It was 2 AM on a Friday morning. Most of America was asleep. But inside the House chamber, a small band of Republican rebels was pulling off something their own leadership never saw coming. A group of conservative House Republicans just torpedoed not one but two attempts to ram through a long-term renewal of FISA Section 702, the controversial surveillance program that allows the federal government to collect electronic communications of foreign nationals, and in the process, sweep up data on American citizens without a warrant. Speaker Mike Johnson and the White House had been pushing hard for a clean five-year extension. President Trump himself urged Republicans to get it done. But roughly 20 GOP members said no. They wanted reforms. They wanted warrant protections for Americans. And they were willing to blow up leadership’s plans at 2 AM to make their point. Independent journalist Nick Sortor captured the moment on the House floor as Reps. Tim Burchett, Lauren Boebert, and Thomas Massie celebrated what they called “a win against the deep state.”

A billionaire running for governor of California just released a plan so radical it makes Gavin Newsom look like a moderate. Tom Steyer, the hedge fund billionaire and failed 2020 presidential candidate who now leads the Democrat primary field for California governor, published a five-point immigration platform this week that calls for abolishing ICE, jailing federal immigration agents, and using state funds to bring deported illegal aliens back to California. You read that right. He wants to arrest the people enforcing federal law and roll out the red carpet for those who broke it. Fox News reporter Bill Melugin laid out the details: NEW: CA gubernatorial candidate Tom Steyer (D) releases an immigration platform that is radically left of Gov. Newsom. It includes:– Abolish ICE– Put ICE agents in jail & “treat them like the mob”.– Bring those “kidnapped & detained by ICE back home.”– Give CA AG power to… https://t.co/XqM8eK7Hhf— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) April 14, 2026 According to Steyer’s plan, published on his Substack under the title “How California Can Put ICE in Jail,” the state would pass aggressive anti-profiling legislation targeting ICE agents, give the state Attorney General the power to criminally prosecute and imprison ICE leadership, and establish a special prosecution unit dedicated entirely to going after federal immigration officers. He also wants to use taxpayer dollars to send representatives abroad to locate deported individuals and financially assist them in returning to California. Steyer told Fox News Digital directly: “Donald Trump has turned ICE into a criminal enterprise, so we will treat them like one. If they break the law in California, they will be prosecuted, just like anyone else.” Fox News reported on the response from DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin: During an appearance on “The Ingraham Angle,” Mullin pushed back on Steyer’s characterization of ICE as a criminal organization.“He doesn’t have the authority to do it, and he’s talking on the left side of his mouth. He doesn’t understand ICE’s role,” Mullin said.“ICE simply enforces the nation’s immigration policies and deports individuals and goes after the criminals that should never be in this country to begin with.”Mullin added: “We’re not doing anything outside the law, we’re working well within the law, and they’re doing a job every single day protecting.” The reaction on social media was swift. Tech investor David Sacks summed up the sentiment: Good luck California it was nice knowing you https://t.co/jlyzBCc3c0— David Sacks (@DavidSacks) April 15, 2026 Breitbart reported on the full scope of Steyer’s radical platform: Steyer’s immigration plan includes the abolishment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement in California and would attempt to jail ICE agents and their superiors.The plan’s first three points boil down to creating new laws and new investigations by which the state can arrest ICE agents, arrest their leaders, and arrest civilian leadership.Steyer described his enforcement strategy in stark terms: “The same way we took on the mob. Put ICE agents and their leadership in jail for their crimes.” To make it even more absurd, it turned out that Steyer’s own hedge fund previously invested in private prison companies that ran ICE detention facilities. He called that investment a “mistake” when confronted about the hypocrisy. Conservative commentator Katie Pavlich weighed in: Begging for the Insurrection Act https://t.co/gQmEy8MZHh— Katie Pavlich (@KatiePavlich) April 15, 2026 Steyer currently leads the Democrat primary field with 21% support, according to recent polling. If he wins, California could become the first state in American history to actively prosecute federal law enforcement officers for doing their jobs. That is not a policy disagreement. That is a declaration of war on the rule of law.

