By 2049, Beijing aims to “fully transform” the People’s Liberation Army into a world-class force, and the U.S. military cannot deter China from using this military against the national interests of the U.S. with depleted munitions, delayed ships, and an industrial base that cannot surge in a crisis. President Donald Trump’s reconciliation bill recognizes this reality and provides the defense investment needed to restore American deterrence. The fiscal year 2027 defense request totals roughly $1.5 trillion, including $1.1 trillion in base discretionary defense funding and $350 billion in additional mandatory resources for urgent defense priorities. These mandatory budget resources are necessary for investment in the hard power required to restore deterrence and prepare the U.S. for the intensifying great power competition with China. The $350 billion in the reconciliation bill is designed to address shortfalls that cannot be solved through ordinary budget growth alone. This includes depleted munitions stockpiles, insufficient production capacity, fragile critical mineral supply chains, and an industrial base that needs predictable demand before it can expand. The White House budget states that the mandatory funding would support “critical Administration priorities,” such as increasing access to munitions and supporting the defense industrial base. Furthermore, it provides flexibility for maturing technologies and acquisition approaches that can bring new entrants into defense production. Reconciliation is not a substitute for the National Defense Authorization Act or the annual appropriations process, but it is the right tool for direct, budgetary investments that can survive Senate rules and move with a simple majority. As Russ Vought, Director of the Office of Management and Budget, has argued, reconciliation prevents urgent defense funding from being held “hostage” during the traditional appropriations process. Reconciliation should complement regular order by giving Congress a way to move quickly on urgent national security needs that also act as a much-needed shot in the arm for the American defense industrial base. America needs more ships in the water, more aircraft on the flight line, more missiles in reserve, and more production lines capable of surging in a crisis. The administration’s request rightly focuses on procurement and industrial expansion. Congress should assist the administration’s approach by funding executable programs that expand industrial-base capacity and directly strengthen deterrence against China. Maritime power will determine whether the U.S. can deter Chinese aggression, and the Trump administration’s defense budget rightly places a huge priority on revitalizing American shipbuilding. The U.S. needs warships that have the capacity to sustain operations across vast distances. The reconciliation funding complements the NDAA’s policy direction and oversight framework on maritime power by accelerating delivery timelines and giving industry the long-term demand signal it needs to hire workers and increase output. The establishment of a Munitions Acceleration Council is a step in the right direction. The objective is to fix the production system that would determine whether the U.S. could sustain a prolonged crisis. The U.S. has expended large numbers of precision guided munitions in the Middle East and Ukraine and needs large multiyear block buys to replenish our stockpiles. Munitions such as the SM-6, THAAD, Tomahawk, JASSM, AMRAAM, and PrSM are needed to deter Chinese aggression in the Western Pacific and are rightly given emphasis in the president’s reconciliation funding. Developing precision guided munitions, as well as aircraft, submarines, and missile defense systems depends on critical minerals. These are too often controlled or processed by our foreign adversaries, especially China. The reconciliation bill recognizes that munitions production and mineral security go hand in hand and makes major invests into onshoring or “friend shoring” America’s critical mineral supply chains. Our adversaries are watching what America can produce, deploy, and sustain. The question for Congress is whether this funding becomes real military capacity before the next crisis arrives. President Trump’s reconciliation bill meets the urgency of the moment by putting resources behind the military capabilities that matter most.

Virginia is taking a unique victory lap as the country celebrates its 250th birthday this year. The commonwealth was a leader in the rebellion against King George III and then in the building of the United States that followed American independence from Great Britain. Today, it is a leader in finding creative ways to tell those stories. Instead of forcing Virginians to travel to a museum to learn about our shared history, the commonwealth is bringing the museum to every corner of the state. The VA250 Mobile Museum Experience, which is titled “Out of Many, One,” is touring the state in an expandable tractor-trailer. When it arrives in town, it takes roughly two hours to convert the trailer to an exhibit space, according to Jeremy Martin, the program manager of the Mobile Museum Experience. The Daily Signal chatted with Martin when we caught the exhibit during a stop in Charlottesville last week. Martin noted that it took about two years to assemble the traveling exhibit, which curators started pulling together in 2023 with the help of partners from across the state. Guests enter the space from the back of the truck, which is adorned with an 1823 quote from Thomas Jefferson: “The generation which commences a revolution rarely completes it.” He died three years later on the 50th anniversary of Independence Day. It’s a timely reminder that it’s up to us in the 21st century to keep the spirit of 1776 alive for future Americans. “Out of Many, One” lays out many of the ideals we should focus on in the years ahead. Inside the museum, guests are greeted by a video of an actor portraying Patrick Henry giving part of his famous “Give me liberty or give me death” speech at St. John’s Church in Richmond in 1775. The virtual Henry even sports reading glasses pushed back up on his head, as he is usually depicted. He would go on to be Virginia’s first post-British governor. Another display highlights the role that George Mason’s Virginia Declaration of Rights played in shaping the United States. Mason shaped the thinking of his fellow Virginians Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, and the concepts he outlined in 1776 formed the basis of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution’s Bill of Rights. The exhibit also features an interactive display that allows visitors to select any Revolutionary War battle on a map. The kiosk then provides details about the battle, whether it was fought in Virginia or far afield. The VA250 Mobile Museum’s visit to Charlottesville coincided with the 50th anniversary of the city’s Downtown Mall, an eight-block pedestrian area lined with shops, theaters, and restaurants. Visitors who wanted to reflect on the world as it was in 1976 could also visit the “Then and Now: Charlottesville in the 1970s” exhibit along the mall. Charlottesville was one of many American cities that built walking spaces decades ago, but most of those have been returned to vehicular traffic over the years. While the glorious Fourth of July has passed, there is plenty of time to visit this exhibit, which will be on the road until the end of 2027. By the time the mobile museum is decommissioned, it will have “visited all 368 middle schools in the commonwealth.” Martin said. The facility is often parked near a nearby historic site, allowing students to visit both on the same trip. Be sure to see the mobile museum when it’s in your neighborhood.

