Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) is asking the Department of Health and Human Services to release a trove of emails and communications written by the Biden administration’s high-profile, transgender-identifying Assistant Secretary Richard “Rachel” Levine. “It is crucial that Congress and the Executive Branch, including HHS, partner together to uncover any collusion or wrongdoing, including the suppression of evidence-based medicine by previous administrations, which can cause irrevocable harm to our country’s children,” the Louisiana Republican, who chairs the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), wrote in the letter to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. In the letter, Cassidy requests emails and communications between Levine, members of his staff, and several medical organizations that support gender transitions for children, including the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the Endocrine Society, that were exchanged during the Biden presidency. “HHS remains committed to reversing the harmful policies enacted by Levine and the Biden Administration that did irreparable harm to children, and to ensuring biological reality guides our approach to public health. The Department will respond directly to Senator Cassidy,” Health and Human Services press secretary Emily Hilliard told The Daily Wire. The Biden administration was known for its embrace of radical gender ideology and push to provide experimental sex-rejecting interventions, such as puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgeries, to children and young adults. Cassidy asks in the letter that HHS provide communications between Admiral Levine and White House personnel, including “former President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and staff,” about “gender affirming care” and the transgender agenda. Levine controversially pressured WPATH into removing gender surgery age minimums from its clinical guidance, called the Standards of Care version 8, as revealed in emails made public during Boe v. Marshall, when Alabama Attorney General Stephen Marshall successfully defended Alabama’s right to ban sex-rejecting procedures for minors. “Former Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Assistant Secretary for Health Admiral Levine and staff, exercised significant political influence over WPATH and possibly other medical and professional organizations,” Cassidy writes. “That influence appears to have been directed toward and ultimately resulted in the removal of age limits for adolescent gender transition surgical interventions, including mastectomies, breast augmentation, facial surgeries, genital surgeries, and hysterectomies, from WPATH’s Standards of Care (SOC-8).” Cassidy asked HHS to provide the requested emails, documents, and communications by March 5, 2026. “Americans have every right to know the scientific rigor of the data behind policies and guidelines issued by medical and professional organizations, particularly given that these guidelines are widely used and relied upon by health care providers and patients, including minors,” Cassidy said.

In a viral video, a 12-year-old Texas boy took a stand for religious neutrality after his local school district allowed a Muslim outreach group with alleged ties to anti-Christian ideology to distribute Islamic materials — including head coverings and Sharia law pamphlets — to students during school hours. Leland Saunders, a resident of Farmersville, delivered a blistering rebuke to the Wylie Independent School District board following a February 2 incident at Wylie East High School. The controversy erupted after an outside organization called “Why Islam” was permitted to set up a massive promotional booth during the lunch period to celebrate “World Hijab Day.” According to reports, the group handed out copies of the Quran and hijabs to female students. Most concerning to parents, however, was the distribution of literature advocating for Sharia law. The “Why Islam” organization is owned by the Islamic Circle of North America, a group whose website reportedly openly attacks “Pauline theology” and denies the divinity of Jesus Christ. “ According to a review by The Christian Post, “the Why Islam website promotes anti-Christian ideology that includes statements declaring  Jesus is ‘not the Son of God’ and an entire page devoted to criticism of New Testament teaching, or what the website terms ‘Pauline theology.'” While the district scrambled to frame the incident as a mere “procedural breakdown,” young Leland Saunders wasn’t buying the bureaucratic excuses. A 12-year-old from Farmersville, Texas, pushes back after Muslims handed out “hijabs, Qurans and Sharia law pamphlets” at his public school. “Even if participation was voluntary, handing out religious texts during school hours crosses the line” pic.twitter.com/7oiXRG0DPt — Chaya’s Clan (@ChayasClan) February 20, 2026 “Public schools serve students from many different religious backgrounds, and students who have no religious beliefs at all,” Saunders said. “Because of that, I believe our schools must remain neutral when it comes to religious promotion during the school day.” The 12-year-old highlighted the double standard often found in modern public education, questioning whether the same platform would be afforded to other faith groups. “If one religious organization is allowed to distribute materials, would every religious or ideological group be allowed to be given the same opportunity?” Saunders asked. “If so, how will that be managed fairly? If not, how is that even equal treatment?” The incident first gained national attention after a viral video posted by Marco Hunter-Lopez, president of the school’s Republican Club, exposed the outreach effort, the Christian Post reported. Hunter-Lopez noted that while colleges and secular clubs are common fixtures at the school, he had never seen a Christian church allowed to hand out Bibles in the cafeteria. “They were giving out hijabs to girls throughout the high school, and they were giving our Qurans, and they also had pamphlets about Sharia law,” he said. Wylie ISD officials have since admitted that “district protocols for guest speakers and student club interactions were not followed.” A staff member was briefly placed on leave but has since returned to work. While Board President Bill Howard issued an apology, promising to “earn your trust back,” the district’s “Wylie Way” values are under intense scrutiny by families who say the school crossed the line from education into religious indoctrination. For Leland Saunders, the mission was simple: to protect the boundary between the classroom and religion. “This is about maintaining neutrality, fairness, and a religious boundary from education and religion,” he concluded.

