The Senate is about to try to use one of Congress’ most powerful tools—the budget reconciliation process—to fund border security and immigration enforcement over Democrats’ objections. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., is plowing ahead with plans to release a framework for a party-line budget bill that would inject funding into Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), as well as Customs and Border Patrol (CBP). The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has gone without appropriations since Feb. 14, as Democrats have refused to pass a bill that would fully fund the agency. President Donald Trump, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., have embraced a plan to fund ICE and CBP through reconciliation, while funding the rest of the agency through appropriations. Under the budget reconciliation process, the House and Senate have to pass a budget resolution including instructions for the committees involved in crafting the bill. This mostly non-binding document, which is not the underlying law itself, sets the budgetary targets for the relevant committees. In the case of this reconciliation bill, Thune has repeatedly reiterated his desire for the focus to be “skinny” and focused solely to funding border and immigration enforcement, rather than pulling in other priorities. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act Republicans passed in July was used to both extend the expiring 2017 tax cuts and enact campaign promises such as eliminating taxes on tips. Reconciliation does not allow for provisions that are more policy-oriented than budgetary. THUNE says GOP’s reconciliation bill will be “very, very skinny – anorexic-like skinny”Senate GOP leaders’ plan is to include ICE and CBP funding and no offsets. President Trump gave it the green light at WH meeting last week— Laura Weiss (@LauraEWeiss16) April 13, 2026 There is a camp of Republicans who want to use reconciliation to advance a host of ambitious legislative goals. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., for example, has said Republicans should “put as much stuff in there as we can get,” listing defense spending and election reforms as priorities. Proceeding to consideration of a budget resolution triggers a process known as the “vote-a-rama,” under which senators can offer amendments to the resolution. The process also requires another vote-a-rama once the Senate votes on the bill itself. These marathon voting sessions usually serve as a test of party discipline, as the majority party tables the minority party’s amendments Some Republicans are eyeing this process as an opportunity to slip in additional provisions. “I would love to do as much as we can do, and there will be several amendment opportunities to do that,” Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., said last week. Funding everything at DHS except actual immigration enforcement and deportations is a total failure.Senate Republicans aren't shifting Democrats our way — they're handing a victory to the open-borders amnesty crowd. https://t.co/37wg76rinR— House Freedom Caucus (@freedomcaucus) March 24, 2026 Any Senate budget resolution would also have to be approved by the House in order for Congress to advance to reconciliation. The House Freedom Caucus, a large faction of hardline conservatives in the House of Representatives, has already come out in opposition to funding only part of DHS through reconciliation, instead calling for funding the entire agency for the remainder of Trump’s term. The post Senate Prepares to Advance Major Budget Framework for Border appeared first on The Daily Signal.

For too long, the crime problems festering in Washington have been a national embarrassment. Thanks to President Donald Trump, that shame is lifting as crime rates plummet in the District of Columbia to levels unthinkable just a few years ago. All it took was a different attitude and a little action. Trump announced in August, shortly after the murder of two young embassy workers, that he’d had enough of the crime and would be deploying National Guard troops to the city. “Citizens, tourists, and staff alike are unable to live peacefully in the nation’s capital, which is under siege from violent crime,” he said in a statement. “It is a point of national disgrace that Washington, D.C., has a violent crime rate that is higher than some of the most dangerous places in the world. It is my duty to our citizens and federal workers to secure the safety and the peaceful functioning of our nation, the federal government, and our city.” At the time, this move was dismissed by media detractors and chided by prominent Democrats who lashed out at Trump’s intolerable act of leadership. But it turns out you can just do things. Washington didn’t have to have high crime. Trump’s “surge” is