President Donald Trump has shown bold leadership by rejecting the radical global climate agenda. But now some lawmakers, including a handful of Republicans, have set out on a path that, if followed, will undermine the president’s accomplishments. Those accomplishments have been substantial. The president has withdrawn the U.S. from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and helped dismantle the Inflation Reduction Act’s Green New Deal subsidies. Also, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under his watch rescinded the endangerment finding that made it possible for the EPA to regulate greenhouse gas emissions.  The Trump administration has also made it clear that any nation supporting the United Nations’ International Maritime Organization’s global carbon tax on shipping will face severe penalties. In a press release, the administration didn’t mince words, stating, “The United States will be moving to levy these remedies against nations that sponsor this European-led neocolonial export of global climate regulations.”Congress shouldn’t undercut these successes, but that’s exactly what has happened. Buried within a House report that accompanied the enacted energy and water development spending bill is language that enables the radical global climate agenda.The language directs the Department of Energy to study the carbon intensity of domestic and foreign goods. The goods must include all items subject to the European Union’s (EU) carbon border tax, which the EU calls a carbon border adjustment mechanism. While technically not law, agencies tend to comply with such report language. This language would help establish the framework necessary for the U.S. to impose our own carbon border tax and eventually even a domestic carbon tax.Last Congress, this type of measuring scheme was introduced in legislation called the PROVE IT Act. Conservatives joined together in huge numbers to fight and eventually kill off this legislation. After proponents of the PROVE IT Act didn’t get what they wanted in a transparent, straightforward manner, they sneakily included language in a report that most lawmakers likely didn’t even know existed. Senator Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., has stated the report language was his “legislation” and bragged how he kept the report language a secret for a long time and, reportedly, never mentioned it to the White House or Department of Energy. But undermining the Trump administration’s fight against the global climate agenda in an underhanded way shouldn’t be a bragging point. We should be fighting the EU and carbon border taxes, not caving to EU political pressure.  The arguments for a carbon intensity measuring scheme seem to be constantly changing. One recent claim is that measuring the carbon intensity of goods would help ensure EU numbers are accurate. Why don’t we instead just ensure Americans are not taxed by the EU in the first place? Cramer claims that his carbon measuring scheme would fit into Trump’s America First trade doctrine. But in fact it puts the EU and the global climate agenda first.The Trump administration made it clear the U.S. wouldn’t tolerate a global carbon tax when it comes to the shipping industry. So, we certainly shouldn’t tolerate Europe’s arguably more egregious carbon tax on the global community.For anyone supposing data collection is no big deal, consider that information collected through the EPA’s greenhouse gas reporting program was just used by Democrats through passage of the Inflation Reduction Act to create a methane tax. This new measuring scheme would inevitably be abused in the same manner. It should also be noted that many proponents of the PROVE IT Act have not been shy in admitting that such a scheme would lead to carbon taxes of some kind. Senator Cramer has argued in the past that the U.S. should work in collaboration with the EU on a carbon border tax.  President Trump and many other conservative leaders have been fighting the Green New Deal and global climate efforts to ban or regulate reliable energy sources out of existence. They understand that we need affordable and reliable energy. Yet this report language would start a process that offsets the good already done to reject the global climate agenda. After all, it doesn’t help if the Department of Energy is being required to lay the foundation for carbon taxes.To the extent possible, the Department of Energy should avoid setting up the framework necessary for carbon taxes. Practically, any legitimate and workable measuring scheme may be impossible to create anyway. Further, Congress should remedy this problem, such as by prohibiting funds in the next energy spending bill from being used to finalize such a study. Our country is finally pushing back against climate extremism, in large part due to President Trump. Congress needs to make sure that these efforts are not in vain. We publish a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of The Daily Signal. The post A Sneaky Effort to Undermine the Fight Against Carbon Taxes appeared first on The Daily Signal.

FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—Sen. Jon Husted is landing an endorsement from Americans for Prosperity Action in what is set to become its largest grassroots effort campaign. As Donovan O’Neil, a senior adviser to AFP Action, explained to The Daily Signal, the support for the Ohio Republican will involve a “robust” campaign from digital ads to canvassing. It will also include a data focus, identifying 2 million voters for AFP Action to engage. O’Neil said this bloc of voters can be the “change maker” in the election. Former Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, is looking to make a comeback after losing to Republican now-Sen. Bernie Moreno in 2024. AFP Action will immediately commence canvassing efforts across Ohio’s 88 counties. As the secretary of state in 2017, Husted received the inaugural Taxpayers’ Torch Award from Americans for Prosperity’s Ohio chapter. O’Neil applauded Husted’s efforts in the Senate on family tax cuts and on a principled balanced budget amendment. “Good government is the through line for Husted,” O’Neil shared, calling him “the future.” Brown has attacked Husted on economic issues in recent weeks, saying the senator “would rather fight for billionaires” and calling attention to rising health care prices for Ohioans.  “I’m in this for the Ohioans picking up odd jobs after work to help pay the rent. I’m in this for the parents putting $10 in the tank at a time just to make it to payday,” Brown said on X. O’Neil recalled “consistently hearing at the doors in 2024” of concerns about the economy and inflation, a lack of reinvestment in Ohio, and border security. Ohio has been a bellwether in past elections, and the state still carries significance in 2026. O’Neil acknowledged that Ohio “is a red state,” but that one “shouldn’t take Ohio voters for granted.” “The final two years of [President Donald] Trump’s term will be highly impacted by how Ohio votes this November,” O’Neil said. The Cook Political Report considers this Senate race as “Lean Republican.” The Ohio 2024 Senate race was reportedly the most expensive in the country, and this year’s race could follow that pattern. The post EXCLUSIVE: Americans for Prosperity Action Endorses Husted appeared first on The Daily Signal.

FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—A House subcommittee will examine whether the Supreme Court’s decision that states cannot deny the children of illegal aliens access to taxpayer-funded K-12 education incentivized more aliens to come to the U.S. illegally. The House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on the Constitution and Limited Government will hold a hearing Wednesday on the Supreme Court’s decision in Plyler v. Doe (1982), Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, told The Daily Signal Friday. The Supreme Court allowed illegal alien children to enroll in public schools, ruling that state laws preventing their enrollment violated the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. “Decades ago, the Supreme Court’s erroneous decision in Plyler v. Doe set a misguided precedent by extending taxpayer-funded public education to those in the country illegally,” Roy told The Daily Signal. “As our schools face growing strain, it’s time for Congress and the courts to reexamine this decision and put American students and taxpayers first.” The hearing will also explore the “policy implications” of “allowing large numbers of illegal aliens to overwhelm public schools, strain resources, teachers, and hinder class learning.” Witnesses, who have yet to be formally announced, will help the subcommittee identify how Congress could push the Supreme Court to “rectify this judicial and policy gap.” “This serves as an opportunity to examine the federal judiciary’s recent series of questionable decisions, highlighting a history of bad precedent,” the Texas congressmen added. The committee hopes to use the hearing as an “opportunity” for them “to build from the birthright citizenship hearing” by demonstrating that the Plyler precedent compounds the issue of illegal aliens absorbing public resources. In recent years, Republican lawmakers have continuously championed efforts to stop incentivizing illegal immigration, which they claim includes education. States, including Florida and Texas, have already banned illegal immigrants from receiving in-state tuition benefits in public higher education. “I don’t think you should be admitted to college in Florida if you’re here illegally,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said in a 2025 press conference. “To give in-state tuition was just a slap in the face to taxpayers.” The post EXCLUSIVE: Lawmakers to Probe Whether Free Education Incentivizes Illegal Immigration appeared first on The Daily Signal.

