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Why Main Street caucus aligns so strongly with Trump, how the Washington Reporter got Mike Waltz confirmed, and more
Rep. Darrell Issa wants the UN to designate Hamas as a terror organization, Big Tech and Biden, the Small Business Committee brings creators to Congress, and more!
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September 25th, 2025
Let’s dive in.
INTERVIEW: “President Trump knows that when he needs something, the Main Street Caucus is on the line and willing to take the vote”: Main Street Caucus’s new leaders lay out vision for the Congress
Heard on the Hill
EDITORIAL: Censorship, the Biden administration, and Big Tech
EXCLUSIVE: Top Democrats on House Intel Committee falsely claim that GOP’s anti-DEI policies in the intelligence community stem from “racial animus”
EXCLUSIVE: Rep. Darrell Issa wants the UN to “formally designate Hamas as a terrorist organization”
SCOOP: How the Washington Reporter helped confirm Mike Waltz
SCOOP: Lori Chavez-DeRemer’s transformational retirement savings proposed rule praised by Congress
SCOOP: Speaker Mike Johnson to Washington Reporter: “Hamas has to be eradicated”
SCOOP: RSC members lay out why crime rates are worse in blue states during National Guard meet and greet
SCOOP: Jon Ossoff’s “stolen valor” roils Georgia Senate race: “Our veterans are not your political prop”
SCOOP: The hills of D.C. are alive with the Sound of Music at the Kennedy Center
OPINIONATED: Saul Anuzis on why the United Nations needs to stand firm with Eastern Europe, and Bonnie Glick on Labour’s labors of idiocy and the leftists’ loony larks
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INTERVIEW: “President Trump knows that when he needs something, the Main Street Caucus is on the line and willing to take the vote”: Main Street Caucus’s new leaders lay out vision for the Congress
by Matthew Foldi
The new leadership of the House’s Main Street Caucus has a simple message to President Donald Trump and to the voters who sent them to Washington, D.C.: we are eager to work with the White House.
Reps. Mike Flood (R., Neb.) and Laurel Lee (R., Fla.) — the Chair and newly-elected Vice Chair of the Main Street Caucus — spoke with the Washington Reporter about their new video spotlight series, their relationships with the White House, what they want to focus on during this Congress, and more.
“President Trump knows that when he needs something, the Main Street Caucus is on the line and willing to take the vote,” Flood said. Now, with Lee as his number two, his caucus is primed to take advantage of the Florida-centric nature of American politics.
“The epicenter in politics has shifted from last Congress from California to Florida, and that’s one of the great things about having Laurel Lee in a leadership position,” Flood said. “She is a Floridian. She’s worked with a lot of those folks at the White House who hail from the Sunshine State, so that’s going to be a distinct advantage for us going forward with her leadership on that front, and it will extend to all of our members, which is something we really have been focused on, building a good relationship there.”
Heard on the Hill
TEXAS IS CORNYN’S “FOR THE TAKING”: New polling from the Senate Leadership Fund (SLF) shows Sen. John Cornyn (R., Texas) with the momentum in his primary race next year. “Cornyn, who was once trailing by an average of 17 points at the start of July, is now locked in a tied race with Ken Paxton,” the memo says.
NO SHARIA GROWS: Rep. Randy Fine’s (R., Fla.) bill that would “ensure that no U.S. court, public agency, or legal institution can ever enforce or legitimize Sharia law,” is adding cosponsors like Reps. Brandon Gill (R., Texas), Chip Roy (R., Texas), and John McGuire (R., Va.).
OCCUPIED TERRITORY?: On a call hosted by the American Medical Association (AMA), a doctor called Oakland, California “occupied territory.” The AMA, Greg Price — who unearthed the video — noted, “is responsible for accrediting medical schools and rakes in millions of dollars using government-granted CPT codes that no doctor, hospital, or insurer can get paid without.”
TRUMP EFFECT WORLDWIDE: Shortly after President Donald Trump designated ANTIFA as a terrorist organization, lawmakers in Poland’s conservative Law and Justice Party followed suit, demanding that ANTIFA “be recognized in Poland and in the European Union as terrorist organizations.”