In the 1980s, Israel launched an ambitious program to develop its own fighter jet: the Lavi. Its name, which translates to “Lion,” reflected the aircraft’s promise — a sleek, agile jet praised by test pilots for its exceptional handling and designed to give the Israeli Air Force a superior edge in air combat. Israel’s cabinet canceled the program in a narrow 12‑11 vote following pressure from American officials. Washington objected to the Lavi because its high costs would strain Israel’s defense budget, divert Israel from spending United States military aid on other American equipment, and compete with the F-16. The Lavi remains a cautionary tale as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders seek to end the Jewish state’s reliance on American military aid. “I want to taper off military aid within the next 10 years,” Netanyahu told The Economist in January, just a month after the prime minister unveiled a $108 billion, decade-long investment to build an independent Israeli munitions industry. “That’s not saying I don’t want to fight for the allegiance and the support of the American people,”  Netanyahu said. “I do. You’d have to be crazy not to.” If Netanyahu succeeds, Israel will no longer accept the roughly $3.8 billion in annual U.S. aid — about $3.3 billion of which is required to be spent mostly on American companies. US and Israeli army officers walk in front a US Patriot missile defence system during the joint Israeli-US military exercise “Juniper Cobra” at the Israeli Hatzor Airforce Base on March 8, 2018.(JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images) Netanyahu is not alone in advocating for reduced U.S. military aid. Other leaders who spoke to The Daily Wire said the goal is not to weaken the relationship with the United States, but to transform it into a partnership based on mutual strength. “This has nothing to do with the importance of the relationship between Israel and the United States,” General Amir Avivi, chairman and founder of the Israel Defense Security Forum, told The Daily Wire. “Israel wants to deepen relations, but Israel, and I, think also the United States are seeking a partnership rather than a relationship based on aid. Israel is not a third-world country. Israel is a regional power, and in some aspects even a global power.” Netanyahu said he told Trump during their December meeting ihn Mar-a-Lago that he appreciates the military aid, but that Israel has “come of age” with its economy on track to soon reach about $1 trillion.  “Israel can afford to pay for its own defense establishment,” Avivi said, noting that U.S. assistance now represents only a small share of Israel’s overall defense spending. U.S. military and missile-defense aid to Israel has totaled approximately $140.6 billion since 1948—equivalent to under four years of Israel’s 2025 wartime defense spending of $43.9 billion and about six years of Israel’s 2022 pre-war defense spending of $23.41 billion. On top of an annual $3.8 billion in aid, Israel, in 2024, received supplemental aid of $3.5 billion in military assistance, $4 billion for missile defense, and $1.2 billion for its new Iron Beam laser missile defense system. That amount decreased to a total of $4 billion in 2025 and is expected to fall again in 2026. Overall, U.S. annual funding made up 16.2 percent of Israel’s military budget in 2022, before the war began, and 28.5 percent when the war was at its height in 2024, including both annual and supplemental aid. U.S. aid is set to make up 10.66 percent of Israel’s 2026 budget of $35.64 billion. Avivi said Israel’s new stance aligns with Trump’s foreign policy agenda, which has consistently pushed allies to contribute more — consider his frequent calls for NATO members to “pay up” — and is encouraging recipients of U.S. aid to develop plans for self-sufficiency with its new approach to foreign assistance. Simcha Rothman, an Israeli lawmaker in the Religious Zionist Party, said he views it as more of a military partnership with the United States, saying it’s misleading to categorize the funding as “aid.”  “I think that the worst thing about U.S. military aid is that it is called aid, despite the fact it’s definitely not aid,” Rothman told The Daily Wire. “Israel is the cheapest aircraft carrier the United States has ever had and the benefits that the United States gets from the state of Israel, and our security establishment is almost unmeasurable.” Rothman pointed out that the aid package itself, in addition to other purchases by Israel, subsidizes or “supports U.S. industries and their development of weapons like no other country” as well as the technology being tested by Israelis in real war scenarios to show proof of concept. In announcing that Israel had added range-extending fuel tanks to its F‑35s, Ambassador Yechiel Leiter said in an interview Monday that when he visited Lockheed Martin, the company’s CEO told him that “Israel’s information and developments ‘are worth many billions to my company.’” Credit: Petty Officer 2nd Class Cryton Vandiesa/U.S. Naval Forces Central Command / U.S. 5th Fleet Rothman believes dropping the term “aid” and forging “mutually beneficial partnerships” is the way to move forward, especially as figures on both the American left and right use the aid as a way to attack Israel.  “The political consequences of calling it an aid is giving excuses to people who do not really deeply understand the relationship between the U.S. and Israel and so they badmouth Israel and to criticize this connection because they say it ‘costs the U.S. money,’” Rothman said.  Avivi also pointed to growing opposition to U.S. military aid for Israel among some American political voices, singling out commentator Tucker Carlson. “In the United States, some — such as Tucker Carlson — use the aid to attack Israel,” Avivi said. “They ask why American taxpayers are funding Israel and its wars. Israel wants to remove this argument entirely and say: ‘We don’t want aid.’” Lawyer and Israeli activist Ran Bar-Yoshafat said Israelis are aware of the rising anti-Israel sentiments in the United States and he thinks Israel should stop accepting aid entirely because it “creates antagonism both among the hard right and the delusional left.”  But Bar-Yoshafat cited several other reasons too, namely that he believes it has the ability to impact its military readiness.  He recalled that during Operation Protective Edge in 2014, when Israel fought Hamas in Gaza, the Obama administration tightened oversight of weapons transfers and suspended a shipment of Hellfire missiles.  “This really shook the Israeli defense establishment and an understanding that you cannot really rely, during a moment of truth, on getting what we need,” Avivi said.  He added that in that same year he was the chief auditor of the Israeli defense establishment and found in an audit that the readiness of Israeli industries to produce munitions was “terrible.” “We really lacked the capabilities because we transferred many capabilities to the U.S., and this really hurt our readiness but also our sovereignty — our ability as a country to defend ourselves,” he said.  An Israeli Army officer watches as U.S. military personnel from the 5-7 Air Defense Artillery Joint Task Force take part in a ceremony marking the end of their mission April 20, 2003, at the Israeli army’s Tel Yona base near Tel Aviv. (David Silverman/Getty Images) Many Israelis view the structure of U.S. military aid as a tool to make Israel more reliant on Washington and undermine the Israeli munitions industry. Under the agreement negotiated during the Obama administration in 2019, Israel was allowed to spend only 25% of the annual aid package on domestic procurement—a figure set to decline to 11% this year and to zero by 2028. Bar-Yoshafat argued that as long as Israel depends on American munitions, U.S. leaders ultimately influence how — and even whether — those weapons are used. “The use of force is constrained according to American preferences,” Bar-Yoshafat said, who is a reservist combat special forces officer. “The Americans, depending on the administration and military establishment, routinely dictate what weapons we can use and where in the field.” More recently, during the war sparked by Hamas’s attack on southern Israel in 2023, the Biden administration halted a shipment of heavy bombs and threatened to withhold offensive weapons if Israel launched an assault on Rafah. It wasn’t until Trump took office that all of the weapons were shipped.  Last month, Netanyahu blamed the embargo for the death of soldiers because of the lack of ammunition.  “At a certain stage, we simply didn’t have enough ammunition and people fell, heroes fell,” he said. “Part of that shortage of ammunition was the result of an embargo.” For many Israelis — who describe the conflict as a “seven-front” war — the episode reinforced deep concerns about relying on foreign supply during critical moments. “I think at this point Israel decided we really need to be as independent as possible and take responsibility for our own future and defense,” Avivi said. “And now Israel is really investing huge amounts of money on building a reality that enables Israel to produce most of its capabilities, especially munitions.” In unveiling his $108 billion, decade-long plan to build an independent Israeli munitions industry, Netanyahu emphasized the goal to “reduce our dependence on all players, including friends.” Its close relationship with the United States impacts its trading partners in the space. Bar-Yoshafat points to to Israel canceling its $1 billion agreement to sell China the “Phalcon” airborne early-warning system for reconnaissance aircraft amid American pressure in 2000. The system contained no American technology and did not violate any U.S. agreements. Still, Washington was concerned China could use it against Taiwan, and influential members in Congress threatened to withhold Israeli aid if the deal proceeded. As a result, Chinese-Israeli relations suffered, and Israel was forced to pay roughly $350 million to China in compensation for breaching the contract. Avivi said that Israel has no plans to sell sensitive technology to China but warned that Israeli reliance on U.S. aid carries real risks if the administration in power has disagreements on military and political strategies.  Israel is already a major player in the global arms market, ranking as the world’s eighth-largest arms exporter with $15 billion in sales in 2024. Yet the country continues to rely on imported munitions and military equipment. The new initiative aims to strengthen self-sufficiency in munitions, though Israel has no plans to revive the Lavi fighter jet or other similarly costly programs, according to Avivi. The first Alenia Aermacchi M-346I Lavi trainer of the Israeli Air Force taken at Venegono Airport, Italy. (Getty Images)   “Israel is not just pulling its weight—we’re destroying America’s enemies too. Hezbollah, Hamas, Iran, Shiite militias: these are threats to both our countries. Being closer geographically, we can act fast and decisively, protecting America’s interests while defending our own.” Although the current U.S.