paying off. Since Trump’s announcement, the District of Columbia has witnessed a staggering reduction in crime that far outpaces the already impressive declines across the nation. So far this year, there have been only 20 recorded homicides in the District. If that trend holds, 2026’s final tally could end up well below the previous modern low of 88 homicides recorded in 2012. It’s not just homicides—a good stat to track because of the difficulty in manipulating the numbers—other kinds of crime are going down too. The White House posted some of the best numbers, which can be found on the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia’s website. President Trump's tough on crime policies have led to a DRASTIC decrease in crime in our nation's capital. ?? pic.twitter.com/yyE44aD4OQ— The White House (@WhiteHouse) April 20, 2026 It’s not just statistics. Residents of the city say they feel the city is changing for the better. I live in DC and the difference has been noticeable. People visiting from other major American cities have told me how surprised they were with DC’s cleanliness and safety. The fruits of law and order speak for themselves. Important for the GOP to continue prioritizing this. https://t.co/d20VizcKAA— Patrick Casey (@restoreorderusa) April 20, 2026 These positive changes even seem to be happening in the city’s most dangerous areas. It’s a remarkable turnaround from just a few years ago when, following the George Floyd riots and COVID-19 lockdowns, crime spiraled out of control. The city endured 226 homicides in 2021, 203 in 2022, and a staggering 274 in 2023. This was the “Black Lives Matter” and “defund the police” era in which blue cities across the nation foolishly embraced the Left’s “solutions” to what they called the “systemic racism” of policing. Ironically—though I’d say predictably—it was also this era in which a far higher number of Black lives were taken due to the lawlessness and criminality created by left-wing ideology making its way into policy. So, after suffering nearly 300 homicides three years ago, it would take a massive summer surge to even reach 100 by the end of this year. That plummeting motor vehicle theft statistic should stand out too. Since 2020, Washington practically became the carjacking capital of the country. In that horrible year of 2023, there were nearly 1,000 carjackings in the city, in addition to other vehicle thefts. Much of this was driven by juveniles who faced absurdly low penalties for what is a very serious crime. It was during this time, when homicides and carjackings were out of control, that D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb infamously said that the city “cannot prosecute and arrest” its way out of the problem. Yes, it could. And that’s how we get to the fuller story of Washington’s seemingly miraculous crime drop. X user “Austin Justice” had an excellent summary of how things turned around so quickly. Washington DC is on pace for roughly 42 murders this year — the lowest since at least 1930. Two years ago it had 274. Carjackings are also down (by 44%).What changed:1) New U.S. Attorney replaced a soft-on-crime predecessor and immediately started actually prosecuting,… pic.twitter.com/lfACWnrNyo— Austin Justice (@AustinJustice) April 16, 2026 The most notable change from the top was Trump’s deployment of the National Guard. As Austin Justice explained, this filled the gap of “a 50-year low in local police staffing—a hole created by city council budget cuts that some estimate will take a decade to fully close.” Mass makes a difference. The National Guard surge allows the police to do their jobs more effectively. But it’s not enough to simply arrest criminals. That’s where the justice system comes in. The city has a new U.S. attorney, Jeanine Pirro, who has aggressively pursued prosecutions, a far cry from President Joe Biden’s appointee Matthew Graves, whose record on that front could fairly be called “abysmal.” Pirro stepped up efforts to charge some juveniles as adults for violent crimes. As Cully Stimson, the acting director of the Institute for Constitutional Government at The Heritage Foundation, noted, the arrest-to-offense ratio for carjackings was an extremely low 25% in the Biden years. But in Trump’s first year in office, there is now a “58% arrest-to-offense” ratio in the city due to the willingness to prosecute more 16- and 17-year-old carjackers as adults. And that really is most of the story. More police, more arrests, more prosecutions, less crime. It’s common sense, not rocket science. What the District of Columbia is experiencing is just a small taste of what it’s like to not live under a leftist, Democrat regime. That isn’t so bad, is it? The post Law and Order Works: Crime Plummets in Washington After Trump Takes Action appeared first on The Daily Signal.

