FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—With the midterms less than five months away, Americans for Prosperity Action is engaged in another ad campaign in support of Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, ahead of his special election. Husted, who was appointed to office by Gov. Mike DeWine in January 2025 to replace Vice President JD Vance, is facing former Democrat Sen. Sherrod Brown, who lost a race in 2024 to now-Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno. The latest ads focus on Brown’s establishment candidate status and record in Ohio, as well as a “new normal” of higher prices that Brown would have to offer. Husted, of course, is depicted as offering a different path forward. The ads began on June 2 and will last through June 30. AFP Action spent $1.75 million on the ad buy, with $750,000 for digital/streaming and $1 million for cable and broadcast TV. The group expects to reach about 1.75 million individuals. As the ads suggest, AFP Action is focused on affordability. Donovan O’Neil, a senior advisor for AFP Action, told the Daily Signal that this is the group’s “top-tier issue.” “What everything comes back to … is affordability and making sure families—working families, in particular, in a blue-collar state like Ohio—have somebody fighting for them in Washington,” O’Neil said. O’Neil said Brown has been in Washington for decades and “consistently voted for policies that made gas prices, among many other things, more expensive.” He added that the ads “help drive that message and complement the work our teams have been doing.” O’Neil also said voters in Ohio are frustrated and need to see a contrast between the two candidates to help inform their vote in November. “They want to know that the person they’re voting for has affordability at the top of mind,” O’Neil explained, and that there’s a reason why “they retired him two years ago.” During his earlier work in the Ohio Statehouse as speaker, Husted focused on education and cutting taxes. As Ohio’s secretary of state, and also as lieutenant governor, he worked to ease regulations on businesses. O’Neil says AFP supports Husted especially for his role in the Working Families Tax Cuts and permitting reform. “Sen. Husted’s been at the forefront of the issues that he knows Washington hasn’t been able to solve yet, and he’s committed to staying focused on those solutions,” he offered. The Cook Political Report regards the race between Husted and Brown as a “toss-up.” The winner of the special election will be up for reelection again in 2028.

Nathaniel Wetter Taylor, the protester who allegedly pepper-sprayed two special police officers outside of the Heritage Foundation last year, delivered his own opening statement before a jury Thursday, attacking Heritage as “fascist” and claiming that the officers violated his rights. Appearing in the D.C. Superior Court, Taylor told the jury that his actions were a “simple case of freedom of speech and protecting yourself.”  Taylor held a solo protest at the Heritage Foundation on June 11, 2025. He walked up to the Heritage Foundation’s front doors holding a sign and a recording smartphone.   When two special police officers, who are licensed to protect and make arrests on Heritage property, attempted to remove Taylor from the property, he pepper-sprayed one of them in the eyes and the other in the mouth, according to security video footage of the incident.   He was later arrested and charged with two misdemeanor counts of assaulting a police officer.   Taylor’s trial began on Thursday, and he chose to represent himself and deliver his own opening statement before a 12-person jury.   Taylor, an Illinois resident, explained to the court that he chose to travel to Washington, D.C., to “voice concerns” about the second administration of President Donald Trump and Project 2025. He had protested many times that month, including at Heritage on June 9, 2025, just two days before his arrest.  Taylor spent much of his opening statement explaining why he chose to protest the Heritage Foundation on the morning of June 11.  He claimed the conservative think tank was a “fascist and authoritarian” establishment and that Project 2025 would strip away the rights of the American people. “These rights are under attack, but I believe they still exist,” Taylor told the jury. Taylor contested many of the elements that the prosecution would need to prove for the jury to convict him. The defendant argued that he was on public property and that the officers have jurisdiction to make arrests only on private property. “The area where I stood is clearly established on record as public property,” Taylor said of the walkway imprinted with the signature Heritage “bell” logo that leads to the foundation’s front door.  He said he had no idea that the Heritage officers were in fact special police officers and had mistaken them for Heritage staff.  During the incident, he told the officers to call the police, and Taylor cited this as evidence of his confusion. He told the officers that if police told him to move, he would do so. “If I knew they were police, would I have asked them to call police?” he said. Taylor also justified his decision to pepper-spray the officers as a move of self-defense. “Because I was afraid I was about to be injured, I defended myself,” he explained.  The prosecution, however, argued that the officers had the ability to remove Taylor because he was on Heritage’s property, which they have authority to protect.   The prosecution said that Taylor walked past the red-brick designated public sidewalk onto the gray concrete of the Heritage Foundation entrance, went beyond the clearly displayed Heritage logo on the concrete, passed the fence, and approached the front door.   Additionally, the prosecution emphasized the officers’ attempt to deescalate the situation. At first, the officers asked Taylor to back away from the door. Only after he refused did the officers walk him back to the private sidewalk.  After they disengaged, Taylor shot them with pepper-spray, allegedly assaulting the two officers.   “Heritage believes in the First Amendment and respects American citizens’ right to disagree and to protest peacefully,” Eric Korsvall, chief operating officer at The Heritage Foundation, told the Daily Signal last year. “However, physical threats, attacks, and violence cross the line. Full stop.”  The trial is scheduled to reconvene on Monday, June 8 for each side to present their case before the court. 

