 28, 2023, Flanagan wired anywhere from $1,500 and $10,000 on several separate occasions. The Justice Department said Flanagan used the funds to pay mortgage bills, pay down debt, and even used it to pay for personal psychic services.
Receipts show that Flanagan spent the money for personal and political reasons, including shopping trips to Best Buy and several other stores using the alleged stolen funds.
He was also accused of obstructing an investigation by the Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance "when he attributed the source of a campaign mailer to 'Jeanne Louise,' a false persona that he allegedly created," the outlet added.
Christopher Flanagan, a 37-year-old Democratic State Rep from Massachusetts representing Cape Cod, was arrested on April 11, 2025, on federal charges of fraud. He faces 5 counts of wire fraud & 1 count of falsifying records, each carrying a potential 20yr sentence. 1 out of 250👀 pic.twitter.com/iwWEhFLMoh
— Meisha Tele (@frnnkdlxx) April 11, 2025
Users across social media reacted to the news of Flanagan's arrest.
"Massachusetts politicians should be preemptively thrown in jail upon election and only released after heavy consideration," one X user wrote.
Another X user wrote, "Maybe in the future, report on a Mass Dem that’s not a corrupt scum bag."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Tim Walz, Minnesota's far-left governor, was part of the Democrats' losing 2024 presidential nominee team. He was the candidate for vice president alongside Kamala Harris' candidacy for the White House.
They failed, massively. They lost the Electoral College vote in a landslide. They lost the popular vote in a landslide. And they led their party to record-setting low approval ratings continuing even now.
But it's not Walz's extraordinary and extreme allegiance to the transgender ideology, his suspect military career maneuvers, his drunken driving arrest, or his stunningly abrasive ego that is getting attention.
The issue over which Americans, including Democrats, likely are saying "whew" that he was not elected, even to the vice presidency, is his financial profligacy.
A report in The Federalist explains he took a state with a $19 billion surplus and made it a state with a $6 billion deficit.
"It is not hyperbole to say that Minnesota's finances are in free fall. After boasting a record-setting $19 billion surplus in 2022 — larger than the full budgets of 20 U.S. states — the Minnesotans learned earlier this month that it faces a staggering $6 billion budget deficit," the report said.
"How did this happen? In 2023, Walz and his Democrat allies in the legislature embarked on the most reckless spending spree in Minnesota history, funneling billions into pet projects and giveaways for every left-wing constituency imaginable. The surplus wasn't used to shore up Minnesota's long-term financial stability or to return money to taxpayers. Instead, it was squandered in the most reckless fiscal step taken in Minnesota's modern history."
Further, since his "relationship with the truth has always been a distant one," he tried to blame his failings on the new Trump administration, only to be contradicted by state officials who confirmed the federal policy did not affect their budget projections.
The state, which once had one of the strongest economies, now is in the bottom 10.
"Job creation has stagnated, and businesses are increasingly looking elsewhere to expand or move. Meanwhile, Walz has increased tax burdens on individuals and businesses and made Minnesota one of the least competitive states for economic growth," the report confirmed.
The report noted Walz's financial finagling is far from his only failing.
The report noted the "over $250 million" that was "stolen" through fraud in state programs on his watch, the state education system that has "cratered" during his tenure, and more.
"From 2014 to 2023, reading proficiency dropped by 8.2 percentage points, and math proficiency fell by 14.2 percentage points, despite significant increases in education spending. Under Tim Walz, most Minnesota kids can't read or do math at grade level."
And finally, Walz's surge in violent crime.
"Minneapolis saw 79 homicides last year, up nearly 160 percent since 2019 — while far-left prosecutors like Soros-backed Mary Moriarty let criminals walk and attack police," the report said.
Walz admitted recently in an interview that 10% of the time, "I can be a train wreck."
"Tim Walz has been a train wreck and not just 10 percent of the time. And although Americans were given a glimpse of his record in Minnesota in 2024, that record grows more troubling as the consequences of his policies have played out. All of America should know that Minnesota was once the 'State that Worked.' Under Tim Walz, that's as gone, just like its absentee governor."
