Zach Lahn has won the Republican nomination for Governor. The post MAHA-Backed Zach Lahn Defeats Trump-Endorsed Randy Feenstra to Win Iowa GOP Nomination for Governor appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
President Trump took a swing at former “60 Minutes” correspondent Scott Pelley in a podcast interview released after CBS News fired the journalist for pushing back on company leadership. “I think Scott Pelley’s got his own problems, he’s terrible,” Trump, who has long been critical of members of the media, told The New York Post’s…
Republican Steve Hilton is sitting in the lead for California's top-two primary election, but that could change soon.
The “Anti-Weaponization Fund” is not dead, according to the president.Donald Trump told the New York Post podcast Pod Force One that his administration had not dropped the $1.8 billion slush fund, putting him at odds with what his officials told Congress.“No. A court ruled against it. But just so you understand, these are people that’ve been decimated. These are people who have lost their lives over nonsense,” Trump said in an interview published Wednesday morning. “These were many great people, and I gave them pardons, and I’m very proud to have given them pardons. And I think they should be reimbursed for a crooked government.”The honeypot payments were pitched as reparations, paid for by U.S. taxpayers through the Department of Justice, to virtually any right-winger who felt targeted by the previous presidential administration.Hundreds of Trump’s MAGA-aligned allies have already lined up for their slice of the pie. They include MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell and Republican lawmakers. A slew of pardoned January 6ers are also in the queue, including former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio, a sex offender who bear-sprayed cops, and a convicted child molester who told his victims he would give them money from a Trump payout in exchange for their silence.But Trump’s ongoing affinity for the payouts defies his administration’s latest position on the DOJ slush fund. As Trump’s interview was being published, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told the Senate Finance Committee Wednesday that the federal financial hub intended to comply with a DOJ directive to shutter the fund.The evening before, during a House Appropriations Subcommittee hearing, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said that the fund was dead in the water and that his agency would not “ever” move forward with the payments.The fund was the result of an unprecedented deal that Trump made with himself after he dropped his waning $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS. The arrangement included a curious addendum from Blanche, immunizing Trump from further federal prosecution. The government of the United States, Blanche wrote, would be “forever barred and precluded” from pursuing “any and all claims” against Trump, his family, or his business.The idea of the fund fell apart following weeks of backlash, numerous lawsuits, and opposition from Republican lawmakers who felt the issue had gummed up party efforts to pass a reconciliation bill.
President Trump's decision to nominate Bill Pulte as director of national intelligence caught many of his closest advisors off guard and dealt a significant blow to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, with whom the Federal Housing Finance Agency head has engaged in an ongoing power struggle.According to reporting from the Wall Street Journal, Pulte, who leads the agency overseeing the country's mortgage market, personally approached Trump with an audacious proposal: ascending to the position of director of national intelligence following Tulsi Gabbard's departure.The nomination appears rooted not in foreign policy expertise—Pulte has none—but in what Trump prizes most: unwavering loyalty, the Journal is reporting before adding that, in pitching himself to the president, Pulte promised to become an "unyielding advocate" for Trump's foreign policy agenda and signaled support for the administration's Iran war, according to sources familiar with the conversations.The move represents a major victory for Pulte in his internal administration battles. The Federal Housing Finance Agency director has become a deeply polarizing figure, clashing repeatedly with Trump advisers who have grown frustrated with his aggressive approach and willingness to bypass the chain of command to access the president directly.Trump has reportedly resisted efforts by administration officials to remove Pulte, telling confidants he values the FHFA chief's loyalty above all else.Trump "first raised the idea of appointing Pulte as intelligence director to aides over the weekend, according to a person familiar with the matter," the Journal is reporting before adding that the fact that president actually pulled the trigger on Pulte's nomination, "caught them by surprise."As for Bessent, one of the president's closest allies in the Cabinet, he was reportedly kept out of the loop, the Journal is reporting.Tensions between the Treasury secretary and Pulte reached a boiling point last year when Bessent threatened to punch Trump's housing chief "in the f------ face" after learning that Pulte had been disparaging him to the president, according to the Wall Street Journal.Treasury Department officials, including Bessent, learned of Trump's decision through social media like everyone else. An adviser broke the news to Bessent while he was preparing for a congressional hearing—a humiliating notification for one of the administration's senior economic officials, the report notes.
New Mexico's GOP gubernatorial primary produced a nominee Tuesday as Republicans aim to reclaim the governor's office for the first time since 2019.
