Big Government

Fair Elections Wisconsin (FEW), a grassroots election integrity organization, has sent a cease-and-desist letter to Susan Crawford, the Democrat-backed candidate for Wisconsin’s Supreme Court, demanding she stop making false claims about her Republican-backed opponent, Brad Schimel.

The letter, dated March 7, 2025, accuses Crawford of violating Wisconsin’s judicial code of conduct by spreading misleading statements during her campaign.

Crawford, a Dane County Circuit Court Judge, is running against Schimel, a Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge, in what has become a heated race for a seat on the state’s highest court.

The election has drawn significant attention due to its potential to shift the court’s balance, with the current majority consisting of four liberal justices to three conservatives.

The cease-and-desist letter, sent by FEW President Justin Gavery, claims that Crawford has made multiple false statements about Schimel’s record as Wisconsin’s Attorney General, particularly regarding the handling of rape kits and abortion laws.

Gavery states that Crawford’s actions are a violation of Wisconsin’s Code of Judicial Conduct, which prohibits judicial candidates from making false or misleading statements about their opponents.

“Judicial candidates, including incumbents and challengers, must refrain from making false, misleading, or deceptive statements,” Gavery’s letter reads.

“The Wisconsin Code of Judicial Conduct explicitly prohibits judicial candidates from knowingly misrepresenting any fact concerning themselves, their opponents, or matters relevant to the campaign.”

According to the letter, Crawford falsely claimed that Schimel ignored rape cases during his tenure as Attorney General and failed to address a backlog of thousands of untested rape kits.

Gavery refuted these claims, stating that when Schimel took office in 2015, there were approximately 6,000 untested kits.

By the end of his term, Schimel’s office had tested all the kits in need of testing, and a process was put in place to prevent future backlogs.

In addition to the claims about rape kits, Gavery also disputes Crawford’s assertion that Schimel supports the 1849 abortion law, which criminalizes most abortions in Wisconsin.

Gavery stated that Schimel has repeatedly stated he holds no position on abortion and believes such laws should be decided by public referendum or legislative action, rather than by judicial fiat.

Crawford’s campaign also allegedly misrepresented Schimel’s stance on voter suppression, accusing him of supporting such practices, which Gavery claims is untrue.

Furthermore, Crawford and her supporters have accused Schimel of being “soft on crime,” but Gavery refuted these claims, pointing to a specific case where Schimel’s office had sought a harsher sentence for a convicted child pornographer, but the judge did not impose the recommended sentence.

In the letter, Gavery demanded that Crawford cease and desist from making any further false statements and warned that failure to comply would result in further legal action.

“Please stop and desist from any further contact with others, public or private, until you have reviewed the above matters and you can verify that they are truthful statements. The people of Wisconsin deserve nothing less,” Gavery’s letter concluded.

As of Monday, March 10, 2025, Gavery stated that he had not received any response from Crawford’s campaign, and she continues to make the same false claims about Schimel.

The race between Schimel and Crawford has become one of the most expensive and closely watched elections in Wisconsin, with early voting already underway.

A recent poll by Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce showed the race to be deadlocked, with both candidates tied at 47% among likely voters.

The election is significant not only because of the potential to shift the ideological balance of the court, but also because of the large sums of money flowing into the race.

Election spending has already surpassed $81 million, with projections suggesting it could reach $100 million by Election Day.

Schimel has raised over $12 million, including $6 million from the Wisconsin Republican Party, while Crawford has raised over $25 million, including contributions from progressive figures such as billionaire George Soros and Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker.

As the race enters its final stretch, both candidates are working hard to secure votes, and the false claims made during the campaign will likely remain a point of contention.

With more than 345,000 voters already casting their ballots, nearly 48% more than at this point in the 2023 election, the stakes are high for both sides as they approach the April 1 election day.

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Defense Sec. Pete Hegseth announced Thursday that the Department of Defense (DOD) would cut more than $580 million in contracts.

