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The House Small Business Committee sent a letter this week to the Small Business Administration demanding answers on federal pandemic relief funds that flowed from the Biden administration to entities in Minnesota possibly connected to the massive unfolding fraud scandal. In a letter sent Monday to SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler, the committee said it is conducting oversight into reports of fraud and concealment involving the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster...

Federal Small Business (SBA) Administrator Kelly Loeffler sent a letter Tuesday to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz alerting him that her agency will ‘halt’ more than $5.5 million in annual support to resource partners in the state ‘until further notice.’ The move comes as Walz and his administration grapple with billions of dollars in social services fraud diverted to everything from sham nonprofits to the Somali terror group Al-Shabaab. U.S. Attorney Joseph Thompson said Thursday a...

A Republican lawmaker has reacted to the massive unfolding fraud scandal in Minnesota with legislation aimed at preventing more taxpayer dollars from being wasted at the United States Department of Health and Human Services. Republican Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks has introduced the Welfare Abuse and Laundering Zillions Act, or the ‘WALZ Act,’ which would require HHS’ Office of Inspector General to open investigations into any program that sees a 10% or greater increase in total payments...

Tensions are once again boiling in the House GOP after four moderate Republicans joined Democrats in a bid to force a vote on extending Obamacare subsidies that were enhanced during the COVID-19 pandemic. ‘It’s a betrayal to the Republican Party,’ House Freedom Caucus member Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., said. ‘It basically turned the agenda over to the Democrats.’ ‘This is not what people voted for when they voted for a Republican majority,’ he said. A...

If the Department of Justice (DOJ) wanted to release every Jeffrey Epstein-related document they had on file, they had the firepower to do so, a former assistant U.S. attorney argued. The DOJ has faced bipartisan criticism over its initial release of heavily redacted Epstein files, which lawmakers argue fell short of the requirements of a recently passed transparency law. ‘The Department of Justice has all the resources in the world, right? I mean if they...

While next year’s midterms will determine whether Republicans can keep control of Congress after winning big in 2024, there are also a slate of gubernatorial elections, several that are toss-ups, which could have equally wide-ranging impacts. Three states with Democratic Party governors, Arizona, Michigan and Wisconsin, are currently listed as ‘toss up’ races across multiple high-profile election polling groups, such as The Cook Political Report and Sabato’s Crystal Ball. Meanwhile, Republicans will have to defend...

For Americans wondering about the future of China and its relationship with the West, the latest verdict in the Jimmy Lai case proves an ominous harbinger of Hong Kong’s continued slide towards authoritarianism. Lai, the self-made billionaire, media entrepreneur and pro-democracy activist, has been held prisoner of the Chinese Communist Party for five years under Hong Kong’s National Security Law. He was finally convicted Dec. 14 on trumped-up charges of sedition.     This verdict, handed down in...

The Federal Communications Commission announced on Monday that it would ban new foreign-made drones, citing national security concerns. The FCC said it was adding uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) and their critical components made in China and other foreign countries to its ‘covered list’ that features equipment that has been determined to pose an ‘unacceptable risk’ to U.S. national security and the safety of Americans. Specific drones or components would be exempt if the Pentagon or...