Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) told NBC News he will not support former Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, President Trump’s nominee for labor secretary. “I’m not going to support her,” Paul told the outlet. “I’m the national spokesman and lead author of the right-to-work bill. Her support for the PRO Act, which would not only oppose national right to work but would pre-empt state law on right to work — I think it’s not a good thing,” he continued. The Kentucky senator said he expects Chavez-DeRemer to lose 15 Republicans in the nomination process. “And it’d be sort of hard for me, since it’s a big issue for me, to support her. So I won’t support her. I think she’ll lose 15 Republicans,” Paul told the outlet. Paul said he thinks the former Oregon representative will gain some Democrat votes because “she’s very pro-labor.” Sen. Rand Paul has announced that he will OPPOSE Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Trump's pick to be Secretary of Labor. She will need at least one Democrat to vote for her nomination in committee now. pic.twitter.com/QzbJJQzNSi — Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) February 19, 2025 NBC News reports: The Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee hasn’t scheduled a hearing yet on Chavez-DeRemer, who represented a swing district in Oregon for one term before she lost re-election to a Democrat last fall. Asked whether he has told the White House about his opposition, Paul said, “You’re welcome to tell them.” The stark opposition from a Republican senator who is otherwise aligned with Trump points to the challenges ahead for Chavez-DeRemer, an unorthodox GOP pick who supported the PRO Act, which would beef up labor protections for employees to collectively bargain and expand the scope of what counts as an unfair labor practice. She has also earned qualified praise from traditionally Democratic-aligned labor groups, including the AFL-CIO. For the same reasons, Chavez-DeRemer has drawn deep skepticism from the business lobby, which has had a strong relationship with Republicans for many years. “My biggest concern going into a new Trump administration is the dramatic shift on labor unions, traditionally a large Democratic fundraising base,” a veteran business lobbyist said. “The nominee for labor secretary has shown previous support for anti-employer rights legislation, and there is no reason to believe that she won’t put people and policies in place to enact new employment regulations that restrict employer’s rights. WATCH: Labor Nominee Lori Chavez-DeRemer backtracks on the PRO Act. RAND PAUL: Do you still support the PRO Act? CHAVEZ-DEREMER : I fully, fairly support states who want to protect their right to work. PAUL: So you no longer support the aspect of the PRO Act that would've overturn… pic.twitter.com/FdoPzSerZf — Townhall.com (@townhallcom) February 19, 2025 Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) said he would vote yes for Chavez-DeRemer. “She’s the president’s choice to lead the Labor Department, and you can see why,” he said. WATCH: Sen. Josh Hawley FIRED UP Over Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Says He Will 'Absolutey' Vote Yes "She's the PRESIDENT'S choice to lead the Labor Department, and you can see why…." pic.twitter.com/Rb9momlKeE — Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) February 19, 2025 “Not only do we support [Lori Chavez-DeRemer], we are going to the mat to make sure she gets confirmed,” Teamsters President Sean O’Brien said. WATCH: Teamsters President Sean O'Brien @TeamsterSOB: "Not only do we support [Lori Chavez-DeRemer], we are going to the mat to make sure she gets confirmed." pic.twitter.com/vH6f0sx5H4 — Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) February 19, 2025 From the New York Post: Labor Secretary-designate Lori Chavez-DeRemer walked back her support for a pro-union law during a tense confirmation hearing on Wednesday — with the nominee’s fellow Republicans displaying the most skepticism about her choice. Chavez-DeRemer, who represented Oregon’s Fifth Congressional District before losing re-election in 2024, was one of just three GOP lawmakers to vote for the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, which would have ended legal protections for employees who don’t wish to join a union or pay dues. So-called “right-to-work” laws offering freedom from unionization exist in more than two dozen US states — and more than a dozen Senate Republicans have been on the fence about Chavez-DeRemer due to her voting record. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who chairs a right-to-work caucus, homed in on that when questioning Chavez-DeRemer during Wednesday’s hearing in the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. “About half the country has right-to-work laws, 26 states have them,” Paul said. “When you compare right-to-work states with non-right-to-work states, you see that the right-to-work states have double the employment growth. If you look at manufacturing jobs, they have five times the manufacturing job growth. If you look at disposable income in the right-to-work states, about $3,000 more per individual.” “The PRO Act wasn’t just about organizing or enabling unions to organize, which they already have the right to do. The PRO Act was about overturning right-to-work laws,” the Kentuckian charged. “This is a tremendous, sort of, invasion of the states’ rights to decide these. This would be overturning right-to-work laws in half of the country.”