The contracts “do not match the priorities of this president and this department,” Hegseth said in the announcement on X. The cuts come from DOGE as it works its way through the Pentagon. “I commend Department leadership for identifying these opportunities to cut wasteful spending, and I encourage other leaders across the enterprise to follow this example and identify more opportunities for savings which we can re-invest in critical mission needs,” Hegseth said in a memo shared by the Daily Caller.

The cuts include programs like the Defense Civilian Human Resources Management System, which was only supposed to cost $36 million and last a single year. Instead, it went $280 million over budget and lasted eight years. Other cuts went on things like diversity, equity and inclusion programs, “equitable” AI, and similar-sound initiatives costing millions of dollars each.

“I need lethal machine learning models, not equitable machine learning models,” Hegseth explained.

Bye-Bye Consultants

Hegseth also waved goodbye to consulting services specifically for IT from Gartner and McKinsey, which came with a $30 million bill. Civilian workforces will also be cut by 5-8%, but some 21,000 employees have already taken the option of a voluntary Deferred Resignation Program, Daily Caller reported.

The Pentagon is required to pass a financial audit by 2028, having failed seven consecutive audits, including one in 2024. Some $170 million is now said to be reallocated to mission-critical priorities.

Not All Cuts Are Permanent

Roughly 1,000 employees of the National Parks Service who were previously “fired” as a result of DOGE cuts had their positions reinstated in March, according to the LA Times. The workers were all in probationary periods at the time of the cuts.

A further 25,000 federal workers have also had their positions reinstated after reviews conducted by DOGE, the BBC reported. As legal decisions over the cuts move their way through our nation’s courts, we’re asking for prayer for all those impacted by this upheaval. We are experiencing many changes in America right now, so much so that some may call this moment in history a revolution. That is why your voice is so important today.

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Secretary of Education Linda McMahon shared the department’s “final vision” in March, promising a “restoration” of the American education system.

McMahon has promised to eradicate corruption within the education system, as well as emphasizing oversight and an end to overreach from Washington. The process will start with an in-depth review of the department’s programs in order to ensure a true return on investment for the American people.

Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Full Statement from Sec. McMahon

When I took the oath of office as Secretary of Education, I accepted responsibility for overseeing the U.S. Department of Education and those who work here. But more importantly, I took responsibility for supporting over 100 million American children and college students who are counting on their education to create opportunity and prepare them for a rewarding career.

I want to do right by both.

As you are all aware, President Trump nominated me to take the lead on one of his most momentous campaign promises to families. My vision is aligned with the President’s: to send education back to the states and empower all parents to choose an excellent education for their children. As a mother and grandmother, I know there is nobody more qualified than a parent to make educational decisions for their children. I also started my career studying to be a teacher, and as a Connecticut Board of Education member and college trustee, I have long held that teaching is the most noble of professions. As a businesswoman, I know the power of education to prepare workers for fulfilling careers.

American education can be the greatest in the world. It ought not to be corrupted by political ideologies, special interests, and unjust discrimination. Parents, teachers, and students alike deserve better.

After President Trump’s inauguration last month, he steadily signed a slate of executive orders to keep his promises: combatting critical race theory, DEI, gender ideology, discrimination in admissions, promoting school choice for every child, and restoring patriotic education and civics. He has also been focused on eliminating waste, red tape, and harmful programs in the federal government. The Department of Education’s role in this new era of accountability is to restore the rightful role of state oversight in education and to end the overreach from Washington.

This restoration will profoundly impact staff, budgets, and agency operations here at the Department. In coming months, we will partner with Congress and other federal agencies to determine the best path forward to fulfill the expectations of the President and the American people. We will eliminate unnecessary bureaucracy so that our colleges, K-12 schools, students, and teachers can innovate and thrive.

This review of our programs is long overdue. The Department of Education is not working as intended. Since its establishment in 1980, taxpayers have entrusted the department with over $1 trillion, yet student outcomes have consistently languished. Millions of young Americans are trapped in failing schools, subjected to radical anti-American ideology, or saddled with college debt for a degree that has not provided a meaningful return on their investment. Teachers are leaving the profession in droves after just a few years—and citing red tape as one of their primary reasons.

