US News

The early shuttering of an agency that was supposed to embody the spirit of the Trump administration revealed how hollow the MAGA movement's rhetoric on small government is, according to one GOP strategist.

President Donald Trump created the Department of Government Efficiency within his first days in office and tasked the agency with significantly shrinking the size of the federal government. The agency was run by SpaceX and Tesla founder Elon Musk, who said DOGE would cut federal spending by about $2 trillion.

Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) took to X on Wednesday to lay out all his grievances against President Donald Trump — and lay out the case why the American people must rise up to block his agenda in any way possible.

"President Trump is out of control," wrote Merkley, a frequent critic of the administration who delivered a marathon floor speech condemning the president during the federal government shutdown.

Gov. Spencer Cox (R-UT) is now endorsing a plan to expand the state Supreme Court following the Utah GOP's unanimous smackdown in the state judiciary over their effort to gerrymander the state's congressional map, according to The Salt Lake Tribune.

However, even though he did not endorse such a plan until after the drama between the courts and the state legislature, he strenuously denied that this plan would amount to "court-packing" and insisted there are higher-minded reasons the state should add more justices.

A MAGA influencer suggested during a podcast episode on Wednesday that the left may be responsible for the shooting of two National Guard troops near the White House.

Benny Johnson, who hosts "The Benny Johnson Show," said during a new podcast episode on Wednesday that the backlash to President Donald Trump's decision to deploy National Guard troops to protect immigration officers could have inspired the attack. Reports have said the shooting appeared to be targeted.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth revealed that President Donald Trump had ordered him to deploy an additional 500 National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., after two soldiers were shot on Wednesday.

"Myself and my team were notified that two National Guardsmen have been shot in Washington, D.C. critically wounded," Hegseth told reporters. "The shooter shot in a cowardly, dastardly act targeting the best of America, heroes willing to serve in Washington, D.C., serve for people they don't know and they've never met because they love their country, their capital, and their community."

After news broke that two National Guard members were shot in Washington, D.C., Vice President JD Vance spoke to troops about the report that they had been shot.

"Well, it is great to be here in beautiful Fort Campbell, Kentucky," Vance told the troops gathered on Wednesday for an event to celebrate Thanksgiving. "First, before we get started on a somber note, we had — and some of you may have seen this on your phones or on social media, but apparently there — was a shooting outside the White House just a couple of hours ago."

US farmers warned on Tuesday that they are under increasing strain thanks to President Donald Trump’s tariffs, and they predicted more price increases were coming for American consumers during the holiday season.

As reported by The Packer, representatives from the Kansas Farmers Union, supermarket chain supplier Royal Food, and North Carolina-based Red Scout Farm detailed during a conference call how Trump’s tariffs on nearly all imported goods were raising prices on vegetables, fruits, grains, and meats.