Congressman-elect Abraham Hamadeh supports Hawaii’s former congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard as the next director of national intelligence.
Gabbard — a Democrat-turned-Republican — received Hamadeh’s support through a letter signed by himself and over 250 “conservative” veterans. The veterans said that Gabbard’s decision to give up politics and enlist in the military following 9/11 made her fit to serve in Trump’s cabinet.
“Because of the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks, Tulsi answered the call of duty, enlisted in the Army, and stepped away from her position as a Hawaii State Representative when she volunteered to deploy to Iraq with her unit,” read the letter. “Instead of using her political status to avoid deployment, Tulsi volunteered to serve in a medical unit in Iraq, directly facing the harsh realities, costs, and traumas of war.”
The veterans also cited Gabbard’s legislative advocacy for improved treatment of veterans, namely her work to address toxic exposures and improve cancer care, describing her as “a rare blend of selflessness, courage, and leadership — qualities desperately needed to reform and strengthen our intelligence community.”
70 percent of the veterans signed onto the Gabbard letter were special operations or intelligence, and over 50 percent were retired, per Fox News.
Gabbard enlisted in the Hawaii Army National Guard in 2003 while serving in the Hawaii State Legislature. The next year, Gabbard deployed for a year in Iraq as a specialist with the guard’s medical company at Logistical Support Area Anaconda. Gabbard completed her tour in 2005. That year, Gabbard received a Combat Medical Badge for participating in combat operations under enemy hostile fire in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom III.
In 2007, Gabbard graduated from the Alabama Military Academy at the top of her class and was commissioned as a second lieutenant. Gabard went on to serve as an Army Military Police officer, and then was stationed in Kuwait from 2008 to 2009. In subsequent years, Gabbard would be promoted from the rank of captain to major to lieutenant colonel, during which time she was transferred to the California-based United States Army Reserve unit.
I’ve been a soldier for over 21 years, and currently serve as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Army Reserve. I’ve had the privilege of serving alongside countless great Americans, all of us willing to lay down our lives for the country we love. The best way for us to honor our… pic.twitter.com/IYT1TznOT3
Another Arizona Republican, Congressman Eli Crane, signed onto the letter as well. Crane was a member of the Navy SEALs; three of his five deployments were with the SEALs. Crane joined the Navy one week after the 9/11 attacks, and served from 2001 to 2014.
Hamadeh has served in the U.S. Army Reserve as an intelligence officer since 2016, rising to the rank of captain. In 2020, Hamadeh was deployed to Saudi Arabia following the 2019 terrorist attack on Naval Air Station Pensacola.
President-elect Donald Trump announced Gabbard as his nominee last month. Gabbard was a congresswoman for eight years, representing Hawaii as a Democrat before becoming an independent in 2022. It wasn’t until one of Trump’s rallies in October that Gabbard announced she had fully switched over and became a Republican, several months after endorsing Trump.
On Monday, Capitol Hill reporters lobbed questions about Syria at Gabbard while she attended private meetings with senators on the confirmation of herself and Trump’s other nominees.
Gabbard told reporters that she supports Trump’s Sunday remarks about Syria.
“I want to address the issue that’s in the headlines right now: I stand in full support and wholeheartedly agree with the statements that President Trump has made over these last few days with regards to the developments in Syria,” said Gabbard.
On Sunday, Trump issued severalposts on Truth Social declaring that Russia’s involvement in Ukraine had left Syria vulnerable to opposition fighters, where they once enjoyed the protection of the federation. Trump further clarified that the U.S. should not get involved in this conflict abroad.
“Russia and Iran are in a weakened state right now, one because of Ukraine and a bad economy, the other because of Israel and its fighting success. Likewise, Zelenskyy and Ukraine would like to make a deal and stop the madness. They have ridiculously lost 400,000 soldiers, and many more civilians,” said Trump. “There was never much of a benefit in Syria for Russia, other than to make Obama look really stupid. In any event, Syria is a mess, but is not our friend, [and] THE UNITED STATES SHOULD HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH IT. THIS IS NOT OUR FIGHT. LET IT PLAY OUT. DO NOT GET INVOLVED!”
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Noble Predictive Insights (NPI) released its Arizona Public Opinion Pulse (AZPOP) results on Thursday, offering the closest to a full exit-poll that has been generated in the state so far after the election. Conducted in the last pre-Thanksgiving week of November, the survey spoke to 988 registered voters in Arizona and among other things asked voters specifically, “WHY they voted the way they did.”
