On April 26, the Virginia Supreme Court will take up the appeal of two rulings made in Tazewell district court that found procedural laws were broken — or were going to force registrars to break laws — on how elections in Virginia are administered, and how the state constitution can be suspended in order to secure a partisan victory. The justices ruled that the right of the people to vote on issues outweighed determining if the vote was called in violation of Virginia law. Citing 100-year-old precedent in their order to allow Tuesday’s redistricting referendum election to proceed, the justices said, “The Courts cannot interfere to stop any of the proceedings while this permanent law is in process of being made.” Here are the issues the justices must decide after the April 21 election. First, in advancing their redistricting hopes, the Democratic state lawmakers made use of a special session that had been called specifically for budget reconciliations — which, conveniently, the Democratic majorities in both houses had not been able to do by the end of October. The Speaker of the House simply announced they would take up new matters while convened. Second, the General Assembly passed the referendum which, in Virginia law, must wait until an “intervening election” takes place before it must pass the Assembly a second time. This is designed to give voters the ability to oust a member who supports a referendum that they do not. Supporters of the move claimed that the election on Nov. 4, just days after the special session, would be counted as the “intervening election,” even though Virginians had been voting for a month and a half prior. Their argument was that all those early voting days are nothing more than a procedural window of opportunity, and that elections only happen when the votes are tallied on Election Day. Finally, the Assembly forced registrars to execute a referendum without the requisite 90-day period in which the referendum could be put on display for voters to view. So, the question is, should the Supreme Court take into consideration the outcome of Tuesday’s vote? The court itself said it was going to wait until after the votes were cast, and the justices did state that if “vote No” wins, they will consider the matter moot. So, it appears that they will not pretend that they are unaware of the outcome. What if it’s close? The UVA Center for Politics said at the end of last week that they expected “Yes” to prevail — by a very slim margin, 51% to 49%. What about the spending disparity? Do the justices consider the fact that it took three times as much money pouring into the state from outside to fund the campaigns? Virginia Public Access Project reported last week that only 3% of the money behind “vote Yes” has come from actual Virginians. Moreover, if turnout is low on top of that, especially below 50%, how could justices claim that something as essential as a constitutional amendment be suspended for six years given all those circumstances? What would you do if you were a justice on the Virginia Supreme Court? We publish a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of The Daily Signal. The post What if You Were a Justice on Virginia’s Supreme Court? appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Lori Chavez-DeRemer has resigned as labor secretary, White House Communications Director Stephen Cheung announced on X. “She will be leaving the Administration to take a position in the private sector,” Cheung said on Monday. “She has done a phenomenal job in her role by protecting American workers, enacting fair labor practices, and helping Americans gain additional skills to improve their lives.” DeRemer said in a statement that she is “proud that we made significant progress in advancing President Trump’s mission to bridge the gap between business and labor and always put the American worker first.” “We created new pathways to mortgage-paying jobs, prepared workers to excel in the age of AI, took steps to lower prescription drug costs, promoted retirement security, and so much more,” she said. It has been an honor and a privilege to serve in this historic Administration and work for the greatest President of my lifetime.At the Department of Labor, I am proud that we made significant progress in advancing President Trump’s mission to bridge the gap between business…— Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer (@SecretaryLCD) April 20, 2026 “While my time serving in the Administration comes to a conclusion, it doesn’t mean I will stop fighting for American workers,” she continued. “I am looking forward to what the future has in store as I depart for the private sector.” Cheung said that Keith Sonderling, the current deputy secretary, will take on the role of acting secretary. Chavez-DeRemer’s resignation comes amid a probe into her tenure at the Department of Labor. In January, the New York Post reported that a complaint was filed against Chavez-DeRemer saying she was pursuing an inappropriate relationship with a subordinate, drank in the office during work hours, and committed “travel fraud.” A spokesperson for the agency told the Post the allegations were “categorically false.” Chavez-DeRemer is the third member to depart President Donald Trump’s Cabinet in the past two months, following former Attorney General Pam Bondi and former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. DeRemer previously represented Oregon’s fifth district Washington in Congress. This story is developing and may be updated. The post BREAKING: Labor Secretary