The Big, Beautiful Newsletter

Thune Talks Cali EV Rule; Austin Scott Details Farmers’ Wins in Big, Beautiful Bill; Heard on the Hill; and more!

May 22, 2025

Let’s dive in.

1. INTERVIEW: Senate Majority Leader John Thune explains why dismantling California’s EV rule is important

2. Heard on the Hill

3. INTERVIEW: Georgia Rep. Austin Scott details how the Big, Beautiful Bill will help farmers

4. INTERVIEW: Five for Fighting takes D.C. by storm, talks Afghanistan, arts, and Israeli hostages

5. SCOOP: Anti-Semitic murder of Israeli diplomats by Biden donor sends shockwaves on the Hill

6. EXCLUSIVE: Democrats are manufacturing CBO reports to mislead and scare the American people

7. EXCLUSIVE: Sen. Tom Cotton slams Biden-era HHS alcohol study as a “progressive scheme to ban all alcohol”

8. EXCLUSIVE: Biden judge preventing deportations has far-left record on criminal justice, Judiciary Committee Republicans condemn his latest ruling

9. SCOOP: Conservatives caution that Texas bills threaten Trump's Golden Age of American energy

10. INTERVIEW: Monorail founder Phil Dickson explains how his company is keeping conservatives’ money with their values

11. K-STREET, 10,000 FEET: Private sector solutions offer military members financial hope amid predatory payday loans

12. OPINIONATED: Daniel Turner on how to make “drill baby drill” a reality and Zainab Zeb Khan on why Muslims are increasing their GOP support

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INTERVIEW: Senate Majority Leader John Thune explains why dismantling California’s EV rule is important

by the Washington Reporter

THE LOWDOWN:

• Wednesday night saw the Senate, under Majority Leader John Thune (R., S.D.), move to dismantle California’s controversial electric vehicles (EV) mandate through the Congressional Review Act (CRA) that would lead to the banning of gasoline-powered vehicles.

• Thune told the Reporter the move was an important one to make because of the adverse economic impact it would have on America.

• Thune warned that, under the Golden State’s rule, “automakers around the country would be forced to close down a substantial part of their traditional vehicle production, with serious consequences such as diminished economic output, job losses, and declining tax revenues.”

• Thune also threw water on Democrats’ assertions regarding Senate procedure, explaining this “debate is not about destroying Senate procedure, or any other hysterical claim that Democrats are making.”

Wednesday night saw the Senate, under Majority Leader John Thune (R., S.D.), move to dismantle California’s controversial electric vehicles (EV) mandate through the Congressional Review Act (CRA) that would lead to the banning of gasoline-powered vehicles.

Thune caught up with the Washington Reporter about the move, explaining why the CRA was an important decision to make.

“The Clean Air Act allowed for waivers to address specific pollution problems, and over the decades a number of them have been granted,” Thune told the Reporter. “But the waivers the Biden EPA handed to California on the Biden administration’s way out the door go far beyond the scope Congress contemplated in the Clean Air Act.”

“The waivers in question allow California to implement a stringent electric vehicle mandate, which — given California’s size and the fact that a number of other states have signed on to California’s mandate — would end up not just affecting the state of California, but the whole country,” he continued.

Prior to Thune’s Senate power play, the chamber’s Democrats argued that the vote could not take place on procedural grounds. Thune threw water on those assertions, explaining this “debate is not about destroying Senate procedure, or any other hysterical claim that Democrats are making.”

“And I have to say that my colleagues’ newfound interest in defending Senate procedure is touching — if a touch surprising,” Thune quipped. “After all, it’s only last year that Democrats were planning to destroy one of the bedrocks of the Senate, the legislative filibuster.”

Heard on the Hill

• DC’S NEXT TOP LOBBYIST: Don’t forget to nominate your friends, loved ones, respected coworkers, or that very influential lobbyist you heard of for the Washington Reporter’s list of the most influential advocates in our nation’s capital!

