Rep. Barry Moore talks Trump, TrumpRx, and China, Marco Rubio breaks major news, AFP takes DC, and more

President Donald Trump’s recent endorsement of Rep. Barry Moore (R., Ala.) to succeed Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R., Ala.) was a shot in the arm to his campaign, Moore told the Washington Reporter.

“I’ve been with him since day one, and I’ll continue that fight,” Moore said. “Getting his endorsement out to the people has been huge, and it certainly helps with fundraising. And people, a lot of times, want to wait and see where the president is in these primaries. So to have his early endorsement in the Senate primary is huge for us in Alabama.”

“In Alabama especially, he polls at 87 percent here; they like Donald Trump in Alabama,” Moore added. “His endorsement has allowed even more credibility to my campaign. I could go out and say I was the first [to] endorse him, but it was nice to know that people know that he trusts me. He calls me a friend.”

INTERVIEW INCOMING: Our editor-in-chief Matthew Foldi scored another interview with President Donald Trump — we’re going to roll out a special edition of the Washington Reporter featuring a series of articles Foldi wrote about his latest conversation with the 47th president. HISTORY MADE: President Donald Trump celebrated one year back in the White House following his historic 2024 comeback earlier this week. Rep. Lisa McClain (R., Mich.), the House GOP’s Conference Chair, hosted another media row that the Washington Reporterwas on-site for. Stay tuned for coverage of that! 2026 WATCH: Austin Rogers, the general counsel to Sen. Rick Scott (R.,…

The Supreme Court rejected the emergency powers President Donald Trump employed to set tariffs in a 6-3 ruling today — a ruling that’s wrong on the law and economics, and will set America back in becoming a more prosperous nation.

Just look at who praised SCOTUS’s decision — corporate giants and left-wing advocacy organizations. The National Retail Federation rushed out a statement supporting the ruling. That group represents some of the biggest retailers in the country, including Walmart and Target. These companies have spent years fighting tariffs because cheaper imports from China benefit their bottom line. 

But for American workers and families, the ruling is not a victory. Here’s why. 

You do not need to be a lawyer to understand what just happened or why it matters. You only need to look at the results of Trump’s economic approach. When Trump used tariffs as leverage against foreign countries, the sky did not fall. We did not see the massive, permanent, doomsday price spikes liberal economists and big retail predicted. The economy did not grind to a halt. Instead, Trump’s tariffs applied pressure on foreign producers, spurred new trade talks, and instigated real movement toward stronger and more secure supply chains.

The Trump administration’s State Department is imposing a series of visa restrictions on “executives at Uzbekistan-based companies who knowingly facilitated illegal immigration to the United States by coordinating transportation for illegal immigrants, including minors, through Central America,” the Washington Reporter can exclusively confirm.

“The Government of Uzbekistan’s close cooperation in shutting down these criminal networks is vital to our shared commitment to combating human smuggling and protecting our national security,” a State Department official told the Reporter.

The move, a foreign policy expert told the Reporter, is part of the Trump administration’s moves to “Make Visa Restrictions Great Again,” and it specifically targets senior executives at two Uzbekistan-based visa facilitation companies who the State Department found to have “knowingly provided travel services designed primarily for aliens intending to illegally immigrate to the United States.”

In an exclusive interview with the Washington Reporter, Rep. Barry Moore (R., Ala.) praised President Donald Trump’s new TrumpRx initiative and said the program reflects a monumental achievement to lowering drug costs for Americans. President Trump has endorsed Moore for the Alabama senate election. 

Moore, who has worked on the Lower Health Care Premiums for All Americans Act, said Trump has repeatedly highlighted how foreign countries take advantage of the U.S., and how it is crucial to get lower prices for working Americans still dealing with the impact of Biden’s inflation. 

“It’s incredible,” Moore said, when asked about the impact of TrumpRx and how it has helped Americans get drugs for lower costs. “Trump, he’s a great businessman, he’s a great negotiator, but that was just an obvious thing that needed to be fixed.”

In an exclusive interview with the Washington Reporter, Rep. Barry Moore (R., Ala.) warned that federal officials must do more to stem the flow of illicit vaping products coming from China that are linked to fentanyl poisoning and child deaths, including in Moore’s home state of Alabama.

Moore raised the issue to Attorney General Pam Bondi in a House Judiciary Committee hearing, praising the Trump administration for taking action. He also told the Reporter the Justice Department and the Department of Health and Human Services should continue to press enforcement and public warning efforts to keep illegal products out of American communities.

“We’ve got to do our part to warn the public,” Moore said, noting some vapes are laced with fentanyl, a deadly poison. He recounted two young men from his hometown who died after consuming products they believed were safe but were instead tainted with the drug.

President Donald Trump delivered remarks at the White House’s latest Black History Month celebration this week, snapping selfies and candid photos as Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” and James Brown’s “It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World” played in the background. 