Since his failed campaign with Harris, he's routinely the butt of online joking.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
The United States, with its First Amendment protections for religion and speech, probably protects prayer by citizens more than anywhere else in the world, even though there are some organizations in America that regularly complain prayers should not be protected speech, and it should be regulated or even banned.
Those demands for censorship often claim that counseling, including prayers, regarding a person's issues with the LGBT agenda, including their unwanted same-sex attractions, should be banned, and they have worked toward that censorship goal. Actually, some jurisdictions have adopted such limits through laws that now are under challenge.
Actually, according to the American Center for Law and Justice, American leaders from the White House down periodically have called for voluntary prayer in times of tragedy, disaster and more.
"Those who signed the Declaration of Independence believed that God hears and answers prayer, as they 'appeal[ed] to the Supreme Judge of the World for the Rectitude of [their] intentions,'" the organization confirmed. "The First Amendment protects the right to pray in public."
Court cases have affirmed a public school coach's right to pray privately on the football field after a game, the right to pray before legislative meetings, and much more.
However, one of America's allies, Australia, has turned the other direction, threatening citizens with five years in jail if they pray at the wrong time and about the wrong subject.
A report at the Washington Stand explains, "The government of the Australian state of New South Wales explains the newly enacted Conversion Practices Ban Act 2024 allows 'prayer' or expression of any 'religious belief' only if it is not 'directed to changing or suppressing an individual's sexual orientation or gender identity.'"
The government presumes the ability to determine when speech is "attempting to change someone's LGBTQIA2S+ status."
The law actually revolves around mind control, as it warns that "praying with or over a person with the intent to change or suppress their sexuality or gender identity is unlawful. It is unlawful even if that person has asked you to pray for them to be able to change or suppress their sexuality or gender identity," according to a state report in Australia.
There, even Christian pastors must mind their words, as they have permission to make "statements of belief or principle about gender, sexuality, marriage, celibacy or homosexuality in documentation or on a website."
But those are allowed only if "the statement is not targeted at an individual to change or suppress their sexual orientation or gender identity."
Arielle Del Turco, of the Center for Religious Liberty at Family Research Council, told the Stand, "This is a terrible new law in this Australian state, and they aren't even trying to hide it. According to the state government's own admission from their website, this law will prevent a pastor or any believer from praying with someone who is asking for prayer for freedom from gender identity issues."
Promoters of the law claimed it is to help children, since they should not be told "something is wrong with them and that they need to be fixed."
But it actually is a "radical apostasy law – criminalizing conversion one way while promoting it the other," Christian website writer Kurt Mahlburg, said.
The ideological agenda is being pursued in Australia just as U.S. Vice President JD Vance has warned of the West's decision to back away from conscience rights.
He cited threats by the Scottish government to residents whose prayers, in private places, "can be seen or heard" near abortion business outlets.
Del Turco also documented how eight British Christians were arrested for praying outside abortion businesses.
In the U.K., the Christian Institute multiple times has battled such censorship agendas.
The Stand reported, "A total of 22 U.S. states make it illegal to practice reparative therapy: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah, Virginia, Vermont, and Washington. So does the District of Columbia. But thanks to the First Amendment, none do — or can — presume to regulate the content of people's prayers."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
President Donald Trump has ordered all security clearance authorizations removed from the "Anonymous" secrets leaker who boasted during his first term that he was a Deep Stater in the government actively working to undermine a duly election president.
The leaker, who identified himself as Miles Taylor, also is being put under investigation.
Taylor was employed in the government during Trump's first term in the Department of Homeland Security. He wrote, anonymously, in the leftist New York Times, that he was "part of the resistance" fighting Trump's agenda from inside the government.
He later released a book under the same moniker, and ultimately confirmed he was "Anonymous" when he broke cover and admitted he was working to oppose Trump's re-election.
In an executive order, Trump now has ordered the Department of Justice to investigate Taylor.
Trump warned, "Miles Taylor was entrusted with the solemn responsibility of federal service, but instead prioritized his own ambition, personal notoriety, and monetary gain over fidelity to his constitutional oath. While serving as an administrative staff assistant at the Department of Homeland Security, Taylor stoked dissension by manufacturing sensationalist reports on the existence of a supposed 'resistance' within the federal government that 'vowed' to undermine and render ineffective a sitting president."