After Energy Secretary Chris Wright said gas prices might remain above $3 a gallon until next year, Republicans are bracing for midterm voters to have high energy costs on their minds.  “There’s a lot of stressed Republicans,” one GOP operative told The Daily Signal.  When asked by CNN on Sunday when gas prices will drop below $3, Secretary Wright said, “I don’t know. That could happen later this year. That might not happen until next year.”  The average price for a gallon of regular gas on Monday was $4.04 amid a ceasefire in the United States’ war with Iran. About one-fifth of the world’s oil supply passes through the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran shut again after briefly reopening it Friday. Trump later told The Hill that Wright was “totally wrong,” saying that prices will drop below $3 as soon as the operation ends.  “It’s going to be a slog as a result,” the operative said of the economy. “Everyone’s lines have been that it’s going to bounce back quickly. It’s got to do that, though, and I don’t think folks are optimistic we’re going to get there.” Either way, Republicans are preparing for an election season in which candidates will need to focus on local issues rather than the national economy. Republicans in battleground districts need to know their district and their state and campaign on the issues that matter most to their constituents, the strategist said. “That is where a lot of those candidates that survive cycle after cycle, that’s where they find success,” the strategist said, “because at the end of the day, there’s some things that are always going to be out of their control–and gas prices being one of them–is just the nature of the midterms.” Another GOP operative said he’s willing to give gas prices a little more time before allowing himself to be truly concerned.  “We haven’t really seen panic set in in terms of gas prices, economy,” the operative said, “because I think [members of Congress], along with voters, are willing to give President Trump a little bit more time.”  Republicans aren’t minimizing gas prices, he said, but are seeking to communicate them to voters as part of a long-term plan.  “Trust President Trump and Republicans to take care of this really important issue in Iran,” the operative said. “We’re delivering on other fronts as well to make your lives easier.” This echoes the messaging in the White House briefing room from press secretary Karoline Leavitt and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.  “The message is short-term volatility for long-term gain,” Bessent said at an April 8 press briefing.  However, if gas prices stay high, Republicans will face down-ticket issues, the strategist said.  “The reality of it is as gas is high, you start feeling that across every area of the economy,” the strategist said. “As folks are gearing up for the home stretch here, whether it’s the committees or candidates and everything else, it’s just a matter of they’re just playing with the reality that the economy may not be flying at the rate it needs to be.”  Republican candidates should instead try to focus on tax cuts in the “One Big, Beautiful Bill” and job growth under Trump, both operatives said.  “There are some silver lines right now to kind of ease some of the gas burden we talked about, particularly on the tax front, as folks are seeing large return refunds hitting their bank accounts,” the strategist said.  “Job numbers continue to be strong, and there is real growth happening,” the strategist added. “It’s just expensive out there, and folks are feeling it.” A Republican National Committee senior official believes there will be light at the end of the tunnel on gas prices later this year. Due to the rapid speed of the news cycles, the official thinks it’s likely people won’t be talking about the temporary increase in gas prices come November. Democrats are trying to make the current economic moment feel more tense than it is, according to the official. While Democrats only messaging is “standing up against the president and Republicans,” the official said Trump has given Republican candidates a lot to campaign on. “The history of the midterms is what it is for the party in power,” he said, “but he has given us a pretty good record to run on. We just have to go tell that story, and our candidates have to tell that story, and they have to be very consistent and very good about cutting through all the noise out there and staying on the drumbeat affordability and what this administration and a Republican Congress will do on that.” The post ‘A Lot of Stressed Republicans’: GOP Prepares for High Gas Prices During Midterms appeared first on The Daily Signal.

