Tag Archives: Big Government

Mar 30 2026

Sunday Talks – Tom Homan Discusses Democrats Holding DHS Funding Hostage


Posted originally on CTH on March 29, 2026 | sundance 

March 29, 2026 | sundance | 94 Comments

Border Czar Tom Homan appears on CBS Face the Nation to discuss the current impasse as Democrat and Republican Politicians have left Washington DC for a two-week vacation without funding the Dept of Homeland Security (DHS).

[Transcript] – MARGARET BRENNAN: We begin with White House Border Czar Tom Homan, who was tasked by the president to help oversee ICE efforts following the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti earlier this year out in Minneapolis. Good morning to you, sir.

TOM HOMAN: Good morning.

MARGARET BRENNAN: So Congress is gone until mid-April. Will the president compel them to come back and sort this out?

HOMAN: Well, look, I hope so. I mean, they got to- they got to fund the Department of Homeland Security. Again, we’re talking about the Department of Homeland Security, and we’re in an increased threat posture right now because what’s going on in the world, we’ve got to keep this country safe, which means we got to we got to fund the members of the Coast Guard and, and CISA and- and Secret Service and all these other agencies within the Department of Homeland Security. I know the president found a way to pay TSA workers so we can get the American public through those lines and he also came up with the idea of sending ICE agents to the airport, which has had an impact. So we just need to get the department funded. They want to talk about, you know, immigration policies. We can talk about that. But, why do you got to hold the rest of the DHS hostage to do that? Let’s sit down and talk. I’ve been talking to them for the last two weeks.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yeah, but just to be clear, the president is not forcing lawmakers to come back to Washington now. He’s going to wait until mid-April to do this?

HOMAN: Look- and the American people hold Congress responsible. They’re on vacation right now while tens of thousands of DHS employees aren’t being paid —

(CROSSTALK)

MARGARET BRENNAN: — Right. But Republicans control both chambers –

HOMAN: — And that’s what happened at the airports —

MARGARET BRENNAN: — That’s the- this is the president’s party.

(CROSSTALK ENDS)

HOMAN: The Democrats shut, the Democrats shut down DHS. They voted to shut down DHS because they simply won’t fund DHS, because they want to change ICE policies, so ICE is less effective in the interior. Remember why we’re here. We’re here because the last four years of an open border, millions of people are in this country illegally, many public safety threats, national security threats, and we’re out seeking them and arresting them. And they simply don’t like ICE enforcing the law.

(CROSSTALK)

MARGARET BRENNAN: — Well

HOMAN: They proved that the last four years.

MARGARET BRENNAN: — The bill that —

HOMAN: — They didn’t – let ICE enforce the law.

(CROSSTALK ENDS)

MARGARET BRENNAN: – The bill that passed the Senate was bipartisan, and it did have a lot of the funding for the agencies you just laid out there. The issue was specific to parts of ICE, but- but it seems like the White House really didn’t force your party to get in line here, because that Republican controlled Senate did pass a funding bill. The White House didn’t get the House of Representatives leadership on board with that. In fact, the Speaker, Mike Johnson, said that bill was a joke. Why wasn’t the White House able to get both parties- both heads of the party, the president controls on the same page?

HOMAN: Look, I’ve been up on the hill. I’ve been in these meetings. I’ve met with lawmakers from both sides. This isn’t a White House issue. This is the Democrats shutting down the Department of Homeland Security.

(CROSSTALK)

MARGARET BRENNAN: — So did you support the Republican bill in the Senate that passed?

HOMAN: — I’ve been in these meetings, they, they —

(CROSSTALK ENDS)

HOMAN: I support Congress opening up the entire government, the entire DHS, and not holding people in DHS hostage because they don’t like–

(CROSSTALK)

MARGARET BRENNAN: — So no.

HOMAN: — immigration enforcement.

MARGARET BRENNAN: — You weren’t onboard with the Senate bill?

HOMAN: — I support opening up the entire government, I’m with the president.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Okay. Well —

HOMAN: — I missed that. Say that again, ma’am.

(CROSSTALK ENDS)

MARGARET BRENNAN: So you were not in favor of the bill that passed the Senate, which the Republican leaders I got it–

HOMAN: — I support the president of the United States in getting DHS fully funded and operating.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Okay, so tell me- so the President did direct DHS to use other pots of emergency cash to pay these TSA officers, and they’re supposed to receive paychecks as early as tomorrow. Does that mean that the system is going to become unclogged. Do they actually have to show up to work to get paid?

