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Yahoo
8 hours ago
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Stephen Miller wages war on the GOP's libertarians
The Movement is a weekly newsletter tracking the influence and debates steering politics on the right. or in the box below. Stephen Miller is leading a public war against the Republican Party's libertarians as he reframes the 'one big, beautiful bill' to being the key that unlocks President Trump's mass deportation agenda. Going mainly after libertarian-leaning lawmakers such as Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), who have brought up concerns about the megabill's deficit impact, the White House deputy chief of staff — and chief architect of Trump's immigration agenda — is taking a sledgehammer to what remains of the libertarian-conservative fusionism that was prominent in the party pre-Trump. 'The libertarians in the House and Senate trying to take down this bill — they're not stupid. They just don't care,' Miller said in an interview with conservative activist and commentator Charlie Kirk last week. 'Immigration has never mattered to them; it will never matter to them. Deportations have never mattered to them; it will never matter to them. You will never live a day in your life where a libertarian cares as much about immigration and sovereignty as they do about the Congressional Budget Office.' Miller's personal advocacy for the bill ramped up amid outcry from deficit hawks within Congress and from outside voices like Elon Musk. And while he echoed other top Republicans in denying the Congressional Budget Office's budget math, Miller has particularly focused on one of the legislation's key pillars: the billions of additional dollars to fund construction of the border wall and deportation efforts such as detention facilities, more Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers, and transporting deportees. The uprisings by those objecting to deportations that popped in Los Angeles over the weekend — prompting Trump to deploy the National Guard in response — is further fueling Miller's arguments. And there is plenty of polling to explain the strategy: A CBS News poll released Monday, for instance, found 54 percent of Americans approved of Trump's deportation efforts. Miller has explicitly wondered if libertarian-leaning Republicans such as Massie were fighting the bill in order to oppose the deportation program. Massie, calling from the road on his way back to D.C. on Monday, told me that is not the case. 'He and I have the same immigration, deportation, wall policy, with the exception of E-verify. That's the only libertarian objection I have,' Massie said. 'He's appealing to a trope that all libertarians are open borders, and he knows that's not true about me. He and I have spent hours talking, Stephen Miller and I, on these drives to and from D.C. … He's trying to spread some doubt about the messenger, and not my message.' But times are different now. 'He can't be as honest and candid as he was with me when he didn't have Donald Trump as his boss,' Massie said. 'He's got his job is to sell this bill, and he's trying to put lipstick on a pig, and Rand Paul and I are pointing out it's a pig.' Paul again became a Miller target after he told Fox News's Maria Bartiromo on 'Sunday Morning Futures' that the funding Trump administration is seeking for the border wall is 'excessive,' and he would probably do 'half as much' as what he wants for hiring more agents. The border, Paul argued, is 'largely controlled right now,' warning against hiring 'an army of Border Patrol agents that we have on the hook for payments and pensions Miller seethed. 'While ICE officers are battling violent mobs in Los Angeles, Rand Paul is trying to cut funding for deportations and border security,' he posted on the social platform X. A spokesperson for Paul sent me a statement firing back at Miller and the campaign against the libertarian senator. 'Clearly, they are afraid the big, not yet beautiful, bill won't pass. That's why he's being attacked by a pack of rabid paid influencers and the guy that wants to suspend the ancient writ of habeas corpus,' the Paul spokesperson said — making a reference to Miller saying the administration was 'actively looking' at suspending the constitutionally-protected mechanism that migrants have used to challenge their detention by declaring an invasion. 'They've given up arguing on the issue of our time, the debt, and have now descended to lies, innuendo and nonsense,' the Paul spokesperson said. Asked about Miller's digging into libertarians, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson responded: 'Libertarians hate taxes which is why they're going to love The One, Big, Beautiful Bill that gives a 15 percent tax cut to working Americans while totally eliminating taxes on tips and overtime.' Miller's aversion to libertarians, though, seems to go deeper than opportunistic messaging for the bill. He posted in 2022 that the uprising of the ideology in the House GOP is 'how we ended up with open borders globalist [Paul] Ryan.' He blamed libertarian candidates for siphoning votes away from failed Trump-endorsed candidates in 2022 — Herschel Walker in Georgia, Blake Masters in Arizona, and Don Bolduc in New Hampshire. 