The pollsters asked voters to express their reasoning for voting for President-elect Donald Trump versus Vice President Kamala Harris and for Congressman and Senator-elect Ruben Gallego instead of Kari Lake in particular.
The latest AZPOP tells us why voters made their choices. Trump captured a majority of Independents, while the economy topped voter concerns (27%).
Of all concerns that dominated the presidential election, the outlet found, as many polls prior to the election did, that the economy predominated being the most important issue in voters’ decision with 27% of respondents. This was followed by immigration, “Threats to Democracy”, and the “candidate’s background or policy record.”
The economy (27%) was most impactful on voice choice, followed by immigration & threats to democracy. Trump’s GOP made immigration a signature issue. DEMs own the positive & negative aspects of the economy. Translation: The top issues were great for REPs.https://t.co/ztoJQLTfmtpic.twitter.com/idIuThEz4W
“Trump’s GOP has made immigration a signature issue for the party, and Democrats – the party in power – own both the positive and negative aspects of the economy. Translation: The two top issues were great for Republicans.“
Republicans and Independents both were motivated first by the economy and then by immigration, while Democrats were motivated by the perceived “threats to Democracy,” followed by the economy and abortion.
David Byler, NPI Chief of Research explained, “Republican and Democratic candidates ran like they were living in different universes. Democrats cared about abortion and threats to democracy much more than immigration. Republicans saw immigration and the economy as crises caused by the Biden Administration.”
“We saw this same pattern in the pre-election polling. But the election proved that the GOP argument – about the economy, immigration, and dissatisfaction with how Biden governed – won the day.”
The exact same share of Republicans and Independents (31%) said the economy was most important, and immigration came in second place – though immigration was important to more Republicans (24%) than Independents (17%).
The pollster also observed that a potentially fatal flaw in Harris’ campaign was her deep integration within the deliberately named Biden-Harris Administration, which precluded her making a clean-break from an extremely unpopular presidency among Arizona voters.
“As Biden’s VP, most voters (56%) view Harris as an extension of the Biden administration rather than a new politician forging a different path (33%). Arizonans disapproved of Biden’s job performance for most of his tenure as President – which suggests he may have been a liability for the Harris campaign.”
Most voters (56%) view Harris as an extension of the Biden administration. Arizonans disapproved of Biden’s job performance for most of his tenure as President – which suggests he may have been a liability for the Harris campaign.
Mike Noble, NPI Founder & CEO noted, “Hindsight is 20/20, but this might be one of the biggest mistakes of the 2024 Democratic process for replacing Biden. They chose someone who was part of the Biden Administration, knowing that he had a poor approval rating. Harris could be tied to Biden in a way that almost nobody could.”
Turning to the Senate race, the results took on a different character entirely. Rather than addressing particular issues or positions as they did in the presidential race, the pollsters’ questioning yielded more emotionally driven responses related to Kari Lake’s favorability, thus not offering a similar distinction in the Senate race. The outlet wrote, “This AZPOP asked voters who had an unfavorable view of Lake (53%) WHY they disliked her, and allowed them to select multiple reasons.”
Based on the narrow breadth of the question and its scope being limited to those who voted against Lake, Noble Predictive Insights found a majority of Gallego supporters either did so because she “denied her 2022 loss in the governor race,” because the respondent “did not like her personally,” or because she “imitated Trump without offering new ideas.”
One Arizona Democrat appears to be leading the charge against the incoming Republican presidential administration’s plans to secure the nation’s southern border and protect Americans.
Late last month, Tucson Mayor Regina Romero released a statement in opposition to President-elect Donald J. Trump’s border security and enforcement proposals once he takes the oath of office on January 20, 2025. She wrote, “I want to reassure every single resident that I am committed to do all we can to keep our community safe. I am deeply troubled by President-Elect Trump’s plans for mass deportation. I believe they are cruel and immoral. I will work with our police chief to make sure that our focus remains on protecting and serving Tucsonans. Here in Tucson, we know how to stand up and fight against hate and racist laws. Part of our history is coming together with our faith leaders and families from separation. I am unwavering in my commitment to this fight.”
I want to reassure every single resident that I am committed to do all we can to keep our community safe. I am deeply troubled by President-Elect Trump’s plans for mass deportation. I believe they are cruel and immoral. I will work with our police chief to make sure that our… pic.twitter.com/fKHF6bK4E4
Romero added, “While we do not have specific details about how mass deportations will be carried out by President-Elect Trump’s administration, we do know that it will be painful to children, families and our immigrant community. We do not have the exact details as to when and if Proposition 314 goes into effect, we know that this hate-filled proposition draws from SC 1070 – the show me your papers law. We are a compassionate city that knows we are stronger together and that values our multi-racial heritage. Justice will prevail.”