HOMAN: Yeah, I think it’s certainly going to help, because TSA agents have left the job because they got it, you know, whether it’s driving Ubers or finding other jobs so that- so they can feed their families and pay the rent. So I’m hoping with this- this change that President Trump put in place with- was with Secretary Markwayne Mullen, that more will come back to work. Until then, ICE will remain in airports to take those jobs that to secure the airport and check- check identification and check exit lanes where people enter to exit. To do the jobs that don’t require the enhanced TSA screening so we can get more TSA screeners on the X-ray machines, to open up more lanes, so ice is there to do the job, to get TSA screeners back to the line, and hopefully open more lines, get the American public through the airport.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Okay. Well, there’s like, 500 TSA officers who have quit. Do you expect to be able to rehire them, and we have some big events like the World Cup coming up in June. Are we going to have problems at airports for the foreseeable future?

HOMAN: Look, we’re going to continue a nice presence there, and until the airports feel like they’re in- they’re in 100% you know, in a posture where they can do no normal operations. If less TSA agents come back, that means we’ll keep more ICE agents there. The President has been clear. He wants to secure those airports, especially, as I said earlier, in an increased threat posture, we need to secure those airports. ICE is there to help our brothers and sisters in TSA. We’ll be there as long as they need us, until they get back to normal operations and feel like those airports are secure.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Okay, so the- you referenced some of this earlier, the reason that we got to this political standoff is because of the differences between Democrats and Republicans on the policy part of this. And back in January, those two Americans, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, were shot during immigration actions. Democrats point to that and say this is why they need to force change. We saw that letter you signed, and in it you were very willing. You told lawmakers to expand the use of body cameras to limit enforcement activities at locations like schools and hospitals and require officers to identify themselves. So if you’re willing to make those changes, what’s the harm in legislating them?

(CROSSTALK)

HOMAN: We already made those changes. We already made those changes. You–

MARGARET BRENNAN: But why not put them in law then? If you’re–

(CROSSTALK ENDS)

HOMAN: Matter of fact. Matter of fact. The bill- the bill- the bill they’re holding up right now actually gives $120 million to buy more cameras. I’ve already talked to them. They want to- they want to, you know, talk about policy and legislative policy. Look, if they want to change the law, change the law. We’re enforcing laws they enacted. Because I told them–

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, they are trying to write new law.

HOMAN: Name- No, give me- give me one instance. And there’s not one Democratic lawmaker that can give me one example. One. A single one, where ICE arrested an illegal alien inside of a hospital. When have we ever arrested an illegal alien inside of a church? The only one that violated the sanctuary of a church was Don Lemon and that group. You know, we- we have not made those arrests, and even though we don’t have a sensible location policy, the men and women of ICE have common sense. They don’t go into schools. You know- not- not- I want to make a caveat here. If you’re a significant public safety threat and national security threat, you have no sanctuary. But they- they can’t point to one instance where ICE has made arrests in those what they call sensible locations.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, but there was a policy change in January 2025 where the Trump administration said they weren’t going to be, you know, have their hands tied in terms of those sensitive locations. So- so that was a shift.

HOMAN: Because- because- because, as I said, a significant public safety threat or national security threat does not have a sanctuary in this country. We’re going to find them. We’re going to arrest them. However, you can’t point to one instance when we actually went into a church and school because we try very hard to wait for people to leave places. We wait for them. We arrest them in their home or arrest them in their community. We try very hard not to go into those sensitive locations because we know there’s an issue there. So that’s what I’ve been telling the members on the Hill. As far as body cameras, the first thing I did in Minneapolis is bring many body cameras there so everybody had a body camera. There is a plan in place right now for CBP and ICE to go body cameras across the entire agency. However, the money to do that is sitting with the Congress fighting over the shutdown.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Okay. Well, one of the policy changes has to do with warrants, requiring specifically ICE to secure a judicial warrant from a judge before entering a home to make an arrest. And that would be a change to the current ICE policy of relying on some administrative warrants. Listen to the DHS secretary during his confirmation hearing.

