Just a year ago, Democrats feared nothing. So far as they were concerned, Trump was headed to prison, and they would rule forever. America’s beautiful republic based on economic and individual liberty was headed for the ash heap of history (a good development, according to Democrats).

Now look at them.

Schumer and his cohorts are SO frightened of a government shutdown that they’re handing President Trump everything he wants. What changed? Elon Musk and DOGE, that’s what. By downsizing the federal government in such a ruthless and principled way, President Trump finally has leftists soiling their pants in public.

It’s a beautiful thing. Sure, AOC and the drunken hag Nancy Pelosi will scream like savages, but that only means the Democratic Party is divided for the first time since the Reagan years. President Trump did this. The man is amazing, and one for the ages.

Follow Dr. Hurd on Facebook. Search under “Michael Hurd” (Charleston SC). Get up-to-the-minute postings, recommended articles and links, and engage in back-and-forth discussion with Dr. Hurd on topics of interest. Also follow Dr. Hurd on X at @MichaelJHurd1, drmichaelhurd on Instagram, @DrHurd on TruthSocial. Dr. Hurd is also now a Newsmax Insider!

Former President Joe Biden was suffering from a cognitive decline before he was elected to the White House in 2020. During his term in office, it was evident to every American that Biden was incapable of serving as President. Often, he was forgetful of names, even people serving in his cabinet, and unable to express his thoughts in a coherent way.

Biden’s White House staff covered up his mental incompetence by scheduling very few public events and never allowing him to have unscripted press conferences. On the rare occasions that Biden did address the press, the reporters and questions were selected in advance.

During his debate with President Donald Trump on June 27, 2024, Biden’s utter incompetence was displayed to the world. His aides could no longer hide his mental decline, and Biden was eventually forced to withdraw from the race. The rest is history and, thankfully, President Trump won again in November and is serving in the White House today.

Despite Trump’s victory, the nightmare of America having an incapacitated President is still with us today. Not since President Woodrow Wilson suffered a debilitating stroke in 1919, had the country’s real leader been so unclear.

In Wilson’s case, his wife, Edith Wilson, stepped forward to assume many presidential duties during his illness. In the case of Joe Biden, Americans still do not know who was making the decisions and leading the country.

During his presidential term, Biden did incredible damage to our nation with far-left policies such as his climate agenda and the open border. One of the major questions that remains unanswered is did Biden personally authorize these policies? Or did his progressive staff members advance this agenda without his approval?

At this point, the evidence is mounting that Biden and Americans were manipulated by radical White House staffers. For example, U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) recently shared a chilling story about Biden’s lack of knowledge about an executive order he “signed” pausing liquified natural gas (LNG) exports, which was damaging to Louisiana’s economy.

After much insistence, Johnson was able to secure a meeting with Biden at the White House in January of 2024. To his surprise, when he arrived, he was greeted by not only Biden, but others, including the CIA Director and Vice President Kamala Harris.

Fortunately, at one point, Biden asked to meet with Johnson alone, so the House Speaker used the opportunity to complain about Biden’s LNG executive order. He said, “Sir, why did you pause LNG exports to Europe? Liquified natural gas is in great demand by our allies. Why would you do that?”

In response, Biden told him, “I didn’t do that.” Even when Johnson reminded Biden of the executive order, the President denied he signed it. Johnson left the meeting with a feeling of “fear and loathing.” He thought, “We are in serious trouble—who is running the country?”

The answer, Mr. Speaker, is that it was never Joe Biden. This has been confirmed in recent days with the brewing scandal about the autopen. In the New York Post, it was revealed by “a Biden White House source,” that an unnamed aide to the President “may have made unilateral determinations on what to auto-sign.”

If true, this aide would have “exceeded their authority” by having documents signed without Biden’s knowledge or approval. This informant told the New York Post that the powerful staffer “basically was the President” and that in the Biden White House there was “no clarity on who actually approved what.”

