Formal ethics complaints have been filed against Sen. Elissa Slotkin over remarks to young graduates about working in the Trump administration, with more expected.

The Trump administration has deployed a new weapon in the war on fraud: vigilant Americans.

Last week, Vice President JD Vance called on citizens to join him in "taking the pledge to protect Americans from fraudsters" and to condition support for political candidates on their willingness to similarly make this commitment.

'Going to keep a lot of people honest.'

Joined in the Oval Office on Tuesday by Vance and other members of what he dubbed the "untouchables," President Donald Trump wedded an incentive program to this anti-fraud campaign.

Under the new Fraud Whistleblower Incentive Program, citizen whistleblowers, including journalists, can receive a bounty ranging from $10,000 to $30,000 for information leading to criminal fraud charges as well as a potential 1% commission for recovered funds.

"If it's $10 million, $200 million, $400 million — we're giving a 1% commission to that person," said Trump.

The president noted further that in the event of a dispute over who deserves a particular bounty, he will weigh in as arbitrator.

The Justice Department said that whereas most existing government whistleblower programs don't issue rewards until after the criminal matters are resolved, this program "rewards whistleblowers at a much earlier stage of prosecution."

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President Donald Trump shakes hands with Nick Shirley. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images.

Whistleblowers are asked to go to america.gov/fraud and submit tips pertaining to federal health care offenses or fraud on programs or benefits administered by federal agencies. Tips are reviewed by the Treasury Department, then referred to the relevant federal office. If the information leads to charges or the recovery of money stolen by fraudsters, qualifying whistleblowers may be rewarded for their efforts.

Trump said that this program "is going to keep a lot of people honest."

Vance said that the program already has one bounty claimant: investigative journalist Nick Shirley.

The president celebrated Shirley's successful efforts to expose fraud, including the unflattering light he shone on alleged fraud in the now-infamous Quality Learing Center and other taxpayer-subsidized, Somali-run day-care facilities in Minnesota.

"Partially as a result of Nick's work, since I took office, 115 Minnesota fraudsters have been arrested and charged," said Trump.

The president further highlighted that Shirley's efforts to date have been so effective that "California recently passed the Stop Nick Shirley Act, an outrageous attempt to crush free speech and to stop the corruption from being exposed."

The young man is reportedly getting a $10,000 bounty for his efforts.

"The Fraud Whistleblower Incentive Program (WHIP) offers everyone the opportunity to be part of the solution, help expose fraud, and be rewarded quickly for their efforts," Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement. "I urge all Americans to use this program and play an active role in bringing fraudsters to justice."

"From day one of my administration, we've waged an unprecedented war on corruption and fraud, and will not let our country be looted and plundered by thieves, and pirates, and foreign fraudsters — and, basically, scum," said Trump.

According to the White House, an estimated $260.7 billion in fraud has been uncovered since January 2025 and $72 billion in fraud has been stopped per year as the result of actions taken by the administration.

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Archaeologists in Thuringia, Germany, unearthed 11 rare Celtic coins at a construction site. It is the region's largest known hoard from the first century B.C.

Vote like your life and your children's lives depends on it, because it does.

Thousands of officers gathered as Shane Seiber was promoted posthumously to sergeant during an emotional Philadelphia funeral service Tuesday.

Conservatives say they believe in competition. So why on earth do we tolerate a political system in which one man effectively picks our candidates before voters have a chance to examine them?

Friedrich Hayek understood why monopoly is dangerous: “Our freedom of choice in a competitive society rests on the fact that, if one person refuses to satisfy our wishes, we can turn to another. But if we face a monopolist we are at his absolute mercy.” That principle applies to political candidates as surely as it does to products. Competition forces people to earn our support. Coronations teach them that our votes are theirs by right.

Trump’s terrible endorsements are not a minor blemish on an otherwise beloved political figure. They are a debilitating obstacle to rebuilding the right.

Instead, Republican voters have been handed one establishment dud after another, especially in states where the GOP should have the freedom to nominate a fighter. Then, when the general election arrives, we are ordered to fall in line because the Democrat is worse. That is a political monopoly, and it is killing the conservative movement.

Consider the 22 Senate contests this November in states Donald Trump carried in 2024. The incumbent Republicans include Dan Sullivan in Alaska, Tom Cotton in Arkansas, Jim Risch in Idaho, Roger Marshall in Kansas, Ashley Moody in Florida, Cindy Hyde-Smith in Mississippi, Pete Ricketts in Nebraska, Jon Husted in Ohio, Mike Rounds in South Dakota, Bill Hagerty in Tennessee, and Shelley Moore Capito in West Virginia. South Carolina has an appointed incumbent, Darline Graham, seeking a full term.

The other nominees include Barry Moore in Alabama, Mike Collins in Georgia, Ashley Hinson in Iowa, Andy Barr in Kentucky, Julia Letlow in Louisiana, Mike Rogers in Michigan, Kurt Alme in Montana, Michael Whatley in North Carolina, Ken Paxton in Texas, and Harriet Hageman in Wyoming.

How many of these 22 are Ron DeSantis-tier conservatives? How many would fight the interests that actually control Washington? How many would champion an immigration moratorium, end vaccine liability immunity, oppose government subsidies for Flock surveillance cameras and data centers, or take a machete to federal spending? How many would even answer those questions without consulting a donor?