BICE TRY: Rep. Stephanie Bice (R., Okla.) had one of the better points about a potential Schumer Shutdown that we have seen. “The Dems are demanding we make the ACA COVID subsidies permanent or they will shut the government down,” Bice noted. “I’m beginning to wonder if the Affordable Care Act was a ruse…make healthcare costs so expensive you can’t afford the premiums — and the only way out is a government run healthcare (single payer) system.”
EPSTEIN’S DNC DOLLARS: Disgraced sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein directly donated $32,000 to the Democratic National Committee (DNC) over the years, but the DNC has yet to return a single penny, Fox News’s Ashley Oliver reported.
WHAT YEAR IS IT? The Washington Post’s Anna Liss-Roy is emailing members of Congress asking them if they are planning to get a COVID-19 vaccine this fall.
GETTING DESPERATE: Rep. Thomas Massie (R., Ky.) posted a picture of Speaker Mike Johnson (R., La.) with Kentucky Rabbi Shlomo Litvin in a bizarre fundraising plea. “Speaker Johnson just met privately with the Kentucky AIPAC guy who’s been trying to defeat me for many years because I won’t fund foreign wars and I don’t vote for foreign aid to any country,” Massie wrote. “They’re gunning for me.” One Kentucky Republican explained to the Reporter why voters in the Bluegrass State are getting fed up with Massie. “He’s just been pulling the same Squad anti-Semitism, and none of our media cares.”
COINAGE: Reps. August Pfluger (R., Texas) and Abe Hamadeh (R., Ariz.) want Charlie Kirk’s legacy imprinted on America’s money supply. The duo — both of whom are members of the conservative Republican Study Committee — rolled out a proposal to mint Kirk coins with the inscription “well done, good and faithful servant” on the side opposite the one with Kirk’s face.
ICYMI: The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) sent out a release on our story about how “Iowa Democrats’ silence on “Palestine” recognition [is] already impacting Senate race.” Thanks for reading!
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We must protect American leadership in the life sciences and avoid damaging drug pricing policies. Meanwhile, China is making significant strides in clinical trials, drug approvals and new breakthroughs. Now is the time to strengthen American innovation, not hinder it. Learn more.
EDITORIAL: Censorship, the Biden administration, and Big Tech
by the Washington Reporter Editorial Board
Rep. Jim Jordan (R., Ohio) has done critical work exposing the Biden administration’s censorship efforts through his leadership on the House Judiciary Committee. His 2024 report, “The Censorship Industrial Complex“ along with the Twitter Files, revealed how White House officials, including Rob Flaherty, pressured tech companies to censor conservatives who were telling the truth about COVID hysteria.
While liberals have gone hysterical over ABC’s decision to temporarily suspend Jimmy Kimmel, the truth is that the COVID-19 era marked the most severe wave of censorship in American history. Skeptics of lockdowns, vaccine mandates, and lab-leak theories — doctors, parents, and ordinary citizens — were systematically targeted as purveyors of “misinformation.”
Posts and accounts were throttled or removed, often at the direct urging of Biden administration officials, even when the content didn’t violate platform rules. One of the Washington Reporter’s own staffers saw Meta censor a post about a U.S. Senator pointing out the likely origins of COVID. This unprecedented clampdown stifled open debate, eroded public trust, and fueled division, all while showing how far government officials were willing to go to control the narrative.
EXCLUSIVE: Top Democrats on House Intel Committee falsely claim that GOP’s anti-DEI policies in the intelligence community stem from “racial animus”
by Matthew Foldi
During a closed-door hearing Democrats on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence falsely claimed that the Trump administration’s efforts to root out DEI in the intelligence community (IC) are rooted in “racial animus.”
The lead offender, Rep. Joaquin Castro (D., Texas), claimed on the same day that Charlie Kirk was assassinated that he “think[s] that this attack on DEI is borne of racial animus, it is born of racial animus.”