Attorney Mike Davis, Founder and President of the Article III Project, told the New York Post that “If an authorized autopen operator is using the autopen on a particular document against the President’s will, it’s clearly not valid.” Davis listed potential “criminal” charges including “forgery, obstruction of justice and fraud.”

The autopen scandal may have been happening throughout the Biden presidency. The Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project discovered that on December 30, 2022, Biden “signed” pardons for six criminals using an autopen signature. At the time, Biden was in the U.S. Virgin Islands vacationing, even though the pardons were signed “City of Washington.”

The Oversight Project asked on social media the main question involved in the autopen investigation, “Who is behind?” the signatures and highlighted the stunning ramifications, “Whoever Controlled the Autopen Controlled the Presidency.”

The Attorney General of Missouri, Andrew Bailey, understands the significance of this scandal and is demanding the Department of Justice launch an investigation. According to Bailey, this probe should determine “whether President Biden’s cognitive decline allowed unelected staff to push through radical policy without his knowing approval. If true, these executive orders, pardons, and all other actions are unconstitutional and legally void.”

In a letter to Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz, Bailey claims there are “profound reasons to suspect that Biden’s staff and political allies exploited his mental decline.” Bailey believes that this “would explain why the Biden administration’s orders were aggressively much farther to the left than any previous President.”

Along with the extreme agenda, the vast number of pardons must be questioned. On Biden’s last day in office, an autopen was used to sign all seven of the pardons that he issued. It is a legitimate question to ask, “Was he aware of these pardons?”

On Friday, in his address to the Department of Justice, President Trump said the Biden autopen controversy was “a big deal.” He said, “you don’t use (an) autopen. Number one, it’s disrespectful to the office. Number two, maybe it’s not even valid because, you know, who’s getting him to sign? He had no idea what the hell he was doing.”

Sadly, Biden was oblivious to what was happening around him, but key staffers in his White House were certainly aware of his cognitive decline and they exploited his weakness to enact the most radical leftwing agenda in American history. In the process, crimes were possibly committed in a scandal that makes Watergate look like child’s play.

Jeff Crouere

I cherish Ayn Rand’s works (The Fountainhead, Atlas Shrugged, Anthem, The Comprachicos, Philosophy: Who Needs It, and much more). I loathe the sinister Ayn Rand Institute for precisely the same reasons I cherish Ayn Rand’s ideas. The following article by Sherwin Newman (New Hampshire, on Facebook) is right on point. Bravo to the highly astute author!

Objectivists in Denial: Evasion, Envy, and the Misreading of Trump

It’s astonishing to witness President Trump’s return, seizing the reins of a nation that has crumbled over the past four years under corruption and mismanagement. The IRS and FBI, riddled with dishonest actors, have preyed on American citizens, all with the backing of Biden and the Democrats—spineless, hollow figures who disgrace the very idea of representing this country. Meanwhile, millions of federal employees, contributing next to nothing, have siphoned taxpayer dollars, their uselessness now glaringly obvious. Why didn’t we see this coming? The thought of these freeloaders enjoying public services while we foot the bill is an outrage, reminiscent of Nazi Germany’s government insiders who masqueraded as public servants while undermining the people.

Yet, there’s a deeper layer to this mess—one that exposes a troubling hypocrisy among some who claim to champion Ayn Rand’s Objectivism. Engaging in politics risks scorn and isolation because it’s a battlefield where principles bend and casualties pile up. In a mixed economy or socialist system, power often hinges on the very people propping up the status quo, and shifting their worldview is a slow grind better suited to academia or culture. But in the here and now, applying philosophy to politics means wrestling with entrenched power and societal norms—risking marginalization, ruin, or worse.

