Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent defended the decision to cancel the IRS’s Direct File program during a Senate exchange on Wednesday, arguing the “free” service cost taxpayers $72 million annually. During a hearing, Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) pressed Bessent on why the program was scrapped, calling it “free and easy to use.” Bessent pushed back, saying the service was only free to users, not taxpayers. “It wasn’t free,” Bessent said. “It was $72 million for about 300,000 taxpayers.” Roughly 60% of users did not complete their filings through the platform.   Sen. @ChrisCoons: “Why’d you shut down Direct File when it was free and easy to use?” @SecScottBessent: “It wasn’t free and the—” Coons: “Direct File was free to taxpayers.” Bessent: “Not to the American people. It was … $72 million for about 300,00 taxpayers.” pic.twitter.com/fdku7e4vBh — CSPAN (@cspan) April 22, 2026   Bessent argued that taxpayers could instead use private options such as FreeTaxUSA to file federal returns at no cost. The IRS launched Direct File as a pilot program to allow taxpayers with relatively simple returns to file directly with the government, bypassing private tax preparation companies. It was rolled out in phases with limited eligibility. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), a supporter of the program, has proposed legislation to reinstate it. “It doesn’t make any sense for [President Donald] Trump and [former Trump adviser Elon] Musk to get rid of Direct File—unless they want to do a big favor for giant tax prep companies by squeezing more Americans into paying for those products,” Warren said, pointing to Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative. Treasury officials have instead pointed toward expanding the existing Free File program, which relies on private tax software companies to provide free filing options for eligible taxpayers, rather than building a permanent government-run system. 

The Trump administration’s top civilian Navy official is stepping down at a critical moment, with the Pentagon confirming that Navy Secretary John Phelan is leaving his post “effective immediately” as tensions with Iran remain high under a fragile ceasefire. In a brief statement Wednesday, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the department was “grateful to Secretary Phelan for his service,” adding that officials wished him well. No explanation was given for the abrupt departure. STATEMENT: Secretary of the Navy John C. Phelan is departing the administration, effective immediately. On behalf of the Secretary of War and Deputy Secretary of War, we are grateful to Secretary Phelan for his service to the Department and the United States Navy. We wish… — Sean Parnell (@SeanParnellASW) April 22, 2026 The timing raises immediate questions. Phelan exits just as the U.S. Navy enforces a high-stakes blockade of Iranian ports near the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global oil chokepoint that has become central to the ongoing U.S.-Israeli conflict with Tehran. The blockade, combined with recent naval seizures and disruptions to shipping lanes, has kept the region on edge even as a temporary ceasefire holds. Undersecretary Hung Cao will assume the role in an acting capacity. Cao, a 25-year Navy veteran with combat experience, previously ran as a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in Virginia, backed by President Donald Trump. Turnover is nothing new at the Pentagon, as War Secretary Pete Hegseth has dismissed several top military leaders in recent months, including senior generals and admirals. Phelan himself was an unconventional pick for the role. A businessman and major Trump donor, he had no prior military service or senior civilian leadership experience within the Navy before his nomination in late 2024. His background was primarily in private investment, along with advisory work tied to national security nonprofits. His sudden exit is particularly notable given that he publicly addressed a major Navy conference in Washington just one day earlier, laying out his agenda and engaging with reporters — with no visible indication that his tenure was about to end. For now, the Pentagon has offered no further details, leaving open questions about whether the move was voluntary, strategic, or tied to internal disagreements. What is clear is that the leadership change comes at a sensitive operational moment, with U.S. naval forces playing a central role in both enforcing the blockade and deterring further escalation. As negotiations with Iran remain uncertain, the Navy will now be navigating that environment under interim leadership — an added layer of uncertainty at a time when stability at the top would typically be expected.

