Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas wrote a concurring opinion, joined by Justice Neil Gorsuch, in the recent case that restricted the use of race in designing a Louisiana congressional district. Thomas wrote: “This Court should never have interpreted [Section)] 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to effectively give racial groups ‘an entitlement to roughly proportional representation.’ … By doing so, the Court led legislatures and courts to ‘systematically divid[e] the country into electoral districts along racial lines.’ … ‘Blacks (we)re drawn into ‘black districts’ and given ‘black representatives’; Hispanics [we]re drawn into Hispanic districts and given ‘Hispanic representatives’; and so on. That interpretation rendered [Section] 2 ‘repugnant to any nation that strives for the ideal of a color-blind Constitution.’ … Today’s decision should largely put an end to this ‘disastrous misadventure’ in voting-rights jurisprudence.” Critics argue the ruling is not colorblind in effect because race-neutral districting can dilute minority voting power. But this assumes a) non-black and non-Hispanic voters would not vote for black or Hispanic candidates; and b) the interests of black and Hispanic voters can only be pursued by black and Hispanic members of Congress. For Democrats, the effect of this ruling could be politically catastrophic. A report from Fair Fight Action and Black Voters Matter Fund said: “Combined with Republicans’ mid-decade gerrymandering, a ruling gutting Section 2 could help secure an additional 27 safe Republican U.S. House seats when compared to the 2024 House maps—at least 19 directly tied to the loss of Section 2.” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said: “Instead of protecting the ability for American citizens to freely cast their ballot, Republican extremists have embraced voter suppression and racial gerrymandering to desperately cling to power. The corrupt conservative majority on the Supreme Court appointed by Donald Trump has taken a blowtorch to the Voting Rights Act. Why? The extremists need to cheat to win.” It is not clear how removing race as a criterion in constructing congressional districts amounts to “cheating.” Nor is it clear how this majority of justices, nominated by Republican presidents, renders the court “corrupt.” As for “Republican extremists embracing voter suppression,” Jeffries presumably means voter ID laws. But polls show a large majority of blacks support voter ID by percentages close to those of whites. Georgia, in 2021, enacted voter ID and voter-integrity laws called by President Joe Biden “worse than Jim Crow—it’s Jim Eagle.” But the percentage of blacks who voted exceeded the black voting percentages of most pre-2021 Georgia elections. Let’s turn to Jeffries’ accusation about Republicans’ supposed use of “racial gerrymandering.” In 2017, Politico wrote: “Former [Obama] Attorney General Eric Holder on Thursday officially launched the National Democratic Redistricting Committee … as the center of Democratic rebuilding in the era of President-elect Donald Trump and as Democrats’ main hope to roll back Republican gains in state legislatures and prepare for redistricting in 2021. The end goal: House majorities in Congresses elected after 2020.” To that end, Eric Holder supported race-conscious redistricting efforts designed to increase black electoral influence. About a district in Alabama in 2024, for example, the Associated Press wrote: “The National Democratic Redistricting Committee, which Holder chairs, supported the legal battle that led to the district being redrawn into a competitive seat where Black voters have the opportunity to influence the outcome.” Finally, about voters voting based on race, there are four black Republican members of the U.S. House, none of whom represent a majority-black district. Even Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., a harsh critic of the court ruling and a co-founder of the Congressional Black Caucus, represents a district that is only about 20% black. Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., who is white, succeeded Rep. Harold Ford Jr., who is black, in representing a majority-black district. And a recent Gallup poll finds Trump’s approval rating among blacks at 16%, up from 12% in his first term. Contrary to what many Democrat politicians say and how they act, this is not their grandfather’s America. But many Democrat politicians do not want a colorblind society. They want a color-coordinated one—as long as they oversee the coordination. My advice to Democrats after this ruling is simple: calm down. The days of poll taxes, literacy tests and grandfather clauses are long over. As Thomas Sowell says, “When people get used to preferential treatment, equal treatment seems like discrimination.” COPYRIGHT 2026 CREATORS.COM We publish a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of The Daily Signal.