Out, Replacement Named appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, introduced legislation Monday aimed at barring the admission, naturalization, and continued residence of individuals affiliated with certain extremist or totalitarian ideologies. The Measures Against Marxism’s Dangerous Adherents and Noxious Islamists (MAMDANI) Act would amend federal immigration law to prohibit admission or naturalization into the country of any alien who is, or has been, a member or advocate of various extreme groups, Breitbart first reported. This includes “any alien who is a member of a socialist party, a communist party, the Chinese Communist Party, or Islamic fundamentalist party, or advocates for socialism, communism, Marxism, or Islamic fundamentalism,” according to a news release posted on Roy’s legislative website. The bill’s name is a reference to socialist New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. “Across the world, openly socialist governments have given mass amnesty to millions of invading Muslims, resulting in horrific crimes targeting Christians, and terrorist attacks in the name of jihad,” Roy told The Daily Signal. “While the Muslim Brotherhood has long sought to export its barbarism to the U.S., by implementing the MAMDANI Act we can forcefully fight back against the Marxist and Islamist invasion of our country.” Among other action items, the legislation would establish new grounds for deportation. Under the measure, an alien could be removed from the United States for advocating for Marxist and Islamist ideologies, or for promoting them through written or electronic material. In addition, the bill states that determinations made under the act would be final, preventing individuals who are denaturalized or deported from challenging the decision. Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas, said the legislation represents an initial step toward fixing our “broken immigration system.” “For decades, America has imported people who hate our country, reject our culture, and seek to replace Western values with Marxism, socialism, and Islamism,” Self told The Daily Signal. “It’s time to pass the MAMDANI Act, secure our borders, and send a clear message: those who want to destroy our civilization are not welcome here.” Roy and other supporters point to recent violent crimes by individuals previously convicted of terrorism-related offenses as evidence of systemic failures in immigration enforcement. In March, Mohamed Jalloh killed a member of the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps at Old Dominion University. Jalloh had been indicted and sentenced to federal prison in 2017 but was released in 2021 after his attorney argued that he had renounced prior ties to ISIS. The post MAMDANI Act Aims to Denaturalize and Deport Marxists, Islamists appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas, introduced legislation Monday that would prohibit the imposition of religiously based financial penalties, a measure he says is aimed at preventing Sharia-inspired practices such as taxing non-Muslims. The Freedom Against Imposed Theology Harms (FAITH) Act would establish a nationwide ban on fees, fines, penalties, or other financial burdens imposed on individuals because of their religious beliefs—or their refusal to participate in another religion’s practices. “This legislation sends an unmistakable message,” Self said in a press release. “Religious freedom means freedom from religious coercion—financial or otherwise.” “The FAITH Act draws a firm constitutional line: No American should ever pay a de facto religious tax or face financial penalties for their beliefs,” he added. “We must make America Sharia-free and protect the First Amendment for everyone.” The bill would classify such conduct as a predicate offense under the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, expanding prosecutors’ authority to pursue organized efforts to impose religiously based financial demands. Self said the legislation is intended to address concerns about attempts to enforce Sharia-influenced financial practices in the United States. The bill would apply to both governmental and non-governmental actors, while preserving the right of religious and educational institutions to seek voluntary contributions from their own members for internal purposes. Self cited the Islamic concept of jizya, a historical tax imposed on non-Muslims under Sharia-based governance, as an example of a practice he views as incompatible with U.S. constitutional principles. Although jizya is not imposed under American law, supporters of the FAITH Act argue that informal financial pressures modeled on Sharia principles pose a growing concern. “While formal jizya is not imposed by U.S. law, we are seeing growing attempts to establish Sharia-adherent enclaves, parallel financial systems, and community coercion in parts of America—including right here in Texas,” Self said. The bill’s background materials also reference armed jihadist groups in parts of sub-Saharan Africa that have imposed similar levies on religious minorities in recent years, which supporters say underscores the need to prevent any comparable practices from taking root in U.S. communities. Self is a co-founder and co-chair of the Sharia-Free America Caucus, which his office says includes more than 60 members of Congress from more than 25 states. The post Keith Self Pushes FAITH Act to Block ‘Sharia Tax’ on Non-Muslims appeared first on The Daily Signal.

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.