THE CENTER SQUARE— Early voting began Monday in Georgia’s 13th Congressional District to determine who will fill the last months of the late U.S. Rep. David Scott’s term.  Four Democrats and two Republicans are on the ticket, with the winner to be decided on July 28, according to the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office.  Among the candidates is Scott’s daughter, Maryce Scott, who is running as a Democrat. Other Democrats running are Everton “EJ” Blair II, Tony Brown and Carlos Moore.  On the Republican ticket are Fayth Park and Caesar Gonzales.  Not running in the special election are the two candidates who will vie for a two-year term in November. State Rep. Jasmine Clark, a Democrat and Republican Jonathan Chavez will be on the general election ballot.  David Scott was first elected to Congress in 2002. In 2020, Scott was named chairman of the U.S. House Agriculture Committee. He qualified to seek his 13th term in office but died on April 22. The 13th District covers Rockdale County and portions of Clayton, DeKalb, Gwinnett, Henry and Newton counties. 

THE CENTER SQUARE—Schools and government entities in Georgia and Tennessee are paying large sums of money to settle lawsuits with educators fired because of their comments about Charlie Kirk, the slain Turning Point USA founder.  Most of the posts, which were viewed as celebrating Kirk’s death, were on personal social media pages and were reposted online. Collectively, the comments were not complimentary to Kirk. The settlement amounts range from nearly $300,000 to $1.9 million. Aaron Terr, public policy director for the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, known as FIRE, said in an interview with The Center Square that any anger about the money paid in these settlements should be directed at the government. “Yes, there may be that short-term cost that may be kind of painful, but the idea is that it’s going to deter similar types of constitutional violations by the government in the future,” Terr said. “And I would say that’s where the public should be directing its ire, not at the people who are trying to vindicate their rights, because this is the only way they can do it, but at the government for violating their rights.” The University of Tennessee is making one of the largest payouts after firing a professor shortly after Kirk’s death for statements on her personal Facebook page.  Tamar Shirinian, posting on her personal Facebook page shortly after Kirk was killed in Utah, wrote, “The world is better off without him in it. Even those who are claiming to be sad for his wife and kids….like, his kids are better off living in a world without a disgusting psychopath like him and his wife, well, she’s a sick (expletive) for marrying him so I dont (sp) care about her feelings.”  Shirinian received a $1.9 million settlement, which the university’s Board of Trustees approved in late June. “I think any continuing litigation would require significant time and attention and financial resources,” said board Chairman John Compton. “And those resources are better directed toward advancing the institution’s mission, vision and values.”  Another Tennessee professor received a $500,000 payout and kept his job, according to Clarksville Now. Austin Peay University professor Darren Michael shared a post that Kirk made about the Second Amendment.  Educators in other states are also settling for large amounts of money.  A Georgia teacher reached a settlement with her local school system, according to the organization representing her. The Center Square was unsuccessful prior to publication getting comment from the Oglethorpe County School System on the settlement amount. Online court documents did not provide details about the settlement with Michelle Mickens. The Southern Poverty Law Center, which represented Mickens, referred The Center Square to the court document. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Mickens was given $270,420 for “alleged emotional distress” and another $17,080 to cover legal fees. People are not just losing their jobs. Larry Bushart was arrested in Perry County after he posted a meme on social media with a picture of President Donald Trump and the statement, “We have to get over it. Donald Trump on the Perry High School shooting one day after.” The post referred to Perry County, Iowa, where a school shooting occurred in 2024 and not Perry County in Tennessee. Bushart spent a month in jail, missed his anniversary and the birth of his first grandchild, according to FIRE, which represented him. He won an $830,000 settlement from the county. Some cases remain unsettled months after they were filed.  Laura Sosh-Lightsy, a former dean at Middle Tennessee State University, sued the school in federal court after she was fired for a social media post. The case is in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee.  Monica Meeks was an employee with the state of Tennessee when she commented on a friend’s social media post, “The way you tap dance for White Supremacist should be studied!” She is also represented by FIRE. “We’re standing up for Monica Meeks to send a clear message: FIRE will not let public employment mean giving up your right to have an opinion off the clock,” said FIRE senior attorney Greg Greubel. “The First Amendment protects public employees from retaliation for protected speech, and it bars the government from summarily firing an Army veteran like Monica over a Facebook comment despite her long record of exemplary public service.” Terr said when people are off the clock, they have the right, as public citizens, to speak about issues of public concern.  “And even if you say something that other people might consider offensive or wrong-headed or insensitive, that doesn’t remove the speech from the First Amendment’s protection,” Terr said. “What an employer, a public employer, has to show in these cases is that it actually caused some serious disruption to its operation.”  FIRE doesn’t take a position on the content of the speech. “Our goal is just to protect and defend their right to say it, whether we agree with it or not, because the First Amendment is supposed to be there for everybody,” Terr said. 