That’s why we need voices like Trump, who cuts through the noise with unapologetic honesty. Evil thrives when good people do nothing, and supporting bold truth-tellers is the only way to protect civilization. With Trump back, there’s a shot at reclaiming America’s greatness—ramping up production, drilling for oil, and prioritizing practical policies over what I see as fraudulent ideologies like environmentalism and self-sacrificing globalism. The endless debate pitting capitalism against these globalist talking points is, to me, a flimsy cover for those who want capitalism’s rewards while trashing it. That era of nonsense is done. It’s time to defend capitalism with moral clarity and dismiss the Democrats’ cowardice with the contempt it deserves.

But here’s where it gets murky: some self-proclaimed Objectivists recoil from Trump, and I’d argue it’s not about principle—it’s about evasion and envy. Take the idea that natural-born Americans should be relegated to second-class status while immigrants get priority—pure indoctrination, rooted in guilt trips about settlers taking Native land. Yet it’s the society those settlers built, with its infrastructure and respect for rights, that draws immigrants here. And while America shells out aid to other nations, those same countries slap tariffs on us to shield their economies. This self-sacrificial streak is rotten and demands a hard rethink, starting with the premises propping it up.

So why do some view Republicans and Trump as a bigger threat than the Marxist-leaning new left? I suspect a hidden motive they won’t cop to. Conservatives push back against pornography, drugs, and pedophilia—could that be a clue? Trump, I’d argue, embodies Objectivism’s core—courage, individualism, liberty—more than any living Objectivist. He’s risked his life for his country, championing free speech and prosperity, while these critics stumble over themselves chasing social clout, stunted by an education system that’s left them shallow.

Their disdain for Trump reeks of personal insecurity. They crave the “cool kid” badge, drawn to the edgy, drug-fueled, sexually liberated crowd—whatever’s trending. Trump’s clean-cut life—no booze, no smokes, suited up and sober—grates against that. They’d rather hobnob with Hollywood and the art scene, chasing fame and approval, terrified of being linked to the “boring” Republicans with their guns and faith. Traditional Americans aren’t chic enough for them; they’d rather play European and stylish. It’s a low-self-esteem trap, revealing a hollow core—they’re living a lie, not a philosophy.

The “Trump-as-strongman” scare is laughable—he won fair and square, unlike his rivals. Yet these Objectivists dodge the real threat: the left’s anti-liberty, anti-reason tribalism, peddling environmentalism and DEI nonsense. Trump’s populist wave, backed by Steve Bannon, stands for free speech, industry, and rationality—principles Rand would salute. Their refusal to see this isn’t just error; it’s evasion, a “blank out” in Rand’s terms.

Trump’s philosophy syncs with Rand’s vision: individualism, free markets, human ingenuity driving real capitalism—not the warped “financial” mess we’ve got now. Critics nitpick tariffs (which Rand opposed), but miss the bigger picture—Trump’s push for production and liberty mirrors her ideal of unleashed potential, not monetary games. True capitalism isn’t about short-term profits; it’s about creating wealth through effort. These Objectivists in denial, envious of Trump’s clarity and guts, cling to their facade of sophistication. They’re not just wrong—they’re guilty of betraying the principles they claim to uphold. Maybe it’s time they looked inward, confronted their envy, and stopped running from the truth.  [by Sherwin Newman]

[Postscript from the article’s author: In an era where political battle lines are drawn with ferocious intensity, a curious paradox emerges among those who claim to uphold Ayn Rand’s philosophy of Objectivism. As Donald Trump storms back into the spotlight, steering a nation battered by years of decline, he embodies a pragmatic individualism and unyielding resolve that echo Rand’s ideals—yet many self-professed Objectivists recoil. This article, “Objectivists in Denial: Evasion, Envy, and the Misreading of Trump”, probes the unsettling dissonance between Rand’s principles and the hesitancy of her modern followers to embrace a figure who, in action if not always in rhetoric, aligns with her vision of liberty, productivity, and defiance against collectivist decay. What drives this resistance? Is it a principled stand, or something murkier—a cocktail of evasion, envy, and a craving for social approval that betrays the very philosophy they profess? As America stands at a crossroads, with Trump’s return offering a chance to reclaim its capitalist soul, the refusal of these Objectivists to see the forest for the trees demands scrutiny. Here, we unravel the psychological and intellectual knots that bind them, exposing a denial that threatens to undermine the rational legacy they claim to defend.]