(START SOUND ON TAPE)

HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY MARKWAYNE MULLIN: I said, we will not enter a home or a place of business without a judicial warrant, unless we’re pursuing the individual that runs into a place of business or a residence- or a- or a house.

(END SOUND ON TAPE)

MARGARET BRENNAN: So the Secretary agreed to that change. When does that take place?

HOMAN: I- I think we’re already in discussions on that. You know, there are certain sections of law on a Section I-205, where it’s legally- you are illegally able to enter a home and a district court has- has upheld that. But these are discussions we’re having right now. I’m talking- I talk to Secretary Markwayne Mullin every day, several times a day. We’re talking with members of the White House. We’re already working all these policies, not really policy and how we- it’s about execution. Again, the laws are the laws. If they don’t like the law to allow us entry into the home, then change the law. But it’s also they want an arrest warrant to just arrest an illegal alien. There’s nothing in federal law says that. Matter of fact, the law that Congress wrote says you can arrest an illegal alien with an administrative warrant. That’s what the federal statute says. Again, but they want- they want judicial warrants just to arrest an illegal alien. They’re asking for changes in policy. That’s really about changes in the law. Again, if they don’t like what ICE is doing, they can change the law. It’s that simple.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, I appreciate your argument about changing the law. There are many who would like to but there’s also the question of interpretation of existing law, and the acting ICE Director, Todd Lyons, had sent a memo in May saying: “DHS counsel reinterpreted existing law to allow for agents to make arrests without a judicial warrant.” When we heard the new secretary say they won’t enter without a judicial warrant- was Secretary Mullin stating the current policy? Are you changing the Trump policy going forward from where it was in May?

HOMAN: I’m not going to speak for Secretary Mullin, but I think it was clear he’s looking at he wasn’t the Secretary made that statement. I think he’s looking forward. But one of the first things I did, I’ve asked for a full legal review on that reinterpretation. I want to know exactly what I’m- not, I’m not a lawyer, but I’ve asked DOJ to do a full review on that, and we’ll see where it comes. But I think Secretary Mullin meant what he said. I think he is looking for the future.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, we will see where they land. Mr. Homan, thank you very much for your time this morning. Face the issue. Will be back in a minute. Stay with us.

[END TRANSCRIPT]

Mar 30 2026

Lyndon LaRouche PAC Notes Importance of Trump Position Toward NATO and Upcoming Xi Summit


Posted originally on CTH on March 29, 2026 | sundance

Three days ago, the Financial Times wrote an article framed around the central thesis of the LaRouche PAC, now branded as Promethean Action PAC.  The FT article accused Treasury Secretary Bessent of structuring a U.S. Federal Reserve policy disconnected from the framework of the U.K banking and finance model; essentially the article said what Promethean has been claiming about the British banking system and President Trump’s intent.

Treasury Secretary Bessent immediately responded saying the article and its claims were false, “There is much to be said about the storied Bank of England, but any recreation of its operating framework on this side of the Atlantic has never been contemplated.”  CTH was waiting to see how the Lyndon LaRouche PAC would react to the Trump administration denial of their central thesis.  As expected, the LaRouche group ignored it.

That said, Barbara Boyd, former organizer of “Students for LaRouche” (SLR), put together a video highlighting some of the recent remarks by Secretary Rubio, Secretary Bessent and President Trump that accurately point out how the U.S. is disconnecting America First policy from the European Union/NATO perspective.   The upcoming summit between President Trump and Chairman Xi will be very interesting to watch:

While the LaRouche team at Promethean Action PAC are good at following the Trump America-First policy outcomes, the LaRouche team are British-centric in all things related to it.   Decoupling the USA from the “special relationship” with the U.K is an outcome of a pragmatic approach toward America First; it is not the intention of the policy.

Lastly, each time a LaRouche PAC video is shared, the promoters of Promethean Action PAC try to obfuscate the relationship.  It is a fact that Susan Kokinda and Barbara Boyd are life-long LaRouche followers and organizers.  A recent tweet shared below will hopefully put this pretending (willful blindness) to rest.

[Twitter SOURCE and Internal Link Source]

The United Kingdom of Great Britain is a shell of its former self.  The City of London no longer has anywhere near the influence being attributed to it and the British monarchy is in a state of freefall.

The bloom is off the ruse.

Perhaps that’s why the PAC had to change vehicles.

