by Matthew Holloway | May 22, 2025 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
The office of Arizona Congressman Eli Crane (R-AZ02) issued a call on Tuesday for Veterans, Gold Star Families, and Active-Duty Spouses to apply for the exclusive Green & Gold Congressional Aide Program to bring one of them into Crane’s Prescott office in a two-year paid position.
The applicant chosen will take on the responsibility of managing veteran-related casework and serve as a liaison between Rep. Crane’s constituents and federal, state, and local agencies.
According to Crane’s office, “The G&G CAP was established to create employment opportunities for veterans, Gold Star families, and active-duty spouses within the U.S. House of Representatives. Selected candidates will work directly for a Member of Congress as part of their office staff.”
The duties of the role may also include, serving as a liaison to local veterans organizations such as the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and the American Legion, as well as, attending local events and meetings. The role boasts a salary starting at $54,000 annually.
In his announcement, Congressman Crane said, “As a veteran myself, I know firsthand the challenges and bureaucratic hurdles within our system. Our nation’s heroes deserve nothing less than the highest quality of service, and it is our duty to ensure they receive the care and support they need.”
He added, “I’m proud to partner with the Green & Gold Congressional Aide Program to provide veterans and military personnel with first-class assistance. I encourage dedicated patriots to apply for this essential role in my office.” Potential applicants may apply online.
To be eligible, veterans must be: “Honorably discharged; released from active duty within the last six years; and pay grades at or below E-5/O-3/W-2.” However, “Veterans who are in receipt of a 20-year or Temporary Early Retirement Authority (TERA) retirement are not eligible for the program.”
For Gold-Star families: the surviving spouses, children and step-children, parents and step-parents, siblings and step-siblings of a veteran who died in the line of duty while serving in the Armed Forces or from a service-connected disability are eligible to apply.
Spouses of active duty servicemembers must be wed to an active duty service member working for the military full-time and “and are subject to permanent change of station or permanent change of assignment orders upon completion of each tour of duty.” Spouses of servicemembers subject to Title X mobilization are not eligible.
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
by Matthew Holloway | May 22, 2025 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
A bill designed to shield Arizona’s children from inappropriate and mature advertisements on digital applications was signed into law on Tuesday.
Under the new law, “A child-directed application shall take appropriate measures to prevent the display of inappropriate and mature advertisements on the child-directed application.” It describes “inappropriate and mature advertisements,” as “an advertisement that sells or promotes any of the following: (a) violence, (b) explicit language, (c) sexual content, (d) alcohol or drug use.”
Rep. Julie Willoughby, who sponsored the law, explained, “As a mom and a legislator, I know how easily harmful content slips into apps that claim to be kid-friendly. Parents should be able to trust that their children won’t be bombarded with adult-themed ads. This law compels Big Tech to clean it up or face serious penalties.”
If the application owners targeting children 11 and younger fail to take meaningful measures to prevent the display of “inappropriate and mature advertisements,” they could face civil penalties of up to $100,000 per violation effective January 1, 2026. With the proliferation of child-facing applications and their wide adoption base, the potential civil liability for application-makers could be catastrophic.
The bill enjoyed rare bipartisan cooperation in the Arizona legislature, passing the House 48-11 with one member not voting, passing the Senate 16-9 with five Senators not voting, and finally getting signed into law by Arizona’s veto-prone Democrat Governor Katie Hobbs.
The new law is an advance along the trajectory laid out by the House Republican Majority Plan, designed to promote the safety of the youngest Arizonans while protecting parental rights by bringing “greater transparency and accountability to the digital platforms children use every day.”
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
by Matthew Holloway | May 21, 2025 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
Decorated combat veteran Army Captain Sam Brown (ret.), a 41-year-old, West Point graduate nominated by President Donald Trump to lead the National Cemetery Administration as Veteran Affairs Undersecretary of Memorial Affairs, was reportedly blocked in confirmation by Democrat Senators Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT).
According to a post to X by VA Secretary Doug Collins, Brown is being blocked by Blumenthal and Gallego “to score cheap political points.” He commented, “Awful behavior, senators.”
Rather than offering an explanation for his blocking Brown, Gallego lobbed an ad hominem attack at Collins writing, “VA Collins only cares about disabled Veterans that are his political appointees. He is going to arbitrarily fire thousands of Veterans from the VA. Awful behavior Secretary.”
Similarly, Sen. Blumenthal accused Collins of attempting to distract the American people in his own post to X. He wrote, “Stop seeking to distract. Republicans can bring these nominees to the floor for a full debate & vote whenever they choose. Americans & veterans deserve transparency & accountability around your political nominees & your concealed plans to cut 83,000 VA employees.”
Blumenthal and Gallego appear to be referring to an alleged leaked memo released by the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) which refers to VA staffing reductions driven by Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Workforce Optimization Initiative. While the VA has shared data with NPR showing that 11,273 agency employees nationwide have applied for deferred resignation, the department stated that staff cuts will not affect veterans’ health care with Collins accusing Democrats of fearmongering during a senate hearing on May 6th.
“I will not let you sit here and scare my veterans and scare my employees, because no one has discussed firing doctors or firing nurses,” Collins told Blumenthal. “We’ve always said that we’re going to keep frontline health care.”
Answering questions from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), he said, “We have been emphatic that we will not be cutting benefits and health care, only improving them.”
