The Patriot Post® · Thursday Executive News Summary
Florida approves redistricting: On Wednesday, the Florida legislature approved Gov. Ron DeSantis’s redistricting map, creating four more Republican-leaning districts in the Sunshine State. This makes Florida the eighth state to join the mid-decade redistricting campaign. The bill passed primarily along party lines in the Republican-dominated state House and Senate. This move, as DeSantis noted, counters the actions of Virginia Democrats, who saw their heavily gerrymandered redistricting map narrowly pass a (dishonest) state-wide ballot initiative early this month. DeSantis’s general counsel, David Axelman, defended the governor’s action, stating, “Properly understood, the Fourteenth Amendment forbids the government from divvying up the citizenry based in whole or in part upon race.” The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision this week on Louisiana’s majority-minority district further supports DeSantis’s argument.
First quarter GDP hits 2%: The U.S. economy grew by 2% over the first quarter of 2026, a significant rebound from the fourth quarter of 2025. Much of the fourth-quarter economic slowdown was tied to the record-long government shutdown, and economists anticipated a bounce back. However, the growth fell slightly short of economists’ forecast of 2.2%. Driving the growth is the burgeoning artificial intelligence industry, but consumer spending was slower than anticipated, falling short of the expected 1.9% rise to 1.6%. The impact of the Iran war on global oil prices suggests the Federal Reserve will not cut interest rates in the near future, reading into the Federal Open Market Committee’s statement: “Developments in the Middle East are contributing to a high level of uncertainty about the economic outlook.” That said, companies are reporting continued strong sales.
Warsh advances: The Senate Banking Committee voted 13-11 to approve Donald Trump’s Federal Reserve Chair nominee, Kevin Warsh, on Wednesday, advancing him to a full Senate confirmation vote that should occur soon. Current Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s term ends on May 15. Democrats opposed Warsh with Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren blasting him as a “uniquely unfit candidate” and “a sock puppet who is so cowed by the president that he could not even say that Donald Trump lost the 2020 election.” North Carolina Republican Sen. Thom Tillis, who had vowed to oppose any Fed Chair nominee so long as the Justice Department continued its investigation into Powell, held true to his word and voted in favor of Warsh after the DOJ dropped its investigation last Friday. Tillis defended Warsh against Warren’s broadside, saying, “Look, I just disagree with everything the ranking member had to say.”
House passes FISA bill, DHS resolution: Despite a number of House Republicans holding strong reservations against the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, primarily due to its having been abused to illegitimately surveil Americans, Speaker Mike Johnson was able to get a three-year reauthorization passed by a 235-191 vote. While 22 Republicans voted against the bill, 42 Democrats joined the rest of the Republican majority in supporting the legislation. The House also adopted, by a slim 215-211 margin, the Senate-approved budget resolution to fund immigration enforcement through a filibuster-proof reconciliation process. This will kickstart the reconciliation process. Johnson was able to get eight Republicans who had been opposed to vote in favor by agreeing to delay a vote on a farm bill to allow year-round sales of E15, an ethanol-gas fuel blend.
TPUSA’s Hernandez attackers indicted: Earlier this month, Turning Point USA reporter Savannah Hernandez was covering an anti-ICE protest outside a federal building when some of the protesters turned violent. They swarmed Hernandez, blowing horns and whistles inches from her face in an attempt to drive her off. As she was turning to leave, she was shoved into a fence and then to the ground. On Tuesday, three of the instigators were indicted by a grand jury. Christopher, Deyanna, and Paige Ostrouchko will appear in court and face justice. It was initially reported that only two of the three would be indicted before Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche clarified the indictment.