However, all of that said, I’m not sure MAGA is prepared to shift support toward Beijing and Chinese Chairman Xi Jinping.  Then again, as long as it’s not the British crown, that’s LaRouche for ya.

Take from the information buffet all the stuff that provides value and simultaneously ignore the stuff that will have you seeing black helicopters following your car every day.

Remember, ultimately a Political Action Committee (PAC) is a fundraising vehicle.

Mar 30 2026

Sunday Talks – Devin Nunes and Peter Schweizer Discuss Comey, Brennan Subpoenas and Florida Grand Jury


Posted originally on CTH on March 29, 2026 | sundance

Former House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes and author Peter Schweizer appear on Fox News, Sunday Morning Futures, to discuss the latest developments as former FBI Director James Comey and Former CIA Director John Brennan have received subpoenas for testimony in a Florida grand jury.

Much of this discussion focuses on the former Russiagate issue and plays heavily on the desire of Trump supporters to finally see accountability for the corrupt activity that took place in 2016, 2017 and beyond.  Mrs Bartiromo has covered the background details extensively in the past.  WATCH:

.

Mar 29 2026

Self-Appointed Iranian Opposition Leader Prince Reza Pahlavi Delivers Keynote Speech at CPAC 2026


Posted originally on CTH on March 28, 2026 | Sundance

As expected, overall CPAC 2026 has been a big dud with more than half of the events sparsely attended, and more empty seats than audience members.  CPAC has been rejected by the majority of the pragmatic MAGA base, leaving only a shallow lineup of regretful podcast voices showcasing their diminished influence.  It’s a hot mess.

That said, a large gathering of organized Persians and Texas evangelicals who support Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi as the outside opposition leader to Iran showed up for his keynote address.  While many in the audience likely had never heard of Pahlavi prior to today, they know they do not support the religious zealots who are being confronted by President Trump.

President Trump and Secretary Marco Rubio have kept the Pahlavi crowd at a diplomatic arm’s length as they work through the optimal solutions; however, Prince Reza Pahlavi was well received at CPAC 2026 to deliver his remarks.

.

Posted

Mar 29 2026

No Endorsement from Trump in Cornyn -vs- Paxton Runoff


Posted originally on CTH on March 28, 2026 | Sundance

According to Politico, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton was spotted in Mar-a-Lago last Friday talking face-to-face with President Trump.

With the base and President Trump still leveraging everything possible for the SAVE America Act, President Trump seems unlikely to endorse John Cornyn or Ken Paxton until the dust on that issue settles.

The only way Senator John Cornyn can survive the primary challenge from Paxton is if President Trump endorses the incumbent.  If President Trump stays out of the race, Ken Paxton looks likely to achieve victory.  Surprisingly, the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSCC) has not spent more money on Cornyn, another good sign.

(VIA POLITICO) – […] Paxton, though, hasn’t rested his case. He traveled to Mar-a-Lago last Friday for a Palm Beach County GOP dinner, and was spotted speaking to Trump himself, according to three sources familiar.

Trump and Paxton were on the patio, one source added, with another saying the two discussed the runoff. “It was a positive meeting,” said yet another person. A Paxton spokesperson declined to comment on the meeting.

It’s the latest sign of a fierce and feverish effort to keep Trump from endorsing Cornyn.

Even when all signs pointed to a Cornyn endorsement following the longtime senator’s showing in the primary, MAGA faithful kept pressing for Paxton. Now they’re optimistic their guy can come out on top — and they’re still taking shots at Cornyn every chance they get.

“The Cornyn endorsement looks dead, but it’s Trump, so it’s never certain,” a person close to the White House said. (read more)

U.S. senators (mostly) write foreign aid policy, rules and regulations thereby creating the financing mechanisms to transmit U.S. funds.  They are guided by K-Street lawyers who represent various interests.

Those same senators then receive a portion of the laundered funds back through their various “institutes” and business connections to the foreign government offices. Everyone in DC knows the gig.

Example: Ukraine laundry to Biden, Haiti laundry to Clinton, Iran laundry to Obama.

The U.S. State Dept. served as a distribution network for the authorization of the money laundering by granting DC conflict waivers, approvals for financing (McCain Institute, Clinton Global Initiative etc), and permission slips for the payment of foreign money.

The officials within the State Dept. take a cut of the overall payments through a system of “indulgence fees”, commissions, junkets, gifts and expense account payments to those with political oversight.

