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Yahoo
14 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Obama backs California effort to redraw districts in response to Texas
Former President Barack Obama is supporting California's mid-cycle redistricting effort as a 'responsible approach' to Republicans drawing new maps in Texas. Obama praised California Gov. Gavin Newsom's ballot measure proposal to redraw congressional districts and tilt at least five congressional districts in the state towards Democrats at a fundraiser on Tuesday for the National Democratic Redistricting Committee. 'I believe that Governor Newsom's approach is a responsible approach,' he said, according to excerpts obtained by POLITICO. 'I think that approach is a smart, measured approach, designed to address a very particular problem in a very particular moment in time.' California Democrats are expected this week to allow voters to bypass an independent commission established by voters and decide whether to approve the new partisan maps for the next three election cycles in response to the Republican's move in Texas. Obama's remarks comes as both parties in California gear up for what is expected to be a hard-fought campaign over the ballot initiative to redraw political boundaries in the state in response to President Donald Trump's efforts to keep the House in Republican hands in the 2026 midterms. The former president said redrawing the lines is 'not my preference,' but that the Democratic-led effort in California is 'responsible' in this context. 'We cannot unilaterally allow one of the two major parties to rig the game,' he said. 'And California is one of the states that has the capacity to offset a large state like Texas.' The Associated Press first reported Obama's remarks. Obama said he hopes that the NDRC and national Democrats will work to eliminate partisan gerrymandering as a 'long-term goal,' but applauded Newsom's response to the new Texas maps and Trump's broader campaign to push other red states to draw new, more favorable maps. 'Given that Texas is taking direction from a partisan White House that is effectively saying: gerrymander for partisan purposes so we can maintain the House despite our unpopular policies, redistrict right in the middle of a decade between censuses — which is not how the system was designed; I have tremendous respect for how Governor Newsom has approached this,' he said. Newsom thanked Obama for his support in a social media post and promised that California's redistricting proposal will 'neutralize any attempts Donald Trump makes to steal Congressional seats.'
Yahoo
14 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Fox News' Mark Levin defends Trump calling himself a ‘war hero': ‘Let me educate the truly stupid'
Shortly after Donald Trump brazenly declared himself a 'war hero' on Tuesday – despite famously never serving in the military – former GOP Rep. Adam Kinzinger derided the president's remarks before noting that 'his people are going to find a way to justify this.' It didn't take long for Mark Levin to answer that challenge. 'YES, TRUMP IS A WAR HERO,' the Fox News host – who also serves on the president's Homeland Security Advisory Council – tweeted on Wednesday. It was on Levin's radio show where the president delivered his self-declaration of heroism in battle, which was in the context of Trump and Levin – an outspoken supporter of Israel – lauding Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Describing the Israeli leader as a 'good man' who is 'in there fighting,' Trump went on to praise Netanyahu as a 'war hero' before bestowing that title upon himself. 'He's a war hero, cause we worked together, he's a war hero,' Trump said while chuckling. 'I guess I am, too. Nobody cares, but I am, too. You know, I sent those planes.' The president was referring to the United States joining Israel in its military air campaign against Iran in June, which resulted in American bombers striking three critical nuclear enrichment facilities. Throughout the interview, the president grumbled that he hadn't been given enough credit for the airstrikes – which he's repeatedly claimed 'obliterated' Iran's nuclear capabilities – or other foreign policy accomplishments. 'Let me educate the truly stupid in the grotesquely moronic media and their crackpot surrogates, since President Trump made the war hero comments on my radio show last evening,' Levin posted on X amid criticism of Trump's claiming to be a war hero. Levin, who privately advised Trump to take military action against Iran and raged against MAGA critics of the airstrikes, went on to justify his position by citing past presidents and their achievements as commander-in-chief. 'There are lots of presidents who are war heroes who did not actually fight in a war. Reagan defeated the Soviet Union,' the conservative pundit continued. 'War hero. FDR defeated the Axis powers. War hero. Lincoln won the Civil War. War hero. Trump destroyed Iran's nuclear facilities and everything with them -- which Bush 41 and 43, Clinton, Obama, and Biden said they would prevent, but failed to do. Trump stopped Iran's nuclear threat to the United States in its tracks. He gave the order. He is the commander-in-chief. War hero.' Additionally, Levin also defended the president's description of Netanyahu as a 'war hero.' Unlike Trump, who never served in uniform, Netanyahu was a soldier in the Israel Defense Forces who fought in both the Yom Kippur War and the 1967-1970 War of Attrition, and was injured several times in combat. 