Happy Friday, folks! It’s Super Bowl weekend — and for the first time in a long time, it doesn’t feel dirty to tune in. Nobody is kneeling during the National Anthem. The league removed the divisive “End Racism” banners from the end zone. And President Donald Trump will be in attendance. If you’re watching, who [or what] will you be rooting for?

• 💸 Only 294 out of 14,000 USAID employees are essential

• ⚧️ 79% oppose trans biological men in women's sports

• ✅ Russ Vought is confirmed to lead the budget office

• 📊 Trump avg. approval: 48.7% approve, 44.4% disapprove

^{Sources: The National Pulse, NY Times, Fox News, Real Clear Politics}

Trump lays out plan for largest middle-class tax cuts in U.S. history

President Donald Trump unveiled his plan for the largest middle-class tax cut in American history yesterday — which includes his campaign promise to eliminate tax on tips.

The details: President Trump gathered with GOP House leaders at the White House yesterday to outline his tax priorities. Meanwhile, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt shared his plan with reporters. Here are the key provisions:

• No tax on tips

• No tax on overtime

• No tax on seniors' Social Security benefits

• Make Trump's 2017 tax cuts permanent [expires this year]

• Adjust the SALT cap

• Eliminate tax breaks for billionaire sports team owners

• End the carried interest loophole

• Cut taxes for products made in America

Quote from the White House: Leavitt told the press: "This will be the largest tax cut in history for middle-class working Americans. The president is committed to working with Congress to get this done.”

Potential hiccups: Trump's tax plan includes two provisions that may cause tension in the GOP: his desire to close the carried interest loophole and adjust the SALT cap.

• The carried interest loophole lets investors pay lower taxes by treating their earnings as investments instead of regular income.

• The SALT cap limits how much state and local tax you can deduct from federal taxes, mainly affecting high-income residents.

Zoom out: The existing budget expires on March 14, and the House is working on a bill to fund the government for the rest of the fiscal year. Trump’s tax cuts could be included in this bill — but it’s looking increasingly likely that they will be passed as a stand-alone bill.

The parliamentary games: In the House, Republicans hold a slim majority but only need 50% of the vote to pass this bill. In the Senate, 60 votes are typically needed, and Republicans hold only 53 seats. However, the budget reconciliation lowers the threshold to a simple majority [51 votes].

Big picture: Reducing taxes while simultaneously addressing an out-of-control federal debt is no easy task. And some conservatives will withhold their votes if the latter is not addressed. Trump has his work cut out for him, but if anyone can do it, he can.

[Source: Fox News, Breitbart, The National Pulse]

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Trump cuts off Biden-era cash flow to legacy news outlets

The Trump White House is terminating federal agency contracts with expensive legacy media outlets after Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency discovered "millions" in wasteful spending of taxpayer dollars.

The details: This week, DOGE discovered that the U.S. Agency for International Development had paid anti-Trump legacy media outlet Politico $8.4 million in subscription fees in fiscal year 2024 alone. On Wednesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told the press:

• “I can confirm that the more than $8 million taxpayer dollars that have gone to essentially subsidizing subscriptions to Politico on the American taxpayers’ dime will no longer be happening.”

Pretty penny: Annual subscriptions to Politico Pro typically cost between $12,000 and $15,000 for three users.

Spending ramped up under Biden: During Joe Biden’s term, government agencies spent $26 million on Politico subscriptions. For perspective, under Trump’s first term, they spent a total of $6.5 million.

President Trump responded to the news on Truth Social, writing:

• “THE LEFT WING “RAG,” KNOWN AS “POLITICO,” SEEMS TO HAVE RECEIVED $8,000,000. Did the New York Times receive money??? Who else did??? THIS COULD BE THE BIGGEST SCANDAL OF THEM ALL, PERHAPS THE BIGGEST IN HISTORY! THE DEMOCRATS CAN’T HIDE FROM THIS ONE. TOO BIG, TOO DIRTY!”

Hold up: Claims have been repeated that the $8.2 million came from USAID. This is incorrect. However, the cash flow still came from other areas of the federal government.

• The misattribution, unfortunately, gave the press an opening to run countless “fact checks” on the story.

Politico responds: The company's CEO and Editor-in-Chief put out a memo to staff that claimed the outlet "has never been a beneficiary of government programs or subsidies."

Big picture: While the subscription payments are not technically “subsidies,” some rightfully view them as in-kind donations to a friendly media outlet. If it was revealed that the Trump administration was spending $8 million per year on subscriptions to Breitbart or The National Pulse, do you think the press would take issue with it?

I am a Pulse+ subscriber, and it would be totally worth it if they did 😉 .

[Source: NY Post, Washington Times, Free Beacon]

🏀 The NCAA has banned biological men from competing in women's sports after President Trump signed an executive order to that effect. Read more.

👍️ The Trump admin sued the city of Chicago for sanctuary city policies that restrict cooperation with ICE. Read more.

🚫 A federal judge in D.C. blocked Elon Musk and DOGE employees from accessing sensitive Treasury Department payment records. Read more.

📻️ The FCC is investigating radio stations backed by left-wing billionaire George Soros for live broadcasting the locations of undercover ICE agents. Read more.

🐊 Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis' is "seriously considering" running for governor in 2026. Read more.

🏊‍♂️ Three former swimmers for the University of Pennsylvania have sued the Ivy League college to expunge the records of transgender athlete Lia Thomas. Read more.

🇨🇴 Colombia's President Gustavo Petro says, "Cocaine is no worse than whiskey" and only illegal "because it is made in Latin America." Read more.

⏸️ A federal judge paused the deadline for government workers to accept a proposal to resign as Trump seeks to slash the size of the federal bureaucracy. Read more.

💨 An Alabama man was executed with nitrogen gas as punishment for murdering and raping a woman in 1991. Read more.

✝️ President Trump announced he will sign an executive order to create a task force that will “eradicate anti-Christian bias” from the federal government. Read more.

🎥 Joe Rogan: Elizabeth Warren 'is a f***ing liar." Watch.

🎥 CNN pundit is super triggered that Trump is eliminating DEI; shouts about her college degrees. Watch.

🎥 C-SPAN caller absolutely destroys Rep. Al Green as he sits stunned. Watch.

🎥 Tom Homan UNLOADS on leaks of ICE raids. Watch.

🎥 Trump: Without faith in God, there would be no American story. Watch.

🎥 A 27-year-old with a college degree explains why younger generations can't spell. Watch.

🎥 350 passengers were safely evacuated before a commute train near Philly went up in flames. Watch.

🎥 A few days ago, I recommended you follow Mike Benz to learn more about the foreign ops USAID is used for. Here's Mike explaining how it promotes censorship. Watch.

🎥 Go long: Steve Bannon sits for an interview with WSJ to discuss Trump’s political strategy, Elon Musk, and more. Watch. [11 min]

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