On Tuesday, Kansas Republicans voted to ban gender transition medical procedures for minors, overriding a veto from Democrat Governor Laura Kelly.

More to go. The post Trump Admin to Eliminate 1/3 of Biden’s New IRS employees appeared first on Frontpage Mag.

The United States held elections during wartime, during the Civil War and World War II. It’s critical in a democracy. Ukraine President Zelenskyy said the Ukrainian Constitution bars him from holding elections during martial law. Ukraine did not pass a war resolution and has been under martial law since the Russian invasion. Article 19 of […] The post Ukrainian President Zelenskyy Won’t Hold Elections appeared first on www.independentsentinel.com.

Fox News reporter Bill Melugin said that a White House official told him that later tonight, President Trump will sign an executive order designed to terminate any and all federal taxpayer benefits going to illegal aliens. The order will direct every federal agency and department to identify all federally funded programs currently providing any financial […] The post President to Ban Federal Taxpayer Benefits for Illegal Migrants appeared first on www.independentsentinel.com.

On Wednesday, a House Republican unveiled articles of impeachment against a federal judge in New York who temporarily restricted Trump administration officials, including the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), from accessing a payment system of the Treasury Department. The articles of impeachment introduced by Rep. Eli Crane (R-AZ) accuse U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer, an Obama appointee, of high crimes and misdemeanors after his recent order that favored 19 Democrat state attorneys general who had sued over DOGE’s ability to access the system that reportedly oversees trillions of dollars in payments each year. When Crane shared his articles to X on Wednesday, presidential adviser Elon Musk — who has been spearheading the DOGE effort to reduce government waste — responded, “Good.” Crane said in a reply: “If these activist judges want to be politicians, they should resign and run for office.” One of two articles that appear in Crane’s resolution, which is available online, alleges Engelmayer “engaged in judicial misconduct” when the judge halted Trump’s executive order establishing and implementing DOGE on “purely political grounds, demonstrating clear bias and prejudice against the President and the 74,000,000 Americans who voted for him.” It further states that Engelmayer “acted outside the bounds of judicial propriety,” including “by submitting this ruling that demonstrates clear bias and prejudice against the President;” and “by willfully disregarding established legal precedent in the issuance of rulings, by submitting this injunction in the middle of the night, which may have been done with the intent to influence the outcome of cases to favor certain parties.” The second article says Engelmayer “has abused his judicial office by using his authority to further personal or political interests, contrary to the constitutional responsibility to apply the law impartially, including the improper handling of this case in a manner that demonstrates favoritism or undue influence, undermining the fundamental principles of justice.” Judges have been the subject of impeachment proceedings over the course of United States history. Some cases have resulted in a guilty verdict and removal from office. It remains to be seen whether this latest push will be taken up by leadership in the House, which is currently led by Republicans. Crane revealed last week he would be drafting articles of impeachment after Engelmayer issued the temporary restraining order and before a second federal judge kept it in place while considering a preliminary injunction. “Partisan judges abusing their positions is a threat to democracy,” Crane said on X. “The left has done ‘irreparable harm’ to this country. President Trump and his team at @DOGE are trying to fix it.” In a second post, the congressman added: “This is obviously judicial overreach. Judge Engelmayer is attempting to stop White House employees from accessing the very systems they oversee. Where in the constitution does it say a President and his team cannot root out obvious waste, fraud and abuse?”