SAN ANTONIO—Despite a bomb threat, Turning Point USA is bringing together thousands of conservative women this weekend to hear from the movement’s leading female speakers at its 11th annual Women’s Leadership Summit—and the Daily Signal is on the ground reporting live. Running today through Sunday, the summit aims to equip women to “strengthen their minds, cultivate wellness, step boldly into their purpose, and anchor their spirits in faith,” according to TPUSA. Turning Point Carries on Cultural Revival of Conservative Women—Despite Bomb ThreatFollowing increased leftist violence, and a bomb threat at their Women's Leadership Summit, Turning Point isn't backing down. Andrew Kolvet, Executive Producer of The Charlie Kirk Show, shares… pic.twitter.com/S4dSNtVd3B— The Daily Signal (@DailySignal) June 5, 2026 The organization, Erika Kirk, and the event have been the targets of death threats, bomb threats, and constant online attacks. “We refuse to let threats silence us,” TPUSA said in a statement responding to the latest bomb threat. On May 28, Jacob Wenske, a 26-year-old from San Antonio, was arrested and criminally charged for threatening to bomb the event. According to court records and police reports, Wenske threatened the lives of staff, attendees, and speakers. “Death to Erika Kirk and every single speaker there!! America will live on without those scum on this earth,” Wenske allegedly wrote. Turning Point USA takes all threats seriously and we work closely with law enforcement at all levels to respond to and resolve any threats.We are grateful to the San Antonio Police Department and the FBI for their rapid response and arrest of the individual making these…— Turning Point USA (@TPUSA) May 28, 2026 “Every Christian nationalist shall perish in the bombing that will take place at every single Turning Point rally and event. … I know exactly where to bomb,” the suspect allegedly threatened. TPUSA worked closely with law enforcement, and the organization said it was “grateful” that the San Antonio Police Department and the FBI responded and resolved the threats quickly. “The safety of our attendees, speakers, and staff is always our top priority. All TPUSA events include enhanced, multi-layered security measures that are enforced by both private security and local police,” the organization said in a statement. As we approach TPUSA’s annual women’s conference this week, I’ve been going through my husband’s past speeches from the same event that he loved so much. I’m moved, as always, by his unwavering dedication to free speech. He knew it was the bedrock of our great country. “We… pic.twitter.com/RLvZuqx9wL— Erika Kirk (@MrsErikaKirk) June 2, 2026 During the weekend, attendees will hear from movement leaders, elected officials, and activists such as Erika Kirk, Alex Clark, Kayleigh McEnany, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Allie Beth Stuckey, Riley Gaines, Kristan Hawkins, Isabel Brown, Leigh-Allyn Baker, and others. Reporters at the Daily Signal will speak with attendees, speakers, and possibly protesters about what it’s like to be a modern conservative woman, concerns over political violence, and whether women have, as Democrats claim, lost their rights in President Donald Trump’s America. The @DailySignal is off to Texas for @TPUSA Women’s Leadership Summit! Who do you want to hear from? pic.twitter.com/MjUbyoWxlN— Virginia Grace McKinnon (@virginiagmck) June 4, 2026

A federal judge who had previously made about $500,000 in campaign contributions to Democrats vacated Trump administration immigration policies that halted asylum processing and froze immigration benefits based on nationality. The judge, U.S. District Judge John J. McConnell Jr. of the District of Rhode Island, is a Barack Obama appointee. The case was based on the administration’s travel ban from certain countries, which was put in place after an immigrant shot at National Guard troops in Washington, D.C. last November. Plaintiffs, a coalition of immigration groups and labor unions, argued the policies violated federal immigration law, the U.S. Constitution, and the Administrative Procedure Act. The groups sued U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which processes asylum applications, work permits, green cards, and citizenship applications. “The agency announced that it would be placing an indefinite pause on the adjudication of immigration benefit requests for individuals from thirty-nine African, Asian, Latin American, and Middle Eastern countries,” McConnell wrote in his Friday ruling. “Since then, individuals from these countries have been categorically barred from receiving final decisions on, among other things, their asylum, work permit, green card, and citizenship applications,” McConnell added. “And USCIS’s hold on adjudications cannot be attributed to anything that these individuals did wrong; rather, it arises solely by the happenstance of their birth.” Plaintiffs include Dorcas International Institute of Rhode Island; Refugee Dream Center; Service Employees International Union (SEIU); International Union; United Automobile; Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW); African Communities Together (ACT); Venezuelan Association of Massachusetts (VAM); Partnership for the Advancement of New Americans (PANA); and American Gateways. “Today is a good day. On behalf of the thousands of immigrants we serve, we are grateful to Judge McConnell for his ruling. These policies were wrong, plain and simple, and caused profound fear and uncertainty for so many of our friends, neighbors, and coworkers,” Milagro Sique, CEO of Dorcas International Institute of Rhode Island, said in a public statement. “Having the judicial process work as intended—by upholding the rule of law—gives us some reassurance that all is not lost and allows those who have been impacted to move forward with their lives in a meaningful way.” McConnell previously sided with a coalition of Democrat state attorneys general to stop a federal funding freeze. In another case, he sided with the blue state of Rhode Island regarding federal funding cuts McConnell’s contributions include $28,500 to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which funds House candidates, in 2008, according to Open Secrets, which monitors money in politics. He contributed $25,000 toward the election of Democrat North Dakota Sen. Heidi Heitkamp in 2000, $12,500 to the Washington State Democratic Party in 2008; $10,000 to the Rhode Island Democratic Party in 2004; and $7,500 to Wisconsin Democrat Gov. Jim Doyle’s reelection in 2006. In total, he contributed $190,000 to members of Congress and at least $200,000 combined to the Democrat Party at the national and state level, CQ Roll Call reported. The donations came before he ascended to the federal bench. Obama nominated McConnell for the judgeship in March 2010, but the Senate didn’t confirm him until May 2011 by a 50-44 vote. The judge’s wife, Sara Shea McConnell, has also been a major donor to Democrats, according to both Open Secrets and Roll Call, contributing $250,000 to Democrat candidates. She also contributed $4,200 to the campaigns of Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I.