Follow Dr. Hurd on Facebook. Search under “Michael Hurd” (Charleston SC). Get up-to-the-minute postings, recommended articles and links, and engage in back-and-forth discussion with Dr. Hurd on topics of interest. Also follow Dr. Hurd on X at @MichaelJHurd1, drmichaelhurd on Instagram, @DrHurd on TruthSocial. Dr. Hurd is also now a Newsmax Insider!

For Democrats, social justice is big business.

Witness Southwest Key Programs: As part of the migrant money machine, it pulled in around a brain-busting $3 billion in taxpayer funds between fiscal 2021 and 2024.

The group is the largest housing provider for unaccompanied migrant kids — and clearly rotten to the core.  

The Biden Justice Department sued it in July, over accusations of “severe” and “pervasive” rape and abuse of the kids in the group’s care between 2015 and 2023 — and a congressional probe found evidence suggesting SKP even turned kids over to traffickers. 

But that didn’t stop the creeps in charge from padding their salaries!

As underlings were allegedly busy molesting the kids they’d been charged with caring for, CEO Anselmo Villareal’s pay soared from about $500,000 (already waaaaaay too much) in fiscal 2021 to almost $1.2 million in fiscal 2023. 

Meanwhile, chief of staff Christina Cantu’s pay jumped about 280%, from $86,300 to $326,228. 

This was more reason for Dems to keep the border open: If it wasn’t, these big bucks would stop flowing to their partisans. (SKP’s top lobbyist and a cadre of other officials were, of course, handing over some of the money they swindled from Joe Taxpayer to Dem campaigns.) 

And it ain’t just border baloney.

An NGO consortium linked to failed gubernatorial candidate and election denier Stacey Abrams got $2 billion from Biden.

Power Forward Communities was set up to push ahead another Dem policy insanity — i.e., forcing a “green energy transition” by making everyone use crappy “energy efficient” appliances and rewire their homes.

It did this in some cases by reportedly buying new stoves and other appliances, which sure sounds an awful lot like “goodies-for-votes” to us. 

Especially since this outfit was so unqualified, it reportedly was forced to undergo training on how to set up a budget as part of the grant.

So remember, kids. 

For all lefty Dems’ screeching about “migrant justice” and “sustainable energy” and the like, they’re less about doing good than making good.

Post Editorial Board

President Donald Trump, who literally came within one inch of his life dodging a sniper’s bullet, and Elon Musk, who now faces serious death threats for working to save the country from bankruptcy over wasteful government spending, don’t take on these voluntary risks for money or fame.

They already have more than plenty of both.

Their only apparent motivation is a shared passion to put the present and future well-being of the nation above self-interests.

The costs for each of them have been enormous.

The previous administration, and the one before being elected the first time, unrelentingly weaponized the U.S. justice system against candidate and subsequent president Trump, endlessly attempting to bankrupt, criminalize, and imprison him over transparently groundless accusations that fortunately backfired with a majority of voters.

Anti-Musk activists are firebombing Tesla sales facilities, vehicles, and charging stations.

These represent the irrational reactions over DOGE’s investigations and exposures of widespread waste and fraud.

The probes have led to federal agency program terminations and layoffs contributing to corporate stock value losses.

Far worse, both MAGA President Trump and mega billionaire Musk face daily threats that few of us would accept — for any amount of money.

