Political Commentary & Opinion
Analysis, commentary, and opinion essays on politics and policy from The Daily Signal’s contributors and experts.
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What Colorado’s New Voting Law Means for Jail Inmates and Gender Identity
A new Colorado voting law carves out special voting rights protections for jail inmates, as well as for gender identity. On Monday, the state’s Democrat Gov. Jared Polis signed the law, which is framed as a state version of the federal Voting Rights Act. Democrat lawmakers in the state contend the Trump administration and federal courts…Fred Lucas -
- Opinion
Diversity Initiatives Persist at UVA Despite Promised Reforms
The University of Virginia was supposed to have dismantled its diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives by now. Two weeks ago, amid accusations that the university had simply renamed many of the DEI offices but not closed them, the U.S. Department of Education asked it to present proof of compliance by May 30. But one must…Joe Thomas -
- Opinion
An American Pope Confounds the Press
The quick election of a pope born and raised in the United States was a shock to almost everyone outside the Sistine Chapel in Rome. Conclaves begin with secular and Catholic experts making a list of possible front-runners, and no one had Robert Prevost on their bingo card. For Americans, it was shocking and…Tim Graham -
- Opinion
The Left Says Quiet Part Out Loud: Whites Need Not Apply for Asylum
It looks like your liberal neighbors will have to take down their “refugees welcome” signs now. A small group of South African refugees arrived in the United States on Monday bearing American flags. They came to the U.S. after President Donald Trump signed an executive order in February designating them as in need of asylum. One would…Jarrett Stepman -
- Opinion
The Media ‘Jumps the Shark’
Editor’s note: This is a lightly edited transcript of today’s video from Daily Signal Senior Contributor Victor Davis Hanson. Subscribe to our YouTube channel to see more of his videos. Hello, this is Victor Davis Hanson for The Daily Signal. I’ve been critical of the media, as many of you are. But recently it’s jumped the…Victor Davis Hanson -
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‘RAISES SERIOUS QUESTIONS’: White House Calls Out Episcopal Church Over Refusal to Help White Refugees
The White House condemned the Episcopal Church on Tuesday after it withdrew from federal refugee resettlement programs in protest when the government asked the church to resettle white refugees from South Africa. In a Monday letter, a top church leader noted South Africa’s history of Apartheid and said that assisting the refugees cuts against its…Tyler O’Neil -
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Partisan Fighting Flares Over Medicaid Funding
At the beginning of critical markups on Republicans’ “one big, beautiful” budget bill, Democrats made clear that they would resist all of the proposed cuts to Medicaid funding. Passage of the budget reconciliation bill is necessary to extend President Donald Trump’s first term 2017 tax cuts and to fund border security. The main disconnect between…George Caldwell -
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Family of US Journalist Long Missing in Syria Still Holds Out Hope
A body discovered in Syria is not the remains of kidnapped American journalist Austin Tice, his family confirms. Tice, a freelance reporter who received accolades for his early coverage of the Syrian civil war, has been missing since Aug. 14, 2012. According to a family spokesman, "[A]n initial and erroneous report that Austin Tice was…Jacob Adams -
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RFK Jr. Seeks to Free Doctors From Useless Barriers
The Department of Health and Human Services is launching a review of unnecessary regulations slowing down the Food and Drug Administration. “To Make America Healthy Again, we must free our doctors and caregivers to do what they do best—prevent and treat chronic disease,” HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy said Tuesday morning. “We cannot allow their time and…Elizabeth Troutman Mitchell -
- Opinion
Thank a Cop This Police Week
Last year, 147 law enforcement officers died in the line of duty in the United States, an increase of 25% from 2023. Their names will be added this week to the 24,067 names of officers inscribed on the marble walls at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C. As we pause to celebrate…Cully Stimson -
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House Panel Plans to Raise SALT Deduction Cap for Members in Blue States
House Republicans are proposing to raise the state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap to $30,000, up from its current rate of $10,000. The move was announced on Monday by the House Ways and Means Committee, chaired by Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo. The deduction would apply to single and joint filers who make $400,000 or…Jacob Adams -
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House Panel’s Medicaid Reform Proposals Set Off Predictably Fierce Debate
The House Energy and Commerce Committee unveiled its proposals to revamp Medicaid on Sunday night, drawing the predictable cheers and jeers from Congress' varying factions—establishment Republicans, Democrat Medicaid crusaders, and hard-line fiscal conservatives. The debate over how to handle Medicaid has emerged as the most hot-button issue in Republicans' rush to pass a budget reconciliation…George Caldwell -
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Rejecting Calls for Medicaid Cuts, Hawley Castigates GOP’s ‘Wall Street Wing’
Sen. Josh Hawley is sounding the alarm that Republicans should avoid deep cuts to Medicaid in the budget reconciliation process. In an op-ed published in The New York Times on Monday, the Missouri Republican senator took aim at what he called the “party’s Wall Street wing” for advocating to have the federal program face deep…Jacob Adams -
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State Legislators From Across Country Urge End to Federal Funds for Planned Parenthood
More than 180 pro-life state legislators from 49 states have sent a letter to congressional leaders urging them to end Planned Parenthood’s receipt of federal funds. The letter comes as Congress is considering restricting, through the budget reconciliation process, federal dollars from going to the nation’s largest abortion provider. “We’re absolutely making it clear to…Jacob Adams -
- Opinion
Too Much SALT Could Ruin the ‘One Big, Beautiful Bill’
President Donald Trump’s “one big, beautiful bill” could be in jeopardy over a major SALT disagreement. Not the kind of salt that you keep in a shaker on the dinner table, but the cap on the state and local tax (SALT) deduction. A large increase in the SALT limitation could make extending the 2017 Trump tax…Preston Brashers -
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Crockett: Donors Want ‘Safest White Boy’ as 2028 Nominee
Democrat donors want the “safest white boy” as their presidential nominee in 2028, Texas Democrat Rep. Jasmine Crockett said on a radio show Thursday. “It is this fear that the people within the party, within the primary system will have about voting for a woman, because every time we voted for a woman we’ve lost…George Caldwell -
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Last Living American Israeli Hostage Released Ahead of Trump’s Middle East Trip
Hamas has released Edan Alexander, the last living American Israeli hostage in Gaza, just as President Donald Trump departed the United States for a four-day trip to the Middle East. Trump called Alexander’s release “a step taken in good faith towards the United States and the efforts of the mediators—Qatar and Egypt—to put an…Virginia Allen -
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Justices to Weigh Birthright Citizenship-Related Injunctions, But Won’t Consider Underlying Issue
The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Thursday in a case that stems from President Donald Trump’s order on birthright citizenship. But the court won’t be ruling on the constitutionality of Trump’s executive order, but rather on the issue of nationwide injunctions. “This case is not about the underlying merits,” GianCarlo Canaparo, a Heritage Foundation…Virginia Allen -
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Inside the $880 Billion Republican Plan for Medicaid Overhaul
FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—A key House committee has drafted a far-reaching proposal that would restructure Medicaid eligibility, restrict health care funding for transgender procedures, and dismantle several Biden-era climate initiatives, according to a document obtained by The Daily Signal. The plan is a critical piece of the House reconciliation bill that will become the…Bradley Devlin -
- Opinion
Diversity Is Not Our Strength
That “diversity is our strength” is one of those obvious contradictions that people with common sense instantly recognize as hooey. It is poisonous hooey, mind you. As the British historian Arnold Toynbee said, “Civilizations die from suicide, not by murder.” But the people selling diversity know that. They champion diversity not because it is a societal bonding…Mike Gonzalez