President Donald Trump’s long-awaited health care framework will include pro-life protections, The Daily Signal has learned. The White House on Thursday called on Congress to pass Trump’s new “Great Health Care Plan,” which promises to lower drug prices, lower insurance premiums by sending money directly to Americans, and improve price transparency in health care. “These are commonsense actions that make up President Trump’s great health care plan, and they represent the most comprehensive and bold agenda to lower health care costs to have ever been considered by the federal government,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt said. The plan doesn’t mention the Hyde Amendment, a necessity in any health care deal for many Republicans, prompting concern from pro-life leaders. The Hyde Amendment prohibits federal funding of elective abortions in health care appropriations. But a White House official told The Daily Signal that the White House will work with Congress to ensure the “strongest possible pro-life protections.” NEW: Though the president's new "Great Health Care Plan" has no explicit mention of Hyde, a White House official told @DailySignal the WH will work with Congress to ensure the "strongest possible pro-life protections." https://t.co/lesi6RIGaV— Elizabeth Troutman Mitchell (@TheElizMitchell) January 15, 2026 March for Life president, Jennie Lichter, expects the White House to keep this promise. “The American people don’t want to see their tax dollars being used to pay for abortions. That’s clear and consistent in polling over the years,” she told The Daily Signal. “I believe the president and his team know that, and I anticipate that they will stand strong and consistent with his own first term and second term, first year actions to ensure that taxpayer dollars are not used to support health plans that provide abortions in the upcoming health care negotiations.” But the president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, Marjorie Dannenfelser, sounded skeptical. “The ‘strongest possible’ is the Hyde amendment which in statute bars taxpayer funding of abortion,” she wrote on X. The “strongest possible” is the Hyde amendment which in statute bars tax payer funding of abortion. Very simple to commit to, as most Hill GOP have. Unless “flexible” means you can’t. https://t.co/20qtq3EolL— Marjorie Dannenfelser (@marjoriesba) January 15, 2026 Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, told reporters that the White House would work with Congress on the specifics of the bill. “There’ll be ongoing conversations, and we hope to be able to support with specific language for the legislation,” Mehmet Oz, administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, told reporters on a press call. Part of the White House’s plan, sending money to the American people rather than insurance companies, was previously suggested by several Republican senators, including Lousiana’s Bill Cassidy and Idaho’s Mike Crapo in one bill, and Florida’s Rick Scott in another bill. In both proposals, Americans could access federal subsidies through health savings accounts, which they could in turn spend directly on eligible health-related expenses. Both legislative proposals included Hyde Amendment protections, prohibiting funding in the accounts to be spent on abortions. The post Trump’s ‘Great Health Care Plan’ to Include ‘Strongest Pro-Life Protections’ appeared first on The Daily Signal.

A new poll on Florida’s gubernatorial race shows Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., ahead of his primary challengers by 30% or more. The Mason-Dixon poll released on Wednesday showed the South-West Florida Congressman counting on the support of 37% of Republican voters. Donalds’ closest opponent, current Florida Lt. Gov. Jay Collins, polled at 7%. His other two opponents, the former Florida House Speaker Paul Renner and businessman James Fishback, polled in at less than 4%. “Trump-endorsed Byron Donalds is the only proven conservative fighter who can unite Republicans, deliver on the President’ America First agenda, crush the Democrats, and make Florida more affordable,” Ryan Smith, chief strategist of the Byron Donald’s for Governor Campaign told The Daily Signal. “Anyone running against Byron is an anti-Trump RINO and will be soundly defeated in the Republican primary.” Donalds has been endorsed by President Donald Trump, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, and a large number of Florida’s elected officials. “There’s no changing the race, Byron is the Republican nominee and the next Governor,” Florida City of Sweetwater Commissioner Ian Vallecillo, who endorsed Donalds early in his campaign, told The Daily Signal. “This late in the race, there’s no way these guys will make up for lost time,” he added. “And another thing to point out is that whoever Trump backs, is going to win. Especially in Florida, Florida is Trump country. People like Byron. He’s tough, he’s decisive, and he gets the job done. He will have around 60-70% of the vote in the August primary,” Vallecillo added. Nevertheless, the Mason-Dixie poll found that 49% of Republicans remain undecided. Fishback, who polled in at 3%, told The Daily Signal he remains optimistic despite the recent polling results. “This time last year Zohran Mamdani was polling in the single digits. Now he is Mayor of New York,” Fishback said. “I will beat Byron Donalds, not by outspending him, but by out-working him.” Fishback stated he plans on visiting all of Florida’s 67 counties, something Donalds “refuses to do.” “No county is too big or too small for me to visit and hear from Floridians about what keeps them up at night and gets them out of bed in the morning,” Fishback added. Fishback, who is 1% behind Renner, hinted that the former Florida Speaker of the House from 2022 to 2024 could soon resign from the race. “Voters and voters alone will decide the future of my opponents.” Collins and Renner did not reply to The Daily Signal’s request for comment. The post Donalds Has Commanding Lead in Vital Florida Race, Poll Shows appeared first on The Daily Signal.

