Officials Launch Task Force to Root Out ‘Anti-Christian Bias’ in VA

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Veterans Affairs leaders launched a department-wide investigation into allegations of anti-Christian bias on Monday, asking employees to report fellow staffers for any “informal policies, procedures, or unofficial understandings hostile to Christian views.” The move . . . follows a government-wide mandate for investigations into discriminatory practices against Christian beliefs. . . 

In a department-wide memo distributed Monday, VA Secretary Doug Collins said that a new department task force will “review all instances of anti-Christian bias” throughout VA operations. That includes “adverse responses to requests for religious exemption” and “any observations of mistreatment for not participating in events or activities inconsistent with Christian views.”

In the past, some employees have claimed discrimination for being required to provide treatment of LGBTQ+ individuals or birth control medication to patients, claiming religious objections.  . .

Collins memo also asks employees to report “any mistreatment or reprimand issued in response to displays of Christian imagery or symbols.”In February, Collins ordered that displays of flags not in keeping with VA messaging — including LGBTQ+ Pride flags and other advocacy banners — be removed from department workspaces and common areas. . .In addition to his VA leadership role, Collins serves as an Air Force Reserve Chaplain and is a practicing Southern Baptist. (Read more from “Officials Launch Task Force to Root Out ‘Anti-Christian Bias’ in VA” HERE)

Gay Ex-FBI Agent Who ‘Battled’ J6ers Comes Outta the Closet With Big News

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The FBI used to be respected. Now it’s a punchline.

And honestly, guys like John Sullivan are exactly why. This is a man who spent 17 years working for a corrupt, politicized agency, proudly pushing the same tired propaganda that’s destroyed public trust in law enforcement. And now, after “serving in secret,” he’s stepping out of the shadows to run for Congress—complete with a dramatic video where he casts himself as some kind of homosexual Marvel-style hero who battled Russia, terrorists, drug cartels, and yes… the so-called insurrectionists of January 6.

Never mind the facts, right?

Never mind that the FBI and Supreme Court both agreed there was no insurrection on January 6. That doesn’t matter to John…

Look:

(Read more from “Gay Ex-FBI Agent Who ‘Battled’ J6ers Comes Outta the Closet With Big News” HERE)

Former Judge, Wife Arrested for Allegedly Harboring Illegal Tren de Aragua Member in Their Home

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A recently resigned New Mexico judge and his wife were arrested in a federal raid on their family home Thursday, after it was revealed they harbored an accused member of Tren de Aragua, according to a report.

Former Democratic Doña Ana County Magistrate Judge Jose “Joel” Cano and his wife, Nancy Cano, each face two charges of evidence tampering for allegedly harboring Cristhian Ortega-Lopez — an accused illegal migrant who federal officials say is a member of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, Fox News reported.

“Under President Trump, we have arrested over 150,000 aliens — including more than 600 members of the vicious Tren de Aragua gang,” Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told the outlet.

On Feb. 28, Ortega-Lopez, 23, was apprehended during an ICE raid at the judge’s tony Las Cruces, NM, residence where the suspected gangbanger lived in a guesthouse after first ingratiating himself as a handyman, Fox News reported citing court documents.

Earlier this week, the Supreme Court of New Mexico permanently banned Cano from serving on the bench due to the February arrest of Ortega-Lopez. The judge had resigned from the bench in March. (Read more from “Former Judge, Wife Arrested for Allegedly Harboring Illegal Tren de Aragua Member in Their Home” HERE)

Trump Administration Ordered to Return Second Man Deported to El Salvador

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A judge appointed by President Donald Trump has ordered the Trump administration to return a Venezuelan man who was deported to El Salvador after being granted asylum under a previous court settlement.

It is the second time in the last month that the administration has been ordered to return someone deported to the Central American country.

U.S. District Judge Stephanie Gallagher ruled on Wednesday that the Trump administration violated a settlement from a 2019 class action lawsuit in which unaccompanied minors were granted asylum.