'AND congratulations to President Trump for also recognizing Prime Minister Netanyahu as a war hero. He most certainly is,' Levin blared on X. 'Now, back to the quislings and Hamas/Iran mouthpieces in the media and their crackpot surrogates.' The International Criminal Court, meanwhile, has accused Netanyahu of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza, issuing an arrest warrant for him and Israel's former defense minister Yoav Gallant last November. Israel has slammed those allegations, and the United States has backed Netanyahu by imposing sanctions on several of the court's judges in retaliation. As for Trump's self-annointing himself as a war hero, Kinzinger – who served in the Air National Guard and flew missions in Iraq and Afghanistan – pointed out that the president declined the opportunity to don the uniform when he had the chance. 'You can like what he's done. That's fine. I hope he gets a resolution in Ukraine,' Kinzinger said Tuesday night during a CNN interview. 'But to put himself on the same level of people that have actually gone out and served this country, not claimed bone spurs, is an offense to anybody who served.' Kinzinger was referencing the multiple deferments that Trump received during the Vietnam War, one of which was for having 'bone spurs' while the others were for attending college. 'And frankly, you just take somebody that served, calling themselves a war hero, even that would be inappropriate. For a guy that never served to say it, it's nuts,' he added. 'But somebody, they'll defend it, they'll find a way.' Beyond that, early in Trump's first campaign for president, he infamously mocked the late Sen. John McCain's service during the Vietnam War, which saw the former Navy pilot held captive and tortured for nearly six years in the notorious prison camp known as the 'Hanoi Hilton.' 'He's not a hero,' Trump exclaimed in 2015, sparking intense backlash at the time. 'He was a war hero because he was captured. I like people that weren't captured, OK? I hate to tell you that.' During his first term, Trump also came under fire after The Atlantic reported that during a 2018 trip to France, he scrapped plans to attend the commemoration for the 100th anniversary of World War I at the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery, fearing his hair would be mussed because of expected rain. 'Why should I go to that cemetery? It's filled with losers,' Trump reportedly said, adding later that Marines who died in battle were 'suckers.' While the president has repeatedly denied he said that, calling it 'disinformation' and 'fake news,' his then-chief of staff John Kelly – a former commander of U.S. Southern Command who lost his son in Afghanistan – insisted Trump did make those remarks.
Yahoo
14 minutes ago
- Yahoo
It's fiscal 2026. Do you know where your tax dollars are? Probably not.
The Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council called for more transparency in how state leaders and administrators track the outcomes of state-funded programs in a new report Wednesday. (Photo by Alexander Castro/Rhode Island Current) State spending in Rhode Island has surged. Public tracking of how state agencies and programs are using that money has not. And the Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council (RIPEC) is sounding the alarm as part of a new analysis of the state's fiscal 2026 budget published on Wednesday. The 49-page report by the business-backed research group reprises warnings of years past regarding unsustainable spending. This year's report features a sterner admonishment than usual over lack of transparency in how state administrators craft the budget, or monitor the results from multibillion-dollar spending. 'Despite a statutory requirement for agencies to include performance measures in their budget requests, the actual utilization of these measures in state budgeting decisions is unclear,' the report states. 'While [the Office of Management and Budget]'s Performance Management Unit is tasked with maintaining and updating these measures, much of their work is internally facing and public reporting on program effectiveness has been minimal. This limited public data makes it challenging for the public to evaluate how effectively tax dollars are being utilized for programs administered by state departments and agencies.' Derek Gomes, a spokesperson for the Rhode Island Department of Administration, which includes the state office, said in an emailed response that the budget office has worked to bolster agency performance reporting, which now includes 244 separate measures aligned with Gov. Dan McKee's long-term, RI 2030 state plan. Annual reports are published online, alongside quarterly updates, Gomes said. 'The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is committed to providing timely and accurate information about its roles in terms of developing the Governor's annual budget proposal and collecting performance metrics from state agencies,' Gomes said. 'OMB regularly posts information on state websites to include up-to-date agency budget instructions, quarterly budget reports, and agency performance data.' McKee's office did not immediately respond to inquiries for comment Wednesday. McKee let the spending plan take effect July 1 without his signature, an unprecedented move meant to symbolize his concerns with increased state taxes and fees. Legislative leaders continued to defend state spending in a joint statement Wednesday. 