Fraud in government programs is often treated like an urban legend—something that happens in faraway blue cities run by corrupt political machines. But the truth is more unsettling: Some of the most brazen theft of taxpayer money is happening in places governed by Republicans, right under their noses. Consider Ohio. At one address in Columbus, investigators found 94 different companies registered in the same building. The windows were covered. The offices appeared empty. Yet, according to The Daily Wire investigative team led by Luke Rosiak, that single address has billed taxpayers more than $66 million. This is not a minor accounting error. It is not mere “waste.” It is a system being exploited. Rosiak’s reporting exposes an ecosystem of “Medicaid millionaires“: not the poor recipients of benefits but the companies and middlemen who profit off them. Under the guise of “home health care,” Ohio pays people to visit Medicaid beneficiaries’ homes to perform “homemaking” services—cooking, cleaning, and chores—tasks that don’t require medical training and often don’t receive meaningful oversight. Ohio spent roughly $1 billion on home health care in 2024. The incentives are obvious: If government is handing out checks for loosely defined services, the people best positioned to get rich are not the disabled or elderly. It’s the billing operations. The pattern is almost comical in its boldness: Cover the windows, hang a sheet of paper with a generic company name ending in “Home Health LLC,” and if someone asks questions, claim the employees “stepped out.” Why cover the windows? Because there is nothing inside. Dig into the companies and you find unpaid taxes, shady ownership structures, and a bizarre number of LLCs registered in unrelated industries. The deeper you look, the clearer it becomes that government is not equipped to monitor who it is writing million-dollar checks to. The business model is disturbingly simple. A 40-year-old man becomes an “employee” of a Medicaid-billing firm and gets paid to “care for” his 65-year-old mother. But the only patient is Mom, and the only person who could confirm whether services are being provided is Mom herself. If she doesn’t want to rat out her son—or if she’s receiving a kickback—the state has no practical way to verify anything. When Rosiak questioned one operator about what his company did, he was met with threats. The man reportedly dismissed the inquiry and then pivoted to the modern all-purpose defense: “I’m going to tell everybody you guys are racist.” And there it is—the magic trick. Steal millions. Exploit the system. Then accuse anyone investigating you of bigotry. Unlike food stamps and other capped welfare programs, this Medicaid service has no meaningful ceiling. It expands as far as doctors are willing to sign forms. One doctor willing to approve enough paperwork can bankrupt a state. For decades, the public couldn’t see this because Medicaid billing data was a black box. That changed in February, when the Department of Justice quietly released new data. In one case, a landlord whose buildings housed hundreds of Medicaid companies billed the federal government $250 million. Now the question is whether leaders will act. Ohio has Republican leadership, and nationally, President Donald Trump has made waste, fraud, and abuse a central theme of his administration. That focus matters because this problem won’t be solved with speeches or “task forces.” It requires audits, subpoenas, prosecutions, and real accountability. If government programs are going to exist, the bare minimum requirement is that they serve the people they claim to serve. Right now, Medicaid is serving scammers—and taxpayers are footing the bill. COPYRIGHT 2026 CREATORS.COM We publish a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of The Daily Signal.

FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL — With U.S. Sen. Jon Husted officially the Republican nominee against former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, Americans for Prosperity Action is ramping up efforts for this special election in Ohio. After endorsing him in March, the group is doing an ad campaign for Husted. With the new $750,000 ad buy, AFPA has now spent $1.25 million in Ohio. The ads, which will run until May 31, will reach around 1.7 million Ohioans and play across connected TV, YouTube, and Meta. “With the economy at a crossroads, Ohio families are feeling the pressure,” the ad states. AFP says the ad aims to highlight Husted’s role in having “passed the largest tax cut in American history,” in addition to slashing regulations. It concludes with, “The Ohio way, not Washington’s, that’s Jon Husted.” During an exclusive interview with The Daily Signal last September, Husted claimed he is the “Ohio guy” and Brown is the “DC guy.” Another ad criticizes Brown and his record for having “repeatedly backed extreme progressive policies that drove up prices.” Policies cited include higher taxes and spending and job-killing regulations. Notably, the ad features an image of Brown with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. “Sherrod Brown puts his party’s extreme agenda over Ohio families, putting Washington politics first, and hurting Ohio. We just can’t afford Sherrod Brown,” it warns. According to Donovan O’Neil, AFPA senior advisor, the group wants to “hyper-target their message to voters,” chiefly on the issue of affordability. “[Husted] has a record of getting things done and being focused on the issues that Ohioans care about,” O’Neil told The Daily Signal. “He’s part of the solution to the decades of D.C. dysfunction that Sherrod Brown has been a part of his entire career.” He added he’s clear-eyed about the uphill battle candidates face with a Republican president in office. “The reality is, voters will want to know what individual candidates seeking their vote are going to do to address the affordability challenges that they’re facing, and I think we can win on that,” O’Neil said. Ohio has long been a bellwether state, which means voters can expect both parties to allocate resources there in mid-October ahead of the election. The latest ad campaign follows an April 30 memo from AFPA Senior Advisor Emily Seidel and Executive Director Nathan Nascimento, in which the pair stressed affordability and warned that Republicans could lose the Senate if they don’t focus on the right issues. “As it stands today, our view is that the Republican Senate majority is at risk. But there is still time. The window to act is now,” the memo stressed.

