Author: Mandy Matthews

Senate Republicans moved into a late-night vote-a-rama after unveiling a $70 billion proposal to bankroll Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol through the end of President Donald Trump’s second term, framing the push as a clear-cut effort to secure the border and restore order where federal policy has fallen short. Senate Republicans kicked off a vote-a-rama late Wednesday night after launching a $70 billion plan to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol through the end of President Donald Trump’s second term. The move came after weeks of debate over border policy, spending priorities, and the limits…

After the Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade was leaked in May of 2022, Justice Samuel Alito warned his colleagues that delaying its official release “was a security threat,” The Federalist’s Editor-In-Chief Mollie Hemingway reports in her new book, Alito: The Justice Who Reshaped the Supreme Court and Restored the Constitution. The leak of the Dobbs draft upended the Supreme Court and the national conversation almost overnight. Mollie Hemingway’s account suggests the Court scrambled not only with legal strategy but with immediate concerns about safety and public reaction. From a conservative viewpoint, the leak showed how fragile institutional trust can…

A 41-year-old man who had legal guardianship of a young girl pleaded guilty to aggravated crimes against nature by incest after the 12-year-old delivered his child, exposing a chain of human and institutional failures and raising hard questions about guardianship, immigration oversight, and child protection. The guilty plea came this week in Lake Charles, Louisiana, where Jose Lopez-Montoya — described as an illegal immigrant with an active ICE detainer — admitted to repeated sexual abuse that investigators say spanned roughly two years. He now faces a sentencing range of 25 to 99 years in prison, with a hearing set for…

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito expects his clerks to see their work as part of a larger struggle over America’s future, treating the job as serious public service rather than a soft launch into a lucrative legal career. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito is clear-eyed about the ongoing “war” for the future of the United States and he wants his law clerks to match that seriousness in how they approach their work. For Alito, a clerkship is not just a resume booster; it is an apprenticeship in defending constitutional principles and the conservative legal tradition. That makes the position intense,…

A federal grand jury has charged the far-left Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) with allegedly making fraudulent payments to racist organizations, including the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), and the case has sparked immediate questions about accountability and donor trust. The indictment handed down Tuesday accuses the SPLC of routing money to extremist groups while presenting itself as a civil rights watchdog. Those allegations go to the heart of how nonprofit groups raise and spend donor cash, and they demand a clear legal response. The case will unfold in court, where claims must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. “The SPLC…

U.S. forces boarded a previously sanctioned oil tanker linked to Iranian crude smuggling in Asia, an action that underscores growing attention to maritime enforcement and sanctions compliance. U.S. forces have boarded an oil tanker previously sanctioned for smuggling Iranian crude oil in Asia, the Department of Defense said Tuesday. That single sentence from the official statement anchors what followed: a targeted intervention at sea meant to interrupt a pattern of illicit activity. The move drew quick attention because it mixes law enforcement, naval power, and sanctions policy into one operation. The Pentagon framed the boarding as an enforcement step against…

Obama met New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani at a South Bronx preschool, a staged public moment that mixes mentorship, media optics, and a brewing policy fight over a pied-à-terre tax that has drawn sharp criticism from President Trump. The two men sat down privately at the Learning Through Play Pre-K Center before joining families to read books and sing “Wheels on the Bus” with children. The scene was gentle and camera-ready, but it arrived at a tense political moment: Mamdani is barely past his first 100 days and already sparring with the White House over tax policy. The visit looks…

Sen. Tim Kaine acknowledged that the Democrats’ redistricting push was never truly about “fairness,” and critics say the strategy is plainly aimed at weakening President Donald Trump’s political standing while sidelining millions of voters. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., admitted Sunday that the Democrats’ extreme gerrymandering effort was never about “fairness,” and his words have left opponents scrambling to explain a strategy that looks more like raw political engineering than a push for equal representation. That admission cuts through the usual rhetoric about impartial maps and exposes a simpler motive: winning power by reshaping who gets to vote for whom. For…

The House Ethics Committee urged people to step forward with reports of sexual misconduct by lawmakers, a plea that comes amid growing criticism over the panel’s effectiveness and handling of sensitive allegations. The committee’s public request for reports landed in a political storm, with critics calling past actions weak and inconsistent. Republicans in particular have used that language to argue the committee needs sharper rules and firmer consequences to restore credibility. The core problem is not just that allegations exist, it’s how the committee has responded. When process looks slow or secretive, it gives the impression of protecting insiders instead…

The Supreme Court will hear St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy, a dispute over whether Colorado excluded Catholic families and preschools from its “universal” preschool program and whether that exclusion violates the First Amendment. The U.S. Supreme Court agreed on Monday to take up St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy, a case that raises fundamental questions about religious liberty and equal treatment under state programs. The dispute centers on whether Colorado improperly excluded Catholic parents and a Catholic preschool from benefits tied to a “universal” preschool initiative. At stake is how far a state can go in drawing lines that…