President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that Republicans will make history this September by holding the party’s first national convention during a midterm election year, an unprecedented gathering designed to energize voters and showcase the administration’s accomplishments ahead of November. The Republican convention will take place September 9-10 in Dallas, marking the first time the GOP has staged a national convention outside of a presidential election cycle. “BIG NEWS! For the first time ever, the Republican Party will hold a MIDTERM CONVENTION,” Trump announced on Truth Social. Calling it a “truly Historic Event,” Trump said Republicans will celebrate what he described as the “Great American Comeback” and the successes of his America First agenda. The president said the convention will feature “hardworking Americans, our Great Innovators, Entrepreneurs, Manufacturers, First Responders, and Job Creators,” alongside entertainment and what he promised would be “a RALLY like none other.” Although Trump first floated the idea last year, Tuesday’s announcement confirms that the event is officially moving forward after the Republican National Committee approved rule changes earlier this year that allow for a national convention outside the traditional four-year presidential cycle. The convention comes as Republicans defend a razor-thin House majority and a narrow Senate majority, where even a handful of losses could hand Democrats control of Congress for the remainder of Trump’s term. Historically, the president’s party almost always loses seats during midterm elections, and Republican strategists have acknowledged the challenge of motivating voters without Trump’s name appearing on the ballot. The convention is intended to help counter that trend by putting Trump himself at the center of the campaign and nationalizing congressional races around his administration’s record. In his announcement, Trump highlighted a list of administration priorities he said Republicans will celebrate during the convention, including tax relief, border security, lower costs, increased domestic energy production, and what he described as the country’s “Golden Age.” Holding the event in Texas also places a national spotlight on one of the country’s most consequential battlegrounds. Texas will feature multiple competitive House races, while Republicans also are defending a closely watched Senate seat between Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton and Democrat Texas state Representative James Talarico. The state also remains central to Republican efforts to preserve and expand their congressional majority following this year’s mid-decade redistricting fight. While Republicans move forward with the historic gathering, Democrats ultimately abandoned discussions about organizing a similar midterm convention of their own, despite reportedly considering the idea earlier this year. The timing of the event is also notable. The convention will conclude on Sept. 10, the first anniversary of the assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, whose death last year became a defining moment for many conservatives and prompted renewed discussions about political violence in America. Whether that date becomes part of the convention’s messaging remains to be seen.

Vice President JD Vance laid out his vision for the future of the Republican Party during a wide-ranging interview with Daily Wire host Michael Knowles released Tuesday, touching on everything from his conversion to Catholicism to artificial intelligence, Iran, and the direction of the conservative movement after President Donald Trump’s second term. While much of the conversation focused on Vance’s new book, Communion, and his journey back to Christianity, it also explored the political philosophy guiding one of the GOP’s leading figures. One of the interview’s biggest takeaways came when Vance declared that today’s Republican Party has fundamentally moved beyond the economic consensus that defined conservatism for decades. “American economic policy on the right is now much more Alexander Hamilton than it is Milton Friedman,” Vance said, arguing that President Trump’s political movement has already transformed the GOP’s approach to trade, tariffs, manufacturing, and industrial policy. Rather than viewing economic growth as an end in itself, Vance argued that government should prioritize policies that strengthen families, communities, and workers. “The economy is a tool to service the dignity of the human person,” he told Knowles. Vance also took aim at modern meritocracy, arguing that elite institutions have encouraged Americans to pursue achievement for its own sake instead of focusing on what gives life meaning. He contrasted elite careerism with the importance of family, faith, and community, telling Knowles that “nobody is on their deathbed” wishing they had spent less time with their children in exchange for greater wealth. Knowles also asked Vance about the intellectual influences behind his worldview, prompting discussions of St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas, René Girard, Pope Leo XIII, and Catholic social teaching. Vance credited those thinkers with helping shape both his religious conversion and his political outlook. The vice president also reflected on his own conversion to Catholicism, describing his journey from an unchurched evangelical upbringing through atheism before ultimately finding stability in what he called the Catholic Church’s continuity across generations and its unchanging doctrine. Beyond philosophy, Knowles pressed Vance on several major policy issues. Discussing the administration’s handling of Iran, Vance defended President Trump’s willingness to use military force while rejecting