A two-month undercover Drug Enforcement Administration investigation exposed what federal authorities say is a Sinaloa Cartel–linked drug trafficking operation funneling fentanyl and methamphetamine into Los Angeles through MacArthur Park. On Wednesday, federal and local law enforcement officers raided the South Los Angeles park as part of “Operation Free MacArthur Park,” arresting 18 individuals, executing multiple search warrants, and seizing roughly 40 pounds of fentanyl with an estimated value of $8 million to $10 million. In contrast to the park’s description by the Los Angeles Conservancy as a “vibrant place of music, art, and community,” locals know Macarthur Park as a place filled with brazen drug use and homeless encampments. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli shared with Fox News his plan for the area.  “This park has been overtaken by gang members—by drug dealers, drug users. It’s zombieland, and we’re taking it back. So today we’re executing 25 arrest warrants, eight federal search warrants, and we’re hitting the businesses along Alvarado here that are used to stash the drugs.”  Footage shared by Fox News showed federal agents moving in on businesses Wednesday morning. NEW: 300 federal and local agents swarmed MacArthur Park after officials say MS-13 and 18th Street gang members helped fuel a fentanyl operation tied to $10 million in drug use.@MattFinnFNC breaks down the scene on the ground: people passed out in the park, 25 charged so far,… pic.twitter.com/8yppXFSVPU— Fox News (@FoxNews) May 7, 2026 In a press release, the department said they’re dedicated to ending these cartel-fueled crimes.  “This is a criminal organization operating in our country, and we are not going to stand for it anymore today. So, they have been put on notice. MacArthur Park belongs to the people of Los Angeles again,” said Anthony Chrysanthis, a special agent in charge with the Drug Enforcement Administration. The same day, while at the Los Angeles mayoral debate, incumbent Mayor Karen Bass was asked by moderators to comment on the raids. After years of doing nothing about the open air drug markets and fentanyl zombies in MacArthur Park, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass attempts to take credit for this afternoon’s federal raid. pic.twitter.com/zTKfneNU0X— Kevin Dalton (@TheKevinDalton) May 7, 2026 Republican Spencer Pratt, one of Bass’ two opponents in the race for mayor, criticized both Bass and City Councilmember Nithya Raman for the problems in the park. “Raman and Bass are so bad, MacArthur Park was raided by the Feds YESTERDAY and it’s already occupied again today,” Pratt shared on X. Raman and Bass are so bad, MacArthur Park was raided by the Feds YESTERDAY and it’s already occupied again today. Hey Nithya, what do you think will happen when one of your “street medical team” volunteers goes up to these upstanding citizens with a clipboard and asks them if… pic.twitter.com/jFIrhE50dy— Spencer Pratt (@spencerpratt) May 7, 2026

The Daily Signal’s Senior National Security and Legal Analyst Mehek Cooke warned after the May 5 primary vote that Ohio’s status as a Republican state is more fragile than many voters assume, saying that Democrats are organized and working to reclaim ground ahead of critical midterm elections. Appearing on “The Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show,” Cooke said that complacency among Republican voters could open the door for a shift back toward swing‑state status. Ohio is “a red state” but “could easily shift back to purple,” Cooke said, pointing to recent voting patterns and Democratic enthusiasm. While Republican entrepreneur and gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy received support across the state in his primary victory, Cooke noted that Democrat Senate candidate Sherrod Brown ultimately secured more total votes, highlighting the importance of turnout in the midterms. Cooke said that when she was voting in Franklin County, Democratic turnout appeared strong. “Every single individual around me had Democrat ballots,” she said, warning that Ohioans are underestimating the momentum and energy behind the Democratic base. She also pointed to the substantial financial advantages Democrats have deployed in past races, noting that Brown raised more than $100 million in the 2024 Senate race against now‑Sen. Bernie Moreno. According to Cooke, upcoming races—particularly involving Republican Sen. Jon Husted—could see even more aggressive spending and mobilization efforts. “This is an election of a lifetime for us,” Cooke said. “Democrats are going to be pushing strong.” Beyond electoral politics, Cooke addressed national security concerns in the interview, emphasizing the need for a renewed “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran by the United States. She argued that the Iranian regime is unlikely to negotiate in good faith during peace talks and warned that ongoing delays of an agreement could allow Tehran to continue advancing its nuclear ambitions. “We will need a maximum pressure campaign,” Cooke said, adding that “Iran should understand the scoreboard—that President Trump holds all the cards.” The United States, Cooke argued, still holds significant leverage, including strategic influence over the Strait of Hormuz, a key global oil corridor. However, she called for stronger coordination with Gulf allies and major energy‑consuming nations such as India, Japan, and China. “This won’t end well for Iran. They won’t negotiate in good faith,” Cooke said, adding that President Trump must be prepared to use decisive leverage. On gas prices, Cooke noted that if the U.S. increases pressure on Iran, it must also expand domestic drilling and energy production—steps she said could help stabilize prices and strengthen U.S. economic resilience. Without decisive action abroad and vigilance at home, Cooke warned, both national security and electoral outcomes could face heightened risks.