President Donald Trump said he was “shocked” that Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni criticized his comments about Pope Leo XIV. After Trump called Pope Leo “weak” on Sunday and criticized him for his comments on the war in Iran and on deportations, Meloni called Trump’s words “unacceptable.” Trump retorted that Meloni is “unacceptable.” “Do Italians like the fact that your prime minister isn’t giving us any help to get oil?” Trump said in a phone interview with an Italian news outlet Tuesday. “Do people like her? I can’t imagine. I’m shocked by her. I thought she was brave, but I was wrong.” Trump said he hasn’t spoken to the right-leaning politician in a long time. Meloni, who leads the Brothers of Italy party, said it’s normal for the pope to comment on world events. “The Pope is the head of the Catholic Church, and it is right and normal that he calls for peace and condemns every form of war,” she said. Trump and Meloni previously had a warm relationship, with Meloni visiting Mar-a-Lago as the president’s guest last year. Meloni was the only foreign leader invited to Trump’s January 2025 inauguration. However, Italy did not allow American bombers to refuel in Sicily during the Iran operation. “When we don’t agree, we must say it. And this time, we do not agree,” Meloni said of the war in Iran. Trump said Meloni “doesn’t care if Iran has a nuclear weapon and would blow up Italy in two minutes if it had the chance.” “Meloni doesn’t want to help us with NATO, she doesn’t want to help us get rid of the nuclear weapon,” he said. “She’s very different from what I thought.” The post Trump ‘Shocked’ by Italian Prime Minister’s Comments on Pope appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Two members of the House of Representatives announced their resignations on Monday as they faced the threat of expulsion for allegations of sexual misconduct. But rather than putting an end to Congress’ internal drama, the resignations may be the beginning of a slew of expulsion battles on the House floor. Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., who had been a frontrunner to become governor of California, announced his plan to resign on Monday afternoon, saying in a statement that “false” allegations of sexual misconduct had “distracted” from his duties. An hour later, Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, who has admitted to an affair with an aide who later committed suicide by self-immolation, also announced his resignation. Some in the House say they want these forced departures to serve as a template going forward. “Accountability can happen. We can hold men accountable when they abuse women and we’re going to do more of it,” Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez, D-N.M., said in a video posted to X.   Public outrage + resolutions = accountability for sexual abuse of women.Let’s do more. pic.twitter.com/thyQ1XJEN6— Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández (@RepTeresaLF) April 13, 2026 Leger Fernandez spearheaded the effort alongside Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., to force expulsion votes against Swalwell and Gonzales. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., who has said she would have supported expelling both members, called on social media for an expedited process in the House Ethics Committee for handling allegations against members. “We will protect survivors of sexual assault and harassment, and we will seek to institute and to uphold a much, much more accountable and transparent and quick, rapid process for the ethics committee to review allegations that come up,” Jayapal said on Monday. Multiple backers of expulsion for Swalwell and Gonzales, such as Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., had called for two other expulsions:  Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, D-Fla., and Rep. Cory Mills, R-Fla. Only six expulsions have occurred in the history of the House.  Although the Constitution provides the House and Senate the authority to discipline and expel its own members, such a measure, which requires a two-thirds majority in the House, is considered extreme. Mills has denied accusations of assault, as well as sexual and financial misconduct, and is under investigation by the ethics committee. McCormick has been found guilty by the committee of stealing and laundering millions of dollars in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funding. She has been charged by the Department of Justice (DOJ) but denies wrongdoing. Luna called Tuesday morning for the removal of McCormick, in a sign that talk of expulsion may just be getting started in the House. Sheila McCormick, we have your expulsion vote ready to be called up on the 21st. Either resign or be expelled. Those are your two options.So America is tracking: Sheila stole $5 million in FEMA funds.— Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (@RepLuna) April 14, 2026 “Sheila McCormick, we have your expulsion vote ready to be called up on the 21st. Either resign or be expelled. Those are your two options.” Luna wrote on X. Brandon Herrera, a Republican candidate running to succeed Gonzales, also called for an end to McCormick’s tenure in Congress. “Let’s get her out next,” he wrote on X. McCormick’s office provided The Daily Signal a statement from the congresswoman which pushed back on the charges. “I want to be very clear: these situations are not the same. A state clerical or administrative error is not equivalent to allegations of sexual assault, rape, and the likes. Conflating the two is both inaccurate and irresponsible,” McCormick said. She added, “We must also uphold due process. No one should be judged or punished before a formal finding. Expelling members without that standard sets a dangerous precedent. For those asking whether I plan to resign, the answer is no. This is not the time to abandon the district, not when they too are fighting for their future.” Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., who opposed the expulsion of former Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., has expressed openness to expelling McCormick. “Look, as you know, I have been a jealous guardian of due process around here,” he said. News — Speaker Johnson told me that Rep. Cherfilus-McCormick should be expelled after House ethics probe found the Dem guilty.Asked him also about expelling GOP Rep. Cory Mills, who is being investigated on a range of allegations. Said he would be “looking into” status of probe. pic.twitter.com/Rg2y1zWSTc— Manu Raju (@mkraju) April 14, 2026  “Certainly on Cherfilus-McCormick the ethics committee has gone through all of its processes and they’ve found some alarming facts,” Johnson added. “I think the facts are indisputable at this point, and so I believe it will be the consensus of this body that she should be expelled.” Johnson did not indicate he believed the allegations against Mills have the same level of evidential support yet. “I’m not sure [of] the status of the ethics committee investigation, and that’s one of the things I’ll be looking into today.” Mills’ office withheld comment. The post After Swalwell and Gonzales Resignations, Are These Reps Next? appeared first on The Daily Signal.