Biden admin hid Planned Parenthood payments under coded language: “What does Benghazi have to do with the abortion provider Planned Parenthood?” asks Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst. As it turns out, when the Biden administration was running things, the answer was quite a lot. After Planned Parenthood was deemed too large to qualify for loans from the Small Business Administration, it appears that then-SBA administrator Isabella Guzman worked with other conspirators to continue to disburse and forgive loans up to $90 million under the code word “Benghazi.” The subterfuge began in April 2021 after congressional Republicans began scrutinizing the Planned Parenthood SBA loans. Peggy Hamilton, the SBA’s top lawyer, started an email chain titled “Benghazi (PPP/PPH) Decisions” before later reminding a colleague of the code, asking for a meeting to decide “Benghazi (Planned Parenthood).” Willfully concealing federal records is a violation of 18 U.S.C. Section 2071.
GOP rep cuts through abortion euphemisms: When abortion advocate Dr. Jessica Waters was called to testify before Congress, she probably wasn’t expecting to have a fun time, but she definitely wasn’t ready for Rep. Brandon Gill. He grilled Waters on her favorite method of abortion. He outlined the options: suction abortion, where a powerful vacuum is inserted into the womb and rips the baby apart piece by piece. Waters deflected. He asked her about dilation and curettage abortions, where the cervix is dilated, and a sharp looped knife is inserted into the womb to carve the baby apart and pull out the corpse, and Waters explained that she was there to talk about the FACE Act. Ultimately, Waters never engaged, but Gill showed conservatives how it’s done, skipping the euphemisms and digging into the horrifying details of the mass slaughter happening every day.
FCC reviews ABC stations’ broadcast licenses: Following the backlash from Jimmy Kimmel’s callous “expectant widow” comment, the Federal Communications Commission is again considering ABC’s broadcast licenses for some of its local stations, but not because of Kimmel’s “joke.” The FCC is reviewing ABC’s DEI policies, which it said in a filing on Tuesday may be discriminatory. The Washington Times points out the obvious: “To revoke a license, the FCC must convincingly demonstrate a pattern of violating broadcast rules and regulations — not just a single joke about assassinating the president.” Disney, which owns ABC, maintains that the stations have always complied with FCC rules. The ABC stations have the option to appeal if licenses are revoked and would still be able to broadcast during any ensuing litigation.
ATF releases new firearm rules intended to bolster 2A rights: In an effort to roll back Biden-era gun regulations, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, along with the Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, has announced 34 rules to help end the “weaponization of the federal authority against law-abiding gun owners.” Blanche summarized that the package will reduce “unnecessary burdens on lawful gun owners and licensed businesses, it eliminates ambiguity, and it helps prevent the kind of confusion that, in the past, and not that distant past, led to inconsistent and sometimes unfair enforcement.” The package includes a repeal of the Biden administration’s restrictions on pistol braces, a clear definition of licensed sellers, and an end to the regulatory enforcement policy that targeted firearms dealers. Many firearms dealers whose licenses were revoked under that policy will be allowed to reapply.
Trump may reduce U.S. troop presence in Germany: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz commented earlier this week that the U.S. was being “humiliated” by Iranian leadership and suggested the U.S. lacked strategy in the war. Predictably, President Trump responded. In this case, he suggested that the U.S. may soon pull some of its troops out of Germany. It’s not the first time Trump has floated that idea, and he actually initiated a process in his first term to withdraw 9,500 troops from the nation before the Biden administration reversed course. U.S., European, and African Commands are stationed in Germany, along with Ramstein Air Base and the largest American hospital overseas, the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center.
Headlines
Janet Mills drops out of Maine Senate race, setting up Nazi tattoo guy Graham Platner to face Collins (Politico)
Jury finds terrorist guilty of supporting ISIS-K in Abbey Gate attack, deadlocks on role in deaths (Just the News)
Christian school wins $566,000 from Vermont after state punished girls basketball team for not playing game against “trans” boy (Not the Bee)
Maryland Supreme Court strikes down local gun control laws (Bearing Arms)
Trump weighing U.S. troop reduction in Germany (Washington Examiner)
The Executive News Summary is compiled daily by Jordan Candler, Thomas Gallatin, Sterling Henry, and Sophie Starkova. For the archive, click here.