• FORMIDABLE HIRE: Pharmaceutical company Bristol Myers Squibb hired a heavy hitter. Rodger Currie, a 30-year industry veteran, top GOP donor, and formidable Washington strategist, is joining on as their new senior vice president for U.S. policy and government affairs. Currie has been tasked to lead the company’s federal and state engagement and direct its strategic policy agenda and will take his post in June.

• CRYPTO REVOLT: As Sen. Roger Marshall (R., Kansas) pushes the inclusion of the Credit Card Competition Act (CCCA) in the GENIUS Act with Sen. Dick Durbin (D., Ill.), many top donors in the crypto space are mulling funding a primary challenge against the Kansas senator.

• AIR SUPPORT: The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed an amicus brief in support of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s antitrust lawsuit against asset managers including Blackrock, State Street, and Vanguard. OH Skinner, the executive director of Alliance for Consumers, backed the move too, saying that “it is encouraging to see the Federal Trade Commission protecting ordinary people from woke asset managers with unlimited power over prices and product offerings. The defendants have a history of using their customers' money to push the ideology of corporate executives to the detriment of everyday consumers.”

• VAPE CRACKDOWN: The FDA is cracking down on illicit vapes flowing into the U.S. from countries like China and Mexico. FDA Commissioner Martin Makary declared the “illegal importation stops today” and that he has “personally” observed “kids from good families who have become addicted to vaping,” are aware of it, and cannot stop. Watch more here.

• AI’LL CHAT ALL DAY: Elon Musk met with Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee today.

• CHAMPS: The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) rewarded its "conservative champions" in Congress this week at a reception at the Capitol Hill Club. Attendees included Speaker Mike Johnson (R., La.) and Reps. Jim Jordan (R., Ohio), Harriet Hageman (R., Wyo.), Scott Perry (R., Pa.), Andy Biggs (R., Ariz.), Kat Cammack (R., Fla.), Ben Cline (R., Va.), Russ Fulcher (R., Idaho), Michael Cloud (R., Texas), Gus Bilirakis (R., Fla.), Doug LaMalfa (R., Calif.), Andy Harris (R., Md.), David Rouzer (R., N.C.), Bruce Westerman (R., Ark.), Barry Moore (R., Ala.), Tracey Mann (R., Kansas), Beth Van Duyne (R., Texas), Mike Collins (R., Ga.), Eric Burlison (R., Mo.), Brad Finstad (R., Minn.), Wesley Hunt (R., Texas), Victoria Spartz (R., Ind.), Carol Miller (R., W.Va.), Troy Nehls (R. Texas), Aaron Bean (R., Fla.), Ryan Zinke (R., Mont.), Tim Burchett (R., Tenn.), and Mike Haridopolos (R., Fla.).

• NOT ON YOUR SIDE: Consumers’ Research launched a new campaign targeting Nationwide for what Consumers’ Research calls a DEI “rebrand.” Will Hild, the group’s executive director, noted that “Nationwide pushed discriminatory DEI policies, tried to rebrand them with a superficial name change, and then threatened a nonprofit organization for catching them in the act and rightly calling them out.”

INTERVIEW: Rep. Austin Scott details how the Big, Beautiful Bill will help farmers

by the Washington Reporter

THE LOWDOWN:

• House Agricultural Committee vice chairman Austin Scott (R., Ga.) spoke with the Washington Reporter after the bill’s passage to explain how the Big, Beautiful Bill will help America’s farmers and agricultural sector.

• Scott said that “hopefully the Senate will be able to add whatever amendments they want to it” and return the bill to the House “over the next couple of weeks,” noting that he “would certainly hope to be done with it by the July 4th break.”

• The Georgia Republican told the Reporter that the last time Congress passed a farm bill was in 2018 and that, because of the lack of another farm bill, commodity prices — which are used as pricing reference points in the agricultural sector — have not caught up with inflation. Scott explained the reference prices “don’t guarantee anybody a profit, but what they do is set a loss limit, if you will, on those commodities.”