'Another example of how libertarians ruin everything,' Miller said in one post responding to a 2022 Georgia Senate poll. He did, however, praise Trump's courting of the Libertarian Party — speaking at the minor party's national convention in 2024, and following through with a major campaign promise giving a full pardon to Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the Silk Road drug marketplace. And Massie told me he endorsed Trump to try to help boost the small-L libertarian contingent of the GOP coalition. That coalition, though, has apparently worn out its usefulness to Miller. 'By including the immigration language with the tax cuts with the welfare reform, it creates a coalition. Politics is all about coalitions,' Miller said in the interview with Kirk — also praising Trump in the interview as 'able to create a winning formula for populist, nationalist, conservative government.' Massie sensed the lack of electoral pressure is adding to the willingness to cast the libertarians aside. 'The thing here is that he doesn't have to run again,' Massie said. 'This is one of these signature things. If he has to burn part of the coalition to get it done, they're probably willing to do it.' Alex Nowrasteh, vice president of economic and social policy studies at the Cato Institute – the biggest libertarian think tank in Washington — said Miller's attacks on libertarians are, in one sense, no surprise. But he warned about the political implications that Miller's war has for the right. 'They are not typically long-term thinkers in terms of political coalition,' Nowrasteh said of Trump folks such as Miller, adding that 'this disagreement between Miller and Massie and Paul just shows how sundered that coalition was.' A White House official noted Trump's coalition includes Americans from all different backgrounds, including those who were not Republican voters prior to supporting Trump. , a weekly newsletter looking at the influences and debates on the right in Washington. I'm Emily Brooks, House leadership reporter at The Hill. Tell me what's on your radar: ebrooks@ Not already on the list? Free-marketers are putting their advocacy for extending President Trump's tax cuts into overdrive. The free market group Unleash Prosperity Now came out with a letter signed by 300 economists saying the extension of tax cuts in Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' will 'succeed in making the tax system more pro-growth and fairer,' getting positive shoutouts from Treasury Department Secretary Scott Bessent and a Truth Social share from Trump. Stephen Moore, a former economic adviser to Trump in his first term who co-founded Unleash Prosperity Now, told me the advocacy for the tax cuts is going well — but that GOP leaders' goal of sending it to Trump's desk by Independence Day is likely too ambitious. 'I'd love to see that, but I think there's too many differences right now to get it done by Fourth of July,' Moore told me. And he is 'not pleased' by the House version of the bill hiking up the state and local tax (SALT) deduction from $10,000 to $40,000. 'It's going to have to be negotiated down,' Moore said. 'We're very much in favor of playing hardball with them and saying, 'Look, OK, you want to take the whole party down with you, and you want to vote against a bill that gets 85 percent of your constituents a tax break, go ahead and blow it up,'' Moore said of the SALT-focused blue-state Republicans. Moore also responded to my reporting from last week's edition of about the 'new right' populist think American Compass celebrating its fifth anniversary with Vice President Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. 'This is kind of, you know, the big government Republicanism coming back. I view it as a cancer in the party,' Moore said. 'This is a movement that's anti-trade, anti-immigration, pro-union, pro-big-government-spending. Those are all contrary to the very free market freedom policies that binds all Republicans together. It's a movement that's really being funded by the left to try to divide and conquer the Republican Party.' 'The fact that Rubio and JD Vance have associated themselves with that movement is not a positive sign for the future of the party,' Moore added. : , from Fox Business's Eric Revell…President Trump's move to empower Elon Musk after the 2024 election — namely through the meme-inspired Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) effort — was met with excitement over the winter, with lawmakers giddy to see Trump's new bestie, the world's richest person (a campaign benefactor for several of them). But now the Musk-Trump falling out over the 'big, beautiful bill' has soured many Republicans on the 'DOGEfather.' If you're a Republican, choosing between Musk and Trump is an easy call (in favor of the president, of course). And it raises questions about the future of the DOGE organizations within Congress. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) had hitched her political wagon to DOGE by chairing a new DOGE subcommittee — and while she needled Musk by condemning 'lashing out on the internet,' she still has high praises for the government efficiency effort. 'I think DOGE is great. Government efficiency is fantastic. It's exactly what we need. And the American people support it, and it must continue. It doesn't have anything to do with with a disagreement on the internet. It has everything to do with the massive $36 trillion in debt,' Greene said. But Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas), a co-chair of the House DOGE Caucus, said the blowup does impact his group's effort. 