Reacting to the news, Brown released a statement via social media thanking VA Secretary Collins saying, “I’ve served our nation once with honor. I’ve been nominated by President Trump to do it again. Unfortunately there are Democrat Senators who want to block my service to the great USA, our beloved veterans, and their families.”
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
by Matthew Holloway | May 20, 2025 | Education, News
By Matthew Holloway |
In a dramatic reversal of policy from the days of the Biden administration, the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE), under Secretary Linda McMahon and President Donald Trump, rescinded a $37 million fine against Grand Canyon University with prejudice Friday. The decision scraps the largest fine ever levied against a university by the USDOE.
As previously reported by AZ Free News, Grand Canyon University launched an appeal challenging the enormous fine and allegations of advertising false degree costs. The university was supported by the Goldwater Institute, which launched its own lawsuit in February after the USDOE failed to respond to a Freedom of Information Act request to gain clarity on the fine against GCU.
In a statement following the decision, GCU President Brian Mueller described the dismissal as welcome, but unsurprising news.
“The facts clearly support our contention that we were wrongly accused of misleading our Doctoral students and we appreciate the recognition that those accusations were without merit,” he said. “GCU is a leader in innovation, transparency and best practices in higher education and we look forward to working cooperatively with the Department in the future – just as we have with all regulatory agencies.”
The USDOE dismissed the case in its entirety with neither findings, fines, liabilities, nor penalties of any variety. According to GCU, the USDOE, “confirmed it has not established that GCU violated any Title IV requirements, including the claim that GCU ‘substantially misrepresented’ the cost of its doctoral programs that was alleged by ED officials under the Biden Administration. The Dismissal stated unequivocally that ‘there are no findings against GCU, or any of its employees, officers, agents, or contractors, and no fine is imposed.’”
In a statement the University said, “The proposed fine action was, by far, the largest the Department of Education had ever levied against a university. GCU filed an appeal to ED’s Office of Hearings and Appeals, maintaining that the unsubstantiated accusations were gross mischaracterizations based on isolated, out-of-context statements from certain enrollment documents and that, in fact, GCU students receive robust information about the time, cost and credits needed to complete a doctoral degree throughout their enrollment and onboarding process. Moreover, GCU maintains that its disclosures surrounding continuation courses, which are common in higher education doctoral programs, provide more information than is legally required or that other universities typically provide. As such, GCU has consistently insisted that it would contest any fine amount – even $1, let alone $37.7 million.”
In a post to X, Arizona Congressman Abe Hamadeh (R-AZ08) praised the dismissal writing, “The record-breaking fine imposed on Grand Canyon University (@gcu) was just one of many attacks by the Biden Administration on Christian organizations. Congressman Hamadeh applauds the Trump Administration’s decision to rescind the fine with prejudice.”
Congressman Andy Biggs made a similar post saying, “I’ve urged investigation into the outrageous fine since the moment it was handed down by the radical Biden-Harris regime. Thank you @POTUS and @EDSecMcMahon for working to ensure that the weaponization of government against @GCU isn’t allowed to stand!”
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
by Matthew Holloway | May 19, 2025 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
Tom George, a Republican Committeeman for Legislative District 29, lost his El Mirage home in a devastating house fire on May 10th, according to friends and colleagues, leaving the single-father and his young son without a home.
AZ Free News was alerted to the tragedy on Tuesday by LD29 GOP Chair Lisa Everett, who said via email, “He’s a great man. He is a precinct committeeman in my LD. He’s one of the hardest working men I’ve ever seen.”
A GoFundMe has been created to benefit George and his son managed by his colleague Eric Miller who wrote in a post to Facebook:
“Please help Tom George rebuild after a devastating house fire. Tom lost everything when his home burned down on May 10th. A dedicated father and selfless community volunteer in El Mirage, AZ, and numerous West Valley communities, Tom has always given his time to help others. Now he needs our help. He has no renter’s insurance, the inflation and economy depleted his finances, and he is starting from scratch. Please donate or share to support a man who’s always shown up for his community. He now needs his community. Tom is a strong, independent man, and he won’t ask for help … so I am asking for him.”
According to the crowd-funding site managed by Miller, “Every donation, no matter how small, will help Tom get back on his feet—providing him with clothes, basic essentials, temporary housing, and the resources needed to rebuild his and his son’s lives. Please consider supporting Tom as he begins this difficult journey forward.”
Miller added, “Tom has volunteered throughout the West Valley to help improve the lives of others. He serves/volunteers as an elected precinct committeeman, where he advocates for his neighbors and the greater community with passion and selflessness. Tom is the kind of person who always puts others first. He’s overcome many struggles in life and continues to lead with strength, generosity, and a heart for service. Now, in his time of greatest need, we have the opportunity to return that generosity.”
In her email to AZ Free News, Chairwoman Everett said the LD29 GOP Committee is organizing a fundraiser and “doing what we can to keep his spirits up.”
The tragic fire at George’s home isn’t the first one in recent memory to bring together West Valley Republicans. As previously reported by AZ Free News, the West Valley Republican & Independent Coalition, a non-profit PAC, suffered an office fire at West Grand Ave. in Sun City in June 2024 that left the office “almost a total loss.” But the tragedy is far keener, when it involves a home, and a family.
As of this report the GoFundMe has raised over $3,000 toward its $10,000 goal.
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