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s housing czar is back in the news for a resurfaced podcast episode, where she calls for the tanking of housing markets to usher in a socialist utopia. “We decided that fighting for rent control was a strategic and critical first step in the fight for full social housing,” Cea Weaver, Mamdani’s tenant director and long-time member of the Democratic Socialists of America, said in a video posted on X Tuesday. In the old video, as reported by the New York Post, she continued to explain how she would transition to a fully socialized property market. Cea Weaver says the quiet part out loud…."We decided that fighting for rent control was a strategic and critical first step in the fight for full social housing…We decided that through a program like rent control, we are able to directly challenge the logic of unfettered… pic.twitter.com/R8fo9rsBCW— Michelle Tandler (@michelletandler) January 14, 2026 Weaver has faced questions for other previously discovered videos where she, among other things, likened property rights to white supremacy, called for the collectivization of property, and cheered on the election of communists. When pressed to answer for these past statements, Weaver said she regrets them. When she was pressed further about them by reporters, she cried about it. But now more videos are coming out showing that Weaver didn’t just have a moment of injudicious exuberance for Marxism.  Marxism really is at the core of her belief system. She said in the newly discovered video that “through a program like rent control, we are able to directly challenge the logic of unfettered profit in the real estate market.” By directly challenging “housing as a wealth-building tool,” and adding in a fair bit of regulation, Weaver said it was possible to “strike a blow to the entire real estate industry at once.” That’s not all. Washington Free Beacon’s Jon Levine also reported Tuesday on Weaver’s appearance on a 2021 podcast “Bad Faith,” hosted by former Sen. Benie Sanders, I-Vt., and press secretary Briahna Joy Gray. “White, middle-class homeowners are a huge problem for a renter justice movement,” Weaver said. Weaver bemoaned the challenge faced by those who want to socialize property ownership. “Unless we can undermine the institution of homeownership and seek to provide stability in other ways, I don’t know—it’s a really difficult organizing situation we find ourselves in,” she said. I’m somewhat relieved that the “renter justice movement” faces a few roadblocks. Later in the podcast episode, as Levine reported, Weaver explained her plan to go after landlords. “We need a national movement to pass universal rent control to limit landlords’ ability to endlessly profit on our homes, to give tenants the right to form a tenants’ union where they live, and to really block evictions,” she said. “But rent control is not enough: People need money. We need to tax billionaires and transform that into cash assistance for renters. And we need to chip away at homeownership, and that means—that means Medicare for All, that means, like, a deep investment in real social service programs.” The leftist housing czar also said that landlords don’t really have a legitimate claim to property and mocked them for not wanting to let people stay in their rental housing for free. “You know, if you piss off your landlord, you could be forced out, and something that really pisses off your landlord is not paying rent for a year and a half because you can’t,” she said. “Landlords really don’t like the idea that a tenant could live, that a tenant could be able and allowed to stay in something that they consider themselves to own.” What strikes me now that Weaver’s ideas are being exposed is how boilerplate it all is. She’s been touted as this brilliant, “nationally recognized” housing policy wonk with maybe an unfortunate knack for speaking incautiously. But what I’ve heard from Weaver seems to be little more than bog-standard leftist claptrap that’s been around since the time of Marx with a healthy dose of anti-white racialism to spice it up. Weaver means to tax billionaires and seize property from the (mostly white) Kulaks to give it to the oppressed masses. Then all your dreams will come true. How original. Mamdani, it must be noted, hasn’t budged from his support for Weaver. This makes sense. She’s a socialist, or really a Marxist, who wants to go after the “rich,” white middle class. That doesn’t seem all that different from statements Mamdani has made in the past. Sure, Mamdani moderated his rhetoric a bit during the campaign, but he also defiantly stood by his socialist views in his inaugural address. Mamdani and his administration are what we thought they were. That doesn’t mean his administration will be all mistakes and disasters, but it does mean that every big decision he and his staff make is likely in service of their ultimate goals, laid out more frankly outside of campaign season. Can the financial capital of the United States weather the socialist storm? Is New York City too big to fail? Is “true communism” really going to work this time? We shall see. The post Mamdani Adviser Calls for Destruction of Private Housing in Newly Unearthed Videos appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Editor’s note: Thursday afternoon, Jack Fowler, co-host of “Victor Davis Hanson: In His Own Words,” received a note from Hanson that the iconic historian wanted him to share with the public. As Fowler said, if you’re looking for the “official word” on Hanson’s health and status, “this is it.” I want to thank all the wonderful people who have sent me wishes of rapid recovery and prayers in so many manifestations. I cannot thank you enough, given it gave me hope and encouragement