Tag: taxes

HUGE WIN FOR AMERICANS: Federal Judge Strikes Down Illinois Laws Giving Illegal Aliens In-State Tuition, Financial Aid, and Scholarships — Deals Major Blow to Pritzker’s Sanctuary-State Agenda

A federal judge just delivered a crushing blow to Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and the state’s radical open-borders agenda.

U.S. District Judge David W. Dugan ruled Friday that multiple Illinois laws granting illegal aliens preferential access to in-state tuition, financial aid, and scholarship programs violate federal law and the Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution.

The ruling marks a major victory for President Trump’s Justice Department, Illinois taxpayers, and American students forced to compete for limited educational resources while Springfield Democrats rolled out the red carpet for people living in the country illegally.

In his 27-page memorandum and order, Judge Dugan denied Illinois’ motion to dismiss the case and granted the federal government’s cross-motion for summary judgment in part.

The court declared the following provisions unconstitutional and invalid as applied to aliens who are not lawfully present in the United States:

  • Current in-state tuition provisions covering Illinois public universities
  • The Acevedo Act provision governing public community colleges
  • The Retention of Illinois Students and Equity Act, or RISE Act, including its 2025 amendments
  • The Illinois DREAM Act and its scholarship program

The judge permanently barred Illinois, Pritzker, Attorney General Kwame Raoul, state education agencies, and the named university and community-college boards from enforcing the challenged provisions for illegal aliens.

“Put simply, U.S. citizens or nationals must be treated no worse than illegal aliens,” Judge Dugan wrote.

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US government loses up to $521B annually to fraud as key GAO recommendations still not implemented

he federal government continues to lose an estimated $233 billion to $521 billion each year to fraud, while most agencies overseeing the nation’s largest federally funded programs have yet to implement one of the Government Accountability Office’s top recommendations for preventing those losses, according to a new GAO report.

The report, Managing Risks in Federally Funded, State-Administered Programs, reviewed the 20 largest federally funded, state-administered programs, which accounted for approximately $1.1 trillion in federal obligations in fiscal year 2025.

The GAO found in the report released Thursday that most agencies have not completed documented fraud risk assessments. The assessments are instrumental in identifying where fraud is most likely to occur and how to prevent it.

“Federal and state agencies can better manage fraud risks and prevent fraud by applying GAO frameworks for managing fraud risks and improper payments, as well as other leading practices; leveraging available federal analytic resources, such as Do Not Pay, to verify recipient identity and eligibility before issuing federal funds; and implementing recommendations from GAO and other oversight entities that would address existing program vulnerabilities,” the report read.

The watchdog said there are currently 22 open recommendations that are focused on enhancing fraud prevention practices across the programs covered in the report.

The watchdog urged federal agencies to implement them to better safeguard taxpayer funds, particularly in state-administered programs.

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BACKFIRE: X Users Bury Marxist NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani with This Brutal Reminder After He Mocks Rich New Yorkers About Paying Their “Fair Share”

Communist New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani probably did not anticipate being humiliated online after dunking on rich New Yorkers about paying their “fair share” in taxes earlier this week.

As Fox News reported, Mamdani and New York Governor Kathy Hochul unveiled a joint legislative proposal in April that went after luxury second homes worth $5 million or more. This is known as a pied-à-terre tax.

On Thursday, Mamdani took to X to brag that his office had sent notification letters reminding these homeowners that the tax would be implemented soon and to “check your mailbox.”

Mamdani added that only when the rich pay their “fair share” can the Big Apple afford the “best parks, libraries, and schools in the world.”

“If you have a second home in New York City worth more than $5M, check your mailbox when you’re back in the five boroughs — because you’ve got mail,” Mamdani wrote.

“Today, we sent notification letters to property owners, letting them know that our new pied-à-terre tax is coming soon,” he continued. “The best city in the world deserves the best parks, libraries, and schools in the world. That’s only possible when we all pay our fair share.”

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Getting Away with Murder: Under Trump, the Buck Stops Nowhere

Having burned through billions of dollars and depleted critical munitions stockpiles, the Pentagon is running out of money.

Our money.

According to the Washington Post, the Pentagon is facing an urgent budget shortfall caused largely by the Iran war, with some critical funding accounts expected to run dry within weeks. Training, maintenance and other military priorities are reportedly being squeezed as the government struggles to sustain Trump’s escalating conflict.

Once again, the government is looking to the American people for a taxpayer-funded bailout—this time to the tune of $67 billion.

Nor is the $67 billion emergency infusion the end of it.

Trump’s fiscal year 2027 budget calls for an unprecedented $1.5 trillion in national-defense spending—a staggering increase that would pour still more money into a military apparatus that cannot account honestly for the costs of its current war, maintain its existing priorities, or keep from returning to taxpayers for another bailout.

The problem is not simply how much the war machine consumes. It is how little accountability accompanies that spending.