Additionally, on top of that July 2024 assassination attempt during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, and another sniper plot against his life by a gunman arrested outside his West Palm Beach, Florida Trump International Golf Club, just nine weeks later, our nation’s 47th commander in chief has reportedly been targeted by Iran, in presumed retaliation for his previous administration’s Jan. 2020 killing of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Major General Qassem Soleimani.

Tesla CEO and lead DOGE administrator Elon Musk commented during a March “The Joe Rogan Experience” (YouTube/Spotify) interview: “I actually have to be careful that I don’t push too hard on the corruption stuff because it’s going to get me killed.

“I was actually thinking about it on the plane while flying over here,” [for Rogan’s podcast]: “I mean this is really going to get me assassinated.

“It’s like I’m not lengthening my lifespan by explaining this stuff, say the least. I mean I’m supposed to go back to D.C.

“How am I going to survive? Those fu**ers are going to kill me for sure.”

Musk added, “So in fact I do think like, it’s like actually I’ve got to be careful I don’t push too hard on the corruption stuff because it’s going to get me killed.”

Elon Musk has referred to Donald Trump’s “Fight! Fight! Fight!” response to the Butler shooting as an event that inspired special admiration for his “American bad**s” leadership example and decision to support his 2024 campaign.

So, what — beyond both being gobsmackingly rich — do they have in common?

How did the 53-year-old born in South Africa during the era of racial apartheid ever hook up as a tight ally with a 78-year-old property developer and reality TV star from New York, who came to politics very late in life?

Perhaps for starters, both passionately share common values regarding freedom, speech for example. Recall that, in 2021 during the Biden-Harris era, Trump resorted to creating a separate Truth Social media platform, this after having been banned on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.

Musk, a censorship opponent, lifted Twitter’s Trump ban after buying the company the following year.

Both Trump and Musk had strong vision and spine to break with failing status quo policies.

Trump turned his successful real estate development and negotiation talents to address complex and daunting national and global policy challenges involving allies and adversaries.

Musk, who originally made his fortune in Silicon Valley, became a wildly successful technical innovator and executive in several industries, including solar energy, electric vehicles, space rocketry, satellite communications, and Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Both have accomplished remarkable achievements against great odds.

President Trump turned an adversarial mug shot intended to destroy his reelection chances into a popular campaign promotion portrait and photographic victory trophy.

Musk built the most successful automotive startup in a half-century and was recently cheered as a hero by green energy net zero enthusiasts for advancing green energy and EV technology, and figured out how to catch reusable rockets with metal chopsticks after re-entry from space.

Neither are finished setting and achieving marvelous goals

Donald Trump is intent upon making America great again by every metric and ending global wars which threaten to bury human society in nuclear rubble.

Elon Musk is set upon colonizing Mars to preserve humanity and human consciousness before war and/or AI make such self-destruction impossible.

Meanwhile, we can demonstrate appreciation for their vision, inspiration, and resolute courage by voting with ballots against government candidates and TV remotes against media pundits who foment deranged violence by villainizing Trump as a threat to democracy, and Musk as a Nazi.

All bets are off for America’s bright future if we allow terrorists and other psychopaths to prevail in carrying out their threats on such remarkable lives devoted to making ours a better place.

Larry Bell is an endowed professor of space architecture at the University of Houston where he founded the Sasakawa International Center for Space Architecture and the graduate space architecture program. His latest of 12 books is “Architectures Beyond Boxes and Boundaries: My Life By Design” (2022).

Schumer said the spending bill was “terrible” but that a shutdown would have been far worse, and difficult to end, as President Donald Trump has already slashed jobs and funding for agencies across the government. A shutdown would have given Trump even more power to make cuts, Schumer said, “and so many programs would be lost.”

House Democrats strongly disagreed with Schumer’s decision and criticized him directly: “We will not be complicit,” Democratic leaders said in a joint statement.

The public rift among Democrats, and the onslaught of criticism toward Schumer, came after years of relative unity during Trump’s first term and during President Joe Biden’s time in the White House. It’s a reflection of how Democrats have become increasingly frustrated with their inability to stop Trump’s Cabinet confirmations and mass firings of federal workers.