these past two weeks as I read and reread your notes, cards, and postings. I was operated on 12/30 to remove a large “mucinous adenoma carcinoma” and also right lower lobe by the thoracic surgery team at Stanford Medical. I had previously and mysteriously been unable to recover fully from a March 2025 flu and a series of sinus infections that led to a sinus operation, and later hoarseness and cough. A series of various scans suggested subclinical pneumonia, prior damage from long COVID, or perhaps even valley fever. However, the consolidation continued to grow, and I continued to feel weaker and hoarser—from what turned out to be a very hard to diagnose and rare lung cancer that is often dubbed “pseudo-pneumonia” for its near identical appearance to infection/inflammation on scans. Many think these types of cancer are genetically driven, and I have had certainly many family members with cancers. An accurate diagnosis is often made more difficult given non-smokers (and nondrinkers/non drug users) more often suffer this type of strange malignancy. Luckily, and belatedly I got to Stanford Med where after another scan and surgical biopsy they quickly diagnosed the near year-long problem as a large malignancy. In this regard. I want to thank our director at the Hoover Institution and my friend and colleague Dr. Condoleezza Rice whose support and advice on medical care proved invaluable. The 12/30 cancer removal surgery a little more than two weeks ago went well. But as happens (I’m 72) sometimes, an arterial bleed of unknown origins developed in the recovery room. I was very lucky that the team got me back into surgery, found the hemorrhaging, provided numerous transfusions, and got me back to recovery. I am recovering well from the lung cancer surgery, but now mostly dealing with the after-effects of the long time under anesthesia for the two procedures, blood loss, anemia, and some AFIB, which are all mostly manifested in fatigue and weakness. But I hope to rebuild and recover and return to work in time, especially given the frantic news cycle of the last month. There is much to be optimistic about, despite the nasty nature of this rare nonsmoker’s cancer and a few detours during recovery. Lymph nodes and peripheral samples removed during surgery around the tumor and mass proved negative for malignancy. And a pre-op full body scan did not show metastasis. So, I’m hoping to rebuild my strength and prepare for perhaps some sort of chemo/immunotherapy prophylactic treatment to help prevent recurrence in the pulmonary area. I can’t thank all of you enough for your kindness. It stunned me, and I will do my best to recover and see you all again on podcasts and other venues. Sincerely,Victor Davis Hanson The post A Health Update From Victor Davis Hanson appeared first on The Daily Signal.

In another clash with President Donald Trump and his administration, New York Attorney General Letitia James is challenging an executive order halting federal funding of gender ideology promotion.  New York state is the lead plaintiff, joined by 11 other states, in a lawsuit against the Department of Health and Human Services filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island.  At issue is Trump’s executive order establishing his administration’s policy that there are two sexes, male and female. Trump’s health agency is withholding grants to states that won’t comply with this policy regarding a federal anti-discrimination statute, Title IX of the Civil Rights Act. The agency’s policy applies the definitions that women are biologically female and men are biologically male. The HHS application of the executive order could affect public universities, health agencies, and publicly-funded hospitals. “The federal government is trying to force states to choose between their values and the vital funding their residents depend on,” James said in a public statement.  State attorneys general of California, Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington have joined the lawsuit.  “This policy threatens health care for families, life-saving research, and education programs that help young people thrive in favor of denying the dignity and existence of transgender people,” James continued. “New York will not abandon our values, our laws, and our residents. My office is suing to block this cruel and unjust directive.” The complaint says that the Trump administration threatens to terminate grants or demand repayment of federal funds against states not complying with the rules.  New York and the other states argue the agency has no authority to impose these conditions and is using federal funding to coerce states. They also allege the administration did not fully explain what “compliance” requires. The lawsuit further claims the funding conditions unlawfully override Congress’s spending power, and violate the Administrative Procedure Act by imposing a major policy change without notice or explanation.  An HHS spokesperson did not respond to an inquiry from The Daily Signal.  Last year, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy explained the department would enforce the president’s executive order.  “This administration is bringing back common sense and restoring biological truth to the federal government,” Kennedy said in a public statement.  “The prior administration’s policy of trying to engineer gender ideology into every aspect of public life is over,” Kennedy continued.  The Rhode Island federal district court has been a tough venue for the Trump administration. District court judges ruled against the administration regarding reforms to federal agencies, spending reforms, and immigration enforcement. The post Trump Nemesis Leads Multi-State Challenge to Gender Order appeared first on The Daily Signal.