'We have a responsibility as elected leaders to invest in health care, education and housing for Rhode Islanders, especially as Republicans in Congress cut federal support for Medicaid and other programs to states,' House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi and Senate President Valarie Lawson said. They are still reviewing RIPEC's comments about public transparency, Larry Berman, a spokesperson for Shekarchi's office, said via email. The $14.3 billion fiscal 2026 budget features a record $5.81 billion in state general revenue, up 3.8% over the fiscal 2025 budget even though the total bottom line is less. The state share of spending is 13.8% higher than fiscal 2019, even when accounting for inflation, according to RIPEC's analysis. Meanwhile, the fiscal 2026 budget imposed new or higher taxes and fees on gasoline, property sales, high-value second homes, and health insurance, cementing the need for more open information sharing on how the extra funds are being spent, said Michael DiBiase, president and CEO of RIPEC. 'The tax burden has been going up, and people are paying for these things,' DiBiase said in an interview Wednesday. 'It's time to reflect on what we are getting for that money.' As a former state administration director under then-Gov. Gina Raimondo, DiBiase is more familiar than most with the behind-the-scenes components of the state budget process. Each year, state agencies submit an initial funding request to state budget-crunchers. The memos span hundreds of pages, with details on how agencies spent the last year's money, and justification on requests for more. The submissions are reviewed internally and used to shape the governor's initial spending plan, typically released at the beginning of the calendar year. Lawmakers then update and revise the governor's proposal to finalize a spending plan ahead of the July 1 start date. Agency budget submissions are available by request, but not otherwise released publicly. And follow-up reporting is also kept behind closed doors. 'That's a choice,' DiBiase said. 'Politically, it's more difficult to expose some of these things and talk about things that are working and not working.' But difficult choices must be made, especially as state revenue growth slows and federal budget cuts curtail aid to key programs like Medicaid and food assistance. The tax burden has been going up, and people are paying for these things. It's time to reflect on what we are getting for that money. – Michael DiBiase, president and CEO of the Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council Rhode Island House fiscal advisory staff projected a $304.3 million deficit for the next fiscal year, swelling to $462.1 million. The forecast does not include any impact from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which is expected to bring major changes to federal health and social services aid, as well as tax changes, over the next five years. How Rhode Island will fare amid forthcoming federal budget cuts remains under review by RIPEC and separately by a set of governmental advisory groups mandated to study and prepare for possible funding changes, reporting back to the Rhode Island General Assembly by Oct. 31. Among the biggest sources of concern for state lawmakers and budget analysts is how changes to federal Medicaid eligibility and funding will affect Rhode Island. The $4.9 billion in Medicaid funding included in Rhode Island's fiscal 2026 budget (from both federal and state sources) is more than one-third of the bottom line. Medicaid funding has steadily risen over the last eight years even though Rhode Islanders participation in the government-subsidized health care program fell, according to RIPEC's report. The $1.82 billion in state revenue directed toward Medicaid in fiscal 2026 is more than twice the 3.8% annual growth in state revenue. The spending includes extra money to increase reimbursement rates for primary care providers, nursing home workers, and hospitals in an attempt to lessen the gap between Rhode Island's low rates and the higher rates in neighboring states. Yet DiBiase questioned if more money was actually solving the problem, noting that commercial insurers have also proposed double-digit rate increases for next year. 'It just doesn't seem like the system is finding any relief,' DiBiase said. 'We're not really seeing, for the most part, where this money is going.' RIPEC's budget analysis also pointed to funding for K-12 education, despite fewer students, and on state employees (largely due to new bargaining agreements that include salary hikes and other benefits) as areas in need of more public financial reporting and reined-in spending. The report largely centered on what's wrong with state spending, and how to improve it. But RIPEC also offered praise to a pair of provisions tucked into the fiscal 2026 spending plan that will already make small strides in improving financial reporting. First, a change in the state Office of Internal Audit — in name and function — that expands the administrative power to subpoena and investigate potential fraud in state assistance programs, and recover misappropriated money. The fiscal 2026 budget offers $1.2 million extra money for two additional staffers to carry out the work of the rechristened Office of Internal Audit and Program Integrity. The current year's spending plan also provides a policy change to let the state Division of Taxation more effectively crack down on scofflaws with unpaid and overdue income and business taxes by putting levies on their assets. The access to out-of-state tax delinquents' bank accounts, coupled with the ability to put levies on their assets, is expected to bring in an extra $5.3 million in revenue this year. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Solve the daily Crossword