At a news conference on Friday, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries repeatedly refused to say whether he has confidence in Schumer — a rare break for the two longtime New York colleagues.

“We do not want to shut down the government. But we are not afraid of a government funding showdown,” Jeffries said.

Schumer and Jeffries met in Brooklyn on Sunday, according to two people familiar with the meeting. But the discontent with Schumer went far beyond House leadership, and some of the nation’s most influential progressive groups warned of serious political consequences.

Ezra Levin, co-founder of Indivisible, wrote on social media last week that Democratic activists planned to express their anger at town halls or other public events. MoveOn, another progressive group that claims nearly 10 million members nationwide, predicted that its activists would also demand answers from Democratic officials.

“Clearing the way for Donald Trump and Elon Musk to gut Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid is unacceptable. It’s past time for Democrats to fight and stop acting like it’s business as usual,” said Joel Payne, a spokesperson for MoveOn.

AP

President Donald Trump’s order for airstrikes on Yemen Houthi targets is sending a strong message that goes far beyond them, former Rep. Pete King said on Newsmax Sunday. 

“I fully support them; I endorse them,” the New York Republican told Newsmax’s “Wake Up America Weekend.” “Basically, Russia is supplying the Houthis to take these shots at us … it’s important that they be crushed at the start.”

Trump is also sending a message to Iran as well as Russia, he said. 

“It’s important for the United States to let the world know that it’s not going to tolerate any of these cheap attacks on us,” he said, adding that because the attacks weren’t carried out by Russia, China, or Iran directly, they were being let go. 

“The Houthis, they are subsidized by Russia,” said King. “That’s who’s behind this.”

Former Rep. Jack Kingston, R-Ga., also on Sunday’s program, added that the airstrikes also send the message that there is not a “negligent, lazy, and timid administration in the White House anymore.”

“I think the word got out internationally that Joe Biden was not paying attention,” said Kingston. “The Houthi rebels have been harassing American ships in the Red Sea, the Suez Canal, disrupting commerce, keeping our ships away from there and other ships from other nationalities, and we’ve been talking and talking and talking it to death.”

King, meanwhile, acknowledged there is always a concern that matters could escalate in the Middle East. 

“But if we don’t act now, we’re going to see a greater conflagration later on,” he said. “So I would rather take the action now while we do hold the upper hand and use it and not let this get out of control, not let it spread, not let Russia think that it can act with impunity

Democrats’ favorability ratings sank to a record low in the latest CNN poll released Sunday.

Opposing the popular-vote winner in President Donald Trump, obstructing his agenda and efforts to cut government waste, fraud, and abuse, and threatening to shut down the government by rejecting their own President Joe Biden-era spending levels in a continuing resolution did not sit well with registered Democrats and left-siding independent adults.

Even a majority of Democrat adults (52%) are saying the leadership of the party is taking things in the wrong direction.

That eye-popping poll result flips the majority that had sided otherwise eight years ago at the start of the first Trump administration, according to CNN.

Democrats’ favorability has dropped 20 points since January 2021 when Biden first took office after Jan. 6, falling now to 29% – a record low dating back to 1992 when former President Bill Clinton came in to defeat sitting President George H.W. Bush. The Republican Party had held the White House for three full terms through former President Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush before Clinton was elected in 1992.

Democrats and Democrat-siding independents give their own leaders just 63% favorability, which is down from 72% in January and 81% at the start of the Biden administration.

Republicans are far more happy with their leaders, as 79% of Republicans and GOP-siding independents have a favorable view of Republicans.

House GOP Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has called Democrats “leaderless” and “rudderless,” and those polled largely agree.

