FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—Sen. Rick Scott is urging the White House to end the Optional Practical Training work permit program, which incentivizes employers to give jobs to foreign students. “The OPT program should not exist; it is a purely regulatory creation with no statutory basis,” the Florida Republican wrote in a letter obtained by The Daily Signal. The Optional Practical Training (OTP) program, created in 1992, allows foreign students to remain in the United States to work for nearly four years after graduation. Scott says this takes jobs away from U.S.-born college graduates. Employers receive a tax break for hiring foreign graduates under the program, giving foreigners an advantage over U.S. citizens, Scott argues. 260410 Letter to Trump OPTDownload “The jobless rate for recent graduates with computer engineering degrees is nearly double the general unemployment rate,” the letter says, “and the unemployment rate for recent computer science graduates is over 50% higher than the general jobless rate.” More than half a million student visa holders currently have OPT work permits, the letter says. Scott argues this creates a national security risk by bolstering China. “Many OPT recipients from Communist China have jobs in universities and Big Tech firms, giving them access to sensitive technological information and intellectual property,” Scott wrote. “We cannot continue opening the door to an enemy nation that will happily use our own research against us.” The Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman warned in a 2020 report that the OPT and STEM OPT programs “have remained a source of concern in recent years due to their vulnerability to fraud and indicators that they are being leveraged by foreign governments as a means of conducting espionage or illicit technology transfer in the STEM areas.” More than 33,000 Chinese nationals hold special STEM work permits under the program that allow them to stay in the U.S. Scott cited reports that the Trump administration planned to end the program. The Department of Homeland Security has said it “will amend existing regulations to address fraud and national security concerns, [and] protect U.S. workers from being displaced by foreign nationals.“ Before President Donald Trump’s inauguration in 2025, Forbes reported that the “upcoming Trump administration rule is expected to end or restrict Optional Practical Training.” The post EXCLUSIVE: Senator Urges Trump to End Program That Gives US Jobs to Foreign Graduates appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Remarks from a virologist calling out former National Institutes of Health leaders—Dr. Francis Collins and Dr. Anthony Fauci—have sparked renewed interest on Capitol Hill about the government’s handling of COVID-19. Virologist Simon Wain-Hobson, a professor at the Paris-based Institut Pasteur, accused Fauci and Collins of “professional failure” in the COVID-19 pandemic and the lead-up to it when speaking in March to more than 100 NIH officials. “Anthony Fauci and Francis Collins are guilty of offenses far worse than ‘professional failure,’” Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., the chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, told The Daily Signal. “They were clearly involved in a purposeful cover-up of their support for and funding of dangerous gain-of-function research that more than likely produced the coronavirus and allowed them to unleash their mRNA injection on an unsuspecting global population,” Johnson added. Fauci, Collins, and other NIH officials have denied conducting gain-of-function research or that such research led to the COVID-19 pandemic. The term “gain-of-function” describes a risky research process of making a pathogen more dangerous or contagious for the purpose of studying a response. Paul D. Thacker, an independent journalist and former Senate staff investigator, first reported on his Substack, The Disinformation Chronicle, on the private remarks by Wain-Hobson to NIH officials. 1) EXCLUSIVE: Virologist Simon Wain-Hobson spoke w/ over 100 NIH officials in a private talk, berating former NIH officials for obfuscating about dangerous gain-of-function studies."Scientists have to be educated because they are totally out of touch.”Fauci regime is erased. pic.twitter.com/7HzeqqxfjS— Paul D. Thacker (@thackerpd) April 9, 2026 The virologist’s remarks should be reviewed, Rep. Rich McCormick, R-Ga., a doctor who was a member of the former House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, said. “I’ve continually said that questions regarding the origins of COVID-19 and gain-of-function research should always be addressed with transparency and seriousness,” McCormick told The Daily Signal. “If a respected virologist like Simon Wain-Hobson raises concerns about past leadership at NIH, those concerns should be carefully reviewed.” “Early publications associated with NIH leadership, including Dr. Fauci, shaped the initial narrative and may have limited broader scientific debate,” McCormick continued. “Transparency and accountability at the NIH are essential for public trust. The whole point of science is to have robust debate, and the minute you sterilize that debate, it is no longer science.” Collins is the former director of the National Institutes of Health. Fauci is the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. During his remarks, Wain-Hobson pointed to a 2011 Washington Post commentary by Fauci and Collins that defended controversial research. “We can’t have the safety of society being dictated without discussion,” Wain-Hobson said. “I think that was a professional failure.” He further accused the American Society for Microbiology of “obfuscating” how dangerous gain-of-function research is. The society did not respond to inquiries for this story. After retiring, Fauci became a professor at the Georgetown University School of Medicine and a professor at the McCourt School of Public Policy. The Daily Signal contacted the media relations office at Georgetown University to seek comment from Fauci. The Daily Signal also contacted Leading Authorities Inc., a speaking bureau that books Fauci for public speeches. No one responded by publication time. The Daily Signal also reached out for this story to the Harry Walker Agency, which books Collins’ speaking engagements; to AAE Speakers, which lists Collins as one of their speakers; and to an email address still listed for Collins on the NIH website. No one responded by publication time. The post What Lawmakers Say About Virologist Calling Out Fauci, NIH on COVID appeared first on The Daily Signal.

