President Donald Trump has removed Secret Service protection from Hunter Biden, Breitbart reported. This comes as the son of former President Joe Biden has been vacationing in South Africa as Trump spars with its leaders over treatment of its citizens.
Trump also revoked the Secret Service protection from the former president’s adult daughter, Ashley Biden. Protecting the adult children of the president isn’t part of the stated mission of the agency.
The Secret Service website says it protects “the president, the vice president, (or other individuals next in order of succession to the Office of the President), the president-elect and vice president-elect.” Minor children under 16 are included in that description as well.
Beyond that, visiting dignitaries are also given protection. The Secret Service says it’s charged with guarding “heads of foreign states or governments and their spouses traveling with them” plus “other distinguished foreign visitors.”
Trump explained the move on his Truth Social platform on Monday. “Hunter Biden has had Secret Service protection for an extended period of time, all paid for by the United States Taxpayer,” the president wrote.
”There are as many as 18 people on this Detail, which is ridiculous! He is currently vacationing in, of all places, South Africa, where the Human Rights of people has been strenuously questioned,” Trump added.
“Because of this, South Africa has been taken off our list of Countries receiving Economic and Financial Assistance. Please be advised that, effective immediately, Hunter Biden will no longer receive Secret Service protection,” Trump continued.
“Likewise, Ashley Biden, who has 13 agents, will be taken off the list,” the president added. Although he fathered four children, Joe Biden’s son, Beau Biden, and daughter, Naomi Biden, are both deceased.
Whether it figured into his decision or not, it’s noteworthy that the news came as Hunter Biden traveled to South Africa. As Fox News reported, the 55-year-old is vacationing in a nation that Trump has taken on over the treatment of its citizens.
South Africa has laws that allow it to arbitrarily seize land from citizens without compensation or recourse. Trump has also accused the nation of being anti-White.
Moreover, South Africa supports Iran and sided with Hamas in the Palestinian terror group’s war with Israel. This led to Trump’s accusations in the post about Hunter Biden’s visit.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed a similar viewpoint last week, stating the South African ambassador “is no longer welcome" in the U.S. The nation’s top diplomat, Ebrahim Rasool, similarly accused Trump of a “supremacist instinct” in another provocation.
Hunter Biden should not visit nations that are hostile to any group of citizens. He also shouldn’t be relying on the government to provide for his protection indefinitely, especially while visiting places hostile to the U.S. point of view.
Vice President JD Vance announced Friday during an appearance in Michigan that businesses and corporations that "invest in America" will be rewarded with tax cuts, deregulation and lower energy costs.
During the appearance at Vantage Plastics, a plastic manufacturing plant in Bay City, Vance said the Trump administration’s “goal is to make it easier and more affordable to make things again” in the U.S.
“President Trump has been clear about his plan, about our administration’s plan — our goal is to make it easier and more affordable to make things again in the United States of America,” Vance said. “If you invest in America, in American jobs, in American workers and in American businesses, you’re going to be rewarded. We’re going to cut your taxes, we’re going to slash regulations, and we’re going to reduce the cost of energy and build things right here in this country that all of us love.”
On the other hand, Vance warned, if companies choose to go outside the U.S., they will not get anything from the administration.
President Trump's plan for America is simple:
If you invest in America, we are going to cut your taxes, slash regulations, and reduce the cost of energy so you can build right here in your own country. pic.twitter.com/N1tqYa07qQ
— Vice President JD Vance (@VP) March 14, 2025
Vance said the message was "simple" but powerful.
“But, if you try to undercut us and build outside of our borders, President Trump’s administration has got nothing for you,” Vance said. “If you want to be rewarded, build in America. If you want to be penalized, build outside of America. It’s as simple as that.”
Vance also said that the Trump administration had already planned to invest almost $2 trillion into American businesses, according to Spectrum News NY1.
Previously, GE Aerospace announced a nearly $1 billion investment in American manufacturing.
Pharmaceutical companies like Eli Lilly said they would invest $27 billion to "boost domestic drug production."
Vance did criticized the previous Biden administration for inflation and other economic woes.
“The last administration left us with a terrible economy,” Vance said. “They left us with sky-high prices. They left us with home values that had doubled in just four short years, meaning a lot of American families couldn’t afford to buy or to rent a home. They left us with a historic debt crisis. Did you know, in the history of the United States of America, we have never had deficits and debt so high as we had under Joe Biden’s leadership?"