The Southern Poverty Law Center, a left-wing organization that has found itself as the subject of a massive federal indictment, previously urged the Biden administration to release a transgender immigrant convicted of sexually assaulting a child, according to documents obtained by the Oversight Project. In a 2021 email obtained via a Freedom of Information Act request, a then-SPLC attorney asked Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to “release” the detainee “as soon as possible” due to the transgender-identifying woman’s “hypertension and severe anxiety,” citing a COVID-era lawsuit that resulted in the release of some immigrants with certain comorbidities. The SPLC attorney argued that the individual, a female who identifies as a male, “does not fall within the administration’s public safety enforcement priority” and must be released due to trauma she had experienced related to her transgender identity. The immigrant, who held a Green Card, had previously served more than eight years behind bars for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl. At the time, the transgender-identifying woman was 19-years-old. They had a two-year online relationship before the woman drove to meet the minor victim in 2011. At the time, the Filipino national learned that the girl had lied about her age and revealed that she was just 14 years old. Still, the transgender-identifying woman proceeded with the meet-up where “they engaged in sexual conduct,” the email stated. In 2021, DHS got an e-mail from the Southern Poverty Law Center, Mich Gonzalez (pronouns el/he/they), requesting an early release for this biological woman who engaged in statutory rape of a minor girl. pic.twitter.com/iGj3er47vn — Oversight Project (@ItsYourGov) August 7, 2025 “Although conviction on its face appears grave and justly concerning,” the SPLC attorney wrote to Homeland Security officials, adding that there was a need to present “additional context” that included the detainee’s feeling of isolation as a child “with respect to his gender identity.” In a July 6, 2021, email, a Homeland Security official responded that “career officials determined” that the detainee “should be released” with a tracking device. The SPLC, which has long advocated against so-called hate groups, was the subject of a federal indictment announced Tuesday that accused the group of secretly giving millions of dollars to white supremacist groups. A grand jury indicted the SPLC on multiple counts of fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering over its informant practices, Justice Department officials announced late Tuesday. The SPLC “secretly funneled more than $3 million in funds to white supremacist & extremist groups,” such as Aryan Nations, members of the Ku Klux Klan, and a member of the leadership group that planned the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, the indictment said. “It was instead manufacturing the extremism it purports to oppose by paying sources to stoke racial hatred,” Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said Tuesday. The SPLC has labeled its political opponents as racists and maintains a “hate map” that places the conservative parental rights group Moms for Liberty alongside the Ku Klux Klan.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is throwing his weight behind a bipartisan push to overhaul how the United States detects emerging health threats, backing legislation to expand wastewater surveillance and build a national early-warning system for infectious diseases. Appearing before lawmakers on the Senate Finance committee on Wednesday, Kennedy made clear the issue is a priority for him, aligning himself with efforts led by Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) and a cross-party group of senators. “I absolutely will work with you on the PREDICT Act,” Kennedy said. “It’s something that’s very personally important to me to have more wastewater surveillance. And we are also putting $325 million in this budget into a new bio threat radar system that will integrate with the microbial surveillance at wastewater treatment [plants] to detect pathogens as soon as they emerge in our country and elsewhere in the world.” The PREDICT Act is a bipartisan proposal introduced by Scott and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), alongside a coalition that includes Sens. Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Ted Budd (R-NC), Roger Wicker (R-MS), and Angus King (I-MA), who caucuses with the Democrats. The bill would expand the nation’s ability to monitor wastewater for traces of viruses and bacteria, a method that gained traction during the COVID-19 pandemic and has since been used to track diseases such as influenza, RSV, and measles. Scott, in a statement provided exclusively to The Daily Wire, emphasized the urgency of strengthening those capabilities. “Today’s hearing at the Senate Finance Committee underscored the importance of strong coordination in addressing public health challenges and staying ahead of emerging threats,” Scott said. “I was proud to highlight the PREDICT Act, which I introduced to expand wastewater surveillance so we can identify outbreaks earlier and respond faster to protect our communities.” Wastewater surveillance allows officials to detect pathogens shed by infected individuals, often before symptoms appear or testing catches up. That early signal can provide critical lead time for local health systems to respond, potentially slowing or preventing wider outbreaks. Supporters argue the system offers both public health and economic benefits. Early detection can reduce the scale of outbreaks, limiting strain on hospitals and avoiding the kinds of sweeping disruptions seen during the pandemic. Estimates from public health experts suggest that such systems could deliver significant per-person savings during a future health crisis. Recent events have underscored that urgency. A measles outbreak in South Carolina has been cited by Scott and others as an example of why earlier detection tools matter, pointing to the need for faster, more proactive responses. The PREDICT Act would direct the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to fund and coordinate a national network of wastewater monitoring programs, working with state and local health departments, universities, and private partners. It also calls for expanded lab capabilities to identify new pathogens and track multiple threats simultaneously, along with the creation of a national data dashboard to improve transparency and coordination. Kennedy’s endorsement adds another layer to the effort, particularly as he signals broader ambitions to reshape how the federal government approaches prevention. In the same set of remarks, he indicated plans to reform the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, including bringing in new experts and increasing the frequency of its meetings. “I know I have not done a good job of getting the meetings out there. We are going to change that,” Kennedy said, adding that existing standards for evaluating preventive care would remain intact. The convergence of legislative and administrative efforts signals a push toward a more proactive model of public health, one focused on identifying threats before they escalate. The PREDICT Act remains under consideration, but with bipartisan backing and support from figures like Kennedy and Scott, momentum is building toward a more coordinated, forward-looking approach to public health preparedness.

The now scandal-plagued Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) once falsely claimed that Border Patrol agents whipped Haitian migrants at the southern border, a review by The Daily Wire found. In June 2022, the SPLC released a statement for World Refugee Day, stating that “U.S. Border Patrol agents on horseback infamously chased Black Haitian asylum-seekers with reins raised like a lash.” The false narrative emerged after horseback Border Patrol agents were seen using their reins to maneuver around a horde of Haitian migrants crossing illegally into Del Rio, Texas, in September 2021. At the time, the agents were outnumbered by a crush of thousands of Haitians that had amassed along the bank of the Rio Grande in a matter of days. An internal Customs and Border Protection (CBP) probe found that the agents never whipped migrants. Before the investigative findings were released, several prominent Democratic politicians promoted the false narrative as photos and videos of the interaction went viral. Then-President Joe Biden called the images “outrageous” and vowed that the agents “will pay.” “It doesn’t matter if a Democrat or Republican is President, our immigration system is designed for cruelty towards and dehumanization of immigrants,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) said at the time. “Immigration should not be a crime, and its criminalization is a relatively recent invention. This is a stain on our country.” “This is so sick and @CBP will continue to commit human rights abuses if we don’t stop it now,” Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) said. “Cracking a f—ing whip on Haitians fleeing hardship shows you that this system simply can’t be reformed.” “Use of whips on refugees? Disturbing and unacceptable,” Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) said. “This must end immediately.” The Justice Department announced a grand jury indictment against the SPLC, alleging that the left-wing group secretly funneled millions of dollars to white supremacist groups. The SPLC was charged with 11 counts of wire fraud, false statements to a federally insured bank, and conspiracy to conceal money laundering. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said Tuesday that the group was “manufacturing the extremism it purports to oppose by paying sources to stoke racial hatred.”