When asked who among Democrats “best reflects the core values” of the party (with no names and just a blank space to respond):

1. 30% did not name someone.
2. 10% said Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.
3. Former Vice President Kamala Harris 9%.
4. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., 8%.
5. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., 6%.
6. Former President Barack Obama 4%.
7. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, 4%.
8. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., tied with many others at 2%.

“No one: That’s the problem,” one respondent wrote, CNN reported. “That’s the problem.”

The CNN poll was conducted by SSRS from March 6-9 among 1,206 U.S. adults. The results have a margin of error of plus or minus 3.3 percentage points. In the Democrats’ sub-sample of 504, the margin of error is plus or minus 5.0.

Eric Mack ✉

Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.

The Department of Education is investigating more than 50 universities for racial discrimination in accordance with President Donald Trump’s executive order to end diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, which the administration considers as discriminatory against certain students based on race, ethnicity, and other criteria. The department announced the investigations Friday after issuing a memo stating schools and colleges could lose federal money over race considerations in admissions, scholarships, and more.

“Students must be assessed according to merit and accomplishment, not prejudged by the color of their skin,” Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a statement. “We will not yield on this commitment.”

The department is focusing on colleges’ partnerships with the PhD Project, a nonprofit with the stated goal of diversifying the business world by helping minorities receive business degrees. According to department officials, colleges working with the PhD Project are employing race-exclusionary practices in their graduate programs.

Among the 45 colleges being investigated over their involvement with the PhD Project include renowned public universities such as Arizona State, Ohio State, and Rutgers, as well as prestigious private schools like Yale, Cornell, Duke, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The PhD Project released a statement defending its practices, saying it focuses on developing business leaders of the future.

“This year, we have opened our membership application to anyone who shares that vision,” it said.

Arizona State did not contribute to the PhD Project this year. On Feb. 20, it alerted faculty it would not support travel to the nonprofit’s annual conference. Ohio State said in a statement that the university does not discriminate based on race, ethnicity, or any other so-called protected class.

In addition, the department is investigating six other colleges for awarding race-based scholarships: Grand Valley State University, Ithaca College, the New England College of Optometry, the University of Alabama, the University of South Florida, and the University of Oklahoma at Tulsa. The University of Minnesota is also being investigated for allegedly running a program that segregates students on the basis of race. In 2023, a Supreme Court decision prohibited colleges from using race as a factor in admissions in a decision involving the practices of Harvard and the University of North Carolina. The Department of Education has used the ruling as a precedent to forbid race-based practices in not only higher education, but also K-12.

The department’s investigation followed a Feb. 14 memo by the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) that called discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin illegal and morally reprehensible, citing the 1964 Equal Protection Clause of the United States Constitution. “In recent years, American educational institutions have discriminated against students on the basis of race, including white and Asian students, many of whom come from disadvantaged backgrounds and low-income families,” stated Craig Trainor, Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights United States Department of Education, in the memo.

The memo accuses colleges, universities, and K-12 schools of using race as a factor in admissions, financial aid, hiring, training, and other institutional programming.

“In a shameful echo of a darker period in this country’s history, many American schools and universities even encourage segregation by race at graduation ceremonies and in dormitories and other facilities,” Trainor said. The OCR memo is being challenged in federal lawsuits from the nation’s two largest teachers’ unions—The American Federation of Teachers (AFT), AFT-Maryland, and the American Sociological Association—who said the memo is too vague and violates the free speech rights of educators.

The Department of Education has also taken aim at colleges and universities it alleges failed to act in the face of anti-Semitism on campuses. On March 7, the department, along with the Department of Justice, Department of Health and Human Services, and the U.S. General Services Administration, canceled approximately $400 million in federal grants and contracts to Columbia University, citing the school’s inaction amid harassment of Jewish students.

Beverly Hayek, Epoch Times

The Democrat Party: The Enemy Within?