The man who was deported was a 20-year-old Venezuelan named “Cristian.” He was aboard a March 15 flight that sent alleged MS-13 gang members to an El Salvador prison. (Read more from “Trump Administration Ordered to Return Second Man Deported to El Salvador” HERE)

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr

A New Direction: Parental Rights Are Making a Comeback

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The right to opt out one’s children from studying a sinister collection of sexually explicit storybooks in suburban Maryland, and the right to opt in to a Catholic Virtual charter school in Oklahoma, will be considered this month at the Supreme Court. That these two cases are under review by the high court is a strong indication that – after decades of being ignored by our educational system and the courts – parental rights are back.

The first case, Mahmoud v. Taylor, was brought by a group of parents whose children attend public schools in Montgomery County, Maryland. In the fall of 2022, the local school board announced it would use “Pride Storybooks,” a collection of around 20 books for the county’s youngest learners – pre-K through eighth-grade. The collection does not just celebrate Pride parades: it also introduces small children to the gruesome process of “gender-transitioning” and, inevitably, the ludicrous dogma of “pronoun preferences.”

Objections were raised by parents from faith traditions including Catholicism, Eastern Orthodox Christianity, and Islam. Their religious views do not endorse the ideologies pushed in the collection and they don’t want their children indoctrinated. When their pleas to opt their young children out of this curriculum were rejected by their school board, they went to court. These parents are asking simply for the right to protect their children from these far-left storybooks. Withdrawing the collection, they believe, is a matter for the school board.

A district court ruled that the parents couldn’t show that the school board’s “no-opt-out policy” burdened their religious exercise. A divided Fourth Circuit panel agreed last May, ruling that, in the absence of any “coercive effect,” there is no burden on religious exercise. Losing twice in federal court is enough to discourage most parties, but not these parents. They successfully petitioned the Supreme Court to review their case.

When it comes to protecting the interests of parents in their children’s education and religious formation, there is no better guardian than this Supreme Court. Just think back to 2020 when the Court struck down the “No-Aid” provision in Montana’s state constitution that excluded religious schools and families from a publicly-funded scholarship program for students attending private schools. Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the majority, recognized the “rights of parents to direct the religious upbringing of their children” as an “enduring American tradition.” His colleague, Justice Samuel Alito, added in a concurring opinion that “many parents of many different faiths still believe that their local school inculcates a worldview that is antithetical to what they teach at home.” (Read more from “A New Direction: Parental Rights Are Making a Comeback” HERE)

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr

Pete Hegseth’s Chief of Staff Joe Kasper Out at Pentagon as ‘Turf War’ Results in Another Shakeup: Report

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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth lost another member of his team Thursday as former chief of staff Joe Kasper is reportedly leaving the Pentagon amid a “turf war” that has resulted in several high-level departures and threats of subjecting staff to polygraph tests.

Kasper, who left his role as chief of staff last week, was expected to stay on in a different capacity at the Pentagon but has decided to move to the private sector amid the turmoil, according to Politico.

His exit comes a month after he fired off a memo announcing an investigation into “unauthorized disclosures of sensitive and classified information across the Department of Defense.”

Pentagon senior adviser Dan Caldwell, former deputy chief of staff Darin Selnick and Colin Carroll, former chief of staff to the deputy secretary of defense, were each escorted out of the building in a series of firings last week in the aftermath of the leak probe.

The investigation was launched after Hegseth reportedly became enraged that word of Department of Government Efficiency chief Elon Musk’s March visit to the Pentagon was leaked to the New York Times.

“I’ll hook you up to a f–king polygraph!” Hegseth shouted at Adm. Christopher Grady, the then-acting Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, after learning of the leak, sources told the Wall Street Journal Thursday. (Read more from “Pete Hegseth’s Chief of Staff Joe Kasper Out at Pentagon as ‘Turf War’ Results in Another Shakeup: Report” HERE)

Judge Blocks Trump’s Executive Order Requiring Proof of Citizenship to Vote

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A federal judge issued an injunction Thursday blocking key parts of President Trump’s executive order to tighten voting rules, including provisions requiring people to provide proof of citizenship before registering to vote using a federal form.

Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, a Clinton appointee to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, said Congress or the Election Assistance Commission could make those decisions and the president could not “unilaterally mandate” it.

Our Constitution entrusts Congress and the states, not the president, with the authority to regulate federal elections,” the judge concluded.