'It impacts any time there's a casualty on the field,' Sessions told me. Related: , from me and my colleague Mychael Schnell Tuesday, June 10: Americans for Prosperity has a fly-in of state leaders to press Senators to extend the 2017 tax cuts. Wednesday, June 11, 7:05 p.m.: Congressional Baseball Game for Charity Thursday, June 12, 12:00 p.m.: The Cato Institute hosts a policy forum: 'What Is the Opportunity Cost of State AI Policy?' Florida state Sen. Ileana Garcia (R), co-founder of Latinas for Trump, excoriated the president for seeking to ramp up deportation efforts, calling the effort 'unacceptable and inhumane.' She posted on X: 'I understand the importance of deporting criminal aliens, but what we are witnessing are arbitrary measures to hunt down people who are complying with their immigration hearings—in many cases, with credible fear of persecution claims—all driven by a Miller-like desire to satisfy a self-fabricated deportation goal.' A White House spokesperson said in response that deportees receive due process. Rep. Mary Miller (R-Ill.) misidentified a Sikh as a Muslim while saying it was 'deeply disturbing' that the turban-wearing guest chaplain delivered the opening prayer in the House on Friday. She later deleted the post, but said: 'America was founded as a Christian nation, and I believe our government should reflect that truth, not drift further from it.' Derek Guy, the man behind the @dieworkwear account on X that posts commentary on men's fashion, revealed he arrived in the U.S. as an immigrant without legal status, having been brought over the border with Canada by his parents when he was a baby — prompting teasing from Republicans who have often been the target of his commentary. Vice President Vance responded with an approving meme to a post that suggested he now had 'the opportunity to do the funniest thing ever.' Guy responded with a jab at Vance's outfits: 'I think i can outrun you in these clothes.' Spectator World's Kara Kennedy: The rise of Eric Trump Wall Street Journal's Joshua Chaffin: The Other Nasty Breakup Inside MAGA The Hill's Zach Schonfeld and Ella Lee: Trump unleashes MAGA rebellion on Federalist Society Axios's Scott Rosenberg: Silicon Valley's not crying for Musk Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Senate Fails To Rebuke Trump Over His Global Tariffs Due To Absences
WASHINGTON ― The U.S. Senate was on track to adopt a resolution disapproving of President Donald Trump's global tariffs on Wednesday, but the measure failed after two lawmakers ― one Democrat and one Republican ― missed the vote. Had Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), who was returning from a climate conference in South Korea, and Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), another critic of Trump's tariffs, been present, the effort likely would have passed, dealing another rebuke to the White House's erratic trade policies that have rattled financial markets, sapped consumer confidence, and put the economy on the precipice of a recession. But the vote failed 49-49. It came just two weeks after another effort seeking to terminate Trump's emergency powers to levy tariffs on Canada, a U.S. ally, was approved with the support of both Whitehouse and McConnell. The attempts to block Trump's tariffs are largely symbolic, however, since the GOP-controlled House of Representatives is refusing to allow a similar vote in that chamber. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Rand Paul joined every member of the Democratic caucus in voting for the resolution on Wednesday. The overwhelming majority of Republicans stuck by Trump and voted to sustain his trade policy even after a new report from the U.S. Commerce Department found the U.S. economy actually shrank in the first three months of 2025, the first decline since the first quarter of 2022. Earlier this month, in a stunning reversal on his initial tariff scheme, Trump slapped 10% tariffs on everything Americans buy from overseas, and 125% tariffs on everything they buy from China. He has promised even higher tariffs in July on products from nearly five dozen countries as part of his goal of rebalancing international trade and rebuilding U.S. manufacturing. Top Trump officials have claimed that dozens of countries have approached the U.S. seeking to ink trade deals that would, at least theoretically, make the tariffs on their nations go away. The Trump administration has yet to reveal one, and lawmakers of both parties are losing patience. 'Many products from China won't even be available soon, thanks to the tariffs,' said Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), a lead Democratic sponsor of Wednesday's resolution. 'For the products that are still available, prices are going up, a fact that Trump is desperate to hide. When Amazon was rumored to list the impact of tariffs on prices, Trump threw a fit, reportedly threatening Jeff Bezos and calling it a hostile act. God forbid Americans know the real cost of tariffs.' Paul, meanwhile, argued that Congress needs to reassert its constitutional authority over trade that it has delegated over decades to the executive branch by allowing presidents to levy tariffs unilaterally under a national emergency. 