what he characterized as intervention for its own sake. “The president is willing to drop bombs,” Vance said, “but only if it serves an objective.” On artificial intelligence, Vance argued that America must remain competitive with China while also preventing AI from becoming a tool for social harm. He distinguished between AI used for breakthroughs like curing disease and applications that promote pornography, exploit children, or concentrate power among large technology companies. Looking ahead to the 2028 election, Vance predicted Democrats would likely nominate Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), arguing that universities, rather than labor unions, have become the Democratic Party’s true center of power. Vance laid out the broader ideas informing his vision for the Republican Party: one centered on national development, family, faith, and what he repeatedly described as the dignity of the human person, arguing those principles should guide the GOP beyond Trump’s second term. Watch the full interview:

Our Founding Fathers would not have recognized today’s Supreme Court ruling, which upheld bans on transgender athletes in girls’ and women’s sports. After many pen strokes on parchment, what would later become the most powerful nation the world has ever seen laid its foundation on one word: liberty. Liberty is the means to pursue happiness, and thus we were given the Declaration’s most famous phrase. But the Declaration doesn’t promise happiness; it protects its pursuit. Liberty never meant “I get whatever I want.” It has always meant “I am free until that freedom unjustly burdens or harms someone else.” Liberty must be balanced with responsibility. And that’s why today’s decision isn’t simply about sports. It’s about whether one person’s identity can override another’s rights. The nation’s highest court didn’t create a new principle — it reaffirmed an old one. Rights often conflict. When they do, justice must prevail. Girls deserve equal opportunity, privacy, safety, and fair competition. And no one’s liberty can be protected by a society that refuses to acknowledge reality. I’m not a founding father, but I am a girl dad. And every dad understands this instinctively. I don’t hate boys (I have two sons). I simply love my daughters. They deserve to compete fairly for scholarships and championships without having to share a bathroom with a boy. Liberty does not permit another child to take their opportunities. One of their classmate’s freedoms can’t erase their rights. But there is another victim in this debate. The Left likes to claim that conservatives hate transgender individuals. I certainly don’t. I treat each one I meet with the same dignity I afford others. I believe many are suffering, and political slogans only fail them. You can despise an ideology without despising the person trapped inside it. Where else in society do we not offer healing to those who are suffering? This is where “truth” gets in the way. We now hear phrases on debate stages such as “my truth” and “your truth.” But truth isn’t subjective. And truth is often framed as the opposition to compassion. But truth makes compassion possible. Without an honest diagnosis, there can never be real treatment. We don’t buy the alcoholic a beer. We help him find a rehab facility. We don’t tell anorexic people to lose another twenty pounds. We help them shift their perception. A compassionate doctor doesn’t hide a diagnosis. He delivers the truth because that is the first step in the healing process. In every example, pursuing the former remedy results in greater suffering. The most compassionate thing we can do as Americans is help our neighbors reconcile with reality rather than conform to their suffering. But it is the former approach that our media and corporations continue to employ. When ESPN reports that the Supreme Court “upheld state laws barring transgender girls and women from playing on school athletics teams,” or that dozens of states “have adopted bans on female transgender athletes,” it is rejecting the compassionate truth. “Transgender girls” and “female transgender athletes” are boys. When one sees his identity confirmed by our most prominent institutions, it affirms “his truth.” Instead of asking, “How do we help people become comfortable in the bodies God blessed them with?” these institutions ask, “How do we persuade everyone else to participate in the identity they’ve adopted?” Affirmation is never treatment. This is where conservatives have a tremendous opportunity to not just be known as the defenders of truth but as the people most willing to help those living through this struggle. It is well known how the Left panders to groups like this (and others) to win votes. But winning someone’s identity isn’t the same as winning the person. And there are a lot of hurting people. But, like everything, this transcends politics. The Supreme Court shouldn’t have to fix natural truths. In fact, it should never make it past the dinner table. It should never make it out of the Church walls. It should never make it to the school pickup line. Parents first, but pastors, teachers, and citizens alike can play a role in identifying, helping, responding, and intervening. It’s the compassionate thing to do. I want my daughters to inherit an America where girls can be girls — fairly. I also want every young person struggling with their gender to get the appropriate help. Washington, Jefferson, and Madison gifted us a nation built on ordered liberty, not limitless self-definition. The challenge before us is not choosing between truth and compassion but refusing to surrender either in our pursuit of happiness. *** Gates Garcia is the host of the YouTube show and podcast “We The People.” Follow him on Instagram and X @GatesGarciaFL.

Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-NJ) revealed Tuesday that the undisclosed medical condition that kept him away from Congress for nearly four months was depression, ending months of speculation about one of the House GOP’s most closely watched absences. Returning to the House floor for the first time since early March, Kean disclosed that he was hospitalized after experiencing health concerns and was ultimately diagnosed with depression, a condition he described as far more debilitating than many people realize. “Many people think it is feeling sad. It is so much more than that,” Kean told colleagues. “It is physical, it is emotional, and until you experience it yourself, it is difficult to fully understand how powerful this illness can be.” The announcement comes after Kean missed more than 100 House votes and largely disappeared from public view, creating headaches for House Republican leadership as Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) attempted to navigate the chamber’s razor-thin majority. Kean last cast a vote on March 5 before abruptly stepping away from Congress. His office initially described the situation only as a “personal medical issue,” repeatedly declining to elaborate while assuring constituents the congressman expected to make a full recovery. Earlier this month, Kean’s political adviser, Harrison Neely, announced the congressman would return to Washington on June 30 and promised he would be “fully transparent” about his condition. On Tuesday, Kean explained that he initially entered the hospital for medical testing before receiving his diagnosis. “I was given the diagnosis of depression,” he said. Kean said doctors advised him to remain hospitalized because it offered the quickest path to recovery. “I was hesitant,” he said. “I didn’t think I had time for it.” The second-term Republican acknowledged that when he previously told constituents he expected to return within weeks, he believed that timeline was accurate. “But as the over 48 million of my fellow Americans being treated for this illness have come to discover, there is no timeline for healing,” Kean said. “Today I stand before you healthier, stronger and excited to return to the work that I love.” Kean characterized himself as “a private person by nature,” explaining why he chose not to disclose his diagnosis sooner. He also encouraged others struggling with mental illness to seek treatment. “Asking for help is not a weakness,” he said. “It is a strength.” Despite revealing the reason for his prolonged absence, Kean left Capitol Hill immediately after delivering his remarks without answering reporters’ questions, leaving several unresolved what initially prompted his hospitalization. Speaker Johnson said he had repeatedly encouraged Kean to be more forthcoming with the public during his absence. “I encouraged him all along to be as transparent as possible,” Johnson told reporters. “I’m glad he finally has.” Johnson declined to criticize Kean further, saying the decision ultimately rested with the New Jersey congressman. “It’s his personal issue,” the speaker said. Kean represents New Jersey’s highly competitive 7th Congressional District, one of the Democrats’ top pickup opportunities heading into November. His absence became an issue in the race as Democrats questioned whether constituents were receiving adequate representation while Kean remained out of public view. Democratic nominee Rebecca Bennett, a former Navy helicopter pilot, is expected to challenge Kean in what is projected to be one of the country’s most competitive House contests. Before Tuesday’s announcement, President Donald Trump and House Republican leaders had continued backing Kean’s reelection campaign despite his absence. Trump endorsed Kean earlier this month, while Johnson repeatedly defended the congressman’s right to medical privacy and urged reporters to be patient. Kean, the son of former New Jersey Gov. Tom Kean Sr., missed more than 100 House votes during his absence, though his office maintained that he continued to perform constituent services and campaign activities remotely. The congressman’s remarks drew support from some lawmakers who have publicly discussed their own struggles with mental illness. At the same time, critics argued that while Kean’s diagnosis deserved empathy, his constituents also deserved greater transparency during an absence that stretched nearly four months. New York Democratic Rep. Ritchie Torres, who has spoken openly about living with depression, wrote on X that he had “deep sympathy for anyone struggling with mental illness,” but added that “public office carries a duty of transparency.” “When a public official is absent for an extended period,” Torres wrote, “the public has a right to an honest explanation.”