If anyone gets too close to revealing the process they become a target of the apparatus.

President Trump was considered a threat to this process.

In reality all of the U.S. Senators (both parties) on the Foreign Relations Committee understand what is going on and/or are participating in a process for receiving taxpayer money and contributions from foreign governments. [See Bob Menendez]

A “Codel” is a congressional delegation that takes trips to work out the payments terms/conditions of any changes in graft financing.

On the right the McCain Institute was/is one of the obvious examples of the financing network. [That is the primary reason why Cindy McCain was such an outspoken critic of President Trump.] On the left you see the Clinton Global Initiative, same/same.

This is why Senators spend $20 million on a campaign to earn a job paying $350k/year.

The “institutes” is where the real foreign money comes in; billions paid by governments like China, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Ukraine, etc. etc. There are trillions at stake.

The current nation of focus is the Ukraine laundry operation. The U.S. intelligence services, including CIA operations in USAID, have historically been the bagmen. That’s also why they consider Gabbard a threat.

Mar 28 2026

British Defense Minister Outlines How the U.K Navy Will Defend the West, as Soon as They Locate Their Ships


Posted originally on CTH on March 27, 2026 | Sundance 

This is a rather remarkable and insightful short segment interview with the British Defense Secretary, who outlines how the great British Navy will defend their interests.

Once you realize what is said in this segment, you start to realize just how dependent NATO is on the protection provided by the United States.  WATCH:

[Full Interview Here]

…”Britain was forced to ‘borrow’ a German vessel for a NATO operation next month, led by the United Kingdom, after HMS Dragon was deployed to Middle East.”…

Mar 28 2026

Institutional Fear and the Excavation of the Rabbit Hole


Posted originally on CTH on March 27, 2026 | Sundance |

I shared with readers last year that if CTH felt confident DC engagement would lead to positive results, I would take you on the journey.  Having spent so many years inside the rabbit holes of the DC intel matrix, We The People deserve to fully understand just how this corrupt system operates.  Well, as promised….

When you mention sensitive intelligence and the whereabouts of corrupt evidence that could expose the state of our weakened Republic, one of the first things you notice is that almost everyone in DC is afraid—both personally and institutionally—to acknowledge it.

The Deep State relies on this fear.

You can find this fear promoted in the words of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer when he said in January 2017, “when you take on the intelligence community, they have six ways from Sunday to get back at ya.”

Schumer said this two weeks before Donald Trump first took office, aiming to drive home a key point – the DC intelligence system is built to go after anyone who threatens the interests of those overseeing it. Basically, if you try to take on DC corruption, there are guards in place ready to take you down.

President Trump, you, me and all Americans spent the next several years watching that dynamic play out in real time.

After a long stretch of exhausting research, endless digging, and getting lost in the rabbit holes created by the IC, you eventually figure out how to face the fear they stir up. The real issue isn’t the fear held by those providing the information—it’s the fear carried by those who receive it and are tasked with acting on it.

Taking on the intelligence community requires two key things. First, a fearless person in a position of authority who can stand strong against the intense manipulation they may unleash. Second, a strategy that makes telling the truth a personal mission.

The IC have a pattern in their targeting; they repeat previously successful tactics.  An effective strategy -to get beyond the fear and gain support from the Executive- is to predict how the IC will eventually target them if they take no action.

In the example of retrieving and making public the Inspector General Michael Atkinson transcript as a datapoint to expose the IC corruption, the strategy was to reinforce how intelligence community would use the same approach to target IC leadership, if no sunlight is provided.

In essence, if you don’t go see what they did, review the past event, put it into the context of what it means, well, they will repeat that attack against you.

This might not get the person in power to take immediate action; after all, the information provider is basically predicting something that would be remarkable for them to encounter if it happened.  The only thing the information provider can do is to tell the location of the evidence, emphasize why it is important and then predict what will happen if the underlying corrupt activity is not exposed.

Thankfully, the “Seven Ways from Sunday” group are predictable.

Corrupt officials control us by manipulating our love of country; so, we must expose them by using their predictable hatred of it against them.

What followed a few months later was an IC targeting operation that was essentially a duplication of what took place before.  Suddenly, the previous reference point takes on an entirely new perspective.  Yes, it becomes personal:

[SOURCE]

That’s the backstory.