My count is maybe four decent conservatives and no genuine superstars. Feel free to dispute my rankings. The larger scandal is that Republican voters rarely got a serious contest in which to test these candidates and force them to take positions on the issues that count.

The reason is Donald Trump’s primary endorsements and the Republican establishment that treats them like royal decrees.

No, the president has not canceled elections. He didn’t need to. His endorsements routinely settle them in practice. Ballotpedia reported a 97% primary success rate for his endorsed candidates as of July, with every endorsed congressional candidate who had faced a primary by then advancing. That is a remarkable record for a man who claims to oppose the swamp.

Sometimes a stronger conservative alternative ran and lost. Sometimes the endorsement deterred a challenge in the first place. Either way, candidates escaped the serious ideological cross-examination they should have faced. They learned to court Trump instead of courting conservative voters.

Montana supplies the most outrageous example. Sen. Steve Daines withdrew from his re-election bid minutes before the filing deadline, just after U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme filed for the seat. Trump endorsed Alme almost immediately. With no time for other Republicans to enter, the primary was effectively over before it began. Call that a coincidence if you like. To me it looks like a backroom succession plan that stripped Montana conservatives of a meaningful choice.

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Id-work/Getty Images

Does Alme support an immigration pause? Would he end vaccine liability immunity or subsidies for data centers? Would he actually stand in the way of runaway spending? Those questions should have been contested in a primary, not left to be answered after a nominee was already installed.

The consequences extend beyond conservative principles. North Carolina Republicans rallied behind Michael Whatley, Trump’s choice for an open Senate seat, only to see him struggle badly against Roy Cooper in the general-election campaign. This is a state Republicans have carried in every presidential election since 1980 except 2008. An endorsement is no substitute for a candidate who can persuade voters.

Even where Republican nominees survive November, what then? Hinson, Sullivan, and the rest are supposed to lead the fights conservatives actually care about. On what evidence? Where were the primary debates on spending, immigration, government surveillance, and corporate welfare that might have forced their hands?

Trump’s terrible endorsements are not a minor blemish on an otherwise beloved political figure. They are a debilitating obstacle to rebuilding the right. We cannot claim to oppose a ruling class while allowing one man to decide which members of that class get another six years in power.

RELATED: Pray for the country. Then do your part.

Imagedepotpro/Getty Images

I am not writing this to relitigate every lost primary in 2026. I want to know what conservatives intend to do before the 2028 cycle begins.

Recruitment and organizing start well before Election Day. If prospective challengers assume Trump will automatically bless the incumbent RINO or an establishment favorite for an open seat, many will never bother running. And the people who claim to speak for the grassroots will shrug and tell us to vote Republican anyway.

That problem needs an answer on November 4, the morning after these midterms, not when the next slate of candidates has already been anointed. Find and recruit challengers. Demand debates. Make candidates state their positions. Stop treating the president’s endorsement like a substitute for the judgment of the voters who built this movement.

And yes, the same standard should apply to the 2028 Republican presidential primary. Even a candidate we like should have to sweat through hard questions about electability, the failures of GOP leadership, and why the next Republican trifecta would accomplish more than the last.

Thomas Sowell wrote that “competition does a much more effective job than government at protecting consumers.” Conservatives understand that when discussing monopolies in the marketplace. If we refuse to apply it to the politicians who govern us, we deserve every political dud we get.

On Tuesday’s broadcast of CNN’s “The Story Is,” CNN European Affairs Commentator Dominic James argued that the issues around demonstrations in France and Italy are “being obfuscated by the law and order response by the authorities” and “They’re using this

The post CNN’s James: French, Italian Authorities Using ‘Law and Order Response’ to ‘Deflect’ From Issues appeared first on Breitbart.

On Tuesday, during NewsNation’s special “John Stossel Confronts Socialism,” NewsNation host Elizabeth Vargas said that Democratic Michigan U.S. Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed has gone “a step further” than what socialism has mostly come to mean by advocating for government takeover

The post NewsNation’s Vargas: El-Sayed’s ‘a Step Further’ than Most Socialists appeared first on Breitbart.

On Tuesday’s broadcast of MS NOW’s “11th Hour,” Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-PA) said that the United States’ approach to the Russia-Ukraine war is moving “away from the historic role as leader of the free world,” and that cutting off funding

The post Dem Rep. Boyle: We’re Not Being Leader of Free World with Russia, First Priority for Dem Congress Will Be Defunding Iran War appeared first on Breitbart.

Don't be France. Vote Republican in the mid-terms.

What a criminal. Clearly this Islamic supremacist thinks she is above the law.

Türkiye is preparing to send military personnel to Saudi Arabia under a joint defense pact with the kingdom and Pakistan. The deployment mandate goes to parliament once the pact is ratified, Reuters reported.

AfD co-leader Alice Weidel told The Economist the German government does not want the Ukraine war to end, and said she has seen no evidence for the Leipzig airport drone claims.

Anthropic lost $80.7 billion in the first half of 2026 as third-quarter revenue hit $16.8 billion. Some investors are weighing a lower IPO valuation of about $1.5 trillion.

Jamie Copenhaver, a former detective, questions why no charges were filed after a driver killed two at Wichita's Stryker Sports Complex.

Obama and Harris used recent speeches abroad to focus on Israel and the Palestinians, while Black voters at home appear more concerned with the midterms than the Middle East.

Marcus Aurelius' Stoic wisdom frames a CIA veteran's journey through grief after losing his wife Kim to cancer and raising their sons alone.