Trump may be trying to cut the federal budget and address its more than $36 trillion in debt now, but Vance ignores the deficit spending Trump did in his first term with these comments.
We'll see if the new administration can turn things around, or if they will be all talk and little action once again.
A rash of severe weather took hold across a large portion of the eastern United States over the weekend, leaving a wide swath of death and destruction in its wake.
According to ABC News, the unusually strong storm system, which included more than 50 powerful tornadoes, has left at least 36 dead in seven states and caused untold damage in several others.
The true extent of the destruction wrought by the expansive weather pattern was just becoming evident with the arrival of daylight, with the death toll continuing to rise and the property damage bringing a sense of shock to those in the path of the storms.
Missouri has thus far reported the largest number of any of the impacted states, with 12 deaths on record as of Sunday morning.
Kansas was said to have suffered eight deaths, Mississippi saw six fatalities, four died in Texas, three in Arkansas, and one person was said to have lost their life in Oklahoma, according to ABC News, with multiple individuals still missing in affected areas.
Adding to the weather-induced chaos were multiple wildfires sparked in Oklahoma due to strong wind gusts which continued to fan the flames, according to AccuWeather.com.
Kansas as well as west and central Texas also saw the emergence of a far-reaching dust storm that resulted in poor visibility on the roadways and compromised air quality, and flight cancellations stemming from the weather conditions only contributed to the upheaval.
Unfortunately, the severe weather dangers were not isolated to Friday and Saturday, as Sunday was also expected to bring with it the need for increased vigilance.
As AccuWeather.com reported separately, the very same storm system was poised to bring further danger to the East Coast on Sunday, encompassing roughly 10 states.
Travel disruptions, power outages, downed trees, flash flooding, and risk to life and property were all expected to present themselves again as the weekend wound its way to conclusion.
“Strong wind gusts, hail and torrential downpours will be the greatest threats from the storms on Sunday as they progress from the I-81 and I-85 corridors to I-95; however, isolated tornadoes can still develop within the strongest storms,” AccuWeather meteorologists explained.
Fortunately, the outlet noted that the severe weather threat was poised to end late Sunday to early Monday when a cold front was expected to push off the Atlantic Coast.
Though the wave of death and destruction seen in recent days was certainly tragic, the storm event did not reach the historic proportions some feared it might, as Axios noted, but that is not to say that the reasons behind it will not be studied in great detail for some time to come.
Though some meteorologists continue to argue that climate change has contributed the severity of storm systems such as the one that took hold of the eastern U.S. in recent days, others have cast doubt on that theory, virtually ensuring that the debate among scientists in a range of disciplines will continue well into the future.
Golf legend Tiger Woods, 49, is allegedly dating Vanessa Trump, 47, ex-wife of Donald Trump Jr., the Daily Caller reported. If the two get married, it would be the second wedding for both of them.
The pair have much in common. Woods is a longtime supporter of President Donald Trump, Vanessa Trump's former father-in-law. Vanessa Trump has a 17-year-old daughter, Kai, who is gifted at golf and looking forward to a future in the sport.
Woods has a 16-year-old son, Charlie, with the same aspirations. Kai and Charlie are also students at The Benjamin School in Florida. The UK Daily Mail was the first to report their romance.
Tiger Woods and Vanessa Trump are secretly dating https://t.co/mds02qGOSh pic.twitter.com/OW3nCcz9vt
— Daily Mail US (@DailyMail) March 13, 2025
Although the pair have not made their relationship public, there are many signs that they are together. Four sources who claim to be close to the matter confirmed their union and said that all five of Vanessa Trump's children, plus the rest of the Trump family, are aware.
“She comes to his place on Jupiter Island. They’re not living together," a source said. The Daily Mail noted that the two live about twenty minutes from each other in the Palm Beach, Florida, area.
"She comes over maybe a few nights a week," the source said. "They just love hanging out, having dinner, and schmoozing together," the person added.
"They’re sticking close to home, have decided not to make it a thing and go out in public. Not just yet, anyway," the source said.
It's possible the couple hasn't made public appearances because Woods is still recovering from a torn Achilles tendon. Notably, Vanessa Trump took her daughter to watch a round of TGL golf, a league Woods co-created with Rory McIlroy.
Vanessa Trump's 2018 split from Donald Trump, Jr. was an uncontested divorce and hasn't caused any public stir. While her ex-husband has had some high-profile relationships, Vanessa Trump hasn't been linked publicly to anyone since then.