Trump kicked off the celebration by paying homage to the late civil rights activist, Reverend Jesse Jackson.

“Jesse was a piece of work, but he was a good man,” Trump said. “He was a real hero. I just want to pay my highest respects to Reverend Jesse Jackson.”

President Donald Trump’s TrumpRx is a monumental success and fulfills his promise to lower drug costs for patients, Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso (R., Wyo.) told the Washington Reporter.

“President Trump and Republicans promised to make life more affordable for all Americans,” Barrasso said in an interview with the Reporter. “TrumpRx gives patients access to the prescription drugs they need at prices they can afford. Republicans are laser-focused on putting more money in people’s pockets.”

TrumpRx is a comprehensive effort to drive down prescription drug prices by increasing competition and setting deals with pharmaceutical manufacturers. The program is aimed at reducing out-of-pocket costs for patients, expanding access to affordable medicines, and cutting out pharmacy benefit managers (PBM) middlemen that often drive up costs for patients. 

Americans for Prosperity (AFP) brought its nationwide “One Small Step” campaign to Washington, D.C., where a star-studded group of speakers discussed the role that every American has in making America’s 250th birthday the best one yet.

“If you don’t do it, somebody else will,” Rep. Tom Emmer (R., Minn.), the House GOP’s Whip, said. “Get involved,” he said during a conversation moderated by Guy Benson.

AFP’s D.C. kickoff featured a host of top Republicans, including now-former Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R., Va.). When interviewed by Katie Pavlich, Youngkin did not say if he would run for president in the future.

The California High-Speed Rail project has become one of the most glaring examples of government waste in the Golden State’s history.
 
This failed project has spiraled into a chronically mismanaged and over-budget endeavor — costing hardworking taxpayers nearly $15 billion without a single track being laid. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, the $128 billion projected total cost of this nightmare could buy every San Francisco and Los Angeles resident nearly 200 round trip flights between the two cities.
 
If that wasn’t bad enough, just last week, the California High-Speed Rail Authority approved a $537 million change order — a contract amendment that increases the project cost beyond the original agreement — with Dragados Flatiron Joint Venture, the contractor for the 65-mile Central Valley segment through Fresno, Tulare, and Kings Counties.
 
This is the largest change order in the project’s history, and it comes on top of 597 previous change orders totaling more than $2.3 billion, according to the Authority’s own Central Valley Status Report. Decades of delays have ballooned this disastrous project’s budget, and repeated contract amendments have left taxpayers footing the bill for what has turned out to be nothing more than a pipe dream.
 
Taxpayers deserve transparency and accountability. That’s why I applauded the Federal Railroad Administration decision to terminate approximately $4 billion in unspent federal funding for this boondoggle last year, and why I am demanding transparency from the California High-Speed Rail Authority on this latest massive change order.
 
Reckless, repeated contract amendments raise serious questions about fiscal oversight, project management, and the proper use of federal taxpayer funds. Massive amounts of tax dollars have been squandered on this project, and I believe we all have a right to know whether federal funds were involved in this settlement, if any guidance was sought from oversight agencies, if there were any compliance reviews or audits conducted, and what internal reforms have been implemented to prevent future waste of this magnitude.
 
The unfortunate reality is that this $537 million change order is not an isolated event. It is simply the latest in a decades-long pattern of mismanagement, cost overruns, and broken promises. Californians who voted for this project in 2008 were promised a $33 billion high-speed rail system by 2020, connecting San Francisco to Los Angeles. It is 2026 and there is no track laid and no train in existence. However, for the communities I represent in the Central Valley, it has only been a drain on resources and a source of disruption. Farmland and neighborhoods have been torn apart, construction has dragged on for years, and billions of dollars have flowed into a system that remains incomplete. Today, the project is decades behind schedule, with the total project cost ballooning to $128 billion — more than a 400 percent increase in the original voter-approved budget. Each ill-advised settlement, including this $537 million change order, is a stark reminder that the High-Speed Rail Authority chases a fantasy fueled by mismanagement while the Central Valley continues to bear the brunt of infrastructure neglect.
 
Local roads and bridges, many carrying the farm-to-market traffic that feeds our nation, are deteriorating at alarming rates. Farmers struggle to move produce safely and efficiently while counties face maintenance costs that far exceed their budgets. Every dollar spent on this boondoggle is a dollar deprived from our roads, bridges, and highways that actually support economic growth and keep California’s supply chains moving. The communities I represent are done paying the price for a project that delivers little to them while leaving their critical infrastructure to crumble.
 
It’s time to end the illusion and face the facts: this project has failed Californians. The latest $537 million change order is the most recent proof that this project cannot deliver on its false promises. Accountability is coming. We must cancel this project and redirect resources to infrastructure that actually works for our communities.

Rep. Vince Fong represents California’s 20th District in Congress.