The order continued, "He illegally published classified conversations to sell his book under the pseudonym 'Anonymous,' which is full of falsehoods and fabricated stories. In so doing, Taylor abandoned his sacred oath and commitment to public service by disclosing sensitive information obtained through unauthorized methods and betrayed the confidence of those with whom he served."
The results cannot be allowed, Trump wrote.
"Where a government employee improperly discloses sensitive information for the purposes of personal enrichment and undermining our foreign policy, national security, and government effectiveness –- all ultimately designed to sow chaos and distrust in government — this conduct could properly be characterized as treasonous and as possibly violating the Espionage Act, and therefore makes such employee ineligible for access to national secrets."
It now is, he wrote, "against America's interests to allow those associated with Taylor to access our nation's secrets."
So the order directs Attorney General Pam Bondi and the director of national intelligence, "and all other relevant executive department and agency (agency) heads to immediately take all action as necessary and consistent with existing law to suspend any active security clearances held by Miles Taylor, in addition to individuals at entities associated with Taylor, including the University of Pennsylvania, pending a review of whether such clearances are consistent with the national interest."
Further investigated will be his conduct where it was "contrary" to standards for federal workers as well as where he was "involved the unauthorized dissemination of classified information."
Chief Justice John Roberts ruled Wednesday that President Donald Trump could remove Democratic appointees from two federal agencies, Newsmax reported. The high court will have to decide whether Trump has the power to unilaterally dismiss them.
A lower court had already decided that Trump could not dismiss Merit Systems Protection Board member Cathy Harris and National Labor Relations Board member Gwynne Wilcox. The pair have been fired and reinstated several times over based on court rulings about Trump's ability to make these moves.
This latest stay from Roberts will allow the president's dismissal to stand until the matter has been litigated. However, that fact does not indicate whether the Supreme Court will side with Trump.
🚨 JUST IN: CHIEF JUSTICE JOHN ROBERTS allows Trump to fire these two federal agency heads after a court reinstated them.
Cathy A. Harris of the Merit Systems Protection Board, and Gwynne Wilcox of the National Labor Relations Board. pic.twitter.com/YOOg0cCLIZ
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) April 9, 2025
According to Fox News, Trump dismissed Democrat holdovers Harris and Wilcox, but their jobs were protected under federal law that says they must not be dismissed without cause. On Monday, a 7-4 decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit reinstated them.
The justices said the precedent set in the Supreme Court's 1935 Humphrey’s Executor and Wiener v. United States decision supported the ruling. As officials serving on "multimember adjudicatory boards," their positions were secure even against the president's wishes.
"The Supreme Court has repeatedly told the courts of appeals to follow extant Supreme Court precedent unless and until that Court itself changes it or overturns it," the justices asserted in their opinion. Trump has been stopped several times on other issues by what he calls "activist judges."
The justices overseeing the separate cases were loathe to give such power to the president to dismiss Harris and Wilcox. The judge in Harris' case, U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras, warned that to allow the president to "displace independent agency heads from their positions for the length of litigation such as this, those officials’ independence would shatter."
U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell, who oversaw the Wilcox case, similarly warned against granting the president the ability to wield such control. "A President who touts an image of himself as a ‘king’ or a ‘dictator,’ perhaps as his vision of effective leadership, fundamentally misapprehends the role under Article II of the U.S. Constitution," Howell wrote in her opinion.
The lower courts feel that the precedent is airtight. However, acting Solicitor General Sarah Harris of the Justice Department sent a letter to Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), who is a ranking minority member on the Senate Judiciary Committee, to rethink this standard.
Harris contended "that certain for-cause removal provisions" are unconstitutional when applied to all agency members, including those represented by the plaintiffs. She stressed that the Department of Justice would "no longer defend their constitutionality."
Harris said the Humphrey's Executor decision "prevents the President from adequately supervising principal officers in the Executive Branch who execute the laws on the President's behalf, and which has already been severely eroded by recent Supreme Court decisions." Durbin disagreed with this assessment, but many conservative legal scholars believe in the power of the executive branch through Myers.
Trump has been going to battle with judges who have attempted to stop his agenda. However, the president's power over personnel decisions shouldn't be challenged even if he's politically at odds with the judges making the decision.