Uncensored Free Speech Platform

Shutdown-Ending Funding Bill Directs Millions to Pro-Trans Hospitals, Woke Activist Groups
What's the endgame here?

The bill President Donald Trump signed in order to end the government shutdown also included mandatory spending that will contradict his policy goals.

The $1.2 trillion package included funding for specific entities—some of which the Trump administration is currently threatening to defund. Other funded entities provide legal defenses for illegal aliens facing deportation, while some hospitals receiving money practice late-term abortions.

“Avoiding a protracted government shutdown of some of the largest agencies like HHS and the Department of War is a laudable goal, but passing bills that undermine the president’s agenda to cut woke and weaponized spending is not the way to do it,” Connor Semelsberger, government relations director at The Heritage Foundation, told The Daily Signal in a statement Thursday.

“The Trump administration has taken more steps to eliminate woke spending then any president in recent history, starting first and foremost with entities pushing horrific practices like gender mutilation of children and late term abortions of unborn children whom can feel pain,” he added. “Unfortunately, the appropriations bills passed by Congress provide funding to these exact entities against the will of the American taxpayers.”

When Congress funds the government, each agency usually has discretion in how to spend the money. Yet Congress can stipulate that the agency give the money to a specific entity in a process called “congressionally directed spending.” This mandatory spending—often referred to as “earmarks”—does not appear in the text of the bill President Trump signed, though the bill mentions it. Instead, the Senate Appropriations Committee released the earmarks last month, in files that stretch to hundreds of pages.

Here are five of the most egregious examples.

1. Funding Health Centers Performing Transgender ‘Treatments’

While the Department of Health and Human Services is currently investigating some hospitals for performing experimental medical interventions on minors, the funding bill explicitly directs taxpayer money to those hospitals, albeit for other purposes.

Fox News reported that Seattle Children’s Hospital in Washington state will receive $3 million, due to a request from Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., while the Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago will receive $1 million, thanks to Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill. The Department of Health and Human Services has investigated both hospitals for performing the “chemical and surgical mutilation” of minors. Lurie has paused transgender interventions for minors amid the investigation.

Both senators defended the funding in comments to Fox News, emphasizing the health centers’ work. Critics note, however, that money is fungible and that these earmarks appear to directly undermine HHS’ ability to use a threat of defunding to convince the health centers to cease operating on minors.

Neither Seattle Children’s Hospital nor Lurie Children’s Hospital responded to The Daily Signal’s request for comment by press time. The Daily Signal reached out to the senators for comment, and did not receive responses by publication time.

2. Funding for Health Centers that Perform Abortions …

Trump overhauls US arms sales to favor key allies, protect American weapons production
Who benefits from this decision?

FIRST ON FOX: President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order requiring the government to assess foreign weapons sales based on their impact on U.S. production capacity for key systems and to favor allies whose defense investments and strategic importance align with U.S. national security priorities.
Under the order, obtained first by Fox News Digital, the Departments of War, State and Commerce are instructed to ensure that U.S. arms transfers support weapons systems deemed most operationally relevant to the National Security Strategy, reinforce critical supply chains, and prioritize partners that have invested in their own defense and occupy strategically important regions.
The administration argues that past arms transfer policy allowed foreign demand to shape U.S. production decisions, contributing to backlogs, cost overruns and delivery delays that left both the U.S. military and its allies waiting years for critical equipment.
"The America First Arms Transfer Strategy will now leverage over $300 billion in annual defense sales to strategically reindustrialize the United States and rapidly deliver American-manufactured weapons to help our partners and allies establish deterrence and defend themselves," according to a White House fact sheet.
TRUMP NATIONAL SECURITY BLUEPRINT DECLARES ‘ERA OF MASS MIGRATION IS OVER,' TARGETS CHINA’S RISE
A central goal of the order is to speed up a foreign military sales process that defense officials and industry leaders have long criticized as slow and overly bureaucratic. The order directs federal agencies to identify ways to streamline enhanced end-use monitoring requirements, third-party transfer approvals and the congressional notification process — steps the administration says have contributed to years-long delays in delivering U.S. weapons overseas.
The order also creates a new Promoting American Military Sales Task Force charged with overseeing implementation of the strategy and tracking major defense sales across the government. In a move aimed at increasing accountability, the administration says agencies will be required to publish aggregate quarterly performance metrics showing how quickly defense sales cases are being executed.
 The strategy also signals a shift in how the United States prioritizes its partners. The order directs the government to favor countries that have invested in their own defense and occupy strategically important regions, effectively tying arms sales decisions more closely to U.S. military planning and geographic priorities.
HEGSETH SAYS DEPARTMENT OF WAR 'WILL BE …

Gonzales introduces bill to expand protections for Border Patrol assisting state, local law enforcement
This affects the entire country.

Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, is calling on lawmakers to strengthen protections for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel when assisting local and state law enforcement.
In January, Gonzales introduced the Homeland Threat Response Act, which would amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to authorize the deployment and assistance of CBP for investigations of certain violent acts, shootings, and mass killings, and for other purposes, including big events. 
He cited BORTAC (Border Patrol Tactical Unit) and BORSTAR (Border Patrol Search, Trauma, and Rescue), elite units within the U.S. Border Patrol's Special Operations Group (SOG) which are often called upon to assist local authorities in matters not related to immigration enforcement. 
SWEEPING BILL TO CRUSH SANCTUARY CITIES, PROTECT ICE AGENTS UNVEILED IN SENATE
"They're doing so at a risk," Gonzales told Fox News Digital, saying the CBP personnel currently aren't afforded the same level of protection as other law enforcement officers while working in matters apart from their jurisdiction. "They're called upon and asked to operate in other spaces that aren't their necessarily primary duty." 
"This creates a level playing field when it comes to protection," he added. 
The legislation came as the United States is poised to host several big sporting events in which CBP may be called upon to assist, Gonzales said. On Sunday, Super Bowl LX will be played in Santa Clara, California.
In addition, several American cities will host games for the FIFA World Cup in July and Los Angeles will be the site of the 2028 Summer Olympics. 
FEDERAL IMMIGRATION OFFICIALS PRIVATELY FUME OVER DHS CLAIMS AFTER DEADLY MINNESOTA SHOOTING
"It's going to be this group that's going to keep us safe," Gonzales said.
Border Patrol SOG teams have supported or directly participated in several major domestic incidents, including mass shootings, the capture of criminal illegal immigrants and prisoners.
Gonzales noted that the SOG personnel are some of the best trained officers in law enforcement amid talks by some Democrats who want to defund the Department of Homeland Security because of the Trump administration's crackdown on illegal immigration, particularly in Minnesota. 
"I'm seeing Democrats cave to the liberal left that want to defund and want to make it harder for law enforcement to do its job," he said. "Let's make sure that a federal officer in this space isn't thinking about ‘what if…’ they are focused solely on their mission and completing the mission like they're trained to do."

Trump targets Iran’s ‘shadow fleet’ with new sanctions on Tehran oil network 
Notice what's missing.

The United States announced a new package of sanctions Friday aimed at crippling Iran’s covert oil-export infrastructure known as the “shadow fleet.”

The Trump administration’s push to squeeze Iran economically comes just hours after negotiations between Washington and Tehran wrapped up in Oman.

An envoy representing President Donald Trump, including Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law, met with Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi for talks in Muscat mediated by Omani officials. Araghchi said the talks were a “good start” and are set to continue. 

Iran insisted the negotiations remain limited to its nuclear program, with ballistic missiles and regional influence issues off the table, but the U.S. sought to expand the agenda to include those concerns. 

Soon after the Oman talks concluded, the State Department imposed sanctions to target a web of shipping companies, vessel operators, and tankers used to transport Iranian oil products abroad while masking the origin. 

“The Department of State is sanctioning multiple entities, individuals, and vessels to stem the flow of revenue that the regime in Tehran uses to support terrorism abroad and repress its citizens,” the State Department said in a news release.

The Iranian government’s treatment of protesters and destabilization of the region were cited as reasons for the sanctions by the department.

“Time and time again, the Iranian government has prioritized its destabilizing behavior over the safety and security of its own citizens, as demonstrated by the regime’s mass murder of peaceful protesters,” the release said. 

The sanctions target 15 entities, two individuals, and 14 vessels, accused of facilitating the illicit export of Iranian crude oil, petroleum products, and petrochemicals through a shadowy maritime network designed to evade long-standing U.S. sanctions.

The Iranian shadow fleet consists of tankers and associated companies that operate outside normal commercial channels, often using false identities, ship-to-ship transfers, and deceptive documentation to hide Iranian crude and refined products. 

US-IRAN NEGOTIATIONS TO TAKE PLACE: HERE’S WHAT TO KNOW

The shipments have allowed Iran to sustain oil exports despite comprehensive sanctions and continue funding terrorism abroad. 

The sanctions come amid heightened U.S. military presence in the region, including the deployment of naval assets.

Who’s Leading the Race to Replace McConnell?
Trust is earned, not demanded.