At issue is the Intel Committee Republicans’ moves to codify the Trump administration’s executive order that would, Rep. Trent Kelly (R., Miss.) “to terminate all DEI programs, mandates, policies, preferences and activities in the Federal Government. Therefore, this committee is taking action where it can codify this EO in statute, and that includes repealing reports like this.”
“An executive order can easily be rescinded in the future,” Kelly cautioned. “By repealing DEI activities and reports in law, we are proofing for future administrations being able to easily stand these functions back up.”
EXCLUSIVE: Rep. Darrell Issa wants the UN to “formally designate Hamas as a terrorist organization”
by Matthew Foldi
Hours after President Donald Trump took the United Nations (UN) to task, one of the House’s top foreign policy experts wants the UN to “formally designate Hamas as a terrorist organization.”
In a letter obtained exclusively by the Washington Reporter, Rep. Darrell Issa wrote to UN Secretary-General António Guterres, demanding that he designate the U.S.-designated terrorist organization as a terrorist organization.
“In the simplest terms, it is time for the United Nations to formally designate Hamas as a terrorist organization,” Issa wrote.
“The reasons for this realignment are manifestly obvious,” Issa explained. “The world has witnessed Hamas’ decades-long and unceasing campaign of violence against civilians and murder of innocents — including suicide bombings, proliferating rocket attacks against neighborhoods, kidnappings, and the deliberate use of human shields.”
SCOOP: How the Washington Reporter helped confirm Mike Waltz
by Matthew Foldi
For months, the Trump administration didn’t have its Ambassador to the United Nations (UN) in place.
Mike Waltz was languishing in confirmation limbo just days before the UN’s General Assembly convened in New York — so much so that the Associated Press wrote a piece titled “delays to Mike Waltz’s UN bid make it all but impossible he’s in the role for a major world meeting.”
The Trump team, in conjunction with Senator Majority Leader John Thune (R., S.D.), however, didn’t want President Donald Trump to get to New York without having Waltz confirmed. Last week, Jason Miller — a former senior advisor to Trump and to his transition team — explained to the Washington Reporter why Waltz needed to be confirmed immediately.
SCOOP: Lori Chavez-DeRemer’s transformational retirement savings proposed rule praised by Congress
by Matthew Foldi
The Department of Labor (DOL) announced progress on a transformational rule that will allow Americans to save part of their retirements in alternative assets like crypto, while also including safe harbor protections to ensure retirement accounts are secured for seniors.
The Department announced an Advisory Opinion that gives clarity to stakeholders about how DOL will implement the rule, which is further progress to implementing President Donald Trump’s August 7 executive order “Democratizing Access to Alternative Assets for 401(K) Investors.”
Secretary Chavez-DeRemer’s move has received widespread support from Republicans in Congress. The top Republicans on the Committee on Education and Workforce, who served with Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer while she was in Congress, explained to the Washington Reporter why her move is so important.
SCOOP: Speaker Mike Johnson to Washington Reporter: “Hamas has to be eradicated”
by Matthew Foldi
The highest levels of American government are unanimous in their opposition to a “Palestinian” state — recognizing the reality that in all of history, such a country has never existed.
Shortly after Israel struck directly at Hamas targets in Qatar, Speaker Mike Johnson (R., La.) responded to a question from the Washington Reporter about a GOP leadership stakeout about what comes next in the Middle East — and the pro-Israel lawmaker was unequivocal.
“Hamas has to be eradicated,” Johnson said. Minutes before, Johnson ruled out any recognition of a state of “Palestine,” adding that “rewarding the carnage that took place on October 7th is unacceptable.”
Johnson’s position puts him squarely in line with that of President Donald Trump, who spoke to the United Nations earlier this week. Trump also met one-on-one with French President Emmanuel Macron, and explained to the French leader why it was a grave mistake for western countries like France to recognize a country that has never existed.