'I still support the president on many things but I am not for a country run by emergencies ― even if the person were doing everything I wanted [like] making every day my birthday. I would not be for that unless we deliberated on that,' Paul said in a Wednesday speech on the Senate floor. 'The Constitution does not allow the president of the United States to be the sole decider,' he added. The Kentucky Republican, a libertarian-leaning voice in the Senate, further chided the House of Representatives for making a procedural move to effectively block any House effort to cancel Trump's tariffs despite several Republicans offering legislation to do so. 'They declared that legislative days will not exist despite the legislature continuing to meet every day. The House has essentially ruled that days are not days,' Paul said. 'Does that sound absurd? Absolutely, it's absurd. It is craven, it is cowardice, and it is dishonest.' 'We have congressional timidity,' he lamented. 'It's a recipe for disaster.' Trump, meanwhile, has shown no signs of letting up on the tariffs ― which are effectively taxes paid by U.S. consumers ― even as he has granted exceptions to certain large corporations. During a Wednesday meeting with his Cabinet, the president said that children in the U.S. may just have to live with fewer toys if store shelves go empty. 'Much of it we don't need,' he said of goods coming from China. 'Somebody said, 'Oh the shelves are gonna be empty.' Well maybe the children will have two dolls instead of 30 dolls, and maybe the two dolls will cost a couple of bucks more than they would normally.'
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
GOP lawmakers fear China looms as obstacle to Trump's trade vision
Republican lawmakers fear the defiant Chinese response to President Trump's sweeping tariffs leaves the world's two largest economies hurtling toward a trade war that could last for months. Republican senators agree with Trump's claim that China hasn't dealt fairly with the United States and acknowledge that China needs the U.S. market for its own economic prosperity. But they worry that the political stakes for Chinese President Xi Jinping may be too high for him to agree to a trade deal with Trump anytime soon, something that could have significant consequences for U.S. exporters, especially farmers, as well as businesses that source cheap goods from China. 'That's what's concerning to me. China is all about [saving] face. When they say they're going to 'fight to the end,' that's concerning to me,' said Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.). Tillis noted that the United States sources many essential goods from China, which would make it difficult on domestic businesses if trade tensions between the countries escalate. 'When there are so many things that we have allowed — mistakenly, but allowed — to only be manufactured in China, if you're not getting an exception for like the textile industry and a number of others, I think it's going to be consequential, and not in a positive way,' Tillis said. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) on Tuesday floated the possibility that escalating trade tensions with China could impact the market for U.S. debt, and more critically undermine Taiwan's safety. 'It's a tit for tat. That's the problem of a tariff war,' he said. When asked about the possibility of China not buying U.S. debt, Paul said 'there could be other ramifications.' 'It's even worse than that. If you want to protect freedom in Taiwan, the day there's no more trade between the U.S. and China is the day something bad will happen to Taiwan,' he warned. Paul warned that if U.S.-China trade erodes to the point 'where China says they have nothing to lose' economically, 'that's what endangers freedom in Taiwan.' Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.), whose home state ships two-thirds of its soybean crop to China and Southeast Asia, said he hopes Trump can get talks started with China soon. 'I'd prefer that they start negotiating. I think that's where it is going to end up,' he said. 'They need our market. Go to any big-box retailer, check out where that stuff is made.' U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told members of the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday that China hasn't signaled that it's ready to talk. Vietnam, for example, has already lowered its tariffs on almonds, apples and cherries exported from the Pacific Northwest Greer said about 50 countries have approached the Trump administration to negotiate trade deals, but not China. 'Unfortunately, China for many years seems to be choosing its own path on market access. Again, they have agency in this. They elected to announce retaliation. Other countries did not. Other countries signaled that they'd like to find a path forward on reciprocity. China has not said that,' Greer testified. The Trump administration on Monday said it was set to impose another 50 percent tariff on China, which would raise the duty on Chinese imports to 104 percent. Trump on Tuesday posted on Truth Social that China 'wants to make a deal, badly, but don't know how to get it started.' 'We are waiting for their call. It will happen!' he said. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) on Tuesday expressed his hope that the Trump administration and Chinese leaders could reach some kind of a deal. 