• The Big, Beautiful Bill, however, addresses this issue and raises the reference prices for several important commodities that feed Americans every day.

Thursday morning saw the House passage of President Donald Trump’s and the Republicans’ Big, Beautiful Bill through the reconciliation process.

Now, the bill is in the hands of the Senate, but this behemoth of legislation carries with it many provisions to improve the lives of Americans after four years of “Bidenomics” — including our farmers.

House Agricultural Committee vice chairman Austin Scott (R., Ga.) spoke with the Washington Reporter after the bill’s passage to explain how the Big, Beautiful Bill will help America’s farmers and agricultural sector.

Scott said that “hopefully the Senate will be able to add whatever amendments they want to it” and return the bill to the House “over the next couple of weeks,” noting that he “would certainly hope to be done with it by the July 4th break.”

“We had two Republicans vote ‘no,’ we had one Republican vote ‘present,’ but, again, whether it passes by one vote or five votes, we still got it done,” Scott said.

The Georgia Republican told the Reporter that the last time Congress passed a farm bill was in 2018 and that, because of the lack of another farm bill, commodity prices — which are used as pricing reference points in the agricultural sector — have not caught up with inflation. Scott explained the reference prices “don’t guarantee anybody a profit, but what they do is set a loss limit, if you will, on those commodities.”

The Big, Beautiful Bill, however, addresses this issue and raises the reference prices for several important commodities that feed Americans every day.

“If you take corn, the current reference price was $3.70. Again, that was set in 2018,” Scott said. “It has a 10 percent increase and so it’s going to $4.10. And the minimum increase that any commodity got was 10 percent.”

INTERVIEW: Five for Fighting takes D.C. by storm, talks Afghanistan, arts, and Israeli hostages

by Matthew Foldi

THE LOWDOWN:

• This week, Five for Fighting frontman John Ondrasik was joined by top Trump administration staffers at a sold-out concert to close out his latest nationwide tour.

• In recent years, Ondrasik has been on a lonelier crusade, fighting against what he called “the malignancy attacking Western values and nations,” in an interview with the Washington Reporter that followed his latest nationwide tour.

• Throughout his tour, Ondrasik noted that he is eager to return to Israel and play Superman with Alon on one side, and with Alon’s brother Ronen on the other.

• Sen. Joni Ernst (R., Iowa) sang on stage with him and Fox News’s John Roberts shredded the guitar for multiple songs. Top Trump administration figures were in the audience, alongside conservative media figures like Larry O’Connor, Bethany and Seth Mandel, Hugh Hewitt, Mollie and Mark Hemingway, and more.

In the days after the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001, Five for Fighting frontman John Ondrasik was joined by the world’s top musicians to condemn the Islamic terrorists who struck at the heart of America.

This week, he was joined by top Trump administration staffers at a sold-out concert to close out his latest nationwide tour.

In recent years, Ondrasik has been on a lonelier crusade, fighting against what he called “the malignancy attacking Western values and nations,” in an interview with the Washington Reporter that followed his latest nationwide tour.

Ondrasik has penned songs criticizing the Biden administration for its failures in Afghanistan, supporting Ukraine following Vladimir Putin’s invasion, and even rewrote his famous song Superman in honor of Alon Ohel, an Israeli hostage who remains captive in Gaza.

Ondrasik’s message is particularly poignant this week, following the murder of two Israeli diplomats at an event in Washington, D.C. His remake of Superman is dedicated to Ohel, everyone else who is held hostage in Gaza by Palestinian terrorists, and to the families of the hostages. In his re-recorded music video, Ohel’s family members play on the yellow piano in Tel Aviv’s Hostage Square that belonged to Alon while Ondrasik sings his verses from America.