At a White House meeting on Tuesday, President Donald Trump, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, and North Carolina Rep. Richard Hudson, the National Republican Congressional Committee chairman, will hatch plans for Republicans to keep their House majority in the 2026 midterms after a record-breaking fundraising haul. “Following a record-breaking fundraising quarter to begin 2026, I look forward to meeting with President Trump and the NRCC as we continue working hand-in-hand to defend and grow our House Republican majority with winning candidates across the country and a strong record of secure borders, lower costs, and a return to common sense,” Johnson told The Daily Signal. Trump, Johnson, and Hudson will discuss Republicans’ midterm strategy at the White House on the heels of an impressive quarter of fundraising by Johnson, someone familiar with the upcoming meeting told The Daily Signal. The trio will also discuss candidate recruitment, the source added. The Speaker raised over $34 million in the first quarter, breaking Republican leadership fundraising records as the party prepares for the midterm cycle. The Republican war chest is expected to help the party go on the offensive despite the historical disadvantage majority parties often have going into midterm elections. Last night the @NRCC broke fundraising records adding almost $37 million to their “MAGA Majority” midterm war chest. “Republicans have the momentum, the message, and the team to defy history. With President Trump leading the charge, we’re going on offense.” @RepHudsonNC told… pic.twitter.com/RagB8VPEcP— Virginia Grace McKinnon (@virginiagmck) March 26, 2026 The speaker has given nearly $30 million to the NRCC and a record-setting $18 million directly to incumbents in the House. Overall this cycle, he has given over $64 million toward the midterms to “defend and grow the House GOP majority.” In a press release detailing the fundraising records, Johnson says Republicans “remain on offense” heading into the midterms. He predicts that, come November, Americans will see “a clear contrast: between House Republicans’ return to common sense and real results—and Democrats’ radical, far-left agenda to reopen our borders and make life more expensive and more dangerous.” NEWS: Speaker Mike Johnson raised $34 million in the first quarter, his best fundraising quarter ever. Plus, SMP and Majority Forward raised a combined $70.4 million in Q1. @JakeSherman and @maxpcohen have the details:https://t.co/JPrmX8Fb37— Punchbowl News (@PunchbowlNews) April 14, 2026 The party was at first skeptical of Johnsons fundraising abilities when he launched into the spotlight as speaker in 2023. His predecessor, Kevin McCarthy, had raised over 100 times more than he had that year, the New York Times had reported. But Johnson quickly began raking in cash and breaking records. Johnson’s campaign says that in this cycle alone he has raised over $116 million in “hard dollars” for House Republicans. This does not include money raised by his endorsed super PAC, the Campaign Leadership Fund. The post SCOOP: Trump and Johnson to Discuss Midterms at White House Following Record Fundraising Haul appeared first on The Daily Signal.