The first two independent polls of the Republican Senate primary in Kentucky show Rep. Andy Barr, R-Ky., in the lead against businessman Nate Morris and former Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron.

The Kentucky Senate seat is open because Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., the long-time Republican leader in the upper chamber, is retiring. Election observers are interested in who replaces McConnell on the Kentucky ballot because it could signal the direction of the Republican Party in the coming years.

On Thursday, an Emerson College poll, which was not carried out by either candidate’s campaigns or campaign affiliates, showed Barr three points ahead of Cameron and 10 points ahead of Morris.

Barr garnered the support of 24% of respondents, Cameron received 21%, and Morris 14%. However, 38% of likely Republican primary voters remain undecided, the poll noted.

“This poll shows what Kentuckians have been seeing on the ground for months: Andy Barr is the strongest candidate in this race,” Barr’s campaign spokesman, Alex Bellizzi, told The Daily Signal on Thursday.

“Andy leads in the polls, is the only candidate dominating Democrats in the general election, has more major endorsements than both campaigns combined, and is crushing his competition in the race for fundraising with 10 times the cash-on-hand his nearest opponent,” Bellizzi added. “After over $8 million spent, Nate Morris’ campaign is crashing harder than his failed green energy company after it went on the [New York Stock Exchange].”

On Friday, a Quantus Insights poll found Barr ahead of Cameron by 1%.

The poll found Barr had the support of 28% of respondents. Cameron had 27% of support, and Morris earned 17%. Meanwhile, 19% of voters remain undecided.

Cameron and Morris could not be reached for comment.

?WOW? Second independent poll of the cycle from @QuantusInsights has our campaign leading the #KYSEN GOP Primary.
— Andy Barr (@barrforsenate) February 5, 2026

Barr, who raised a groundbreaking $6.1 million thus far, has received the endorsement of women’s sports activist Riley Gaines; House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La.; Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla.; and Sen. Ted Budd, R-N.C.

Cameron has received endorsements from Kentucky state Sen. Gary Boswell, Bowling Green Mayor Todd Alcott, and Warren County Sheriff Brett Hightower. But despite the local endorsements, Cameron trails behind Barr’s campaign war chest by nearly $5 million.

Morris could soon surge, however.

Morris raised over $6 million on his own before he received a $10 million contribution from Elon Musk last month.

Morris has earned the support of Turning Point Action; Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind.; Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio; and Ohio Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.

The contested primary election is scheduled for May 19.

The post Who’s Leading the Race to Replace McConnell? appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Fox News Campus Radicals Newsletter: Top teachers' union under fire, anti-ICE agitator network exposed
Transparency shouldn't be controversial.

DECISION TIME: Top teachers union under fire as lawmakers push to strip its unique federal charter 
SECRETS EXPOSED: Minneapolis teachers union chief admits elected officials in anti-ICE Signal chats
‘POLITICAL SCHEMING’: Rhode Island activist slams adult-run nonprofit that promoted 'student-led' anti-ICE school walkout
SIGN UP TO GET THE CAMPUS RADICALS NEWSLETTER
STAFF TURMOIL: Notre Dame hire of abortion advocate to lead center causes staff to cut ties with university
TAKING A STAND: Elementary teacher takes on state union over parental rights ballot measure
PRAYERS UP: Leaders of desecrated Catholic school urge prayer for perpetrators after Mary statue, tabernacle destroyed
LEGAL TROUBLE: Temple University student who 'assisted Don Lemon' charged in federal church-storming case
CLASSROOM MISCONDUCT: First-grade teacher flips American flag upside down in San Diego classroom, sparks investigation
SOUNDING THE ALARM: Education experts warn Mamdani plan could gut NYC gifted programs, hurt low-income students
BIG MOVE: Education advocates praise Texas A&M decision to wind down Women’s and Gender Studies certificate
BEHIND CLOSED DOORS: Teachers union president calls Trump a ‘dictator’ on unearthed call with Antifa-linked group

Bill Clinton comes out swinging against Comer for rejecting public Epstein hearing: 'Stop the games'
What's the endgame here?