Throughout his tour, Ondrasik noted that he is eager to return to Israel and play Superman with Alon on one side, and with Alon’s brother Ronen on the other.

SCOOP: Anti-Semitic murder of Israeli diplomats by Biden donor sends shockwaves on the Hill

by Matthew Foldi and the Washington Reporter

THE LOWDOWN:

• A deranged anti-Israel gunman opened fire outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., where young Jewish professionals gathered for an event hosted by the American Jewish Committee (AJC).

• The twin murders made immediate headlines across America. Both victims were well-known in their circles, and Milgrim had met with EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin as recently as two weeks ago in his office.

• President Donald Trump condemned the murders in the strongest terms, saying these “horrible D.C. killings, based obviously on antisemitism, must end, NOW!”

• The murders also sent shockwaves through Capitol Hill. Rep. Randy Fine (R., Fla.), the House’s newest Jewish member, told the Reporter that this shooting “is the end result of the radical left refusing to acknowledge that ‘Free Palestine’ is nothing more than a call for Muslim terror.”

A deranged anti-Israel gunman opened fire outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., where young Jewish professionals gathered for an event hosted by the American Jewish Committee (AJC).

The gunman, whose name the Washington Reporter will not give the time of day, donated hundreds of dollars to President Joe Biden’s campaign in 2020. He allegedly murdered an Israeli Christian, Yarón Lischinsky, and a Jewish American, Sarah Milgrim, before reportedly walking into the event with a red keffiyeh and shouting “free Palestine.”

The twin murders made immediate headlines across America. Both victims were well-known in their circles, and Milgrim had met with EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin as recently as two weeks ago in his office.

Zeldin, who is Jewish, said after the event that Milgrim struck him “as a young woman filled with life and positivity” and that he was “heartbroken to learn she was one of two tragically murdered last night by a Jew-hating radical screaming ‘Free Palestine.’”

President Donald Trump condemned the murders in the strongest terms, saying these “horrible D.C. killings, based obviously on antisemitism, must end, NOW!”

“Hatred and Radicalism have no place in the USA,” he said. Some Democrats, by contrast, like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.), struggled to mention the apparent motives behind the attack.

EXCLUSIVE: Democrats are manufacturing CBO reports to mislead and scare the American people

by Matthew Foldi

THE LOWDOWN:

• Congressional Democrats thought the latest Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reconciliation bill report was the slam dunk they needed to derail President Donald Trump’s and Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R. La.) momentum behind their Big, Beautiful Bill.

• However, Rep. Andy Barr (R., Ky.) has been delivering House Republicans exactly the rebuttal that their colleagues need — and the timing couldn’t be more critical.

• Earlier this year, Barr introduced legislation, the CBO Scoring Accountability Act, which could prevent Democrats from abusing the agency to try and derail the Republicans’ agenda.

• These mistakes by the CBO haven’t come out of nowhere. Barr also told the Reporter that the CBO “has a long track record of serious miscalculations that have distorted policymaking and undermined any efforts for reform.”

Congressional Democrats thought the latest Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reconciliation bill report was the slam dunk they needed to derail President Donald Trump’s and Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R. La.) momentum behind their Big, Beautiful Bill.

However, Rep. Andy Barr (R., Ky.) has been delivering House Republicans exactly the rebuttal that their colleagues need — and the timing couldn’t be more critical.

“The CBO alarmists are back at the eleventh hour to scare House Republicans,” Barr told the Washington Reporter. “But let’s not forget — they were off by over a trillion dollars on the Trump tax cuts and wrong about Medicaid expansion and the IRA.”

“The D.C. establishment needs to realize that CBO’s crystal ball has been shattered for years,” Barr said. “It’s time for House Republicans to pass President Trump’s big, beautiful bill — the one we ran and won on.”

Following a CBO report that claimed that extending Trump’s tax cuts would add to the deficit, Barr has been one of the House GOP’s go-to members on pushing back on the false claims about the Republican agenda. He has frequently appeared on liberal news outlets to explain the merits behind the bill.