By contrast, Woods had a very public and tumultuous breakup with ex-wife Elin Woods in 2009 after she found out that he was unfaithful to her, Fox News reported. An incident outside their Orlando home made headlines at the time.
Tiger Woods reportedly backed into a fire hydrant while coming out of his home in a gated community. Elin Woods confessed that she "broke the back window with a golf club," Windermere, Fla., Police Chief Daniel Saylor said.
"She supposedly got him out and laid him on the ground. He was in and out of consciousness when my guys got there," Saylor told the press then.
Tiger Woods and Vanessa Trump are public figures, but they still have a right to their privacy. If their relationship progresses, there will no doubt be public announcements and features written about them.
Dr. Marty Makary is one step closer to becoming the head of the Food and Drug Administration after Republicans and even some Democrats on the Senate committee voted 14-9 in his favor Thursday, Fox News reported. Makary's nomination will move to the Senate for a confirmation vote.
President Donald Trump picked Makary to collaborate with Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and National Institute of Health Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya on his Make America Healthy Again initiative. Makary is seen as a solid choice.
Trump said Makary will join Kennedy to "properly evaluate harmful chemicals poisoning our Nation’s food supply and drugs and biologics being given to our Nation’s youth, so that we can finally address the Childhood Chronic Disease Epidemic." The 54-year-old is a pancreatic surgeon and Johns Hopkins School of Medicine professor.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Makary was one of the voices championing natural immunity while the vaccine push was well underway. In 2021, Makary wrote an op-ed calling for "fresh leadership at the FDA to change the culture at the agency and promote scientific advancement, not hinder it."
Thursday's vote came after the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions hearing last week. Makary made the case for himself and the MAHA agenda.
"We now have a generational opportunity in American healthcare. President Trump and Secretary Kennedy's focus on healthy foods has galvanized a grassroots movement in America. Childhood obesity is not a willpower problem, and the rise of early-onset Alzheimer's is not a genetic cause," Makary said at last week's hearing.
"We should be, and we will, be addressing food as it impacts our health. Thanks to the courage of President Trump and Secretary Kennedy, we now have a generational opportunity to usher in radical transparency to facilitate more cures, meaningful treatments, and diagnostics at the FDA to help people take care of their own health," Makary added.
His responses hit all the right notes for supporters, as evidenced by a video shared to X, formerly Twitter, after the hearing. Some of those statements included the fact that the U.S. is "drugging our nation's children at scale" while Americans "eat foods with a lot of molecules that do not appear in nature."
This is the most important video on 𝕏 today.
“We are drugging our nation's children at scale.”
“Half of our nation's children are sick.”
“We eat foods with a lot of molecules that do not appear in nature.”
FDA nominee Dr. Marty Makary pledged to get America off of the path… pic.twitter.com/cxzAZHZfm5
— Holden Culotta (@Holden_Culotta) March 6, 2025
Although Makary's answers delighted conservatives and two Democratic defectors that voted for him, leftists pushed back on Makary about hot-button issues, including his stance on abortion. They pressed the pro-life Makary about whether he would outlaw the chemical abortion treatment of Mifepristone.
Despite his views, Makary promised a scientific examination of it. "I have no preconceived plans on Mifepristone policy except to take a solid, hard look at the data and to meet with the professional career scientists who have reviewed the data at the FDA, and to build an expert coalition to review the ongoing data," he told the committee.
Makary also promised to streamline the agency the same way the Department of Government Efficiency is doing throughout the government. "If confirmed, I will do my own independent assessment on personnel," Makary promised.
"I welcome input on efficiencies at the agency. At the same time, I want to make sure that the scientists and food inspectors and staff, central to the core mission of the agency, have all the resources they need to do their job well," Makary said during the hearing.
Trump has recently made some political missteps to be sure. However, when it comes to the MAHA agenda, he's doing exactly what he promised to his voters before the election, and that covers a multitude of missteps.
Greenland's "Demokraatit" party took the edge in Greenland's parliamentary election Tuesday, Reuters reported. The party favors independence, which has become particularly relevant after President Donald Trump began pushing for the U.S. to purchase the strategic island nation.
The unexpected results knocked out the Inuit Ataqatigiit, which is the party of current Greenlandic Prime Minister Múte Egede. The Demokraatit candidate clinched 29.9% of the vote, demonstrating a considerable increase from the 9.1% it earned in 2021.
The Naleraq party, which also favors independence from Demark, came in second with 24.5% of the vote. The nation's population is only 57,000, but its location makes it a strategic staging point as China and Russia saber rattle in the area.