Former president Bill Clinton said on X that he has shared what he knows about the crimes of disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein in a sworn statement shared with the House Oversight Committee, which both Bill and Hillary Clinton have agreed to testify in front of under subpoena pressure.  
"I have called for the full release of the Epstein files. I have provided a sworn statement of what I know," the former president said on X, formerly Twitter, Friday afternoon. "And just this week, I’ve agreed to appear in person before the committee. But it’s still not enough for Republicans on the House Oversight Committee."
In the wake of news that the Clintons would comply with House Republicans' subpoenas to testify, after concerns they would not and subsequent threats of contempt, Republicans accused the Clintons of "trying to dodge contempt by requesting special treatment."
LAWMAKERS ESCALATE EPSTEIN PROBE WITH POSSIBLE BILL GATES SUBPOENA
The Clinton's attorneys sent the House Oversight Committee a letter, made public earlier this week, indicating they would comply and testify under certain conditions, such as that their testimonies be open, filmed and transcribed. 
Democrat Ranking Member of the committee, Robert Garcia, said the agreement amounted to full compliance with the committee’s demands.
However, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer disputed the characterization, telling Fox News Digital the agreement lacked specificity. In a post on X, the Republicans on the committee accused Clinton of "trying to dodge contempt by requesting special treatment."   
"The Clintons’ counsel has said they agree to terms, but those terms lack clarity yet again, and they have provided no dates for their depositions," Comer said. "The only reason they have said they agree to terms is because the House has moved forward with contempt. I will clarify the terms they are agreeing to and then discuss next steps with my committee members."
The Clintons' change of heart led the House to temporarily pause proceedings on holding them in contempt on Monday night.
Meanwhile, Democrats on the committee have pointed out that Comer has not pushed to hold others who did not appear in contempt, nor has he made any threats against the DOJ for failing to produce all of its documents on Epstein by a deadline agreed to by Congress late last year. The department has produced a fraction of the documents expected so far.
"Now, Chairman Comer says he wants cameras, but only behind closed doors. Who benefits from this arrangement? It’s not Epstein’s victims, who deserve justice," Clinton …

Trump’s geopolitical tensions spill into the Winter Olympics
Is this competence or optics?

President Donald Trump won’t be representing the U.S. at the opening ceremony of the Italian Olympic Games in Milan’s famous San Siro Stadium. But his shadow will surely loom over the two-week-long sporting spectacle, which kicks off Friday.

The president’s repeated jabs at longtime partners, his inconsistent tariff policy and repeated plays for Greenland have shown just how much he's shifted the traditional world order. The resulting international “rupture,” as described by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in Davos last month, has turned beating the Americans in Italy from a crowning sporting achievement to an even greater moral imperative for the president's rivals.

“This is life and death,” said Charlie Angus, a former member of Parliament in Canada with the New Democratic Party and prominent Trump critic. “If it’s the semifinals and we’re playing against the United States, it’s no longer a game. And that’s profound.”

The Trump administration has big plans for these Olympics, according to a State Department memo viewed by POLITICO. It hopes to “promote the United States as a global leader in international sports” and build momentum for what the White House sees as a “Decade of Sport in America,” which will see the country host the Summer Olympics and Paralympics in 2028 and the Winter Olympics and Paralympics in 2034, as well as the FIFA World Cup this summer.

But a combative administration may well complicate matters.

He’s sending Vice President JD Vance, a longtime critic of Europe’s leaders, to lead the presidential delegation in Milan. Then there’s ICE. News that American federal immigration agents would be on the ground providing security during the games sparked widespread fury throughout the country.

Trump has also clashed with many of the countries vying to top the leaderboards in Milan. Since returning to the White House in January, he’s antagonized Norway, which took home the most medals in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, over a perceived Nobel Peace Prize snub and clashed repeatedly with Canada, which finished fourth.

“We’re looking at the world in a very different light,” Angus said. “And we’re looking at a next-door neighbor who makes increasingly unhinged threats towards us. So to go to international games and pretend that we’re all one happy family, well, that’s gone.”

Trump has also sparred with Emmanuel Macron, the president of France (the 13th-place finisher in Beijing), and threatened a military incursion in pushing Denmark (a Scandinavian country which curiously hasn’t medaled in the Winter Olympics since 1998) to cede Greenland.

All while seeming to placate Russia, whose athletes competed under a neutral flag in 2022 due to doping sanctions and secured the second-most medals in the Beijing games, which ended …

Billions in Tax Dollars Pay for Empty Federal Buildings
Nobody voted for this.

FIRST ON DAILY SIGNAL—Selling off unused or underused federal property could save taxpayers $3 billion in deferred maintenance costs, and more than $100 million in operation costs each year, according to one government report.

Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, chairwoman of the Senate DOGE Caucus, introduced legislation to expedite the sales of these properties.  

“Why should taxpayers be stuck with billion-dollar bills for bureaucrats to hold onto empty buildings when they are keeping the roofs over their own homes? That’s why I’ve worked to eliminate Washington’s bloated real estate portfolio,” Ernst told The Daily Signal in a statement.  