The reality of our education system is stark, and the American people have elected President Trump to make significant changes in Washington. Our job is to respect the will of the American people and the President they elected, who has tasked us with accomplishing the elimination of bureaucratic bloat here at the Department of Education—a momentous final mission—quickly and responsibly.

As I’ve learned many times throughout my career, disruption leads to innovation and gets results. We must start thinking about our final mission at the department as an overhaul—a last chance to restore the culture of liberty and excellence that made American education great. Changing the status quo can be daunting. But every staff member of this Department should be enthusiastic about any change that will benefit students.

True change does not happen overnight—especially the historic overhaul of a federal agency. Over the coming months, as we work hard to carry out the President’s directives, we will focus on a positive vision for what American education can be.

These are our convictions:

1. Parents are the primary decision makers in their children’s education.
2. Taxpayer-funded education should refocus on meaningful learning in math, reading, science, and history—not divisive DEI programs and gender ideology.
3. Postsecondary education should be a path to a well-paying career aligned with workforce needs.

Removing red tape and bureaucratic barriers will empower parents to make the best educational choices for their children. An effective transfer of educational oversight to the states will mean more autonomy for local communities. Teachers, too, will benefit from less micromanagement in the classroom—enabling them to get back to basics.

I hope each of you will embrace this vision going forward and use these convictions as a guide for conscientious and pragmatic action. The elimination of bureaucracy should free us, not limit us, in our pursuit of these goals. I want to invite all employees to join us in this historic final mission on behalf of all students, with the same dedication and excellence that you have brought to your careers as public servants.

This is our opportunity to perform one final, unforgettable public service to future generations of students. I hope you will join me in ensuring that when our final mission is complete, we will all be able to say that we left American education freer, stronger, and with more hope for the future.

Sincerely,

Linda McMahon
Secretary of Education

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EPA Chief Lee Zeldin has notified eight recipients of the $20 billion climate fund that their grants had been terminated. In a recently surfaced video, a source told Project Veritas that the Biden administration had rushed to disperse the funds before Trump took over.

“Now it’s how to get the money out as fast as possible before they come in … It truly feels like we’re on the Titanic or throwing gold bar off the top edge,” EPA’s special advisor Brent Efron told a Project Veritas undercover investigator. The conservative activist group termed the quick disbursements as “an insurance policy against Trump winning.”

However, Zeldin has reclaimed $20 billion awarded under Biden’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) and worked with Citibank to freeze. He also notified the impacted organizations that they would no longer receive the awarded grants.

“It is my commitment to President Trump, Congress, and you, that EPA will be an exceptional steward of your tax dollars. I’ll have it no other way!” Lee Zeldin said.

Recipients of the Biden climate slush fund included “Coalition for Green Capital, Climate United Fund, Power Forward Communities, Opportunity Finance Network, and Inclusiv and the Justice Climate Fund,” the Associated Press reported.

Zeldin bragged about making a significant discovery and keeping a very important pledge he made to the American people shortly after he was confirmed. 

“Fortunately, my awesome team at the EPA has found the gold bars. Shockingly, roughly $20 billion of your tax dollars were parked at an outside financial institution by the Biden EPA. This scheme was the first of its kind in EPA history and it was purposely designed to obligate all of the money in a rush job with reduced oversight,”

He lamented that only eight organizations were responsible for the amount and operated without transparency. Apparently, one organization known as Climate United Fund had received a whopping $7 billion. Approximately $14 billion and $6 billion were awarded to non-profit organizations implementing climate projects in disadvantaged communities.

Comparing awarding the contracts to tossing the “gold bars” off Titanic, Zeldin asserted the importance of reviewing every transaction. He promised that his agency would show responsibility by accounting for every awarded penny. In a separate post, he also warned that his organization would have “zero tolerance of any waste and abuse” of federal government funds.

“The financial agent agreement with the bank needs to be instantly terminated and the bank must immediately return all the gold bars that the Biden Administration tossed off the Titanic. EPA needs to assume responsibility of all these funds. We will review every penny that has gone out the door. I will [be] referring this matter to the inspector general’s office and will work with the Justice Department as well.”