By Amil Imani

The Democrat party is not simply irrelevant.  Rather, it is America’s greatest adversary, driven by globalist priorities and divisive policies — a decaying shell scheming to undermine the nation that Donald Trump revived.  From the Rio Grande to the Rust Belt, patriots see the truth: This is a radical mob set on tearing apart our borders, our jobs, and our freedoms.  Republicans — especially in Texas, where the battle feels personal — must defeat this threat before it drags the whole country down.  This is war — for America, not just Austin.

Once a cornerstone of American political life, the Democrat party has morphed into something unrecognizable — a force that now threatens the fabric of the nation.  Historically a party of working-class advocacy and progressive reform, it has abandoned its roots in recent years to embrace a radical, anti-American agenda.  This transformation demands scrutiny.

The Democrats once waved the blue-collar flag — FDR, JFK, all that jazz.  Now?  They’ve betrayed the working man.  Newsweek nailed it post-2024: They lost the heartland — Pennsylvania, Michigan, and even Texas saw ranchers and oilmen switch to red.  Why?  Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) pushed her “Jobs for All” bill in January 2025, promising jobs but delivering billions to green-energy fat cats while rig workers in Odessa barely get by.  Trump’s tariffs rebuilt steel towns; Democrats promote solar panels that nobody asked for.  America First means jobs, not handouts.

The Democrats’ border policy hits hard, especially in Texas, where illegal crossings overwhelm towns like Del Rio.  Since 2021, Biden’s administration has allowed in over 10 million, according to Politico, flooding the streets with drugs and crime.  Kamala Harris, the laughable “border czar,” smirked on CNN in 2024, cooing, “We’re a nation of immigrants.”  Tell that to the ranchers dodging cartel bullets.  Now, in 2025, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is pushing through his “Pathway to Citizenship Act,” a February amnesty bill aimed at securing blue votes nationwide.  Trump’s wall helps stop the bleeding; Democrats tear it wide open.

Foreign policy is in disarray under the Democrats.  They’ve aligned themselves with the Islamic Republic of Iran since the 2015 nuclear deal; Trump terminated it because it funded terrorism.  Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) tweeted in 2023, “Sanctions are economic warfare,” advocating for leniency toward Tehran while it attacks Israel.  In contrast, Trump’s Abraham Accords advanced peace through strength.  In 2025, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt., essentially a Democrat) criticized Trump’s China tariffs in a March speech, calling them “regressive” while Beijing continues dismantling American factories.  From Houston to Harrisburg, Democrats betray us to tyrants.

The Democrats cater to globalists, not to Americans.  Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act funneled $369 billion into climate initiatives, according to The Guardian, while Texas drillers and Ohio miners received nothing.  In February 2025, House speaker Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) promoted the “Global Climate Partnership,” tying U.S. energy to U.N. authorities.  Forget that — we’ve got oil in Midland.  Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) criticized Trump’s China tariffs in a March op-ed, lamenting that they “hurt consumers,” oblivious to the fact that they preserved jobs from Laredo to Lansing.  It’s always elites over workers, every single time.

Democrats oppose law and order — end of story.  San Francisco’s Chesa Boudin, regarded as a puppet of George Soros, released felons until voters pushed back in 2022.  That’s their playbook: defund the police and embrace criminals.  ABC News revealed GOP ads in 2024 criticizing blue cities for it — think Chicago, not just Dallas.  Now Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) promotes her 2025 “Community Safety Act,” which cuts police budgets for “restorative justice” rhetoric — because feelings can prevent carjackings.  Trump’s firm approach succeeds; Democrats encourage chaos.

Democracy?  They rig it!

Don’t fall for their “save democracy” tears.  The Journal of Democracy reported that 20% of Democrats supported violence in 2021 — less than the GOP’s 30%, but still despicable.  They cheered the riots of 2020.  Harris tweeted support for bail funds — then cried when Trump defeated them in 2024.  Now Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) proposes his Electoral College “reform” bill in 2025, a blatant power-grab aimed at eliminating red states like Texas.  Trump won big; they can’t stand it.