According to The New York Times, about 6,000 employees of the IRS will be laid off on Thursday. “I.R.S. managers on Wednesday began asking employees to report to the office in the coming days and bring with them their government-issued equipment, according to messages viewed by The New York Times,” The Times reported. One mail obtained by the Times stated, “Under an executive order, I.R.S. has been directed to terminate probationary employees who were not deemed critical to filing season. We don’t have many details that we are permitted to share, but this is all tied to compliance with the executive order.” In August 2022, Senate Democrats passed the Biden administration’s $740 billion “Inflation Reduction Act.” “The IRS initially received $79.4 billion from the IRA. The Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 rescinded $1.4 billion, and the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024 rescinded an additional $20.2 billion,” the U.S. Treasury Inspector General For Tax Administration reported. Asked if the rumored 87,000 new IRS agents would “scare the heck out of millions of Americans,” leftist Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) answered, “Millions of Americans aren’t going to be impacted by that other than getting better service from the IRS having their telephone answer getting the questions they need in order to comply with our tax lawsT. he auditing is going to be focused on those of high income, the large corporations, etc.” He added, “I think this is a fair situation. The IRS desperately needs help, and this bill gives them the help they need.” IRS commissioner Charles P. Rettig told Congress that the additional $80 billion would not increase audits of households earning less than $400,000, the New York Times reported. After a DOGE staffer visited the IRS on February 13, President Trump said, “I think that the Internal Revenue Service will be looked at like everybody else, just about everybody is going to be looked at.” An email from the Trump administration to senior executives at the IRS stated, “Consistent with the goals and directives of the Trump administration to eliminate waste, reduce spending, and increase efficiency, GSA [General Services Administration] has taken the first steps in a government-wide initiative to eliminate non-essential consulting contracts,” The Hill reported.

The TikTok ban of 2025 left many people shooketh. For 12 hours, they couldn’t access their favorite app to laugh, cry, dance, or just doom scroll. President Trump signed an executive order giving users 75 more days to get their fix, but it’s not here to stay quite yet. President Biden signed a law mandating the app be divested from its Chinese parent company, and it looks like there could be a buyer. According to the New York Post, an American billionaire hopes to buy TikTok for a considerable price tag. Reid Rasner, 40, who lives in Wyoming, made a handsome offer that he hopes the owners will accept. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Reid Rasner (@reid.rasner) Reid Rasner Offered $47.45 Billion To Buy TikTok Yes, that’s billion with a ‘B.’ Reid’s lawyers shared a letter with the Post sent to ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company. It reads in part, “By establishing TikTok’s operations in Wyoming, Reid will ignite a new era of economic diversification, creating thousands of high-paying jobs that will not only benefit the tech sector but also supercharge Wyoming’s energy, agriculture, and tourism industries.” The letter added, “This initiative will bring high-skilled workers, cutting-edge innovation, and new investment opportunities into the state, strengthening the economy while ensuring Wyoming remains a national leader in multiple sectors.” The power of TikTok affects the lives of millions of Americans. It’s not just the entertainment it provides; many people rely on the app for income. Seeing it go away could have devasting effects on an already troubled economy. Small business owner Jessica Simon told CBS News a permanent TikTok ban could ruin her business, Mississippi Candle Company. “That much of our business comes from people seeing our products on TikTok and buying them through our TikTok shop or coming to our website.” She added that her following is much smaller on other sites and that getting to the same level as TikTok would be very difficult. “So we won’t be able to make up that income. We’ll have to rebuild our community somewhere else completely, and it will take a lot longer than it did on TikTok,” Jessica added. No word yet on whether or not ByteDance will bite on Reid’s offer to buy TikTok. This story’s featured image is by Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images. The post Efforts To Save TikTok Continue As U.S. Business Man Makes Massive Offer To Buy App appeared first on InspireMore.