The Patriot Post® · Thursday Executive News Summary
Republicans get cold feet on redistricting: Republican leaders in South Carolina, Mississippi, and Alabama have a golden opportunity to expand GOP congressional representation and counter the Democrats’ long history of gerrymandering in blue states, yet they appear to be on the cusp of chickening out. In South Caroline, five Republican state senators joined Democrats to block proposed redistricting. Furthermore, Gov. Henry McMaster has thus far refused to call a special session to redistrict. Meanwhile, in Mississippi, Gov. Tate Reeves canceled a special session to redraw congressional lines and has indicated no hurry to redistrict. In Alabama and Louisiana, where Republicans could have redrawn maps completely eliminating any majority-Democrat districts, like Tennessee just did, both got cold feet and produced maps that each handed Democrats one seat. However, in Georgia, Gov. Brian Kemp called a special session to redistrict, citing the U.S. Supreme Court ruling.
Jeffries retreats on gerrymandering, for now: Democrat House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is abandoning the gerrymandering fight, at least temporarily. After spending $80 million on Virginia’s redistricting referendum, only for the state Supreme Court to overturn that map, Jeffries proposed increasingly desperate methods to gerrymander the state. None of those methods, including lowering the mandated retirement age for Virginia Supreme Court justices, seems likely to work. Now Jeffries has turned to 2028, promising that New York, New Jersey, Washington, Oregon, Illinois, and Maryland will gerrymander even more intensely than they already have. He also promised Colorado, the lone state on his list currently with a fair map, will also move to a gerrymander. It seems that competitive House races may increasingly be a thing of the past, as by 2030, most districts, red or blue, will be so gerrymandered as to be unlosable.
SoKo may join U.S. in helping to secure Strait of Hormuz: After a South Korean commercial ship was attacked presumably by Iran last week, Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back stated that South Korea may soon join the U.S. in seeking to secure shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. This announcement follows South Korea’s March signing of a joint statement committing it to securing the Strait, although this did not include a commitment to deploy troops. South Korea is especially keen on seeing the Strait reopened, given that it receives upwards of 70% of its oil from Middle Eastern nations.
Senate votes to suspend its pay during shutdowns: Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana successfully brought a resolution to suspend pay for senators during government shutdowns in solidarity with federal employees. The measure passed 99-0, with one senator absent. Unfortunately, Kennedy was unable to eliminate senators’ pay entirely during shutdowns, but paychecks will be held in escrow until after future shutdowns end. Kennedy also wished the measure could take effect immediately, but under the 27th Amendment, it would take effect only after the midterm elections in November. The measure was brought after two record-setting shutdowns: one in 2025 that lasted 43 days, and a partial shutdown affecting DHS that lasted 76 days and ended only two weeks ago. Of course, three-quarters of senators have a net worth that exceeds $1 million, so a missed paycheck won’t hurt much.
House passes bill to expand E15 biofuel blend: Despite significant opposition from a number of Republicans, the House on Wednesday passed a bipartisan bill expanding the production and sale of biofuel blend E15. A coalition of 122 Republicans, 95 Democrats, and one independent succeeded in passing the bill 218-203. Current federal law restricts E15 sales during the summer months due to smog. The bill would permit year-round E15 sales, which proponents argue would help alleviate current high gas prices. However, opponents contend that this is a back-door expansion of the Renewable Fuel Standard, which is designed to eventually replace fossil fuels and put the oil industry out of business. Furthermore, as Wyoming Rep. Harriet Hageman argued, “If higher ethanol blends were truly competitive on their own merits, they would not require federal blending mandates, compliance credit schemes, subsidies and special regulatory carveouts to survive in the marketplace.”
Mayorkas gaslights: Former Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas spent most of Joe Biden’s term in office assuring the American people that the southern border was secure. In 2024, he said that within the constraints of the law, the border was “as secure as it can be.” Donald Trump exposed that lie within about 60 seconds of taking office in 2025. Now, speaking to Politico, Mayorkas is trying to rewrite history, saying that he voiced disagreement with Biden’s open-borders policy and that he was pleased that, in June 2024, after almost four full years of open borders, the administration finally managed to slow crossings by 70-75%. Mayorkas wants Americans to forget that he assured them “the border is secure” for those first four years; unfortunately for him, his lies are on record.
Drug overdoses still falling: For the third straight year, the number of people dying from drug overdoses has dropped, with an estimated 69,973 overdose deaths in 2025. That represents a 14% decrease from the year prior, according to CDC data. CDC National Center for Health Statistics scientist Farida Ahmad stated, “For us, finally, to be seeing some sustained declines is very promising.” What has contributed most to this drop in overdose deaths is largely tied to a decrease in synthetic opioids, primarily fentanyl. This may indicate the Trump administration’s effort to combat the illicit drug trade is having a positive impact. Yet as Ahmad noted, “There’s still a long way to go.” Drug-related deaths remain higher than they were decades ago.
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act delivered — bigly: President Trump’s income tax cuts are turning out to be larger than expected, with tax relief possibly reaching $148 billion. Roughly $48 billion of that is coming from tax refunds, and $100 billion from less taxes owed when filing. Middle- and upper-middle-class earners are also getting more of a break from lower income tax withholding throughout the year, which amounts to another $30 billion in tax reductions. A few corporations are also finding relief through tariff refunds. The Supreme Court ruled that certain tariffs were unconstitutional, and so companies like Oshkosh and Basic Fun, which filed refund claims, are now starting to receive payments. The Wall Street Journal reports, “U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a court filing that it anticipated paying refunds of $35.46 billion on 8.3 million shipments, as of Monday morning.”
Monticello betrays Jefferson 250 years after the Declaration: On July 4, 1776, a document written by Thomas Jefferson was publicized as the 13 colonies’ Declaration of Independence from Great Britain. In it, Jefferson wrote strongly of the duty of the people to form a new government when a long train of abuses shows a tyrant’s desire to completely subjugate them. Abigail Spanberger is the newest governor of Jefferson’s home state and has been invited to give the keynote address at Jefferson’s palatial home of Monticello this July 4th. Spanberger was elected as an alleged moderate Democrat but has governed as a radical leftist with a clear desire to eliminate the gun rights Jefferson so valued and reduce the freedoms of Virginians. Spanberger will be the ninth governor to speak at Monticello on Independence Day, but she may be the least like Jefferson.
Headlines
Wholesale inflation jumps 6% in April on annual basis, biggest increase since 2022 (CNBC)
Republicans pivot to emergency gas tax holiday, affordability agenda as soaring prices anger voters (Washington Times)
Tennessee House Democrats kicked off all standing committees after raucous anti-redistricting protest (Daily Caller)
UVA installs tampon dispensers in men’s restrooms (Fox News)
The Executive News Summary is compiled daily by Jordan Candler, Thomas Gallatin, Sterling Henry, and Sophie Starkova. For the archive, click here.