♦ Additionally, last year you might remember that DNI Tulsi Gabbard moved the National Intelligence Council (NIC) out of the CIA.  This was done specifically because the covert nature of the CIA was used by the NIC members to manufacture political intelligence.

Any resulting NIC analysis, much of which was fraudulently shaped by politics, could not be easily challenged because the covert nature of the CIA protected the authors (analysts) and their constructs.

Both Eric Ciaramella and Julia Gurganus worked inside the CIA on the NIC analysis that framed John Brennan’s Russian Interference narrative in January 2017, known as the fraudulent Intelligence Community Assessment. Eric Ciaramella was also the anonymous CIA whistleblower in 2019 for the impeachment effort.

The opaque nature of the CIA was used by NIC analysts as a fabrication tool, one of the “ways” Chuck Schumer described.

When DNI Gabbard and CIA Director Ratcliffe worked together to remove the NIC from the CIA, the bad actors within the IC game lost a strategic and political narrative tool.

The Intelligence Community embeds were angry and started leaking stuff to allies in media (WSJ, WaPo, Politico and NYT). The goal was to undermine Tulsi Gabbard at every step, using every resource and doing whatever it took.

However, DNI Gabbard stayed on mission despite the IC trying to also penetrate the concentric circles around the Office of The President with their bulls**t narratives.

♦ Last point, the current “Trump supporters” who try to undermine ODNI Tulsi Gabbard are either: (1) brutally naïve, (2) easily manipulated, or (3) working intentionally to retain the Intelligence Community control system that DNI Gabbard is dutifully deconstructing.  A shockingly large number of popular voices are part of group three.

Think about it in very commonsense terms.

DNI Gabbard is digging, declassifying and releasing information that exposes what very bad people have done against President Trump and our nation. The outcomes of her patriotic activity flow steadily from her office.  Everyone can see them.  So, what exactly are the motives of those who want to undermine Tulsi Gabbard?

Keep it simple, don’t reconcile bad behavior.

From 2020: “A new Democratic-aligned political action committee advised by retired Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the former head of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, is planning to deploy technology originally developed to counter Islamic State propaganda in service of a domestic political goal” …..“The group, Defeat Disinfo, will use artificial intelligence and network analysis to map discussion of [opposition] claims on social media. It will seek to intervene by identifying the most popular counter-narratives and boosting them through a network of more than 3.4 million influencers across the country — in some cases paying users with large followings to take sides against [their opposition].”…

[…] The initiative reflects fears within the Democratic Party that Trump’s unwavering digital army may help sustain him … as it has through past controversies, even as the economy craters … and Trump suffers in the polls.  “It’s often said campaigns are a battle of ideas, but they’re really a battle of narratives,” said David Eichenbaum, a Democratic media consultant who is a senior adviser to the PAC. “Today those narratives spread quickly online.” (source)

Mar 28 2026

JD Vance Launches Fraud Taskforce


Posted originally on CTH on March 27, 2026 | Sundance

Vice President JD Vance launches the Trump administration fraud taskforce effort.

In addition to Vice President Vance, the roundtable kickoff includes:  White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson, U.S. Asst. Attorney General for Fraud Colin McDonald, HHS Secretary RFK Jr., DHS Secretary Mark Wayne Mullin, SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler, Education Secretary Linda McMahon, Veterans Administration Secretary Doug Collins, HUD Secretary Scott Turner, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, OMB Director Russ Vought, CMS’ Deputy Administrator Kim Brandt and Dept of Labor IG Anthony D’Esposito.  WATCH:

According to an internal memo reviewed by The Daily Wire, the task force begins by telling all the various government agencies involved in the process: “We cannot litigate ourselves out of the fraud problem,” the memo states. “Research findings show over 1,000,000 suspicious Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and more than 2,000 suspicious durable medical equipment (DME) companies. The federal government simply does not have the resources necessary to recover all of the money lost to fraud once it has been paid out. Many fraudsters are judgment proof and therefore could not pay back the money they stole even after a successful prosecution.”