The three-way Louisiana GOP Senate primary is at a standstill. Even with President Donald Trump’s early endorsement, a runoff looks likely. The president passed over two-term incumbent Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., and gave his coveted endorsement to Rep. Julia Letlow, R-La. The Louisiana primary is set for May 16. A crowded ballot makes it likely the election will go to a runoff slated for June 27. Sitting Sen. Cassidy is going up against Letlow and former U.S. Rep. John Fleming, R-La., who currently serves as the state treasurer. Letlow came into the race late but quickly received the sought-after endorsement from President Donald Trump. The president noted in his endorsement video that Letlow had been a “friend” and had been “as loyal as can be.” ?NEW VIDEO?I am honored to have President Trump’s complete and total endorsement for U.S. Senate.Louisiana Republicans have a clear choice in this race: a Trump-endorsed conservative who will fight for our state, or Bill Cassidy, who voted to convict President Trump.… pic.twitter.com/iCFIIiycut— Julia B Letlow, Ph.D. (@jbletlow) March 24, 2026 Cassidy was unlikely to receive any support from Trump after he voted to impeach the president for the events at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. At a recent campaign stop, Cassidy told NBC that the 2021 vote “might be” a liability for his campaign and acknowledged it is a vote “people will remember” him for. “Bill Cassidy is collapsing under the weight of his anti-Trump record,” a Letlow campaign spokesperson, Katherine Thordahl, told the Daily Signal. “While Julia Letlow is building an insurmountable lead thanks to President Trump’s complete and total endorsement.” ‘If the Data Exists, Why the Delay?’: Sen. Bill Cassidy Demands Answers on Abortion Pill Safety@SenBillCassidy is “one of the leading members of Congress who has been calling” on FDA Commissioner Marty Makary to conduct a “thorough safety review on the abortion pill.”If the… pic.twitter.com/4BQZbgfGqk— The Daily Signal (@DailySignal) January 14, 2026 Cassidy did not respond to a request from The Daily Signal for comment. However, neither candidate looks likely to cross the 50% vote threshold needed to win the primary and avoid a runoff. Fleming’s entry into the race has siphoned conservative votes from both Cassidy and Letlow. Fleming was a founding member of the House Freedom Caucus. Fleming told Punchbowl that the White House has twice offered “anything they could” to get him to step out of the race. “I said no, of course, and diplomatically said no,” Fleming told the outlet. The White House has denied these claims. Letlow’s Trump endorsement could also provide a boon to her campaign financially in the future. The president’s super PAC, MAGA Inc., has more than $300 million in its war chest. She has been backed by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s aligned super PAC, Make America Healthy Again. The group pledged $1 million to Letlow, likely due to Cassidy’s lack of support for the secretary and skepticism of his health policy. Cassidy ultimately voted to confirm Kennedy, but sparred with Kennedy over the efficacy of vaccines and other health-related issues. The Senate Leadership Fund and the National Republican Senate Committee have both pledged their support to Cassidy. The post Louisiana Senate Primary Tests Power of Trump Endorsement appeared first on The Daily Signal.