After independent journalist Nick Shirley sparked a national news cycle in January over alleged state-administered fraud, California lawmakers have moved to restrict the activities of independent journalists who question government spending, according to state officials. In an exclusive interview with The Daily Signal, California state Assemblyman David Tangipa said the California Legislature is advancing what he described as “unconstitutional legislation” that would limit the release of video recordings by independent journalists who investigate taxpayer-funded programs. Assembly Bill 2646 was introduced in February by California state Assemblywoman Mia Bonta following the viral success of a Nick Shirley video questioning potential healthcare and daycare fraud. That video amassed more than 149 million views on X. “Ask yourself this—why are Democrats trying to protect people who are being questioned about state administrators and NGOs over their funding and what that funding actually achieves?” Tangipa told The Daily Signal. “Why is the government alleging that those who question how funds are being used are harassing people?” In the video, Shirley is seen directly questioning daycare and healthcare administrators, some of whom accused him of racism and harassment while attempting to stop him from recording. “When a government diminishes transparency, it has something to hide,” Tangipa added. “The government is trying to punish people for holding it accountable while adding protections for corrupt NGOs.” In March, Shirley traveled to California, where he alleged that at least $170 million in hospice and daycare fraud was taking place. “People are asking questions for a reason,” Tangipa said. “This type of bill would protect people preying on the dead and the sick.” Other Republicans in the Assembly have denounced the bill as an attack on transparency and the First Amendment. “California Democrats are trying to intimidate citizen watchdog journalists and protect waste and fraud happening in far-left NGOs,” Assemblyman Carl DeMaio wrote in a press release. “AB 2624 can only be described as the ‘Stop Nick Shirley Act’—a bill designed to silence citizen journalists exposing fraud and abuse of taxpayer dollars.” “If this bill becomes law, the message is clear to every journalist in California: Expose corruption and you will be punished,” DeMaio continued. “AB 2624 is an unconstitutional, direct attack on transparency and the First Amendment, and it needs to be defeated.” Shirley also responded to the legislation on X, calling it an effort by politicians to “protect fraudsters and illegal migrants,” and urging the public to resist what he described as government oppression. “The enemy truly is within,” Shirley wrote. The post ‘Unconstitutional Stop Nick Shirley Act’ Pushed by California Democrats appeared first on The Daily Signal.

The House Judiciary Committee is investigating why Colorado lawyers who want to file a case online must abide by the state’s sanctuary law or face perjury charges. In a letter on Monday, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement, said they are looking at Colorado’s sanctuary policy. Last year, Colorado’s Democratic Gov. Jared Polis signed the Protect Civil Rights Immigration Status Act into law, which attempts to shield illegal immigrants by extending existing prohibitions on information sharing to state officials and any third party with access through the Colorado Judicial Department. Lawyers who use information from the court filing system to assist with immigration enforcement could be charged with perjury. They must certify online that they will not share personal information from the database with federal immigration officials. “This certification commandeers private attorneys into Colorado’s radical sanctuary policies, handcuffs federal officials from enforcing immigration law in Colorado, and violates fundamental free speech principles,” the members’ letter says. The Colorado courts’ electronic filing policy website implemented this certification on March 30, according to the letter, which gave a deadline of April 27 for the state to respond. “In practice, this means that any attorney logging into Colorado’s state electronic court filing system must certify, ‘under penalty of perjury,’ that the attorney ‘will not use [or disclose] personal identifying information obtained from the database or automated network for the purpose of investigating for, participating in, cooperating with, or assisting in federal immigration enforcement, including enforcement of civil immigration laws’ under federal statute,” the congressmen’s letter says. 2026-04-13 JDJ TM to Colorado Court Administrator – VasconcellosDownload Jordan and McClintock wrote to Steven Vasconcellos, the Colorado state court administrator, seeking information including the number of private attorneys punished under enforcement of the law. The House Judiciary Committee is conducting oversight of state and local jurisdictions nationwide that are not cooperating with federal immigration officials. The letter references Colorado lawyer Ian Speir, who posted on X: “I cannot log into the state’s official e-filing system without saluting The Resistance. I now cannot represent my clients, file lawsuits, access cases, file documents in existing cases, etc.” He added that if he declines the certification, “it kicks me out of the system. I must click ‘Accept’ to access the system and continue representing my civil clients — again, in cases that have absolutely nothing to do with immigration law or policy.” Colorado is now requiring lawyers in the State, as a condition of logging into its court e-filing system, to promise not to cooperate with federal authorities in enforcing federal immigration law. Please understand:– I do not practice immigration law. – I do not practice… pic.twitter.com/khYDf5TkQd— Ian Speir (@IanSpeir) April 2, 2026 Specifically, the two House chairmen asked the court administrator to provide clarification on the penalties for third parties who violate the certification requirement. They also asked for the number of complaints received by the Colorado Judicial Branch since May 2025, when Polis signed the bill into law. The letter further requested documents and communications among Colorado judicial branch staff, referring or relating to the implementation of the certification. The post EXCLUSIVE: House Investigates Colorado Rule Coercing Lawyers to Block Immigration Enforcement appeared first on The Daily Signal.