"People want change ... We want more business to finance our welfare," leader of the Demokraatit Jens-Frederik Nielsen, who is also a former minister of industry and minerals, said of the results. "We don't want independence tomorrow, we want a good foundation," Nielsen added.
As Fox News reported, Trump declared his intention after becoming the president-elect. When announcing Ken Howery as his pick for U.S. ambassador to Demark in December 2024, Trump wrote that "the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity" on his Truth Social.
However, this is not the first time Trump has floated the idea of buying Greenland. During Trump's first term, he planned a trip to Denmark but later called it off after the Danish Prime Minister Frederiksen called the proposal "absurd."
Trump's proposal was again shot down in January of this year, with Frederiksen and Egede both advising Trump that "Greenland is not for sale." Still, this hasn't deterred Trump from continuing to push the idea.
In his speech to the joint session of Congress earlier this month, Trump spoke to the people of Greenland. "We strongly support your right to determine your own future, and, if you choose, we welcome you into the United States of America," he said.
"We need Greenland for national security and even international security, and we’re working with everybody involved to try and get it… One way or the other, we’re going to get it," he added.
Although the election is over and Greenlanders have voted in favor of independence, there's still a long way to go before becoming part of the U.S. Even those eager to separate from Denmark are cautious about the next steps, including Neilsen.
"We don’t want to be Americans. No, we don’t want to be Danes," the newly-elected Demokraatit leader said Wednesday, according to the Associated Press. "We want to be Greenlanders, and we want our own independence in the future. And we want to build our own country by ourselves," he added.
On the American side, TurningPoint USA founder Charlie Kirk foresees a slow transition, if at all. "Greenland's legislature is strictly proportional, and a conservative, more pro-Denmark, more pro-gradual independence party got first overall, so they are a long way from joining America, but things are headed in the right direction," he posted to X, formerly Twitter, Wednesday.
Good news from Greenland! Elections were held yesterday, and Naleraq, a nationalist party that has the most pro-USA politicians in Greenland, had its best ever result and doubled its overall support.
Greenland's legislature is strictly proportional, and a conservative, more… pic.twitter.com/MY7rA5rp31
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) March 12, 2025
Trump's out-of-the-box thinking on many issues is part of the reason he's so successful. A presence in Greenland would give the U.S. an edge in keeping the likes of Russia and China at bay.
Ukraine accepted a 30-day ceasefire deal Tuesday in exchange for President Donald Trump agreeing to resume sending military aid and sharing intelligence information with the nation, the UK Daily Mail reported. Russia has yet to respond to the administration's offer, although Secretary of State Marco Rubio is working on it.
On Wednesday, Rubio sat down in Saudi Arabia with Ukrainian officials to hammer out the idea. The Kremlin will now have the opportunity to sign on to the deal, which offers favorable conditions in exchange for the extended break from fighting.
In the past, Russia has asked that Ukraine not join NATO, to keep its land gains, and that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy be removed from office. "We´re going to tell them this is what's on the table," Rubio said after the meeting.
"Ukraine is ready to stop shooting and start talking. And now it'll be up to them to say yes or no," Rubio added.
Zelenskyy shared a statement to X, formerly Twitter, expressing his eagerness to make the deal it previously seemed would never happen. "I received a report from our delegation on their meeting with the American team in Saudi Arabia," the Ukrainian president wrote.
"The discussion lasted most of the day and was good and constructive—our teams were able to discuss many important details. Our position remains absolutely clear: Ukraine has been seeking peace from the very first second of this war, and we want to do everything to achieve it as soon as possible and in a reliable way—so that war does not return," Zelenskyy recounted after the meetings.
The Ukrainian president noted that stopping all use of force and the use of diplomacy, "which primarily means the release of prisoners of war and detainees—both military and civilian—and the return of Ukrainian children who were forcibly transferred to Russia," was necessary. "The American side understands our arguments and considers our proposals," Zelenskyy noted.
"Ukraine is ready to accept this proposal—we see it as a positive step and are ready to take it. Now, it is up to the United States to convince Russia to do the same. If Russia agrees, the ceasefire will take effect immediately," Zelenskyy concluded.
I received a report from our delegation on their meeting with the American team in Saudi Arabia. The discussion lasted most of the day and was good and constructive—our teams were able to discuss many important details.