A legal group that runs an education program for judges on climate issues has had an overly close association with China, raising concerns about foreign influence in environmental cases, a national security think tank alleges in a report. The group State Armor released a report about the Environmental Law Institute’s relationships with Chinese government-affiliated entities. The think tank also sent a letter asking for a congressional investigation into the institute’s ties to China. The report says the Environmental Law Institute has maintained a longstanding relationship with Chinese government-affiliated organizations and institutions through its China Program. At the same time that the China Program was operating, the organization ran the Climate Judiciary Project, which offered continuing education for judges on legal issues related to environmental and climate cases. Committee chairs on Monday did not yet commit to an investigation. However, Rep. John Moolenaar, R-Mich., chairman of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, noted the reported ties to China are concerning. “The CCP is actively taking advantage of our open society and attempting to advance its malign influence across all levels of government,” Moolenaar told the Daily Signal in a statement. “The ethical duty to avoid even the appearance of impropriety is a foundational pillar of the American judiciary. U.S. judges should closely vet the programs they participate in and never take part in training sponsored by CCP-linked United Front groups.” Michael Lucci, CEO of State Armor, sent the letter to the chairmen of relevant House and Senate committees asking for an investigation. The letter was addressed to Moolenaar; Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa; House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio; House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Brett Guthrie, R-Ky.; and Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Mike Lee, R-Utah. “Congress has increasingly recognized that the CCP often utilizes ostensibly academic, professional, and nonprofit relationships to advance strategic objectives and cultivate influence within foreign institutions,” the letter states. “The report raises legitimate questions about whether ELI’s activities may have extended beyond traditional educational exchange and whether Chinese entities exercised meaningful influence over ELI’s priorities, programming, or policy initiatives.” “Such an inquiry should assess the nature of ELI’s partnerships, the extent of information sharing, the role of Chinese government-affiliated organizations in shaping programs and initiatives, and whether any activities warrant additional scrutiny under existing foreign influence statutes,” Lucci added. An Environmental Law Institute spokesperson said the organization stopped working with China two years ago, and the China Program has never overlapped with the judicial program. “For over 50 years, ELI has worked to strengthen environmental protections in dozens of countries,” the Environmental Law Institute spokesperson said. “Our programming in China concluded in 2024, but was no different than our typical work in the United States—sharing evidence-based best practices on environmental regulation, not advancing the interests of the Chinese government or the Chinese Communist Party. ELI has never received any funding from the Chinese government, Chinese-based organizations, or Chinese-based businesses, and the Climate Judiciary Project has not conducted any programming in China.” The spokesperson said the goal of the Climate Judiciary Project is “to provide judges with the tools they need to understand climate science.” “CJP does not participate in litigation, coordinate with any parties related to any litigation, or advise judges on how to rule on any issue or in any case,” he said. On a similar front last month, Guthrie, the House Energy and Commerce Committee chairman, sent a letter along with subcommittee chairmen Reps. John Joyce, R-Pa., and Bob Latta, R-Ohio, to FBI Director Kash Patel and the co-chairs of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, requesting information on evidence of China and other foreign influence campaigns aimed at slowing American artificial intelligence development. The State Armor report “ELI and Communist China: How the Environmental Law Institute Threatens American Energy and Advances Chinese Interests” says the Environmental Law Institute’s judicial education promoted climate-related legal theories to more than 2,000 judges. The report says the Environmental Law Institute has also provided legal and policy analysis to Chinese universities, Chinese regulators, and other organizations in the country. This includes organizations that have links to the Chinese Communist Party and intelligence networks, according to the report. The report argues there is very little evidence that the law institute’s engagement with China has led to policies toward reduced pollution. Conversely, the report contends it has caused harm to American energy.