Meanwhile, Zeldin’s latest recovery adds to the growing list of wasteful government expenditures that the Trump administration hopes to stop. The president recently directed the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Elon Musk to step up his efforts to stop government waste.

A heated exchange erupted on CNN’s NewsNight when former South Carolina Democrat lawmaker Bakari Sellers clashed with Shark Tank investor Kevin O’Leary over federal spending cuts and education policy. The debate, which took place during Abby Phillip’s late-night panel, quickly escalated into a full-blown argument, with Sellers attempting to lecture O’Leary on economic policy—only to be met with immediate pushback. Sellers, now a political commentator, criticized recent budget cuts, particularly targeting reductions in the Departments of Education and Agriculture under President Donald Trump.

O’Leary, a longtime advocate for shrinking the federal government, argued that the cuts should go even further. As Sellers attempted to explain his perspective, he addressed O’Leary directly: “Let me just say, can I explain to you—” O’Leary, worth an estimated $400 million, immediately interrupted. “You need to explain it to me? I know how it works,” he shot back.

Sellers doubled down. “But no, you don’t.”

As Sellers seemed prepared to launch into a lengthy explanation, O’Leary cut him off again. “I do, I’ve done it multiple times,” he countered, referencing his extensive business experience. The argument intensified, with Sellers and other panelists expressing outrage at O’Leary’s stance on government spending.

“You cannot run everyday government the same way you run [the private sector]!” Sellers exclaimed.

O’Leary responded without hesitation. “This is worse than the private sector. [This is] fat dripping-with-waste government.” The cuts discussed align with President Trump’s ongoing effort to reduce federal spending, including a planned executive order to dismantle the Department of Education. The USDA cuts announced earlier in the week also fit within the administration’s broader strategy of reducing bureaucratic waste.

During the segment, O’Leary pointed to Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s aggressive approach to cost-cutting, including his handling of layoffs at his companies. He argued that deeper cuts were necessary across government agencies.

“This issue is not going to go away because it’s very contentious, but when you cut in any organization, government or private, it’s very demoralizing,” O’Leary said.

“It’s traumatic, and it gets lots of bad press as we’re doing right now.”

The businessman then outlined his philosophy on budget reductions.

“But that’s why you cut 20 percent more. I think Elon is not cutting enough. Cut 20 percent more. Now get your spreadsheet out. These are the names. Whack everybody and then 20 percent more—as we do in the private sector every day and have done for 100 years. Demoralization only happens once.”

O’Leary’s comments drew backlash from the liberal panelists, particularly over his stance on education reform. When he suggested that ineffective educators are contributing to failing schools, Sellers and others pushed back, arguing that poverty and hunger were larger issues.

“My whole career was in education,” O’Leary said, attempting to clarify his point while being interrupted by other panelists.

Sellers, speaking over O’Leary, insisted on making his case but struggled to maintain control of the conversation.

“So, like… no, no, no… let me finish,” he stammered.

O’Leary, often compared to President Trump for his blunt business-minded approach, has built a career in finance and entrepreneurship. He co-founded O’Leary Funds and Softkey, the latter of which was sold to Mattel in 1999 for $3.5 billion, securing his status as a multimillionaire. In 2017, he briefly entered politics, running for leadership of Canada’s Conservative Party before dropping out due to lack of support.

He has been an outspoken critic of liberal economic policies, particularly those proposed by Vice President Kamala Harris during the 2024 election cycle. Following Trump’s victory, O’Leary expressed satisfaction with the outcome, stating that he was “very proud of the work I did” throughout the campaign.

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What’s going on at the soon-to-be defunct U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)? Well, lots of document shredding, but for what purpose, and whether this is standard operating procedure or an attempt to cover up malfeasance, is not clear. 

Politico reports that a “senior official” at the troubled agency sent an email to all staff instructing them to destroy “sensitive” documents. 

USAID has come under fire from the Trump administration for wasteful spending on international projects that seem to have nothing at all to do with benefiting the United States. Worse, the agency has been funding “woke” projects on transgenderism and more in foreign countries. 