She delivered some victories to Mr. Trump, ruling it was “premature” to challenge other parts of his executive order that punish states for counting ballots received after Election Day.

Mr. Trump’s March 25 executive order, “Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections,” could be the most considerable change to federal election rules in decades. (Read more from “Judge Blocks Trump’s Executive Order Requiring Proof of Citizenship to Vote” HERE)

Trump Admin Asks SCOTUS To Block Lower Court Injunction On Military ‘Trans’ Policy

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The Trump administration asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday to stay a lower court’s nationwide injunction blocking enforcement of its policy disqualifying trans-identifying troops from serving in the military.

In the application filed by the Justice Department, U.S. Solicitor General John Sauer requested that the high court stay a universal injunction by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. Issued by a Bush-appointed judge, the injunction is one of several orders put forward by lower court judges attempting to prevent the administration’s policy — which largely disqualifies individuals with gender dysphoria from military service — from going into effect.

As noted in the application, the first Trump administration’s military “trans” policy, which was adopted in 2018 under then-Secretary of Defense James Mattis, “generally disqualified individuals with gender dysphoria from military service.” While “district courts enjoined the policy on a universal basis” following challenges from various plaintiffs, the Supreme Court “stayed those injunctions,” thus allowing it to take effect.

Military specialists have long highlighted how authorizing Americans who identify as “transgender” to serve negatively affects military readiness.

The Trump administration had previously filed an emergency request to stay the injunction with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. A three-judge panel on the court declined to lift the injunction last week, claiming in a one-page order that the administration did “not demonstrate[] that they will suffer irreparable harm absent a stay.” (Read more from “Trump Admin Asks SCOTUS To Block Lower Court Injunction On Military ‘Trans’ Policy” HERE)

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Trump Set to Unleash DOJ Probe on Actblue’s Alleged Fraudulent Donation Scheme

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President Donald Trump is reportedly expected to sign a memorandum on Thursday directing the Department of Justice to open an investigation into the Democratic fundraising powerhouse ActBlue.

A fact sheet on the memo was obtained by several news outlets, directing Attorney General Pam Bondi to “investigate and take appropriate action concerning allegations regarding the use of online fundraising platforms to make ‘straw’ or ‘dummy’ contributions and to make foreign contributions to U.S. political candidates and committees, all of which break the law.”

The fact sheet reportedly highlighted a 30-day period last year when ActBlue received 237 donations from foreign IP addresses using prepaid cards.

“President Trump is taking action to address malign actors and foreign nationals who seek to illegally influence American elections, undermining the integrity of our electoral process,” it reads. “ActBlue has become notorious for its lax standards that enable unverified and fraudulent donations.”

The House Judiciary Committee released a preliminary report on April 2 that outlined “potential illegal activity” on ActBlue, noting that it “made its fraud-prevention rules ‘more lenient’ twice in 2024—even though there is extensive fraud on the platform, including from foreign sources.” (Read more from “Trump Set to Unleash DOJ Probe on Actblue’s Alleged Fraudulent Donation Scheme” HERE)

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr

Universities Across The Country Still Grant Hundreds Of DEI Scholarships

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Institutions of higher education across the country are still offering hundreds of scholarships tied to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) ideology, despite the fact that the federal government has made it clear that race and gender preferences will no longer be tolerated.

A new report from Defending Education (DE), reviewed by The Federalist, shows numerous scholarships aimed at giving “queer identifying” students or those who “identify as POC [People of Color]” special treatment because of their race or incoherent claim about sexual identity.

“It’s hard to believe that so many colleges and universities decided that being on the right side of history meant discriminating based on race and sex when awarding scholarships to students,” Erika Sanzi, DE director of outreach, told The Federalist. “It’s even harder to believe that their lawyers let them do it since it is such an egregious violation of federal law.”

The report serves both as an archive of past DEI-related scholarships and those currently available, and it identifies 596 scholarships from 123 colleges or universities across 48 states.

As the Trump administration has been trying to get schools to stop their programs that are violative of civil rights, some institutions have attempted to hide, rebrand, or clandestinely continue their operation, while others have brazenly maintained theirs in the open to challenge the crackdown. (Read more from “Universities Across The Country Still Grant Hundreds Of DEI Scholarships” HERE)