However, the CBO projection is downright wrong, Barr said. The Kentucky Republican said the report “wrongly claim[s] the bottom 10 percent will lose income and savings, but that projection is based entirely on a reduction in government benefits, not a drop in actual earnings.”

EXCLUSIVE: Sen. Tom Cotton slams Biden-era HHS alcohol study as a “progressive scheme to ban all alcohol”

by the Washington Reporter

THE LOWDOWN:

• Republicans in Congress are intensifying their criticism of a Biden-era alcohol study conducted by the Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Prevention of Underage Drinking (ICCPUD), which they call a “liberal nanny state” effort to ban all alcohol.

• Sen. Tom Cotton said that “wasting taxpayer dollars on studies to ban alcohol is exactly why Joe Biden and his cronies were voted out of the White House”

• The study, intended to inform the 2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, has sparked a heated debate over transparency, scientific integrity, and alleged overreach by federal agencies. The controversy centers on ICCPUD’s Alcohol Intake and Health Study, which House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R., Ky.) and Subcommittee Chairwoman Lisa McClain (R., Mich.) argue was conducted without congressional approval.

• The lawmakers said the study duplicates a $1.3 million study mandated by Congress to be carried out by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM). The NASEM study, funded through the 2023 Consolidated Appropriations Act, was designed to provide an impartial review of alcohol’s health effects.

• As the Trump administration prepares to finalize the 2025 Dietary Guidelines by August 2025, Republicans close to the President are optimistic the White House will get a huge win by rejecting the ICCPUD study.

Republicans in Congress are intensifying their criticism of a Biden-era alcohol study conducted by the Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Prevention of Underage Drinking (ICCPUD).

The Republicans labeled the study as a “liberal nanny state” effort that threatens American jobs, personal freedoms, and is part of a ploy to eventually ban all alcohol.

The study, intended to inform the 2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, has sparked a heated debate over transparency, scientific integrity, and alleged overreach by federal agencies. The controversy centers on ICCPUD’s Alcohol Intake and Health Study, which House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R., Ky.) and Subcommittee Chairwoman Lisa McClain (R., Mich.) argue was conducted without congressional approval.

The lawmakers said the study duplicates a $1.3 million study mandated by Congress to be carried out by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM). The NASEM study, funded through the 2023 Consolidated Appropriations Act, was designed to provide an impartial review of alcohol’s health effects.

However, in 2022, Biden’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) tasked ICCPUD — a committee focused on preventing underage drinking — with conducting its own study, raising concerns among lawmakers.

Comer, a vocal advocate for Kentucky’s alcohol industry, has led the charge against ICCPUD, issuing subpoenas to HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra and USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack in September 2024 for documents related to the study’s development.

Sen. Tom Cotton (R., Ark.) shared his thoughts on Biden’s study — and he did not hold back.

“Wasting taxpayer dollars on studies to ban alcohol is exactly why Joe Biden and his cronies were voted out of the White House,” Cotton told the Washington Reporter.

EXCLUSIVE: Biden judge preventing deportations has far-left record on criminal justice, Judiciary Committee Republicans condemn his latest ruling

by Matthew Foldi

THE LOWDOWN:

• A District Court judge nominated by President Joe Biden is both a registered Democrat in Massachusetts and forgot to disclose his ties to a left-wing organization that he sat on the board of during his Senate hearings.

• Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee told the Washington Reporter that these are serious problems in the case of District Court Judge Brian E. Murphy specifically and of liberal judges more broadly.

• Murphy was on the board of the Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (MACDL) where he “participated in board meetings” and “helped select MACDL’s leadership team,” according to his Senate questionnaire.

• Rep. Lance Gooden (R., Texas) added that “Judge Murphy’s ruling obstructs President Trump’s mandate to secure our borders and swiftly deport illegal immigrants. This is unfortunately another case of liberal activist judges putting their failed agenda over the clear will of American voters.”