Here’s just a short list of the grants the agency has disbursed to foreign countries, according to a summary from the White House:

—$1.5 million for “diversity, equity and inclusion” in Serbia

—$6 million to boost Egypt’s tourist trade

—$47,000 for a “transgender opera” mounted in Colombia

—$32,000 for what’s described as a “transgender comic book” to be published in Peru

—$2 million for sex change operations for the citizens of Guatemala

You get the picture. President Donald Trump has targeted USAID for closure,  which sparked a flurry of lawsuits by left-aligned interest groups. As of March 11, 2025, a federal court has ordered the Trump administration to pay out $671 million in USAID money owed to contractors who have already completed projects for the agency. But, it appears the courts recognize the administration’s authority to shut the agency down after making good on its back bills, and that’s exactly what Trump is doing. 

That brings us to the order from USAID officials to employees to shred documents. While the media is full of reports on this, it is not yet clear what’s going on. Is this a brazen and illegal attempt by fleeing officials to cover up misdeeds? Or, is it standard operating procedure related to sensitive or classified documents? It’s murky, but a union that apparently represents contractors working for USAID (really?) has asked federal courts to step in to stop the destruction of documents. 

According to Politico, a supervisor instructed employees by email to “Shred as many documents first, and reserve the burn bags for when the shredder becomes unavailable or needs a break.”

It will be at least one or two more days before the fog around this situation clears. Meanwhile X/Twitter users are speculating. Most seem to think it’s “extra-legal”:

This user thinks the alleged burn-order is so brazen it can’t possibly be real:

Other users think this is probably a standard practice when an agency is closing down and it may be blown out of proportion:

What do you think?

Image Credit: © Jack Gruber-USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Content Services, LLC

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has identified nearly $900 million in savings after reviewing just two percent of its contracts, according to VA Secretary Doug Collins.

The findings come as part of a broader effort to eliminate wasteful spending while maintaining healthcare and benefits for American veterans.

Collins made the announcement in a video posted to his official X account, where he addressed concerns regarding potential changes at the VA.

He emphasized that the department’s ongoing reviews would not impact the quality of healthcare or benefits for veterans and their families.

“VA will always fulfill its duty to provide veterans, families, caregivers, and survivors the healthcare and benefits they have earned,” Collins stated.

“That’s a promise, and while we conduct our review, VA will continue to hire for more than 300,000 mission-critical positions to ensure healthcare and benefits for VA beneficiaries are not impacted.”

The VA, under Collins’ leadership, has launched a comprehensive review of its contracts to identify areas where spending can be reduced without affecting services for veterans.

Collins revealed that the department currently manages approximately 90,000 contracts, valued at over $67 billion.

In its initial review of just two percent of those contracts, the department identified nearly 600 non-mission critical or duplicative agreements that could be canceled.

These cancellations have resulted in nearly $900 million in savings.

The review process is part of a larger initiative aimed at ensuring taxpayer dollars are spent efficiently while improving the overall effectiveness of the VA.

Despite these cost-cutting measures, Collins assured veterans and their families that healthcare and benefit services would not be compromised. Instead, the department is working to streamline operations while continuing to expand hiring efforts.

“While we work to eliminate waste, we are also ensuring that the VA remains fully staffed in areas that directly serve our veterans,” Collins said.

The VA currently employs more than 300,000 workers across the country and is looking to fill additional positions to meet the needs of veterans.

The review of VA contracts is part of the Trump administration’s broader effort to increase efficiency across federal agencies.

President Donald Trump has made veteran care a key priority of his administration, with a focus on reducing bureaucracy, cutting waste, and improving services.

The administration’s efforts have included initiatives such as expanding veteran healthcare access, streamlining the VA’s internal processes, and increasing funding for programs that directly benefit veterans and their families.

Collins’ announcement signals a continued push to ensure that resources are being allocated effectively while maintaining the highest level of care for those who have served in the U.S. military.

As the VA continues its contract review, further savings may be identified, reinforcing the administration’s commitment to fiscal responsibility and improving services for veterans.

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