The memo identifies a handful of “high-spend, low-verification” programs that will be targeted: Medicare and Medicaid ($2 trillion a year in spending), Department of Labor’s Unemployment Insurance ($43.5 billion a year), Department of Agriculture’s SNAP program ($101 billion a year), Health and Human Services’ Temporary Assistance for Needy Families ($16 billion a year), Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Rental Assistance / Public Housing ($64 billion a year), and the Small Business Administration loans and assistance ($104 billion a year). (source)

Mar 27 2026

Zelenskyy Says U.S. Will Not Provide Security Guarantees Unless Ukraine Concedes Donbas Region to Russia


Posted originally on CTH on March 26, 2026 | Sundance | 218

The more NATO/EU hypocrisy creates friction with President Trump; the less U.S. support exists for Ukraine.  That’s the dynamic Zelenskyy is trying desperately to navigate with his EU allies.

During a lengthy interview with Reuters, Zelenskyy says he has been directly told the only way for Ukraine to get security guarantees from USA participation is if he concedes the contested Donbas region to Russia and ends the conflict.

Assuming what Zelenskyy says is accurate, at this point in the ongoing stalemate, this seems like the pragmatic optimal solution.  Concede Donbas to Russia, and the U.S. will mediate terms that emphasize an American willingness to protect Ukraine from further encroachment.

That said, when Zelenskyy once again starts asking who is going to pay for the needs of his country, the U.S. taxpayer eyeroll commences.

KYIV, March 25 (Reuters) – The U.S. ​is making its offer of security guarantees for a peace deal in Ukraine conditional on Kyiv ceding all of the country’s eastern region of Donbas to Russia, President Volodymyr ‌Zelenskiy told Reuters in an interview.

[…] Two vital questions remained unresolved regarding security guarantees, Zelenskiy said: Who would help to fund Ukraine’s weapons ​purchases to sustain its military deterrent, and how exactly would its allies respond in the face of any future Russian aggression?

“The Americans are prepared to finalise these guarantees at a high level once Ukraine is ​ready to withdraw from Donbas,” said the 48-year-old leader, who added that he understood the “subtleties” of the American position although he had not participated directly himself in the trilateral talks.

Russian President Vladimir Putin insists that control of the whole of Donbas is an essential element of his war aims, which Moscow would achieve on the battlefield if it could not do so at the negotiating table.

But the pace of Russia’s advance has been slow over the past two years. Military ​analysts say it could take a long time and a significant amount of manpower to conquer all of Donbas, which includes a so-called Fortress Belt of cities heavily fortified by the Ukrainian military.

[…] Speaking in a gilded meeting room at the presidential offices in central Kyiv, Zelenskiy said Russia was betting Washington would lose interest if the peace talks stalled and would walk away. He acknowledged that there was some risk of this.

A fourth ​round of trilateral talks due this month was ​postponed due to the Iran conflict.

The Ukrainian leader shrugged off past tensions between himself and Trump. “I am not a box of chocolates or a car, ​to be liked or disliked ⁠by one person or another,” he said. “In my opinion, the President of the United States looks at this more pragmatically, and he probably wants the war to end quickly. We also want to do so quickly.”

[…] Following heavy Russian bombardment of Ukrainian cities on Wednesday, Zelenskiy thanked the Trump administration for maintaining the supplies of Patriot missile defence systems, despite increased demand for these weapons because of the conflict in the Gulf.

[…] “Deliveries to us were not stopped. I’m very grateful to President Trump, and to his team,” Zelenskiy said. “But this supply of Patriot missiles is not as large as we need.” (read more)

It’s never enough for this guy. Ukraine is a bottomless pit of money and corruption.

As the EU proclaims that Iran is not a NATO member and the middle east conflict is not their issue, President Trump rightly points out that Ukraine is not a NATO member, and the Ukraine conflict is not our issue.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is heading to a G7 foreign minister summit in France, and paused to answer questions on both Iran and Ukraine from the traveling press pool.

Mar 27 2026

President Trump Holds a Cabinet Meeting – Video


Posted originally on CTH on March 26, 2026 | Sundance

Earlier today, President Trump continued the process of allowing media to participate in the first segment of the cabinet meetings.  President Trump begins with remarks on current events and then goes around the table for a discussion of action taking place in all executive cabinet agencies.

At 21:55 JD Vance delivers his statement.  At 23:57 Secretary of State Marco Rubio delivers his statement. At 27:05 Emissary and Negotiator Steve Witkoff delivers his statement. At 32:10 Secretary Pete Hegseth delivers his statement.  At 57:14 Secretary Scott Bessent delivers a statement. At 1:02:23 the media questions begin.

.