A District Court judge nominated by President Joe Biden is both a registered Democrat in Massachusetts and forgot to disclose his ties to a left-wing organization that he sat on the board of during his Senate hearings.

Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee told the Washington Reporter that these are serious problems in the case of District Court Judge Brian E. Murphy specifically and of liberal judges more broadly.

Murphy specifically is in the news because of his ruling that the Trump administration can’t deport a group of illegal immigrants the administration called “criminal illegal immigrant monsters.”

Murphy was nominated by Biden in the final months of his term, and there was no shortage of evidence that he held far-left views on criminal justice.

Murphy was on the board of the Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (MACDL) where he “participated in board meetings” and “helped select MACDL’s leadership team,” according to his Senate questionnaire.

SCOOP: Conservatives caution that Texas bills threaten Trump's Golden Age of American energy

by Matthew Foldi

THE LOWDOWN:

• Texas Senate Bill 6 and Senate Bill 715, both under debate in the state House this week, are drawing sharp criticism from the right for new regulations they are set to impose on energy producers. Critics argue this will lead to increased costs for residential consumers and possibly lead to project cancellations altogether, hampering production.

• With the White House warning that “anyone standing in the way of the Golden Age of American Energy will regret it,” conservative critics have gone into overdrive arguing against these two bills.

• SB 6, known as “The Data Center Bill” mandates the installation of state-controlled “kill switches” on data centers in addition to a host of margin-narrowing regulations on producers. The measure has drawn a steady stream of conservative pushback on social media for months and is due to be voted on by Texas lawmakers this Friday.

• Concurrently, SB 715 will impose retroactive reliability requirements on wind and solar projects. Fiscal conservatives tell the Washington Reporter that the bill is a departure from Texas’ free-market energy model, risking economic growth and grid reliability.

Two bills up for consideration in the Texas State House this week are drawing fire from conservatives who argue that if passed, will hinder energy production, raise costs on Texas consumers, and stall out the Trump administration’s plan for a new Energy Golden Age in a key state.

Texas Senate Bill 6 and Senate Bill 715, both under debate in the state House this week, are drawing sharp criticism from the right for new regulations they are set to impose on energy producers. Critics argue this will lead to increased costs for residential consumers and possibly lead to project cancellations altogether, hampering production.

With the White House warning that “anyone standing in the way of the Golden Age of American Energy will regret it,” conservative critics have gone into overdrive arguing against these two bills.

SB 6, known as “The Data Center Bill” mandates the installation of state-controlled “kill switches” on data centers in addition to a host of margin-narrowing regulations on producers. The measure has drawn a steady stream of conservative pushback on social media for months and is due to be voted on by Texas lawmakers this Friday.

Concurrently, SB 715 will impose retroactive reliability requirements on wind and solar projects. Fiscal conservatives tell the Washington Reporter that the bill is a departure from Texas’ free-market energy model, risking economic growth and grid reliability.

SB 715 requires existing renewable energy facilities to secure backup power, a state-imposed mandate that critics argue undermines investor confidence by altering agreements for investments already made.

INTERVIEW: Monorail founder Phil Dickson explains how his company is keeping conservatives money with their values

by the Washington Reporter

THE LOWDOWN:

• In an era where one’s financial investments may not go to companies that share in their own values, Phil Dickson and his financial technology firm Monorail are giving conservative investors an avenue to bring their capital to companies they align with.

• Dickson said Monorail began in July 2023 and partnered with Salem Communications to launch it. From there, Dickson connected with conservative leaders Lara Trump and Charlie Kirk and now he is “growing [their] supporters and our advertising campaigns.”

• In terms of the importance of conservative financial firms like Monorail existing, Dickson said “most people don’t realize that their investment dollars are being invested in companies that literally go against their conservative patriotic values.”