–Israel military aid package is set to be renegotiated in 2028, Senator Lindsey Graham, a longtime supporter of Israel, said the aid should be cut off and should be expedited to support Israel’s self-sufficiency. Graham called the aid “a great investment” and said there is “no better ally” than Israel, but added that the billions in taxpayer dollars should instead be “plowed back into the U.S. military.” The 2025 Israeli defense and security budget represents approximately 7.2 percent of its total GDP of $610.8 billion. That ranks Israel second in the world for military spending as a share of GDP, trailing only Ukraine. By comparison, NATO members are required to spend 5 percent of their GDP on defense by 2035, showing that Israel already exceeds that target and takes on a level of responsibility that other allies have still yet to match. Today, Israel receives only military-related aid from the United States, but that wasn’t always the case. Until 2007, the country also received economic assistance to support its developing economy. Netanyahu was an early advocate for ending economic aid, arguing that Israel had grown strong enough to stand on its own. “With America’s help, Israel has grown to be a powerful, modern state,” Netanyahu said to a joint session of Congress in 1996. I believe that we can now say that Israel has reached childhood’s end, that it has matured enough to begin approaching a state of self-reliance.” Moving forward, Avivi says the best path is for cooperation and investment as a healthy, strong ally instead of dependency. “America can definitely invest a lot in Israeli companies and in mutual projects,” Avivi said. “We want to see a combination of Israeli ingenuity and out-of-the-box thinking coupled with American economic capabilities and also production capabilities. So we can definitely do many, many things together and be very strong and close allies.”

Immigration is emerging as a central issue in Georgia’s competitive Senate race as the second anniversary of Laken Riley’s murder approaches. Riley, a nursing student, was killed in Athens, Georgia, by an illegal immigrant in a case that sparked national debate over border security. The National Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee released a digital ad on Friday, shared with The Daily Wire, targeting Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) over his immigration record. The spot accuses Ossoff of voting “in lockstep with Joe Biden and Kamala Harris,” arguing their policies flooded our borders “with dangerous criminal illegals.” “Jon Ossoff voted for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’ open borders policies every step of the way, and the consequences have been deadly for victims like Laken Riley. Ossoff fights for criminal illegals and Georgians pay the price,” NRSC Regional Press Secretary Nick Puglia said. The ad also highlights comments Ossoff made in 2020 during a virtual event, saying, “I don’t think it’s the role of local law enforcement to enforce federal immigration law.” Ossoff ultimately voted in favor of the Laken Riley Act along with some other Democrats. However, Republicans criticized him earlier in the legislative process, arguing that he and other Democrats opposed the proposal when it was previously tied to broader spending negotiations in March 2024, according to WCCS. The bill later passed with bipartisan support in January 2025. In January, Puglia said Ossoff “refused to champion the Laken Riley Act and only flip-flopped on the life-saving legislation when it was politically expedient for him.” The Senate fight comes as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) faces a funding lapse amid disagreements between Republicans and Democrats on federal immigration enforcement tactics. While ICE, which falls under DHS, is still largely funded under the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” signed by President Donald Trump last year, the broader standoff has affected other DHS agencies, including FEMA, TSA, and the Coast Guard. “When federal police are wearing masks, that’s a real bad sign,” Ossoff said recently on the campaign trail. Democrats have called for ending the use of face coverings by federal immigration authorities during enforcement operations. The Cook Political Report currently ranks the Georgia Senate race as a toss-up, placing it among the most competitive contests in the country alongside Maine, North Carolina, and Michigan. On the Republican side, Reps. Mike Collins, Buddy Carter, and former University of Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley are competing in the Senate primary. Georgia GOP Gov. Brian Kemp backs Dooley, while Trump has yet to endorse a candidate. The Daily Wire reached out to the Ossoff campaign for comment. Trump visited Georgia on Thursday amid heightened political activity, including a special election to replace former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), a once-staunch ally of the president who had a falling-out with him late last year.

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