The Trump administration scored a court win on Friday as a judge ruled the administration can fast-track immigration cases. Immigration advocates sued the Trump administration last month, arguing that the asylum process should take “years” to conclude and that lawyers want “at least a year” to prepare for court hearings while applicants remain in the United States, The Daily Signal previously reported. However, U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols of the District of Columbia, a Trump appointee, said in his opinion that immigration law is clear on the timing of cases. “Immigration judges are directed to resolve cases ‘in a timely and impartial manner’ and, absent exceptional circumstances, should complete administrative adjudication of an asylum application within 180 days after the application is filed,” his 27-page opinion said. He also ruled that plaintiffs “likely lack standing“ in the case. Plaintiffs accused the Trump administration of having a “Somali fast-track policy,” giving lawyers a compressed timeline of just four months or less to prepare for hearings Somali asylum applicants. They argued the timeline was “essentially impossible.” However, Nichols didn’t buy the argument from the Hines Immigration Law firm and the Advocates for Human Rights, both based in Minnesota, which sued the Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review. “The unrebutted record does suggest some form of coordinated effort directed only at nondetained Somali aliens. But the effects of that effort are felt most directly by the aliens themselves, who are not parties before the Court, and who have their own avenues to challenge removal decisions that violate their constitutional or statutory rights,” he determined. “The organizations bringing this lawsuit allege different and more muted harms, which are not clearly redressable by the Court and which do not seem irreparable.“ The plaintiffs were represented by Democracy Forward, a liberal legal group that has sued the Trump administration on multiple fronts. In a joint statement Friday, they expressed disappointment. “The Somali fast-track policy singles out one nationality and forces people through rushed immigration proceedings that make it nearly impossible to secure counsel or fairly present asylum claims,” the joint statement says. “By allowing this policy to continue, Somali asylum seekers remain at risk of being pushed through a system that denies them the time and support needed to navigate complex legal proceedings,” the statement later adds. In the complaint, the two plaintiffs argued there is precedent for a lengthy process for immigration cases. “In the past, IJs [immigration judges] have scheduled merits hearings for as far as two or three years out, with no indication that their calendars could not ‘go out’ that far,” the plaintiffs’ complaint says. The plaintiffs’ complaint argues the policy “substantially impedes” their work by speeding up the timeline to prepare for a hearing, leaving attorneys in some cases with “almost no time to gather and submit evidence.” The judge determined, “Plaintiffs have failed to demonstrate that their injuries are likely to be redressed by relief that the Court has power to enter.” The post Trump Immigration Win as Court Green Lights Accelerated Asylum Cases appeared first on The Daily Signal.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has pulled the deal to transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Islands—home to the pivotal U.K.-U.S. military base Diego Garcia—from the United Kingdom to Mauritius, after President Donald Trump fiercely opposed the measure. While the U.K. and Mauritius signed a preliminary deal in May 2025, it still required parliamentary approval, and the United States has substantial input in the decision, as well. Britain had exiled the inhabitants of the Chagos Islands—a small series of atolls in the Indian Ocean strategically located between Africa, Asia, and the Pacific Islands—when detaching the islands from Mauritius before Mauritius gained independence in 1968. “The decision by Britain’s Labour government to drop the Chagos bill from the king’s speech is a massive and humiliating defeat for Keir Starmer,” Nile Gardiner, director of the Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom at The Heritage Foundation, told The Daily Signal after the news broke Friday. “Keir Starmer had made the Chagos surrender deal his top foreign policy priority, and the fact that this deal is no longer going through Parliament is a huge blow to Starmer’s far-left agenda,” Gardiner added. While the Labour Party had hailed the deal as an effort to decolonize the Indian Ocean islands, critics warned that the deal would undermine the Diego Garcia U.S. military base. The agreement would have given Britain a 99-year lease for Diego Garcia. Critics also characterize Mauritius as a close Chinese ally, so surrendering the islands could strengthen China’s influence in the region. The U.S. used Diego Garcia to launch some of the attacks in Operation Epic Fury. “As the president has repeatedly stated, Diego Garcia’s strategic location makes it of great importance to the national security of the United States,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly told The Daily Signal in a statement Friday. “He will never allow the U.S. presence at Diego Garcia to be undermined or threatened for any reason. Recent developments have proven him right once again.” “Diego Garcia, a strategically placed island base, has enabled U.S. power throughout the Indian Ocean region, directly supporting and engaging in strike missions today in Iran, and during the Global War on Terror in Afghanistan,” Brent Sadler, a 26-year Navy veteran and senior research fellow at Heritage, told The Daily Signal. “Loss of this base or compromising its operational viability through Chinese (or other powers’) encroachment on it would be a severe blow to U.S. and Western influence and power projection in the region not easily replaced.” Gardiner credited President Trump’s opposition for the bill’s defeat, saying Trump was the “key reason” behind it. “The United States has stopped the Chagos surrender deal from moving forward and this is great news for the American people, and also, frankly, for the British people, as well,” he said. “The Heritage Foundation has led the fight against the Chagos deal in Washington for the last 18 months,” Gardiner added, calling the deal “one of the most dangerous threats to U.S. national security in many decades.” “As long as President Trump is in office, there’s zero chance of the Chagos deal moving forward,” he concluded. Liu Pengyu, a representative of the Chinese Embassy in the U.S., disputed concerns that China might have supported the Chagos Islands deal in order to weaken the U.S. “China adheres to the fundamental principles of international relations, including mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity and non-interference in each other’s internal affairs,” Liu told The Daily Signal. “China firmly supports the United Nations decolonization process and fully understands and supports Mauritius’s legitimate and reasonable claims on decolonization.” “China has no self-interest in this matter,” he concluded. The post ‘HUMILIATING DEFEAT’: UK Prime Minister Pulls Deal to Sacrifice Islands Housing Key US Military Base appeared first on The Daily Signal.