THE DAILY CALLER NEWS FOUNDATION—Secretary of Energy Chris Wright stated during a “Meet The Press” interview Sunday that the U.S. is taking several actions—including increasing oil production in deep blue California—to mitigate rising fuel costs due to the conflict in Iran. After the military strikes of Operation Epic Fury began Feb. 28, Iran sought to block U.S. transport vessels from passing though the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway separating the country from the Gulf States through which an estimated 20% of the world’s oil demand usually flows. The reduction in shipping volume has led to the surge of oil prices in the following weeks. “We have done many, many actions to mitigate that price rise,” Wright told host Kristen Welker during his appearance on her show. “You saw the announcement of a coordinated release of 400 million barrels of oil with over 30 nations of the world participating in that. We’ve had allies in the Middle East that moved oil overseas before the conflict started.” “Heck, we just announced yesterday bringing on a meaningful amount of oil production in the state of California from offshore that California has fought foolishly to prevent new American oil to go into their own state,” the Trump administration energy secretary continued. “And we said, ‘Enough is enough,’ and we’ve got new oil production coming on in California. So lots of actions we’re taking to mitigate this price rise.” Wright’s department on Friday ordered Sable Offshore Corp., an oil company based in Texas, to restart a pipeline system in California. The move was made “to address supply disruption risks caused by California policies that have left the region and U.S. military forces dependent on foreign oil,” a Friday press release from the Department of Energy (DOE) reads. “California once supplied nearly 40 percent of U.S. oil production, but decades of radical state policies targeting reliable energy sources have driven a decline in domestic output while fuel demand remains among the highest in the nation,” the DOE press release states. “Today, more than 60 percent of the oil refined in California comes from overseas, with a significant share traveling through the Strait of Hormuz—presenting serious national security threats.” Democrat California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a loud critic of the oil and gas industry and staunch supporter of so-called “green” energy policies, blasted the move by the DOE as an “attempt to illegally restart a pipeline whose operators are facing criminal charges and prohibited by multiple court orders from restarting.” “California will not stand by while the Trump administration attempts to sacrifice our coastal communities, our environment, and our $51 billion coastal economy,” the governor and rumored 2028 presidential candidate said in a Friday statement. Also during the interview, Wright told Welker he thinks the conflict with Iran ending in a few weeks is “the likely time frame.” “The price of a barrel of oil closed above $103 on Friday. And the Iranians are warning of prices hitting $200 a barrel. Mr. Secretary, should Americans be bracing for—should they be worried that this war will actually drive the price of oil above $200 a barrel?” Welker asked Wright. The energy secretary immediately took issue that the NBC News host cited projections by the Islamic theocracy. “So Iran for 47 years has called the United States ‘the great Satan,’” he said. “So because they call us ‘the great Satan—I don’t think we are the great Satan; in fact, clearly we’re not—so I don’t listen much to Iranian projections of what’s going to happen.” “So, that’s a no? So, that’s a no?” Welker jumped in. “But there is disruption to the flow in a very important waterway,” the secretary continued, referring to the Strait of Hormuz. “And depending upon the timing and the manner in which this conflict comes to an end, we’re going to see some elevated pricing until we get there.” Originally published by The Daily Caller News Foundation. The post Energy Secretary Chris Wright Says Trump Admin Has Trick Up Its Sleeve to Ease Oil Price Rise Amid Iran Conflict appeared first on The Daily Signal.

KYIV, March 15 (Reuters)—Ukraine wants money and technology in return for helping Middle Eastern nations that have sought its expertise as they defend against Iranian kamikaze drones, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, after Kyiv sent specialists to the region. Zelenskyy told reporters that three teams were sent to the Middle East to conduct expert assessments and demonstrate how drone defenses should operate. Earlier this week he said teams were sent to Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, as well as a U.S. military base in Jordan. “This is not about being involved in operations. We are not at war with Iran,” Zelenskyy said. He said that more fundamental, long-term drone deals could be negotiated with Gulf countries and what Ukraine will get in return for the assistance still needed to be discussed. “For us today, both the technology and the funding are important,” Zelenskyy said. Gulf states have expended large quantities of air-defence missiles to counter Iran’s Shahed drones. Kyiv downs Russian drones every night using an array of weaponry including cheaper,?smaller drones or jamming equipment. Zelenskyy has said that the U.S. as well as countries from Europe, the Middle East and Africa has sought help from Ukraine on how to counter these attacks. However, U.S. President Donald Trump has said the U.S. does not need Ukraine’s help with downing drones. Zelenskyy said that he did not know why Washington had not signed a major drone deal which Kyiv has pushed for months, and that he was unsure whether it would be agreed at all. “I wanted to sign a deal worth about 35–50 billion dollars,” he said. He also hit out at some Ukrainian companies and foreign governments, which he did not name, who he said had sought to do deals for anti-drone equipment without approval from Kyiv. Peace Talks Impacted Zelenskyy raised concerns about the effect of a protracted Middle Eastern conflict on Ukraine’s own supplies of air defense missiles. “We would very much not like the United States to step away from the issue of Ukraine because of the Middle East,” he told reporters. The latest round of peace talks between Moscow, Kyiv and Washington, which had been due to take place in the UAE, was postponed after U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Iran triggered a war in the region two weeks ago. Zelenskyy said Washington had suggested meeting in the U.S. for talks next week, but that the Russian side did not want to meet there. “Either they will change the country where we meet, or the Russians must confirm (a meeting in) the U.S.,” he said. On the battlefield, Zelenskyy said Ukraine’s military believed a Russian spring offensive had “already failed,” as Moscow had planned for it to be fully underway already. (Reporting by Max Hunder and Yuliia Dysa; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle) The post Zelenskyy: Ukraine Wants Money, Technology in Return for Middle East Drone Help appeared first on The Daily Signal.