Our position remains absolutely clear: Ukraine has been… pic.twitter.com/7EZXTVA52C
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) March 11, 2025
According to The Hill, Trump has sent envoys to Russia to finalize Moscow's part of the deal. National security adviser Mike Waltz met with a Russian official Wednesday, which the White House explained was "in a pursuit of ending this war and striking a peace deal with Russia and with Ukraine."
Just the day before, CIA Director John Ratcliffe had a phone conversation with Russian Foreign Intelligence Service chief Sergei Naryshkin. "Hopefully, we can get a ceasefire from Russia," Trump said.
"And if we do, I think that would be 80 percent of the way to getting this horrible bloodbath ended," he added. This deal is close to coming together just weeks after talks broke down during an Oval Office meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy.
The president sparred with Zelenskyy over his disrespectful demeanor and continued demands. Trump concluded he wasn't "ready for peace," though Zelenskyy has come crawling back ready to accept.
The war between Ukraine and Russia has gone on for three years and has cost a great deal in terms of loss of life and property for both countries. Something needs to be done to stop this conflict, and it appears Trump is on the verge of making it happen with his leadership.
InfoWars reporter Jamie White was found near his Austin, Texas, home clinging to life early Monday morning after an apparent stabbing, Breitbart reported. White later died at a hospital as police continued to work to figure out what transpired.
Police were called to White's apartment complex on Sunday just before midnight, responding to reports of a "shoot/stab hotshot" in the parking lot of the residence. However, law enforcement knows little else about what transpired.
InfoWars founder Alex Jones shared the information and a news report about White's death to X, formerly Twitter. "We are deeply saddened to inform you that InfoWars Reporter Jamie White was brutally murdered around midnight Sunday night due, in part, to the policies of the Soros Austin, TX D.A. Jose Garza," Jones charged.
"We pledge that Jamie’s tragic death will not be in vain, and those responsible for this senseless violence will be brought to justice. Jamie’s important work will be carried on through InfoWars, our readers, and our cherished listeners," Jones added.
Jones had more to say about White's untimely death and how he found out about the tragedy in the video on the social media post. "Jamie was murdered last night outside of his home, just a few miles away from our studios," Jones said in Monday's video.
"We sent some people over this morning when he didn’t answer the phone because he’s always here early, loves to work, loves to fight tyranny, loves to promote freedom, and when they got to the apartment complex, there was yellow tape everywhere, blood all over the parking lot," he added. No suspects are publicly named, but Jones said a particular politician was to blame.
"I’m gonna talk about in a moment who I hold responsible for this, and who is responsible for this, and who are accomplices to Jamie and so many others’ murder," Jones said. He went on to bash Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza, who was funded by billionaire George Soros.
"He’s doing exactly what he was put in by Soros to do, and I lay all of this squarely at the feet of these D.A.’s and at the Soros crime syndicate and at the Democratic Party. They are the ones that administratively cut the police, prosecute the police," Jones claimed.
“The police did tell us that they have some suspects, and I’m gonna leave it at that,” Jones revealed. “They didn’t want to tell us whether it was a stabbing or a shooting. I can just tell you that from the amount of blood I heard, it was serious. They were there scrubbing his blood off the ground when our folks got there," Jones explained.
The late employee had worked for Jones for several years before his apparent murder. White was involved in many of the controversial InfoWars reports, including possible knowledge about the list of clients of the late sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein.
While it's unclear whether this was a targeted attack, it's undeniable that Austin has a growing crime problem. As Fox News reported, people in White's neighborhood feared for their lives long before this tragedy.
"It’s making the hair on my arms stand up. To hear eight, nine, ten shots. Just bam, bam, bam," one of the residents said in August 2024.
"Where are those bullets going? I don't want to be shot sleeping in my bed," the person added. This came a year after the city's police force was so understaffed that they were telling robbery victims to call 311 instead of the emergency number.
This was a senseless tragedy that struck down a young man in his prime. Regardless of who was involved in the actual violence, the people who run the city should be held accountable for the safety of its citizens.
Sources told Bloomberg Government in February that the Department of Homeland Security is using polygraph examinations, or lie detector tests, with its employees to ferret out leakers who may have told press outlets about impending immigration raids.
Secretary Kristi Noem issued an internal directive that all polygraphs administered by the department were required to include a question about unauthorized communications with media and nonprofit organizations, the sources said.
“The Department of Homeland Security is a national security agency,” DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in an emailed statement to The Hill about the report. “We can, should, and will polygraph personnel.”