The Democrat mayor’s fiery comments earned a response from Trump’s incoming Border Czar, Tom Homan. On the Fox News Channel with host Laura Ingraham, Homan said, “We got children dying on the border every day. We got women being sexually assaulted by the cartels every day. Someone is going to die on the border tonight. Women are being raped on the border tonight. So what’s cruel about securing that border and saving lives, first of all? But I’ll give her the same warning I’ve given the rest of the sanctuary city mayors and the governors: you can not help us. That’s fine. You should get the hell out of the way, then, ’cause we’re going to do the job.”
Homan also stated, “And we got one hell of an attorney general coming in, Pam Bondi. I think she’ll read that statute the same way I do it. I’m not a lawyer, but I can read, and we’re going to have consequences of people violating the law and try to prevent us from doing our job.”
Romero appeared to be the loudest Arizona Democrat who stood against the announced policies and plans of the Trump administration, but she wasn’t the only one in opposition. Last month, Governor Katie Hobbs released an ambiguous post on her official X account, indirectly taking aim at the Trump administration’s forthcoming actions. She said, “Securing our border is not a red issue or a blue issue. It’s an Arizona issue and an American issue. I’ll work with anyone to secure our border while standing up to misguided policies that attack Arizonans.”
Securing our border is not a red issue or a blue issue. It’s an Arizona issue and an American issue. I’ll work with anyone to secure our border while standing up to misguided policies that attack Arizonans. pic.twitter.com/37dvvli4JK
Thus far in her administration, Hobbs has resisted most attempts by Republicans to maximize Arizona’s resources and laws to better protect communities against the harms from illegal immigration. That resistance led to state legislative Republicans sending a border security ballot measure to voters this past November – Proposition 314, which gave local law enforcement more tools to combat illegal immigration across the state. Arizona Republicans are expected to continue to search for ways to assist the Trump Administration to stop the flow of illegal immigration into and through their state over the next two years.
This week, the Trump Administration may have received a legal boost to its future efforts to remove illegal aliens from the country. On Tuesday, a panel with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed a district court’s judgment for the federal government in USA v. King County, which held that a local jurisdiction’s Executive Order, which prohibited fixed base operators (FBOs) from servicing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) charter flights, violated the law. That decision will likely be key in the new year, if and when local officials, like Romero, may attempt to obstruct the federal government’s actions when it comes to deportations and enforcement of U.S. immigration laws.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
Hard to believe it was just four years ago that President Joe Biden was elected with a promise to unite the country. After the misery of COVID-19 deaths and lockdowns and the riots in the streets of major cities, Americans wanted to be united by a unifying national purpose.
Alas, it never happened. Instead, Biden and his leftist allies were drunk with power and swerved the Democratic Party even further to the left. This alienated half the country, with a ruinous and unpopular progressive agenda on every issue, from running up massive debts to rampant inflation to transgenderism to electric vehicle mandates.
The country was only further torn asunder.
Can President-elect Donald Trump learn from these blunders and be the president who unifies the country by embracing traditional American ideals? The Make America Great Again agenda has some rough edges for sure, but if presented right, led by a message of hope, not malice, Trump can deliver an idealistic policy that the vast majority of Americans can embrace.
The way to do this is for Trump, as we approach our 250th birthday, to strike up the theme of a New American Patriotism. This should be a red-white-and-blue message centered around a renewed appreciation and celebration of American virtue and greatness. What better way to pull the country together? It should be an extension of the Reagan message of America being a “shining city on a hill” and a “beacon of freedom” for the rest of the world.
Which we are.
For at least a generation and maybe two, our schools and our universities have denigrated America’s moral standing. We have been lectured that we should be ashamed of our nation’s past, not proud of our founding and our achievements of spreading freedom and free enterprise across the planet.
The hard left magnifies America’s failures — particularly slavery and segregation — not the magnitude of our successes and our virtue. Foreigners who visit the United States often can’t believe the extent to which our media, entertainment industry and intellectual class obsess over our moral failings.
Biden was particularly guilty of this, when he falsely accused the United States of being a systemically racist country.
Wrong, Joe.
A strong case can be made that America is today the world’s greatest and perhaps only multiracial success story. The melting pot isn’t just a history-book fantasy. It is real. The rapid increase in interracial and intercultural marriages is making racial distinctions almost obsolete. The rapid rise in incomes of Asians, Hispanics and, to a lesser extent, Blacks should be celebrated.