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s administration is ramping up its crackdown on birth tourism in the United States. Colin McDonald, who leads the newly formed Fraud Division at the Department of Justice, informed employees on Tuesday that the DOJ will target those who “exploit our immigration system and violate criminal law,” according to a memorandum on “fraudulent birth tourism schemes” obtained by The Daily Wire. “I am directing all United States Attorneys and the Criminal Division to work with the Department of Homeland Security to prioritize the investigation and prosecution of birth tourism schemes,” McDonald ordered. The memo comes on the heels of a momentous Supreme Court decision that protects the practice of “birth tourism,” often used by wealthy Chinese nationals to travel to the United States to give birth to their children. The DOJ memo lays out how the American citizenship system is exploited every year by “thousands of foreigners” who come to the United States under “false pretenses to give birth and secure citizenship for their child.” McDonald cites an example from 2024, in which Michael Wei Yueh Liu and Jing Dong, a husband and wife, were sentenced to 41 months in prison for operating a birth tourism scheme using a business called “USA Happy Baby Inc.” (Photo by Ken Cedeno / AFP via Getty Images) That business charged Chinese clients “tens of thousands of dollars” for helping women give birth in the United States. “Liu and Dong assisted customers with obtaining fraudulent visas to enter the United States, and provided customs entry guidance, housing, and transportation in the United States,” McDonald explained. “As part of the scheme, Liu and Dong coached their customers on how to hide their pregnancies from immigration authorities.” Another 2022 scheme involved Ibrahim Aksakal, who was sentenced to 27 months in prison for “conspiring to commit health care and wire fraud” related to a birth tourism scheme that he operated in New York. He was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $1,039,723.63, and forfeiture in the amount of $397,500. “Aksakal and his co-conspirators advertised a birth tourism scheme on two Turkish-language social media pages,” the memo states. “As part of the scheme, Aksakal and his co-conspirators instructed the women to conceal their pregnancies from immigration authorities.” A third scheme, this one in 2020, involved a fugitive named Chao “Edwin” Chen who was sentenced to 37 months in prison for his role in a “large-scale birth tourism scheme.” This business went under the name “You Win USA” and advertised that it had a 100-person team in China and the United States and had served more than 500 Chinese birth-tourism customers, the memo stated. “Chen, who helped coach his customers to misrepresent the true intentions of their visits to United States at ports of entry, charged each customer between $40,000 to $80,000,” McDonald’s memo explained. “Chen received $3 million in international wire transfers from China in just two years.” DOJ prosecutes many of these cases as visa fraud under 18 USC § 1546, but McDonald’s memo encourages prosecutors to consider whether other federal statutes have been violated. That could include “Wire Fraud and Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud,” “Money Laundering and Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering,” “Unlawful Use of Means of Identification,” “Aggravated Identity Theft,” and “Conspiracy to Commit Health Care Fraud.” President Trump called on Congress to take legislative action on Tuesday in light of the Supreme Court’s decision on birthright citizenship. “The Supreme Court upheld Birthright Citizenship, which is too bad for our Country, but we can easily make it up in Congress through Legislation, with the support of the President, that has now been determined during this process,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. “No long and unwieldy Constitutional Amendment is necessary! Congress should start TODAY to work on ending expensive and unfair to our Country, Birthright Citizenship. They will have my Complete and Total Support!” He added in a post later on Tuesday: “I would like to congratulate President Xi, and the Great Country of China, on their massive Birthright Citizenship WIN!”