• In terms of Monorail’s Patriot Portfolio, Dickson noted the company has “partnered with Inspire ETF” and that the firm’s president and CEO, Robert Netzly, joined Monorail’s board of directors.

In an era where one’s financial investments may not go to companies that share in their own values, Phil Dickson and his financial technology firm Monorail are giving conservative investors an avenue to bring their capital to companies they align with.

Dickson, the CEO and founder of Monorail, hopped on the phone with the Washington Reporter to talk more about his company and its mission.

As a longtime financial adviser from a family in the business, Dickson explained that he was licensed “right out of, actually, high school” and that his mother helped guide him, netting him “all the necessary licenses.” This allowed Dickson to start “very young” and, because of that, he “saw companies like Betterment, Acorn, Stash — these fintech companies popping up.”

“And that’s what kind of took me out of traditional financial advising into fintech with Monorail,” Dickson explained. “I’m a conservative, I’m a patriot, and coming out with the fintech app, I need a differentiator, right?”

“So it just dawned on myself and a colleague [while] talking about it and we’re, like, ‘let’s come out with a fintech app that supports conservative, patriotic values,’” he continued. “And here we are today, so it’s been a good ride.”

Dickson said Monorail began in July 2023 and partnered with Salem Communications to launch it. From there, Dickson connected with conservative leaders Lara Trump and Charlie Kirk and now he is “growing [their] supporters and our advertising campaigns.”

K-STREET, 10,000 FEET:

Private sector solutions offer military members financial hope amid predatory payday loans

by the Washington Reporter

THE LOWDOWN:

• For our nation’s heroes, the challenge to make ends meet each month and save for the future can be quite a daunting task. A study by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) reveals that 36 percent of military service members have trouble paying monthly bills.

• To make ends meet, many military members take out predatory payday loans that make it hard to save money and become financially stable.

• The top levels of the upper chambers are taking note, as well. A Senate leadership aide told the Reporter that almost “every Senator — and not just those on Armed Services — cares about financial literacy for veterans, especially enlisted soldiers who are victimized by predatory lending.”

For our nation’s heroes, the challenge to make ends meet each month and save for the future can be quite a daunting task. A study by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) reveals that 36 percent of military service members have trouble paying monthly bills. Almost 60 percent of military personnel don’t have three months’ of living expenses saved for emergencies.

This continuing challenge for financial stability is taking its toll. A Military Family Advisory Network survey revealed that 92.5 percent of servicemembers and their families identified financial stress as a major concern, with many reporting that it hindered their focus on mission readiness.

For so many, the military represents their first full-time and first time living away from home. And that means their first time balancing a checkbook and allocating enough money for living expenses and bills each month. But a 2022 survey by the Department of Defense (DOD) found that 39 percent of active duty and 33 percent of reserve component members scored below 50 on a financial well-being scale. This data shines a light on the critical issue of financial literacy, which is not simply about managing finances, but also understanding how to leverage the right financial resources and solutions to make the most of your money.

This lack of financial literacy for service members can have a negative ripple effect for service members. Over three-quarters of military and veteran family respondents indicated they carry debt and slightly more than half of military and veteran families stated they had experienced barriers to saving money over the past two years.

So to pay bills on time and avoid exorbitant late fees, some military personnel have turned to expensive options to stay out of the cycle of debt. One 2017 study found that approximately 44 percent of service members received a payday loan, compared to just 7 percent of all consumers. This highlights the unfortunate higher prevalence of payday loans among military personnel. But when a bill needs to be paid, there are only so many available solutions. Payday lenders recognize this and often set up their stores right outside the gates of U.S. military bases.

The Military Lending Act (MLA), passed in 2006 and expanded in 2015, took some initial steps in protecting service members against predatory lending schemes. However, the MLA does not go far enough. Capping military payday lenders from exceeding a 36 percent Annual Percentage Rate (APR) is not an adequate safeguard against would-be debt collectors and still allows payday lenders to inflict material and lasting damage on the personal and professional lives of service members.

