• Al Green censured by the House: For those who missed President Donald Trump’s non-State of the Union address on Tuesday night, the most dramatic moment came when Al Green stood up, waved his “pimp cane,” and attempted to shout down Donald Trump. House Speaker Mike Johnson was ready for such Democrat shenanigans, quickly and decisively directing the Sergeant at Arms to eject Green from the chamber. Yesterday, Congressman Dan Newhouse moved to censure Green for his conduct. And today, the censure resolution passed on the House floor, 224-198, with 10 Democrats voting in favor. Most people echo the excoriation of Democrat strategist David Axelrod: “I think what Al Green did was despicable.”

• Anticipated Trump EO eliminating the DOE: Before her Senate confirmation as secretary of education, Linda McMahon was told by President Donald Trump, “I hope you … put yourself out of a job.” This seems counterintuitive until one considers what a leftist-dominated, miserable failure the Department of Education is. A major step toward doing away with it might take place today if Trump signs an executive order whose draft language directs McMahon to “take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Education Department” based on “the maximum extent appropriate and permitted by law.” It won’t be easy, but Chapter 11 of “Evil” Project 2025 offers a roadmap to this much-needed abolition.

• Slashing the IRS and VA: In a move that many American taxpayers will cheer, the IRS is drafting a plan to lay off as much as half of its staff per Donald Trump and DOGE’s plan to cut the size of the federal workforce. This would take the IRS from 90,000 (already ~7,000 less than when Trump took office) to 45,000 employees. Meanwhile, the Department of Veterans Affairs is discussing cutting as many as 80,000 of its 480,000 workers. This after nearly 2,500 employees have already been let go, prompting concerns about how these cuts will affect the care given to the 18.2 million American veterans who have sacrificed for this country.

• Can Trump balance the budget? It’s a great question and a noble endeavor, but we won’t beat around the bush: Donald Trump’s chances of balancing the budget are vanishingly small just based on the fiscal realities of his proposed policies. At least one expert — Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget — says, essentially, dream on. “Troublingly,” MacGuineas says, “America’s fiscal imbalances have grown so large that balancing the budget is likely out of reach in the medium term. It would take nearly $17 trillion in 10-year savings to balance the budget by 2035.” Still, that doesn’t mean Trump shouldn’t give it a try.

• Dem lawmaker dies: Just two months into his first term, Texas Democrat Representative Sylvester Turner died on Wednesday after suffering a medical emergency following Donald Trump’s speech to Congress. Turner, who was 70 years old, had previously served as the mayor of Houston. In 2022, Turner revealed that he had been diagnosed with bone cancer but had since been “cancer-free.” Last year, Turner easily won the election to fill the seat vacated when Representative Sheila Jackson Lee died of pancreatic cancer last July. Under Texas law, Governor Greg Abbott will soon call a special election, but it will take months before Turner’s seat is filled, leaving House Republicans with a current 218-214 majority.

• Rubio raises visa restrictions against aiding illegal immigration: Secretary of State Marco Rubio has announced a new visa restriction policy under which any foreign official or individual aiding or facilitating illegal immigration will not be issued a visa. This new visa issuance policy is in keeping with Section 212 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which gives the secretary of state authority to “render inadmissible” any foreigner whose entry into the U.S. “would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.” As Rubio warned, “These measures will continue until those officials take responsibility for ensuring there are policies in place and existing laws are enforced to prevent the transit of such individuals.” He added, “America will not back down when it comes to defending our national security interests.”

• Judge rejects girl’s lawsuit on trans track competitor: A Pennsylvania-based Obama judge struck a blow in favor of athletic unfairness, ruling against a request from an authentically female high school athlete for a temporary restraining order to bar an 18-year-old “transgender” student at a suburban Philly high school from participating in girls’ sports. The school district argued in its defense that the plaintiff failed to prove “irreparable harm,” claiming that there are no allegations of, say, a lost scholarship as a result. So, according to leftist judges, it’s okay for boys to clobber girls in athletic competitions, so long as the girls who complain aren’t stone-cold locks for college athletic scholarships. On the “bright” side, Democrats continue to defend the indefensible here, and it’ll keep costing them politically.

• About those “transgender mice”… During his address to Congress, Donald Trump touted DOGE with several examples of government waste. One of them: “Eight million dollars for making mice transgender. This is real.” CNN was quick to fact-check Trump, labeling his claim as false and citing a $477,121 government study on HIV with monkeys as evidence. Well, the White House was quick to counter CNN’s disinformation by listing six studies funded by NIH totaling $8 million, with each study using mice to explore various “transgender” issues. Your tax dollars at work.

• Tesla sales crash: Elon Musk didn’t need all this. He could’ve simply sailed along, avoided controversy, and continued to make billions on his Tesla electric vehicle sales. Instead, he chose to oppose the leftist forces that are wrecking the United States. And now he’s reaping the whirlwind for it. Tesla’s sales have declined dramatically worldwide, and experts say his political activism is at least partly to blame. Not entirely, however: Increased competition is also playing a role. First, Musk spent $44 billion to ensure a free-speech platform on the Internet, and now this. Has anyone ever sacrificed more wealth to advance the cause of Liberty?

• Laid-off federal workers targeted by job-seeker scams: With thousands of recently laid-off federal workers suddenly finding themselves in the job market, scammers are taking advantage. These scammers create spoof websites resembling actual employers and post fake job openings. They then contact recently laid-off federal workers via email or text messages advertising job openings to get them to provide personal and financial information. According to the FBI, since 2019, job scammers have gained an average of $3,000 from each victim. Ashley Price-Horton, founder of CyberCareer Advancement, advised “paying attention” and not letting “desperation to have income coming in cloud your judgment.”

Headlines

• Trump announces one-month delay of tariffs for cars from Canada, Mexico (NY Post)

• Abbey Gate terror suspect’s mugshot revealed (Fox News)

• U.S. negotiating directly with Hamas over releasing American hostages (National Review)

• U.S. suspends costly deportation flights using military aircraft (WSJ)

• NYPD arrests nine anti-Israel protesters for taking over Barnard College library (National Review)

• Humor: Eight powerful ways Democrats protested Trump’s speech (Babylon Bee)

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