On Tuesday, it was announced that President Donald Trump had appointed current Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency Bill Pulte to the role of acting Director of National Intelligence. Backlash against the move was swift, as critics from across the political spectrum slammed Pulte’s total lack of intelligence experience. By Wednesday morning, senators from both sides of the aisle had made their opposition to Trump’s pick clear, and threats to derail key legislation over the matter now pose a “real risk” to the Republican agenda. This is according to Punchbowl News, which reports that Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) has warned Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) that if Pulte remains in the position, Democrats will withhold the votes Republicans need for a FISA extension they’ve been trying and failing to pass for months. It expires in just 9 days, so with yet another legislative deadline looming, the GOP is grappling with the latest in a string of recent frustrations.“Warner,” explains Punchbowl News, “who’s been critical in building Democratic support for a bipartisan deal to extend FISA Section 702, made clear to Thune that all options are on the table to reverse what Democrats see as a dangerous Trump pick to lead ODNI. Pulte, who currently leads the Federal Housing Finance Agency, has no national security experience and has used his existing role to exact revenge on Trump’s political foes.”According to Warner, Democrats will never back the reauthorization of FISA Section 702 with Pulte overseeing the program, as opponents of the provision — which is technically used for gathering the communications of foreign targets — argue that it can be used as a “backdoor” for spying on Americans. This potential for misuse has drawn skepticism from privacy hawks on both sides of the aisle, and though Thune has repeatedly claimed that the absence of 702 would cause U.S. national security to “go dark,” its proponents have had to make concessions to gain the support of conservative Republicans, like a three year ban on a central banking digital currency and a prohibition on the use of 702 information by the FBI against Americans. But now Democrats worry that 702 could be weaponized by Pulte to attack Trump’s political enemies. As Punchbowl explains, “Democrats have leverage here. Republicans can’t pass a FISA reauthorization on their own. With a handful of GOP senators expected to oppose any FISA agreement, Thune would likely need at least a dozen Democrats to support the bill. Without a big vote in the Senate, it’ll be difficult for the House to pass it via a fast-track process ahead of the June 12 deadline. It’s safe to say that Pulte’s appointment kills any chance of the House passing FISA using the fast-track suspension process.”What’s more, should Pulte’s appointment be pulled, “Democrats believe they’d be doing Republicans a favor because they also see Pulte as unqualified for the job, even if few openly say it.” On Tuesday, “the White House had indicated to top Republicans that Aaron Lukas, whom Trump announced as the acting DNI 12 days ago, would remain in the role for an extended period. Republicans felt blindsided,” therefore, by the Pulte announcement. By Tuesday, a number of top Republicans were expressing their outrage at the situation. “Whoever told the president to go ahead and commit to this publicly before vetting it should lose their jobs, because they should know that the math just works against Pulte being confirmed,” Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) told CNBC. “I don’t think he has a prayer.”
Many of the president's stalwart allies won't defend his choice of Bill Pulte as director of national intelligence
Energy Secretary Chris Wright appeared on Fox News Wednesday to defend the Trump administration against Democratic criticism over gasoline prices spiking amid the president’s deeply unpopular war against Iran, and provided a stunning explanation for the record-setting price surges.Fox News’ Bill Hemmer cued a compilation clip of Democratic lawmakers criticizing the Trump administration for its war against Iran, placing the blame for rising energy costs squarely on the decision to launch the war. And yet, Wright insisted that the blame lay elsewhere.“It's a little rich, it's a little rich! We're in the middle of solving a 47-year-old problem that's a growing problem about a nuclear-armed Iran,” Wright said.“The bigger problem, the even bigger problem with gasoline prices, electricity prices, heating prices, is Democrat green policies!”Gasoline prices in the United States reached an average of $4.48 per gallon in May, an increase of 42.2% over the previous year, Fox News reported. While the price hike coincided with Trump’s war against Iran – which resulted in major disruptions to the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping channel through which 20% of the world’s oil trade flows – Wright continued to insist Democratic policies around renewable energy were to blame.“They've done everything they can for 20 years to drive energy prices up, and now they're upset about high energy prices!” Wright said. “I'm glad, I hope they keep that attitude going forward and will work with us to drive energy prices back down.”Energy @SecretaryWright on what the "bigger problem" is causing soaring gas prices:"The even bigger problem with gasoline prices, electricity prices, heating prices, is Democrat green policies!" pic.twitter.com/vj4U5IheDY— Alexander Willis (@ReporterWillis) June 3, 2026