Political Commentary & Opinion
Analysis, commentary, and opinion essays on politics and policy from The Daily Signal’s contributors and experts.
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- Opinion
AN OFFER THEY CAN’T REFUSE: Trump’s Brilliant Plan to Defang the Deep State
President Donald Trump has offered federal employees who don’t want to return to work a deal too good to refuse, and it may also weed out some of the deep state activists who otherwise would have planned to oppose Trump’s agenda from within the federal government. A new White House memo offers a hefty paycheck…Tyler O’Neil -
- News
Federal Bureaucrats Ordered to Remove Pronouns From Email Signatures
DAILY CALLER NEWS FOUNDATION—Federal employees at multiple agencies were ordered to remove pronouns from their email signatures by close of business Friday, according to ABC News. Office of Personnel Management acting Director Charles Ezell sent a memo to department heads Wednesday offering “initial guidance” for complying with President Donald Trump’s executive order, which mandated the federal recognition of…Thomas English -
- Opinion
Trump’s Funding Freeze May Be on Hold, but Overall Goal Remains Popular, Poll Finds
President Donald Trump aims to prevent the government from wasting taxpayer funds promoting leftist causes often described as “woke,” such as Marxist equity, gender ideology, and climate alarmism. The Trump White House issued a memo ordering a pause in all federal grants and loans until the administration can align funds accordingly, but it rescinded the…Tyler O’Neil -
- News
‘Everything Will Be Revealed’: Americans Overwhelmingly Support Trump’s Release of JFK Assassination Files
FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—Seven in 10 Americans support President Donald Trump‘s decision to release classified documents about the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King Jr., according to a Napolitan News Service survey. A majority of Americans, 57%, believe the documents will reveal significant new information about the assassinations….R.E. Wermus -
- News
Gov. Youngkin and Grassroots Score Massive Victory for Homeschooling
Homeschool families in Virginia celebrated a victory Thursday after the Virginia state Senate backed away from a bill that threatened religious exemptions for homeschoolers. SB 1031 sought to get rid of an exemption that permits families in the state to homeschool their children because of their religious convictions. After initially voting to pass the bill, the Senate Finance…Moira Gleason -
- News
Daniel Ortega Expels Nuns, Seizes Seminaries as Religious Persecution Intensifies in Nicaragua
Nicaragua’s government has expelled approximately 30 Poor Clare nuns from their convents in Managua and Chinandega, marking the latest crackdown from Daniel Ortega’s regime. The nuns were only allowed to take some of their belongings before they were forced to leave, according to a local report by Mosaico CSI. The government’s crackdown comes after Ortega’s…R.E. Wermus -
- Opinion
Here’s How We Find Out Who Killed JFK
“The most transparent president in history is back,” a Jan. 20 post on X from White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt read. Never was that more clear than on Jan. 23, when President Donald Trump signed an executive order stating that the “continued redaction and withholding of information from records pertaining to the assassination of…Craig Iffland -
- Opinion
Death Threats Come With the Job of a Public Figure
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. In this first two weeks of the Trump new tenure, there’s just been a flurry of news and disinformation. We’ve heard about all of these…Victor Davis Hanson -
- Opinion
Here’s Where California Democrats Are Pointing the Finger of Blame for Wildfires
You knew this was coming. California’s Democrat legislators presented a bill Monday to allow insurers and homeowners impacted by the Los Angeles fires to sue oil companies for their losses. Senate Bill 222 aims to blame the fires on climate change caused by fossil fuels and make the oil companies bankroll the state’s underfunded insurance…James Breslo -
- News
Gabbard Vows ‘to End the Weaponization, Politicization of Intelligence Community’
Tulsi Gabbard faced hard questions on Thursday during her Senate committee confirmation hearing to be director of national intelligence. In his opening remarks, Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., chairman of the Intelligence Committee, issued a strong statement of support for Gabbard, who formerly served as a Democrat congresswoman representing Hawaii’s 2nd Congressional District. He highlighted how,…Jacob Adams -
- News
2 US Service Academies End Minor in Diversity and Inclusion
THE CENTER SQUARE—West Point Military Academy and the Air Force Academy have both ended their “Diversity and Inclusion Studies” minors. As late as Jan. 8, West Point, based in New York, offered its diversity, equity, and inclusion minor, while as of Jan. 9 the Air Force Academy, based in Colorado, still offered its DEI minor,…Tate Miller -
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8 Takeaways From Kash Patel’s FBI Confirmation Hearing
Kash Patel faced sharp questioning from Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday as President Donald Trump’s nominee to be FBI director. “The only thing that will matter if I’m confirmed as director of the FBI is a de-weaponized, depoliticized system of law enforcement, completely devoted to rigorous obedience of the Constitution and single…Fred Lucas -
- News
6 Big Moments From RFK Jr.’s 2nd Day of Confirmation Hearings
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faced his second day of questioning from senators Thursday as he seeks confirmation as President Donald Trump’s secretary of health and human services. Kennedy testified before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions just one day after completing a lengthy hearing before the Senate Finance Committee. He explained—and defended—his…Moira Gleason -
- Opinion
America Has Lost Faith in the FBI. Kash Patel Is the Right Pick to Fix That.
I have noticed a shocking trend in my conversations with families in my state and across the nation. For the past year, at almost every event I attended and when running into folks at restaurants, outside my offices and around the state, I asked a simple question, “Do you trust that the FBI and the…Sen. Rick Scott -
- News
Want ‘Due Cause’ for the Firing of Inspectors General? How About This?
Democrats in Congress like Reps. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., and Maxine Waters, D-Calif., are criticizing President Donald Trump’s firing of 17 inspectors general, including in the departments of State, Transportation, Labor, Interior, Energy, and Commerce, claiming that doing so “without due cause is antithetical to good government.” There is a very strong argument to be made…Hans von Spakovsky -
- Opinion
Making America Great Again Requires More Babies
There’s little need to become an interplanetary country if we can’t populate the country we already have. President Donald Trump’s inaugural address didn’t just include an amazing list of things he wants to do. It cast an aspirational vision for Americans to rally around. “The United States will once again consider itself a growing nation,”…Victor Joecks -
- Opinion
It Makes Sense That the Left Fears Kash Patel
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. I want to talk today about the current nomination process, specifically Kash Patel, President Donald Trump’s designate to be director of FBI. It’s causing perhaps…Victor Davis Hanson -
- News
5 Big Issues Aired at RFK Jr.’s Hearing to Head HHS
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faced a barrage of hostile questions Wednesday from Senate Democrats at his confirmation hearing to be the next secretary of health and human services. In his opening statement, Kennedy told the Senate Finance Committee that he had gotten on his knees and prayed to God to help him end America’s chronic…Jacob Adams -
- Opinion
The Harder the Change, the Tougher the Vote
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. We’re in a weekslong process of confirming nominees of the Donald Trump administration for these 13 Cabinet-level positions. And I think it may go on…Victor Davis Hanson -
- Opinion
CNN Anchor Can’t Handle the Truth of Trump’s New Polling High
CNN data expert Harry Enten delivers poll results on air to his colleagues, whether they want to hear it or not. On the first Friday of President Donald Trump’s second term, he brought bad news to CNN morning anchor Kate Bolduan that a new Reuters/Ipsos poll found Trump had a net approval rating of plus-6….Tim Graham