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
Army ROTC Taught Me Never to Call Independence Day ‘the Fourth of July’
Most Americans think nothing of calling our nation’s birthday “the Fourth of July.” But I learned the hard way not to do that in my Army Reserve Officer Training Corps days in college. I’ll never forget the day Sgt. Thayer, a regular Army soldier, decided to randomly quiz our ROTC squad on American history while… -
opinion
America’s Founders Show Us How to Defeat Socialism
Can America survive if the next generation meant to preserve it believes our best days are behind us? As the Daily Signal has worked on a special project for America’s 250th birthday, I’ve been fixating on this question and struggling to answer it. But we might soon know the answer. A recent study from Pew Research found that just… -
opinion
Bill Maher, Liberalism’s Apostate
Bill Maher is the perfect liberal, at least on paper—yet despite his talk shows being nominated for Emmy awards more than 40 times, it’s only in Donald Trump’s Washington that Maher finally gets the recognition he craves. He’s now the 27th recipient of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, an award first won by… -
opinion
The Democratic Socialists’ War on America
America’s most radical left-wing movement is no longer content to protest from outside; it is now working to dismantle the republic from within. It would be a grave error to dismiss members of the Democratic Socialists of America as mere campus radicals or online agitators. In New York City and beyond, the group and its… -
opinion
The EPA Is Unaccountable to the People. Congress Can Rein It In.
For decades, Americans have lived under a tyranny of unelected bureaucrats. In Trump 2.0, the power of the deep state has been significantly curtailed. But there are still redoubts of unaccountable pencil pushers in the federal government, perhaps nowhere more present than in the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA was created to enforce federal laws,… -
opinion
Supreme Court Says 14th Amendment Guarantees Birthright Citizenship to Children of Illegal Aliens and Tourists
In Trump v. Barbara, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the majority of justices that the citizenship clause of the 14th Amendment requires all children born within the United States to automatically qualify as citizens at birth. The 14th Amendment provides, in part, that “[a]ll persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject… -
opinion
Supreme Court Decides ‘Day’ Does Not Mean Day in Watson v. RNC
What’s in a word? Does “day” really mean day? That’s essentially the issue the Supreme Court was asked to decide in Watson v. RNC, where Justice Amy Coney Barrett wrote for a 5-4 majority that “Election Day,” as used in a statute passed by Congress, does not really mean a single day. Justice Samuel Alito,… -
opinion
One Judge Tells ICE to Stop. The Supreme Court Already Said No.
A federal judge in San Francisco just halted the Trump administration’s policy of arresting migrants at immigration courthouses—everywhere in the country, for everyone. On June 23, 2026, Judge P. Casey Pitts of the Northern District of California issued a 71-page ruling in Pablo Sequen v. Albarran vacating three Immigration and Customs Enforcement courthouse-arrest policies and a… -
opinion
Terminating TPS: The US Conference of Catholic Bishops Weighs In
Following the Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision in Mullin v. Doe last week, which upheld the Trump administration’s authority to terminate Temporary Protected Status designations for over 350,000 individuals from Haiti and Syria, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has issued several statements supporting the continuation of TPS. Bishops Brendan J. Cahill and A. Elias Zaidan wrote: “There is simply no realistic… -
opinion
Supreme Court Defends Girls Sports in a Win That Stops Short of the Finish Line
For years, American girls have lined up at the starting blocks only to lose races, scholarships, and records to males who “identify” as females. This morning, the Supreme Court finally said the obvious out loud: Schools can keep girls’ teams for girls. In a 6-3 decision in West Virginia v. B.P.J., the court upheld laws… -
opinion
Supreme Court Cooked Trump’s Efforts to Remove Fed Board Member Lisa Cook From Office
In a 5-4 decision written by Chief Justice John Roberts, the Supreme Court rejected President Donald Trump’s challenge to lower federal court orders blocking his efforts to fire Federal Reserve Board of Governors member Lisa Cook. Bill Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, accused Cook of untruthfully designating two properties as her… -
opinion
For the USDA, Equal Still Means Equal at 250
Scott Wynn grows sweet potatoes and corn and raises cattle on land his family has farmed for decades. When the pandemic crushed beef prices in 2020, the federal government offered farmers in his position relief from their loans. Unfortunately, Wynn did not qualify—not because his need was small, but because he is white. In June… -
opinion
‘We’re on Break!’ Senate’s Sloth Stalls SAVE America Act
President Donald Trump used Wednesday’s Senate GOP policy lunch to spank Republicans for stalling the SAVE America Act. What later transpired helps explain this failure. “Late Wednesday night, the Senate held another Iran War Powers vote,” Punchbowl News reported. “The Senate then left town until July 13.” GOP leaders John Thune of South Dakota and John Cornyn of Texas… -
opinion
Trump v. Slaughter: Supreme Court Says Constitution Allows the President to Be President
In a 6-3 opinion written by Chief Justice John Roberts, the Supreme Court said that the Constitution grants the president—any president—the power to remove individuals who exercise executive authority. In doing so, it overruled its long-discredited 91-year-old New Deal-era decision of Humphrey’s Executor v. United States. Here’s what happened: Democrat operative Rebecca Slaughter was appointed… -
opinion
Oregon Has Civil Rights Problems in Education. This Congresswoman Is Trying to Distract Voters.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon is downsizing an ineffective government bureaucracy, so, naturally, progressive lawmakers are howling. The latest theatrics come from Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Ore., who introduced articles of impeachment against McMahon last week. Bonamici’s attempt is baseless—McMahon has continued to fulfill the law while downsizing the U.S. Department of Education—which raises the question of… -
opinion
What Saints Peter and Paul Have to Offer
Boldness and forgiveness are both critical for human flourishing. On June 29, the Catholic Church celebrates two men who embodied these characteristics: Saint Peter and Saint Paul. They were, arguably, the two most important figures in the early church after Jesus himself. They were responsible for leading the faithful and for bringing about the conversion… -
opinion
What America Can Learn From Alexis de Tocqueville
LUZERNE COUNTY, Pennsylvania—Over the Flag Day weekend in Pennsylvania, crowds gathered, and communities were formed in the most unlikely of places, under viaducts, along gravel-filled tracks, and at the base of some impressive Appalachian mountains, all just to watch as Union Pacific’s Big Boy No. 4014 rolled through northeastern Pennsylvania. The sheer presence of the… -
opinion
The Conservative Movement and ‘The Odyssey’
Just a few weeks after our nation’s 250th anniversary, Christopher Nolan’s film adaptation of Homer’s 3,000-year-old epic “The Odyssey” will hit theaters. The conservative movement can learn something from Odysseus, the “man of twists and turns,” nearly three millennia after the poem was composed. As colossal as the poem’s story is—being stretched over 10 years… -
opinion
How to Grow Closer to Your Family This Summer
Summer is a time for relaxation. Most people have more time away from work and more time with their families to travel or simply relax. Since most children are off from school over the summer, many families take this time to go on vacation and plan warm weather events. While all this is fun, it… -
opinion
World Cup Tourists See What Too Many Americans Have Forgotten
Americans are routinely told that our nation is hopelessly divided, irredeemably flawed, and perhaps even in terminal decline. Public polling reflects this pervasive frustration, pessimism, and anomie. If someone halfway around the world only followed the polls, he might be forgiven for believing our republic is all but over. But something remarkable is happening during…