'I think everybody kind of knows my views on tariffs,' he said, referring to his long record of support for free trade and free markets. But he noted that Trump ran on 'the importance of getting other countries to treat us more fairly when it comes to trade, bilateral trade, multilateral trade.' 'He deserves the opportunity to see what kind of deals he can get from some of our trading partners,' Thune added. Asked about China's tough response to Trump, Thune said: 'I think there's a lot of rhetoric right now, but I'm hoping that in the end the Chinese like a lot of other countries will come to the table.' 'There is clearly, in my view, room for negotiation that would achieve the objectives that the president has laid out that could be to the benefit of both the U.S. and China,' he added. China has showed little inclination to make any concessions in response to Trump's announcement last week that he would impose a 34 percent reciprocal tariff on the country. China on Friday said it would slap a 34 percent tariff on all U.S. imports, something that sent the U.S. stock market into a steep plunge that same day. Economic experts, including analysts at Morningstar and Capital Economics, say it's unlikely that China will ratchet down its tactics anytime soon. China also suspended imports of sorghum, poultry and bonemeal and placed 27 U.S. companies on a trade restriction list while also launching an antimonopoly investigation into DuPont China Group Co., according to The Associated Press. China's Ministry of Commerce on Tuesday accused the Trump administration of 'blackmail' and vowed to 'fight to the end.' Republican lawmakers are warning that a protracted trade war with China would hurt farmers as well as major U.S. companies such as Boeing, Caterpillar, John Deere, Nvidia and Intel. Analysts at UBS estimate that Trump's tariff fight with China could result in a $350 price increase for Apple's iPhone 16 Pro Max. Apple stock, a staple investment of many mutual funds and 401(k) funds, dropped by another 5 percent on Tuesday, which allowed Microsoft to surpass it as the world's most valuable public company. Apple's stock has dropped roughly 33 percent since its 52-week high in late December. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
09-04-2025
- Business
- The Hill
GOP lawmakers fear China looms as obstacle to Trump's trade vision
Republican lawmakers fear the defiant Chinese response to President Trump's sweeping tariffs leaves the world's two largest economies hurtling toward a trade war that could last for months. Republican senators agree with Trump's claim that China hasn't dealt fairly with the United States and acknowledge that China needs the U.S. market for its own economic prosperity. But they worry that the political stakes for Chinese President Xi Jinping may be too high for him to agree to a trade deal with Trump anytime soon, something that could have significant consequences for U.S. exporters, especially farmers, as well as businesses that source cheap goods from China. 'That's what's concerning to me. China is all about [saving] face. When they say they're going to 'fight to the end,' that's concerning to me,' said Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.). Tillis noted that the United States sources many essential goods from China, which would make it difficult on domestic businesses if trade tensions between the countries escalate. 'When there are so many things that we have allowed — mistakenly, but allowed — to only be manufactured in China, if you're not getting an exception for like the textile industry and a number of others, I think it's going to be consequential, and not in a positive way,' Tillis said. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) on Tuesday floated the possibility that escalating trade tensions with China could impact the market for U.S. debt, and more critically undermine Taiwan's safety. 'It's a tit for tat. That's the problem of a tariff war,' he said. When asked about the possibility of China not buying U.S. debt, Paul said 'there could be other ramifications.' 'It's even worse than that. If you want to protect freedom in Taiwan, the day there's no more trade between the U.S. and China is the day something bad will happen to Taiwan,' he warned. Paul warned that if U.S.-China trade erodes to the point 'where China says they have nothing to lose' economically, 'that's what endangers freedom in Taiwan.' Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.), whose home state ships two-thirds of its soybean crop to China and Southeast Asia, said he hopes Trump can get talks started with China soon. 'I'd prefer that they start negotiating. I think that's where it is going to end up,' he said. 'They need our market. Go to any big-box retailer, check out where that stuff is made.' U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told members of the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday that China hasn't signaled that it's ready to talk. Vietnam, for example, has already lowered its tariffs on almonds, apples and cherries exported from the Pacific Northwest Greer said about 50 countries have approached the Trump administration to negotiate trade deals, but not China. 'Unfortunately, China for many years seems to be choosing its own path on market access. Again, they have agency in this. They elected to announce retaliation. Other countries did not. Other countries signaled that they'd like to find a path forward on reciprocity. China has not said that,' Greer testified. The Trump administration on Monday said it was set to impose another 50 percent tariff on China, which would raise the duty on Chinese imports to 104 percent. Trump on Tuesday posted on Truth Social that China 'wants to make a deal, badly, but don't know how to get it started.' 