Republicans just lost another House seat, and the new member of Congress is about as far left as they come. Progressive activist Analilia Mejia won Thursday’s special election in New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District, defeating Republican Joe Hathaway by a 60-40 margin. The seat was vacated when Democrat Mikie Sherrill left to become governor of New Jersey. Mejia, who served as the national political director for Bernie Sanders’ 2020 presidential campaign and ran the New Jersey Working Families Alliance, was endorsed by both Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. She campaigned on abolishing ICE, pushing universal health care, and characterizing Israel’s actions in Gaza as “genocide.” Libs of TikTok posted this about her victory speech: Leftist Analilia Mejia, just won NJ’s special election to fill Mikie Sherrill’s congressional seat and gave an unhinged victory speech labeling Trump and Elon Musk as “the true radicals.”Mejia wants to abolish ICE and push socialist policiesGood luck, New Jersey! pic.twitter.com/ld4HHaUc6G— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) April 17, 2026 The Associated Press called the race just seven minutes after polls closed. It was not even close. Mejia pulled 77,620 votes to Hathaway’s 52,122. During her victory speech, Mejia told supporters she was an “unbought, unbossed, sassy new member of Congress.” She called President Trump and Elon Musk “the true radicals.” The New York Post covered the result: Far-left Democrat Analilia Mejia wins NJ special election to replace Gov. Mikie Sherrill in Congress https://t.co/8uGfUkC24S pic.twitter.com/uMwFQ5fwAm— New York Post (@nypost) April 17, 2026 Fox News reported on what this means for the razor-thin House majority: Mejia’s win narrows Speaker Mike Johnson’s majority further. Once she is sworn in, the House breakdown will stand at 217 Republicans, 214 Democrats, one independent, and three vacant seats.That means Johnson will only be able to afford a single Republican defection on party-line votes and still pass legislation.Mejia defeated 10 other Democrats in February’s special primary, including former Rep. Tom Malinowski, a result that stunned many political observers. Let that sink in for a moment. The GOP House majority is now down to a single vote. One Republican having a bad day, and the entire legislative agenda grinds to a halt. CNN noted the broader implications: Mejia is a first-time candidate who had never held political office. She worked behind the scenes on Democratic campaigns and led the New Jersey Working Families Alliance, where she advocated for a $15 minimum wage.Her win marks another strong showing for Democrats in special elections ahead of November’s midterm elections. Polymarket noted that Mejia could be joining “The Squad” once she takes her seat: BREAKING: Analilia Mejia wins NJ special election, may join “The Squad” once in Congress.— Polymarket (@Polymarket) April 17, 2026 With 36 House Republicans already announcing their retirements heading into the 2026 midterms, the math is only getting worse for the GOP. Democrats need a net gain of just three seats to flip the House entirely. This was supposed to be a safe hold for Democrats. They did not just hold it. They elected the most radical candidate in the field by a 20-point margin. Republicans should be paying very close attention.

If you work for tips in America, this tax season probably hit different. And by “different,” we mean thousands of dollars landing in your bank account that you never expected to see. President Trump flew into Las Vegas on Thursday for a victory lap at the AC Hotel in Symphony Park, the city he calls “the birthplace” of his signature No Tax on Tips policy. He stood with waiters, bartenders, casino dealers, bellmen, and cooks who all had the same message: the refunds are real, and they are life-changing. The numbers back it up. Over 53 million Americans have now claimed at least one of the new tax deductions signed into law as part of the Working Families Tax Cuts. Six million filers claimed the No Tax on Tips deduction alone, with an average deduction of over $7,100. Workers across Las Vegas reported refunds of $5,000, $6,000, $7,000, even $8,000 or more. One worker at the roundtable put it simply: “I received the largest tax return in my life this year, all because my tips were not being taxed any longer.” And here is the part that should make every voter pay attention. Every single Democrat in Congress voted against making this happen. Remember: EVERY SINGLE DEMOCRAT voted AGAINST No Tax on Tips. https://t.co/2kgUAKLCJP— RJC (@RJC) April 13, 2026 Trump told the packed room how the whole idea started: a waitress approached him during a dinner in Las Vegas and said they should have no tax on tips. He called it “not an expensive consultant” and ran with it all the way to the Oval Office. RedState covered the event and the broader impact: President Donald J. Trump returned to the birthplace of his signature No Tax on Tips policy to highlight its massive success and the transformative impact of the largest tax cuts in American history. Approximately 200 people packed the roundtable at the AC Hotel Las Vegas Symphony Park. The roundtable included Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Nevada Lt. Governor Stavros Anthony, State Assemblywoman Lisa Cole, Clark County Commissioner April Becker, and various hospitality workers. Service workers reported the policy “helps tremendously” and “gives me a little more breathing room when it comes to rent, gas, and food.” Trump emphasized that “every single radical Left Democrat in Congress voted to deny the American people these life-saving changes.” It is not just tips. The tax cuts also eliminated taxes on overtime pay, with 25 million filers claiming an average deduction of $3,100. Seniors got No Tax on Social Security. And one million Americans used a new car loan interest deduction for vehicles made in the U.S. Members of Congress who voted for the bill have not been shy about reminding people where the credit belongs. This tax season, millions of tipped workers will get a $32 billion tax cut just from No Tax on Tips, ensuring Americans can pocket more of their hard-earned money. https://t.co/5BFzu0RQBt— Rep. Tim Walberg (@RepWalberg) April 13, 2026 Fox 5 Vegas reported from the ground in Las Vegas: President Trump held a roundtable discussion at the AC Hotel in Symphony Park in downtown Las Vegas. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent attended the event alongside local officials and hospitality workers. Trump declared that “Las Vegas is the home of the largest concentration of tipped workers anywhere in the country,” adding that thanks to the tax cuts, “thousands of Nevada waiters, waitresses, casino dealers, bartenders, bellmen, and barbers received the biggest tax refunds of their entire lives.” Many workers reported refunds ranging from $5,000 to $8,000 or more. The policy is set to expire in 2028. Stage participants included an LVMPD officer, a makeup artist, and a longtime bartender, all of whom testified to the policy’s direct impact on their finances. The policy expires in 2028, which means the midterms just got a lot more interesting. Millions of workers now have a very personal, very tangible reason to pay attention to which party wants to keep their money in their pockets, and which one tried to stop it from happening in the first place.

You don’t see this every day in the Trump administration. One of the most consequential figures inside the federal government, the man who has personally overseen more than half a million deportations in roughly a year, just told the boss he’s heading for the door. And the timing has Washington doing a double-take. He filed his resignation letter on the same day he had just finished testifying on Capitol Hill. Here’s what just happened, and why it matters: Fox News broke the story late Thursday afternoon: BREAKING: Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons resigns. Lyons submitted his resignation letter to DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin today according to Fox News's @BillMelugin_'s sources. He will stay on until May 31st.— Fox News (@FoxNews) April 17, 2026 The official in question is Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons, the 20-year ICE veteran and Air Force vet who has been the face of President Trump’s mass-deportation push since stepping into the acting director role in March of 2025. According to Fox News, Lyons hand-delivered his resignation letter to DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin on Thursday, citing family as the reason and the private sector as his next move: Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons submitted a resignation letter to Homeland Secretary Markwayne Mullin on Thursday, writing that he will stay on through May 31 to assist the transition process. According to a source, Lyons said in his letter he wants to spend more time with his family, including his sons, who are “reaching a pivotal point in their lives,” and that it’s been a privilege to serve under President Donald Trump. That’s a clean, classic exit. No drama, no scandal, no public falling-out. Just a guy stepping aside after one of the most intense 14 months any ICE leader has ever had. And the numbers under his watch are staggering. Lyons led the agency through a hiring surge of roughly 12,000 new employees, a record-high detention population, and over 570,000 deportations in a single year. He also weathered constant attacks from Democrats who labeled his officers “Gestapo” and “terrorists,” and a federal judge in Minnesota who at one point threatened to hold him in contempt. So when Mullin’s statement landed, it wasn’t a polite goodbye. It was a victory lap: In a statement, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin confirms our reporting, saying Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons will leave the agency and join the private sector:“He jumpstarted an agency that had not been allowed to do its job for four years.” pic.twitter.com/xk8WGgX0mv— Camilo Montoya-Galvez (@camiloreports) April 16, 2026 The DHS Secretary credited Lyons with “jumpstarting an agency that had not been allowed to do its job for four years,” and the White House piled on with its own praise. NPR picked up the additional reaction from Trump’s deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller: White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller said in a statement: “Todd is a phenomenal patriot and dedicated leader who has been at the center of President Trump’s historic efforts to secure our homeland and reverse the Democrats’ sinister border invasion. His courageous work at ICE has saved countless thousands of American lives and helped deliver safety and tranquility to millions of Americans.” Now the obvious question: who replaces him? That part is wide open. According to The Boston Globe, no successor has been named, and ICE has technically been operating without a Senate-confirmed director going back nearly a decade. Whoever Trump and Mullin pick next will inherit the most aggressive deportation operation the agency has ever run, plus the political crosshairs that come with it. Lyons stays in the role until May 31 to help with the transition. After that, Trump’s most prominent enforcement officer trades the federal government for the private sector, and the administration starts hunting for someone who can keep the deportation engine running at the same pace. That’s not a small ask.