Noem and Border Czar Tom Homan have blamed internal leaks for low numbers of arrests during some raids.
They have vowed to get to the bottom of any leaks, not only to catch more illegal immigrants, but to keep their people safe.
“Their job is dangerous enough. So we are going to address this very seriously,” Homan told reporters in early February.
Noem said that the polygraphs could also help to determine whether employees could continue to have access to classified or sensitive information and what positions they can hold within the agency.
Noem said that two leakers had been identified and would be referred to the Justice Department for prosecution.
They could get up to 10 years in prison for leaking classified information, and they will likely be looking for new jobs after they get out.
“We will find and root out all leakers. They will face prison time & we will get justice for the American people," Noem said.
While Democrats want to facilitate more immigration, even if it is illegal, Republicans and the majority of American citizens don't want to see illegal immigration at the levels it was during the Biden administration.
Illegal immigration/border security was one of the biggest issues in the 2024 election, second only to the economy.
A majority, 55%, said in a Gallup poll before the election that they wanted to see immigration decrease. That was a significant jump from the 41% that said so the year before.
Pew Research reported last week that 59% of Americans supported increasing deportations, and would presumably take a dim view toward DHS employees leaking information about raids so that illegal immigrants, many of whom have committed other crimes, could avoid arrest and deportation.
Though liberals in Congress have been dissatisfied with just about all of President Donald Trump's picks for key administration and agency roles, many have a particular dislike for his choice to serve as Washington D.C. United States Attorney.
As such, a group of Democrats from the Senate Judiciary Committee are now calling for a disciplinary probe -- and potential suspension -- of Ed Martin by the D.C. Bar, the professional body of which he is a member, as the Washington Examiner reports.
The Democrats pushing for an investigation of Martin is led by the committee's ranking member, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL).
According to the group, Martin is abusing the authority of his role by using potential prosecution as a method of intimidation against government employees.
The Durbin-led cadre of lawmakers has also suggested that Martin has taken improper steps in an effort to limit the speech of private citizens, also alleging that he has wrongfully continued to communicate with prior Jan. 6-related clients and defendants after assuming his new position, according to the Washington Times.
In their letter to the D.C. Bar, the Democrats declare, “Mr. Martin's conduct not only speaks to his fitness as a lawyer; his activities are part of a broader course of conduct by President Trump and his allies to undermine the traditional independence of Department of Justice investigations and prosecutions and the rule of law.”
The communication continued, “When a government lawyer, particularly one entrusted with a leadership role in the nation's foremost law enforcement agency, commits serious violations of professional conduct, it undermines the integrity of our justice system and erodes public confidence in it.”
Having clearly drawn the ire of the Democrats during the first weeks of the Trump administration, Martin has made no bones about his aggressive approach to his work, going so far as to use the nickname "The Eagle," as CBS News notes.
Martin's nomination to permanently serve as U.S. attorney for D.C. remains under consideration by the Senate, and in the meantime, he has been staking out a position as the sort of tough-on-crime prosecutor Republicans say the capital has long needed, given the role's unique jurisdiction that allows its occupant to tackle not just federal crimes but also offenses committed within the District of Columbia.
Taking seriously his ability to crack down on the rampant crime that has plagued D.C. in the last several years, Martin recently took to social media to warn, “Hey, thugs with guns, you hear that? Yup, we comin,” a reference to a memo he issued indicating that assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was imminent.
Martin has also drawn criticism from Democrats for having instructed his staff members to comply with a Department of Government Efficiency request for them to send a list of five things they had accomplished the week prior, an initiative that has courted controversy across the federal bureaucracy but is wholeheartedly supported by the president.
While Trump appears to have full confidence in Martin, given that he wants him to move from interim to permanent status in his current role, Democrat Rep. Gerry Connolly has also launched a probe of the prosecutor, complaining that his statements “are directed exclusively at opponents of and express support for the Trump Administration, explicitly criticize the Biden Administration, publicize pending investigative activity by your office, and make assertions of fact for which there exists no evidence.”
The Durbin-led investigation request has been filed with the D.C. Bar's Office of Disciplinary Counsel, and thus far, that entity has not weighed in on its status, with its representative stating that “all matters in this office are confidential unless and until we bring formal charges.”
Whether the various complaints and probes of Martin's conduct ultimately go anywhere is something that remains to be seen, but it is clear that he is committed to furthering the Trump agenda in his unique, dual-jurisdictional role, and that is something the Democrats are sure to oppose at every turn.