A woman facing voter fraud charges in California said her first reaction when investigators contacted her last August was, “Thank God, finally, someone’s looking into this.” The state is probing why Laura Yourex registered her dog Maya, a Boxer, to vote in the 2020 election. In an interview with the New York Post, she said she was testing the system to expose what she believed were vulnerabilities. Yourex said she notified the Orange County registrar of voters and the Huntington Beach city attorney’s office of the dog’s registration, and did so repeatedly. “I’ve given my picture of Maya and her ballot, and given my phone number, and would never hear from anybody,” Yourex told the newspaper. During the COVID-19 pandemic, there were broad concerns about how California’s mail-in ballots were distributed. “I think that’s really what kind of set me off. We have two people living in this house—my husband and I—and we got six cards to register to vote,” she told the Post. “I was like, well, that’s ridiculous.” She added, “If you look at the actual form that I sent in, it’s literally a made-up name, made-up birthday, no Social Security number at all. The only thing that was real on it was my address.” A Republican-backed ballot initiative is advocating for voter ID in California. The Heritage Foundation’s Election Fraud Database shows that since 2020—when Maya was registered—there have been 25 adjudicated cases of voter fraud in the state. Of those, 23 ended in a criminal conviction. The case also comes amid the debate over the SAVE Act, as the Senate considers a House-passed measure to require proof of citizenship to register to vote and photo identification to vote nationwide. On another front in California, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco launched an election fraud investigation of the 2025 special election after a group of citizens raised concerns of irregularities. After Bianco, a Republican candidate for governor, seized 650,000 ballots, the California state Supreme Court last week ordered him to pause his probe. A group of media outlets asked a court to unseal the warrant that led to the ballot seizures. The post DOGGONE: California Woman Registered Her Boxer to Vote to Prompt Investigation. Now She Faces Charges appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Virginia, once a model for independent redistricting, is asking voters to temporarily hand the Democratic-controlled Legislature power to redraw congressional lines having a 10-1 partisan edge. The Old Dominion State has 11 U.S. House districts. Five are considered strongly Democratic, two lean Democratic, one is a toss-up, two lean Republican, and one is strongly Republican. Under the current district map, the Virginia delegation to the U.S. House consists of six Democrats and five Republicans. But a new map proposed by Democrat state lawmakers in October would radically alter the political landscape: Five districts would be strongly Democratic, five would lean Democratic, and one would be strongly Republican. The proposed change comes six years after Virginia decided to reform its redistricting process in an effort to draw fair maps. In 2020, voters approved a state constitutional amendment that established the bipartisan Virginia Redistricting Commission (VRC), taking redistricting power away from the General Assembly. Last fall, however, Virginia Democrats started a process to implement a new map through a new constitutional amendment. Amending the State Constitution To amend Virginia’s Constitution, the General Assembly must first pass a bill. After the next general election takes place, the newly seated Assembly must pass the same bill again, and the governor must sign it. The resulting referendum is then put before the voters. If voters approve, the constitution is amended. In October, the prior General Assembly passed a redistricting bill and proposed maps. Following the 2025 general election, a newly elected Assembly in January passed the same bill again, through a party-line vote. Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed the bill. The resulting referendum, to be voted on Tuesday, will let voters have a say on those maps. Democrats argue their highly partisan redistricting referendum is intended to counter Republican redistricting in other states. Republicans say the referendum violates constitutional timing rules and overrides the independent commission. Multiple GOP-led lawsuits have ensued, with the majority being filed in the Circuit Court of Tazewell County. Despite those lawsuits, the Virginia Supreme Court has allowed the April 21 vote to proceed. A legal review of the entire process will occur after the election. Follow the Money Republicans and Democrats have spent over $83 million campaigning for their preferred outcome in Tuesday’s election. Virginians for Fair Elections has spent over $62 million urging voters to vote “Yes,” which would produce new maps. Virginians for Fair Maps has spent about $21 million urging voters to vote “No,” which would maintain the status quo. Each organization has placed ad buys, sent emails, distributed yard signs, knocked on doors, and brought well-known former politicians back into the spotlight to persuade voters to their cause.  Local partisan committees also have weighed in with their own efforts, creating signage, recording radio ads, and sending out postcards in an effort to reach voters.  A poll by State Navigate found that 50.7% of Virginians plan to vote “Yes,” while 45.4% of Virginians plan to vote “No.” The poll had a 3.7% margin of error. The ultimate fate of the referendum is uncertain, however, as voters could vote down the change, or the Virginia Supreme Court could rule against it and declare the election void. The post Virginians Set to Vote on a Map That Could Lock in Democratic House Dominance appeared first on The Daily Signal.