The government can launch a war, exhaust military resources, conceal its full costs, and return to Congress for billions more without anyone responsible being required to admit error, change course, or answer for the lives lost.

That is becoming a familiar pattern under Donald Trump.

He makes the decisions—others absorb the consequences.

He launches the war—the troops make the sacrifices, and taxpayers inherit the bill.

The Iran war is not merely another example of government waste, although the cost is already staggering. The war has already cost an estimated $80 to $100 billion, not counting its long-term economic impact, future veteran expenses, or the cost of repairing damaged military bases. Analysts estimate that the broader toll on American households could eventually reach as much as $1,000 per household.

Yet the true cost cannot be measured in dollars alone.

American service members are dying in a war Trump started without meaningful congressional authorization, without a credible plan for ending it, and without an honest accounting of what it will cost.

The Pentagon is draining resources from training, maintenance and weapons programs to keep the conflict going. Congress is being asked to supply billions more. And the American people—already struggling under the weight of debt, inflation and economic uncertainty—are expected to pay without question.

This is government without accountability.

When Trump’s decisions cost American lives, deplete military stockpiles and burn through billions of taxpayer dollars, the bill never finds its way to him. It finds its way to us, while Trump remains conspicuously insulated from the human and financial consequences of his own decisions.

That insulation from consequence is matched by a swaggering display of bluster and bravado that passes for leadership within the Trump administration.

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“USA Isn’t A PiggyBank For Europe”: Trump Launches Section 301 Probe Into EU Over Big Tech Fines

Trump Says US Begins Section 301 Investigation on Europe 

President Trump wrote on Truth Social that the US will launch a Section 301 investigation into the European Union for “robbing American companies, in turn, the American Taxpayer.” 

Trump said Brussels is using America as a “PIGGYBANK” by fining Big Tech companies billions and billions of dollars.

Trump listed the technology companies that have been fined a combined billions of dollars:

After having fined Apple, for no reason at all, 15 Billion Dollars, Meta, 3 Billion Dollars, Amazon 2.5 Billion Dollars, and many others, we have just been informed that Google, a truly advanced and amazing group, has been fined yet another 1 Billion Dollars, without explanation. This brings the Google total to over 18 Billion Dollars!

Trump continued:

This illegal and highly discriminatory practice started at these high levels during the first year of the Sleepy Joe Biden Administration, but it’s not going to continue during the Trump Administration.

He added:

The United States of America is not a “PIGGYBANK” for Europe, nor will we allow it to be!

Please let this TRUTH serve to represent that we will immediately initiate a 301 Investigation into the practice of “ROBBING” American Companies and, in turn, the American Taxpayer.

The European Union will pay a very big price for this illegal and highly unethical conduct, which I have consistently warned them about.

The penalties will be entirely reversed and, we anticipate, a substantial TARIFF to be placed on them at the earliest possible moment.

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DHS used anti-China funds on World Cup security

Congressional Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act included $170 million for efforts to counter the national security threats posed by China’s illegal fishing operations worldwide.

But the Trump administration didn’t spend the money on that.

Instead, the Department of Homeland Security diverted the vast majority of that funding to security measures for FIFA World Cup matches, America250 celebrations and other major sporting events, according to a senior congressional official and an administration official who were briefed on how the money was allocated.

Senate Commerce Committee Chair Ted Cruz (R-Texas) secured the $170 million as part of the OBBB for “maritime domain awareness” technology that helps track the Chinese vessels.

Cruz told us he has “sought to provide resources for those programs, but unfortunately the bulk of the funding has not gone where it needed to go.” But Cruz didn’t say where the money went.

The funding diversion occurred under then-DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. The department, now led by Secretary Markwayne Mullin, didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Approximately $155 million of the $170 million funding pot was spent on counter-drone technology for events like World Cup matches and America250 tributes, including sensors that monitor and track drones in their vicinity, the officials said. The rest was used for Coast Guard communications technology and a Merchant Marine credentialing system.

In a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Thursday, a bipartisan group of senators led by Cruz called on the Trump administration to impose sanctions on 29 supply vessels that facilitate Beijing’s illicit fishing activities.

The letter reads in part:

“Anyone linked to the vessels, including through beneficial ownership, will be exposed to reputational and financial crime risks. The vessels would switch from being assets to liabilities, greatly complicating the ability of the CCP to continue their IUU fishing activities.”

Cruz’s committee handles the annual Coast Guard authorization bill. Cruz said he intends to continue pushing the issue so that the Coast Guard has enough resources to counter China’s illegal fishing.

The nine senators who signed the letter to Bessent said China is carrying out these activities “at a scale that constitutes ecocide conducted via gross human rights abuses.”

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Report: Ilhan Omar’s Sister Incorporated Her $20 Million USAID-Linked Consulting Firm Using the Exact Same Home Address as ‘Feeding Our Future’ Scandal

Another stunning connection has emerged between Rep. Ilhan Omar’s family and the sprawling Feeding Our Future fraud scandal that robbed American taxpayers of hundreds of millions of dollars intended to feed needy children.

