Military spending tied to SAVE Act
On Wednesday, the House passed an annual defense funding bill by a vote of 216-212, largely along partisan lines, with six Democrats voting in favor and seven Republicans voting against it. The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) provides nearly $1.15 trillion in defense funding, which includes expanding defense production capacity, a 5-7% pay increase for U.S. military personnel, $1.8 billion to upgrade barracks and military family housing, and expanded military families’ access to childcare and education. It also prohibits gender-related medical care in the military health program. This NDAA will be attached to the voter ID SAVE Act before being sent to the Senate. The bill would also officially rename the Department of Defense as the Department of War, which it was until 1949. The Congressional Budget Office predicted that change could cost taxpayers over $125 million.

Fixing the SCOTUS birthright ruling
Congressional Republicans aren’t taking the harmful Supreme Court decision on birthright citizenship lying down. Congressman Brandon Gill and Senator Jim Banks introduced legislation in both chambers to define birth tourists and illegal border crossers not as immigrants but as invaders, especially when they come from nations actively hostile to the U.S. The legislation relies on a provision in the case that SCOTUS used as precedent for its decision in June. United States v. Wong Kim Ark in 1898 specified that children of hostile invaders are not in allegiance to the country whose domain has been invaded. Defining mass illegal immigration and birth tourism from America’s geopolitical foes as an invasion is a useful step that President Donald Trump laid the precedent for in his second inaugural address when he described it as a “disastrous invasion.”

The Saudi nuke deal
On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Energy announced that the U.S. has signed a deal with Saudi Arabia to initiate a civilian nuclear program on Saudi soil. President Trump has been negotiating the deal, which originated in the Biden administration and has a prerequisite that the Saudis sign on to the Abraham Accords to normalize relations with Israel. The nuclear deal already faces vigorous opposition who say it’s far from standard, with the Saudis not required to sign the Additional Protocol with the International Atomic Energy Agency as other nations like the UAE have been required to do. Critics also question whether there is any reason whatsoever to allow enrichment on Saudi soil, which could escalate to a nuclear arms program.

Republicans have a massive cash advantage heading into the midterms
The Republican Party has outraised the Democrats going into the midterms almost two to one, $657 million to the Democrats’ $337 million. Money can’t simply buy an election win, but it certainly helps. As it turns out, the Republican advantage is larger still: the largest midterm fundraising entity is MAGA, Inc., which has raised an additional $400 million in cash. The Republican advantage holds in most places, with the RNC holding $128 million to the DNC’s $16 million (with $18 million in debt). The National Republican Senate and Congressional Committees also lead their Democrat opposition. The bright spots for the Democrats are specific high-profile races: Texas Senate candidate James Talarico has a $20 million lead over Republican Ken Paxton, and Georgia’s Jon Ossoff leads his Republican challenger by $40 million.

New Jersey’s noncitizen voter blame game
On Tuesday, New Jersey Democrat Governor Mikie Sherrill publicly admitted that some 6,600 noncitizens who are ineligible to vote had been registered to vote anyway. Sherrill blamed this on a system software error and promised to fix it immediately and replace this “problematic” vendor. However, the software company in question, IDEMIA, disputed Sherrill’s claim, noting that it has worked with the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission for over 40 years. Its “role is to transmit information through the motor vehicle system,” the company said. “The voter registration information is transmitted to the New Jersey Department of State, Division of Elections, which is ultimately responsible for verifying eligibility to vote. Information submitted by IDEMIA must still be validated and adjudicated by the Division of Elections.” In other words, the one responsible for this “error” is the state’s Division of Elections, which is controlled by Democrats.

Did companies give consumers the tariff refunds?
When President Trump imposed tariffs on imported goods, companies predictably raised prices. In February, the Supreme Court ruled the tariffs illegal, though the administration still has a 10% global tariff. The Trump administration issued over $70 billion in refund checks to affected companies. Prices, however, aren’t falling. None of the refund money is making its way down to the consumer. That likely means companies are keeping the money. Democrats, of course, are railing against capitalism and corporate greed. Trump has continued to use tariffs as a threat and could retaliate with price controls.

Microsoft backs off discriminating against conservatives
Microsoft has stopped systematically weeding out conservative nonprofits from its corporate generosity program. The tech giant uses Benevity, a platform that connects employers with nonprofits, and applies the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Hate Map filter. Microsoft instructed Benevity not to use the filter. The SPLC uses its map to paint mainstream conservative and Christian organizations as racist extremist groups. In April, a federal grand jury charged the SPLC with paying the KKK, propping up racism to profit off opposing it. Other companies could follow Microsoft’s lead. The one-sided discrimination may run deeper than just nonprofits, however. For example, we are working to resolve an issue with Microsoft (MSN, Hotmail, etc.) not delivering Patriot Post editions to our subscribers’ inboxes.

105M Americans not working
According to a recent report from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, a record 105.8 million Americans are “not in the labor force” (NILF), exceeding the number during the height of the COVID pandemic. Economist Nicholas Eberstadt observes, “We’ve got a big problem … with the flight from work of prime-age men.” The data shows that roughly 5.3 million people (5%) have dropped out of the workforce due to discouragement or an unwillingness to look for work. A further 22% of NILFs are receiving long-term benefits related to an illness or disability. Retirees make up the lion’s share of NILFs at 50%. The labor force participation rate has hit 59%, the lowest since 2021. Eberstadt noted that roughly seven million NILFs are healthy American men between the ages of 25 and 54 who have simply decided not to work.

Headlines

• House approves GOP’s stock trading ban (Washington Times)

• Jim Jordan urges criminal charges against Jack Smith over alleged perjury (Washington Examiner)

• Trump admin won’t block Tate brothers’ extradition to UK on sex charges (NY Post)

• A Platneresque Democrat scandal hits Wisconsin governor’s race (RedState)

The Executive News Summary is compiled daily by Jordan Candler, Thomas Gallatin, Sterling Henry, and Sophie Starkova. For the archive, click here.