Recent polling suggests that our citizens do appreciate American greatness. The only group that doesn’t is the ideologically isolated cultural and “highly educated” elite. The vast majority of Americans of every race and income category believe America is “the greatest country on Earth.” But many white liberal elites reject this notion.
Another example: White conservatives and Hispanics soundly reject the idea that America is systemically racist. According to Pew Research Center, “about six-in-ten Black adults say racism” is a problem in America today. But it is telling that many white liberals also believe this.
Is there still racism in America? Of course, yes. But it is not “systemic,” and the nation is becoming less racially polarized with every passing year.
America’s inventiveness, our innovation and our technological prowess, which propelled the world into the modern age and helped reduce poverty rates by 90%, are somehow sinister. Damn those fiends Thomas Edison and Henry Ford.
Fortunately, these are views of a class of modern-day intellectuals who never produced anything but instead sow the seeds of miscontent and division. They certainly have the right to hold these blame-America-first ideals, but we don’t have to allow them in our classrooms to pollute the minds of our kids.
This is an extension of the Reagan metaphor of America as a “shining city on a hill” and a “beacon of freedom” for all the world. It’s truer today than ever before, and Trumpnomics will make it all the more true.
Stephen Moore is a contributor to The Daily Caller News Foundation and a visiting fellow at the Heritage Foundation. His new book, coauthored with Arthur Laffer, is “The Trump Economic Miracle.”
Arizona State University (ASU) President Michael Crow may not be in outright support of President Donald Trump’s plan to end the Department of Education (ED), but he does seem to favor the idea of reform at the very least.
In Politico coverage gauging university presidents’ sentiments toward another Trump administration, Crow voiced a desire for an ED overhaul. Crow made the remarks during the annual Higher Education-News Media Dinner-Discussion at the University of Pennsylvania Club of New York City (Penn Club), which he hosted.
Crow said that ED student loans largely prove to be a waste of taxpayer dollars, since a majority of recipients don’t graduate.
“The Department of Education is a mismatch of bank feeds that have been cobbled together over 50 years of congressional history or more,” said Crow. “If you look at the United States and our success, we have almost three quarters of a trillion dollars being spent on Pell Grants in the last few decades, and more than half of those individuals have never graduated from college.”
Crow went on to say that the federal student loans weren’t having their intended effects — more citizens with a higher education that, in all likelihood, would strengthen the economy, depress poverty, spur innovation, and raise the education level (and welfare) of subsequent generations — since most borrowers weren’t getting their degrees.
“Most of the people that have loans supported by the government of the United States have no diplomas, no certificates, no degrees of any kind,” said Crow. “Clearly, something is not yet perfected and so what we need is new designs, new models, new ways of doing things.”
Trump vowed to abolish ED in a campaign promise made last year. The proposal was released as part of his “Agenda47” platform outlining his plan for his second and nonconsecutive term.
In his campaign promise, Trump said he would revert education authority and responsibilities to the states entirely. The president-elect explained the low education outcomes weren’t worth the high rates of federal spending and bureaucracy.
“And one other thing I’ll be doing very early in the administration is closing up the Department of Education in Washington D.C. and sending all education and education work and needs back to the States. We want them to run the education of our children, because they’ll do a much better job of it. You can’t do worse. We spend more money per pupil, by three times, than any other nation. And yet we’re absolutely at the bottom. We’re one of the worst. So you can’t do worse. We’re going to end education coming out of Washington D.C. We’re going to close it up — all those buildings all over the place and yet people that in many cases hate our children. We’re going to send it all back to the States.”
Under the late Democratic president Jimmy Carter, the U.S. founded the ED in 1980 through legislation splitting the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare into two: ED, and the Department of Health and Human Services.
ED received about four percent of the fiscal year 2024 budget, and its budget sits at around $240 billion. ED provides over $150 billion in new and consolidated loans annually.
ED has the smallest staff of the 15 Cabinet agencies, consisting of about 4,400 employees.
Those employees are split among 17 offices within the department: Federal Student Aid; Institute of Education Services; Office of the Chief Information Officer; Office of Communications and Outreach; Office for Civil Rights; Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education; Office of the Deputy Secretary; Office of English Language Acquisition; Office of Elementary and Secondary Education; Office of Finance and Operations; Office of the General Counsel; Office of Legislation and Congressional Affairs; Office of Postsecondary Education; Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development; Office of the Secretary; Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services; and Office of the Under Secretary.
South Dakota Senator Mike Rounds introduced a bill to abolish ED, the Returning Education to Our States Act. The bill proposed to shift certain programs to other departments.
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