The top levels of the upper chambers are taking note, as well. A Senate leadership aide told the Reporter that almost “every Senator — and not just those on Armed Services — cares about financial literacy for veterans, especially enlisted soldiers who are victimized by predatory lending.”

OPINIONATED

Op-Ed: Daniel Turner: "Drill Baby Drill" sounds easy, but implementing it requires hard work

by Daniel Turner

“Drill, baby, drill!” was a pithy and clever campaign slogan. Voters supported the call for robust American energy production and understood it would lower prices and rid the country of Biden’s record-high inflation. But federal agencies in Washington must align with the President’s energy dominance vision. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) should be the first.

FERC is a so-called “independent” agency, but how did that work in the Biden era? Former FERC Chairman Richard Glick had regular check-ins with the Biden White House, as revealed from Freedom of Information Act inquiries. Glick’s hyper-partisan rulings against the fossil fuel industry were so problematic that Sen. Joe Manchin (D., W.Va.), at the time Chairman of the Senate Natural Resources Committee, stopped his renomination and ended his career.

President Donald Trump has made moves to ensure agencies like FERC are more accountable to the American people. FERC’s mission shouldn’t be to assess America’s energy needs in accordance with Paris Climate Accords. It is not to see permitting and process through the lens of any agenda. America is in an energy emergency and making sure FERC is up to the task would be an enormous step in the direction of robust energy development.

Consider the North American Electric Reliability Corporation’s recent report which put 1/3 of continental USA in the danger zone heading into summer. America’s electricity-intense lifestyle and the AI revolution are driving demand to historic levels. Projected electricity demand from last summer to this one are double the actual increase of the year before. Yet we’ve seen 2.5 gigawatts of natural gas powered electricity come offline in that same time period.

The former Biden administration staffers and their Green New Deal acolytes will point to wind and solar projects to cover the delta but therein lies the problem and the obfuscation. 2.5 gigawatts of electricity from natural gas does not equal 2.5 gigawatts of capacity from wind and solar. Weather is always a factor, and no amount of wind and solar can produce the electricity America needs when the wind is not blowing or the sun not shining.

Op-Ed: Zainab Zeb Khan: Trump’s Gulf visit shows why more Muslims are considering the GOP

by Zainab Zeb Khan

President Donald Trump’s recent visit to the Middle East — marked by high-level meetings in Saudi Arabia and Qatar and bold talk of massive changes in Gaza — offered more than a glimpse into his foreign policy vision. It was a reminder of how his unconventional, deal-oriented approach to global affairs resonates not only overseas, but increasingly at home — especially with American Muslims.

That might surprise some. For years, media narratives have portrayed Muslim Americans as instinctively opposed to Trump and the GOP. But that caricature has never matched the real conversations happening in homes, mosques, and community centers across the country. And now we have data to back it up.

New polling commissioned by the Muslim American Leadership Alliance (MALA) and conducted by J.L. Partners shows a community in flux. Muslim Americans today are politically diverse: roughly one-third identify as Democrats, one-third as Republicans, and one-third as independents. And 38 percent say they plan to vote Republican in the 2026 midterms — a striking number for a group long presumed to march in lockstep with the left. This isn’t a one-off fluke; it’s a broader realignment, shaped by the same instincts that defined Trump’s presidency and now his renewed diplomatic efforts abroad.

Why is it happening? It starts with the issues. When asked what matters most to them, Muslim Americans ranked inflation, the economy, and border security at the top — well ahead of race, gender, or even foreign policy. These are the very areas where Trump’s America First agenda has stood out, both in rhetoric and in action. His call to eliminate taxes on tips — an idea that resonates with working-class voters across backgrounds—earned widespread approval in our survey. So did his efforts to control illegal immigration, increase energy production, and reduce the influence of ideological agendas in public life.