SCOOP: RSC members lay out why crime rates are worse in blue states during National Guard meet and greet
by Matthew Foldi
President Donald Trump’s emergency takeover of Washington, D.C. law enforcement has expired, but National Guard troops remain in the streets of D.C. — and Republican lawmakers in the Republican Study Committee (RSC) are pulling out all the stops to make them want to stay long-term.
During an early morning meet-and-greet with National Guard troops on the National Mall, Rep. Buddy Carter (R., Ga.) handed out Chick-fil-A sandwiches, reminding the guardsmen and guardswomen present that Chick-fil-A is a great Georgia company.
Carter was joined by Reps. Claudia Tenney (R., N.Y.), Mary Miller (R., Ill.), and Randy Fine (R., Fla.) — all of whom agreed that policies driven by Democrats are why blue states and cities see so much crime.
SCOOP: Jon Ossoff’s “stolen valor” roils Georgia Senate race: “Our veterans are not your political prop”
by Matthew Foldi
According to Sen. Jon Ossoff (D., Ga.), he “championed” the VA Home Loan Reform Act of 2025. According to others who worked on the bill, however, he had “absolutely nothing to do with this bill.”
Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R., Wis.), a former Navy SEAL and lead sponsor of the bill, quickly fact checked Ossoff.
“This is a bald faced lie,” Van Orden explained, adding that Ossoff “had absolutely nothing to do with this bill, and I mean nothing. He did not even VOTE for it, it passed by UC. This disgusting and shameful behavior must stop. Veterans are not political props.” Ossoff is not listed as a cosponsor of Van Orden’s legislation, and it has no Senate companion legislation that Ossoff has signed on to either.
SCOOP: The hills of D.C. are alive with the Sound of Music at the Kennedy Center
by Matthew Foldi
The seven hills of Washington, D.C. are alive with the Sound of Music — thanks to the Kennedy Center’s show that is, one attendee told the Washington Reporter, a “magical performance that Julie Andrews herself would be proud of.”
The Kennedy Center’s latest show saw one of the most famous musicals of all time grace one of its main stages, and the center’s leadership told the Reporter that attendees can expect more to come.
OPINIONATED
Op-Ed: Saul Anuzis: Why the United Nations must stand firm with Eastern Europe and NATO
by Saul Anuzis
The world has entered a new era of great-power state competition, moving away from counterinsurgency and back to traditional warfare. Russia’s continued aggression against Ukraine, China’s widely-cast influence campaigns, and authoritarian regimes across the globe remind us that freedom is fragile.
At the center of this struggle are the nations of Eastern Europe — our NATO allies and partners — who are at the front line in the active defense of democratic values, free markets, and the rule of law.
The United Nations General Assembly has a moral and strategic obligation to remain steadfast in its support of Eastern Europe and NATO. This is not just about Ukraine or Poland or the Baltic States. It is about whether the free world will confront authoritarian expansionism with clarity and resolve or retreat into complacency, which has historically proven itself a vessel for aggressors.
Op-Ed: Bonnie Glick: Labour’s labors of idiocy and the leftists’ loony larks
by Bonnie Glick
The Labour Party’s weak leaders in the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia decided that they would join the equally weak Leftist French President Emmanuel Macron in plans to recognize a “Palestinian” state, demonstrating their continued global cluelessness and reflecting the innate anti-Semitism of the Left.
For Labour, for Socialists, and for the Left, the best solution is capitulation to mobs protesting against Israel, firebombing synagogues, and beating visibly Jewish people on the street rather than owning up to the problem described by President Donald Trump in his address to the United Nations General Assembly: unhinged, unchecked migration.
In the case of Europe, this unchecked migration comes largely from Arab and other Muslim-majority countries such that London is commonly referred to as Londonistan. It is easier for these global leaders to cave to rioters than to protect their Jewish citizens. It is better for these cowardly heads of state and government to allow daily anti-Semitic attacks on their streets than to punish those committing them, even if those criminals are in their countries through “other than normal immigration channels.”
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About the Washington Reporter
We created the Washington Reporter to give Republicans in Congress an outlet for insights to help you succeed, and to cover the toughest policy fights that don't get the attention they deserve.
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