'We are waiting for their call. It will happen!' he said. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) on Tuesday expressed his hope that the Trump administration and Chinese leaders could reach some kind of a deal. 'I think everybody kind of knows my views on tariffs,' he said, referring to his long record of support for free trade and free markets. But he noted that Trump ran on 'the importance of getting other countries to treat us more fairly when it comes to trade, bilateral trade, multilateral trade.' 'He deserves the opportunity to see what kind of deals he can get from some of our trading partners,' Thune added. Asked about China's tough response to Trump, Thune said: 'I think there's a lot of rhetoric right now, but I'm hoping that in the end the Chinese like a lot of other countries will come to the table.' 'There is clearly, in my view, room for negotiation that would achieve the objectives that the president has laid out that could be to the benefit of both the U.S. and China,' he added. China has showed little inclination to make any concessions in response to Trump's announcement last week that he would impose a 34 percent reciprocal tariff on the country. China on Friday said it would slap a 34 percent tariff on all U.S. imports, something that sent the U.S. stock market into a steep plunge that same day. Economic experts, including analysts at Morningstar and Capital Economics, say it's unlikely that China will ratchet down its tactics anytime soon. China also suspended imports of sorghum, poultry and bonemeal and placed 27 U.S. companies on a trade restriction list while also launching an antimonopoly investigation into DuPont China Group Co., according to The Associated Press. China's Ministry of Commerce on Tuesday accused the Trump administration of 'blackmail' and vowed to 'fight to the end.' Republican lawmakers are warning that a protracted trade war with China would hurt farmers as well as major U.S. companies such as Boeing, Caterpillar, John Deere, Nvidia and Intel. Analysts at UBS estimate that Trump's tariff fight with China could result in a $350 price increase for Apple's iPhone 16 Pro Max. Apple stock, a staple investment of many mutual funds and 401(k) funds, dropped by another 5 percent on Tuesday, which allowed Microsoft to surpass it as the world's most valuable public company. Apple's stock has dropped roughly 33 percent since its 52-week high in late December.
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Advocacy groups urge House panel to pass anti-deepfake porn bill
A coalition of advocacy groups are urging the top lawmakers on the House Energy and Commerce Committee to pass legislation that would criminalize the publication of nonconsensual sexually explicit deepfakes. In a letter Tuesday, the groups called on Reps. Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.) and Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), the chair and ranking member of the panel, respectively, to pass the Take It Down Act. The Take It Down Act, which passed the Senate last month, would make it a federal crime to publish nonconsensual sexual images and videos, including those generated with artificial intelligence (AI). 'Victims of authentic image-based sexual abuse have waited years for Congress to pass basic, common sense protections,' the groups, largely focused on AI policy and sexual violence prevention, wrote in the letter. 'Today, artificial intelligence is making it alarmingly easy for malicious actors to produce hyper-realistic, non-consensual intimate images (NCII) of women, LGBTQ+ individuals, and minors. Now is the time for Congress to act,' they continued. The Take It Down Act also would require major online platforms to establish processes for victims to report and remove non-consensual sexual images. These protections, the coalition emphasized, are 'narrowly scoped to respect the First Amendment.' '[The bill] has overwhelming, bipartisan support from civil society, trade groups, and the very companies that it would cover,' they added. 'That support reflects a shared understanding that protecting victims of this form of abuse is not a partisan matter but a moral imperative.' The coalition was organized by Americans for Responsible Innovation, Encode, the Rape Abuse and Incest National Network and the Sexual Violence Prevention Association. Other members include the National Organization for Women, Public Citizen and the Tech Oversight Project. The push comes ahead of the House Energy and Commerce Committee's Wednesday hearing examining online harms. The Take It Down Act has gained traction in recent weeks, as both President Trump and first lady Melania Trump have thrown their weight behind the legislation. The first lady hosted a roundtable centered on the legislation in early March and invited Elliston Berry, a 15-year-old who was the victim of deepfake images, to be one of her guests at the president's address to a joint session of Congress. President Trump also promised during his address earlier this month to sign the Take It Down Act into law if it passes the House. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