Omar’s sister, Sahra Noor, registered her consulting company at a Minnesota residence connected through business records to several major figures in the Feeding Our Future operation, according to an investigation by The Daily Wire.

Noor founded Grit Partners Consulting, a health and leadership consultancy focused largely on projects in Africa.

Noor’s website claims that she has “secured more than $20 million in funding for health initiatives” and consulted on projects backed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, USAID, GAVI, and the World Bank.

The website does not say that Grit Partners itself received $20 million from USAID. Rather, Noor claims to have secured more than $20 million for health initiatives while consulting on projects supported by multiple agencies and organizations, including USAID. Noor’s website

But it is the address used to incorporate her company that is now raising serious questions.

According to The Daily Wire’s investigation, Grit Partners was registered at a home on Hyacinth Way in Lakeville, Minnesota.

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Taxpayer-funded trans dolls with removable genitalia to hit classrooms this fall for kids as young as 4 to ‘learn about different options’

They’re dolling up the trans agenda — and taxpayers are footing the bill.

“First-of-their-kind” transgender dolls — complete with removable genitalia — will debut in some Minnesota classrooms this fall to kids as young as 4 years old.

The paper dolls, with gender-neutral names like “Sam,” “Rory,” “Avery” and “Parker,” have removable internal and external genitals, along with more than 100 interchangeable pieces of clothing, accessories and hairstyles — like a trans Mr./Mrs. Potato Head.

The goal is for kids to “learn about the different options that exist for who they can be,” according to a therapist at the University of Minnesota Medical School, which spent over half a decade developing the controversial project funded by lefty Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz

The Medical School’s Institute for Sexual and Gender Health research over those six years included paying $20 to $60 for “trans and gender diverse” children and their parents to play with the dolls and “talk about gender and bodies” in groups.

Prototypes of the dolls were shown in a 2024 conference where one named “Sam” can be seen in what appears to be some phase of a gender transition, with a detachable penis off to the side, and a dress and girls’ underwear within reach.

The trans dolls — which promise to “make gender fun” — will be made available to teachers, school counselors, pediatricians and mental health providers, according to a website of the “MyGender Dolls” company. It features an image of a boy doll wearing a dress and others in various states of sexual identity confusion.

It’s not known whether parents — or children themselves — will be able to order a doll, or if they will only be marketed to professionals and schools. It is not known if parents will be able to opt out of such “therapeutic play” for their kids.

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Connecticut’s Hidden Carbon Tax Is About To Get More Expensive

Connecticut residents know their electric bills are packed with government costs. The public benefits charge is printed directly on the bill, where customers can see it.

RGGI is harder to spot.

The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative — pronounced “Reggie” — is a multistate carbon-pricing program covering large fossil-fuel power plants. Connecticut and 10 other states limit the number of tons of carbon dioxide that power generators may emit and auction allowances, each permitting one ton of emissions.

Power plants must buy enough allowances to cover their emissions. As the states reduce the number available, the price tends to rise. Power generators pay for the allowances and build those costs into the price of electricity.

There is no separate “RGGI charge” on the bill. The cost is buried in the price of electricity.

Now the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) wants to tighten the program again, beginning in 2027. Connecticut residents have until Aug. 3 to comment.

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US-Israel Defense Integration on Horizon as House Keeps Section 219 in NDAA

The House is preparing to vote on the Fiscal Year 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) with Section 219 (formerly section 224) still embedded in the roughly $1.1 trillion bill.

The House approved the rule governing debate on H.R. 8800 by a 214-211 vote Tuesday, July 21. The vote allowed the chamber to proceed with the NDAA but excluded the amendment from Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) that would have removed Section 219.

Lawmakers will not receive a separate vote on the bipartisan amendment that sought to remove the section, a proposal to expand U.S.-Israel defense technology cooperation that has garnered strong rebukes in certain political and defense circles.

The House expects to hold a recorded vote on the complete NDAA on Wednesday.

What Section 219 Would Do

Section 219 would direct the defense secretary to designate a Pentagon “executive agent” to oversee the United States-Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative. That official would coordinate bilateral defense research, development, testing, evaluation and industrial cooperation.

The proposal originated as the bipartisan, bicameral United States-Israel FUTURES Act, introduced in the House by Reps. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas) and Don Davis (D-N.C.) with companion legislation from Sens. Ted Budd (R-N.C.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.).

Jackson framed the proposal as a way to preserve America’s technological advantage and deliver new battlefield capabilities to service members. Davis emphasized its potential to prepare troops for evolving threats, particularly unmanned systems and electronic warfare.

Sens. Budd and Gillibrand have similarly presented the initiative as an expansion of existing work on missile defense, drones, and underground threats as a means to strengthen American military and technological capabilities.

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