To hear the legacy media tell it, the sensible “middle-of-the-road” and “centrist” Xavier Becerra is likely to proceed to the runoff in the California governor race, and while he may have been the establishment pick, he’s far from moderate on abortion or transgender ideology. In fact, Becerra has an ugly record of weaponizing the law against conservatives. Becerra spent 24 years in the House of Representatives before California Gov. Jerry Brown, also a Democrat, appointed him attorney general to replace the outgoing Kamala Harris. After four years as attorney general, Becerra led the Department of Health and Human Services under President Joe Biden. Becerra wielded the attorney general’s office against conservatives. Becerra’s Record as Attorney General In March 2017, he filed 15 charges against David Daleiden and Sandra Merritt, the pro-life journalists who went undercover to expose Planned Parenthood’s sale of aborted baby body parts. Becerra was defending big abortion from conservative reporters who alerted the world to a truly horrific human trafficking business. In January 2025, Daleiden and Merritt pleaded no contest to one felony count under a settlement with California. They faced no jail time, fines, or admissions of wrongdoing, and the court expunged the case in April. “After enduring 9 years of weaponized political prosecution, putting an end to the lawfare launched by Kamala Harris is a huge victory for my investigative reporting and for the public’s right to know the truth about Planned Parenthood’s sale of aborted baby body parts,” Daleiden said in a statement on the January 2025 settlement. Becerra also defended California’s Reproductive FACT Act when the National Institute of Family Life Advocates sued to block it. NIFLA claimed the law would force pro-life pregnancy centers, which it represents, to refer women to abortion centers. The Supreme Court ruled the law unconstitutional in 2018, finding that it violated the pregnancy centers‘ First Amendment rights. Becerra also faced a Supreme Court rebuke for demanding donor information from conservative organizations. California law demanded the disclosure of donors, and the attorney general’s office under Harris demanded Americans for Prosperity and the Thomas More Law Center hand over their donor information. Both groups sued, and Becerra fought to defend the disclosures in court. Ultimately, the Supreme Court upheld the conservative groups’ right to keep their donor information secret, citing the key civil rights-era precedent of NAACP v. Alabama (1958). As attorney general, he also sued the Department of Health and Human Services under President Donald Trump’s first administration, aiming to prevent HHS from rescinding an Obama-era rule forcing transgender ideology in health care. The rule, Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (better known as Obamacare), interpreted “discrimination on the basis of sex” to include discrimination on the basis of gender identity. This required health care entities to perform hysterectomies on women who identify as men, and otherwise endorse transgender ideology. Becerra Weaponizes HHS The HHS under President Trump’s first administration rescinded the Obama rule, but when Becerra took the reins at HHS, he reinstated it. The Religious Sisters of Mercy, an order of Catholic nuns who operate a health care center in Michigan, sued for the right to opt out of the rule. HHS again rescinded the rule last year. Under Becerra, HHS also reinterpreted the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act, a federal law passed in 1986, to require hospitals to perform abortions in emergency situations, even in states that ban abortions. The new rule came two weeks after the Supreme Court overturned the abortion precedent Roe v. Wade (1973) in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (2022). Pro-life organizations joined the state of Texas in suing to block the rule, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit upheld an injunction blocking it. The second Trump administration reversed the Biden-era EMTALA rule last year. The Left’s Culture Warrior Time and time again, Becerra proved himself not only to be a radical proponent of abortion and gender ideology, but an avowed opponent of Americans who objected to his radical positions. He charged pro-life journalists for exposing Planned Parenthood. He fought to force pro-life pregnancy centers to promote abortion. He demanded conservative groups hand over their donor lists. He tried to force health care professionals to endorse transgender ideology, even trying to bend Catholic nuns to his will. Make no mistake: Xavier Becerra is no middle-of-the-road moderate when it comes to enforcing the Left’s culture war agenda. He may not be outwardly unhinged, but that doesn’t mean he won’t pose a threat to the rights of conservative Californians.