The DOGE Caucus supports the mission started by the White House Department of Government Efficiency that sought cost-cutting measures in the federal government.  

Ernst’s bill is the Disposing of Inactive Structures and Properties by Offering for Sale And Lease Act, or the DISPOSAL Act. 

It calls for the General Services Administration to sell buildings with regulatory and procedural exemptions, such as environmental reviews, historic preservation reviews, and other matters.  

“By fast-tracking basic maintenance and construction projects, my new legislation will play a critical role in ending the entrenched bureaucracy’s excessive regulations and pointless red tape to take empty, expensive buildings off the taxpayer’s dime,” Ernst said.  

A December report by the Government Accountability Office noted the burden for taxpayers of the properties targeted for sale.  

“In March 2025, GSA announced it would begin disposing of federally owned office buildings using what it described as an accelerated approach,” the GAO report says.  

“As of November 2025, GSA had identified 45 federal properties—many of which were previously identified for disposal—for this accelerated approach,” the GAO report continues. “GSA estimates that disposing of these properties will reduce the federal government’s real property inventory by 14.6 million square feet and save $106 million in annual operations and $3 billion in deferred maintenance costs.” 

The government has a total of 23.28 million square feet of underused office space it owns with annual operating and maintenance costs of $67.1 million, according to an August 2024 report from the Office of Management and Budget.  

It has another 766,000 square feet of underused leased space with an annual lease cost of $13.6 million and annual operating and maintenance costs of $481,000. That brings the total annual cost for all of these properties to $81.3 million, according to the Office of Management and Budget report. 

Ernst has already introduced legislation that calls for several specific federal properties to be auctioned off.  

This bill continues that effort. Targeted properties include: the 1 million-square-foot Hubert H. Humphrey Federal Building, which houses the Department of Health and Human Services; the 1.8 million-square-foot Frances Perkins Federal Building for the Department of Labor; the 1.8 million-square-foot James V. Forrestal Building for the Department of Energy; and the 810,834-square-foot Theodore Roosevelt Federal Building that houses the Office of …

Our top ten picks of the week
This isn't complicated—it's willpower.

How Badenoch forced Labour’s hand on Mandelson

Tali Fraser

“Through a mix of timing, pressure and parliamentary guile, Kemi Badenoch left Labour with nowhere to hide over Peter Mandelson.”

—

Hidden benefits are breaking our welfare system and proving there’s ‘no such thing as a free lunch’

Caroline Elsom

“There is no easy way out of this mess without politically difficult trade-offs to radically rationalise the system.”

—

If Tory moderates are serious then ‘socially liberal, fiscally conservative’ must die

Albie Amankona

“In three consecutive leadership contests, One Nation candidates failed to reach the final two. That is not bad luck or factional bias. It is a rejection of moderation without muscle.”

—

Lies, damn lies, and statistics

Henry Hill

“Labour likes to boast about falling NHS waiting lists, but the Health Service is actually treating fewer people.”

—

‘Forest City 1’ is a recipe for disaster dressed up as progress, and will end up a migrant city

Simon Dudley

“This project is part of a cycle of grand, abstract schemes often designed by people with no experience of building, financing, or maintaining anything, all for the approval of their peers who also have no experience of building, financing, or maintaining anything.”

—

Some think Britain is ‘going down the sewer’ – but those that built them have a lesson for how to avoid that fate

Katie Lam

“We need to believe that we are a country which can solve its own problems, rather than shrugging our shoulders and stumble from crisis to crisis. We will need to recognise that we have our own part to play in creating the world that we want for future generations.”

—

It’s time Prosper UK and the Conservative party accurately addressed the past

Andrew Gilligan

“Draw up a proper plan which directly explains what we (and Labour) got wrong and what we will do differently to fix it. This will mean making difficult and unpopular changes. We have to find some way mitigating the deep antipathy towards us.”

—

Beware those selling you ‘change’ and challenge if it is change you can trust

Giles Dilnot

“Breaking the doom-loop of depressing political narrative – harnessed and driven by parties’ agendas- to look different, sound different and offer something new, would, in fact, be a welcome change.”

—

An age limit of 21 would protect our kids from toxic Chinese vapes but also boost our security

Tobias Ellwood

“This is not an argument against trade, nor a call for isolation. Open markets matter. But they only function when rules are enforced. Infrastructure, public health, and the exposure of young people to addictive products are not politically neutral.”

—

Reforming local government candidate selection. Fairer, simpler, and fit for the future

John Cope

“How should we balance …