And what we are seeing is shocking. Our findings are enough to warrant multiple articles…

On February 18th, the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office presented its proposed budget in front of the Senate Constitutional Budget Subcommittee, in which two out of the five members have been recipients of class action opioid settlement funds as a result of their relationship with the Attorney General’s office during their tenure in the legislature.

Of interest currently are the law firms of Democrat State Senators Brad Hutto and Margie Bright Matthews, who were among those listed as recipients of settlement funds for litigating political subdivisions with the SCAG’s office for the South Carolina Opioid Recovery Act several times over the past four years. Both Senators sit on the Senate Constitutional Budget Subcommittee and are slated to vote whether or not to give SCAG’s proposed budget a favorable report.

Senator Margie Bright Matthews’s law firm, Bright Matthews Law Firm, LLC, which according to Facebook, focuses on criminal law, has been compensated for sitting in on multiple class action lawsuits against opioid manufacturers and distributors with the SCAG’s office between 2023 and 2025 and has received approximately $23,334.30 in attorney fees.

Senate Minority Leader Brad Hutto’s law firm, Williams & Williams, signed onto the same lawsuits with Bright Matthews, however, Williams & Williams made slightly more money, raking in approximately $123,964.77 on behalf of the local political subdivisions he represented.

In a November 6, 2025 hearing, the public waited with bated breath as the Senators questioned the Attorney General. Instead of investigating the “numerous credible allegations” against Wilson’s office, the Senate Oversight Committee treated the SCAG’s office with “kid gloves” as noted by FITSNews in its report.

There was even a reported whistleblower willing to testify to many of these allegations that allegedly met with at least one Senator of the committee, but was never mentioned during the hearing itself, with one comment overheard that someone must have gotten paid off. Would being on the short list of lawyer-legislators who received cuts of the SC opioid settlements explain why Senator Brad Hutto was so generous to Attorney General and gubernatorial candidate Alan Wilson during the Senate Oversight Committee when tasked with investigating the office?

The first payment from these settlements was issued in January of 2023, with payments throughout 2024 and 2025. According to South Carolina Code 8-13-700 & 8-13-710, legislators are required to abstain from voting on matters with which they, or business associates, are receiving financial remuneration. Though the Attorney General’s office is not responsible for paying these settlement funds, as they were paid by the pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors, one could argue that the opportunity to receive those funds arose because of actions taken by the Attorney General’s office, and as such, there might be opportunity to influence the present.

Is a legislator’s receipt of court-approved contingency fees from opioid litigation an “interest which may be affected by action of the governmental entity” with which the legislator is associated? We argue that these (and other) legislators have a financial interest that could be affected by legislative action.

According to vote records for the line items, more than one Senator whose law firm received these settlements that were made possible because of the large class action opioid lawsuits filed by SCAG failed to abstain from voting on the Attorney General’s budget within a year of receiving said funds.

To make matters more incestous, both Matthews and Hutto sit on the Senate Ethics Committee. You would expect role model behavior when filing Statements of Economic Interests, yet they never reported receiving the thousands of dollars from these settlements. Check out PDF versions of their Statements of Economic Interest HERE. The last section, “additional interests”, is where one might expect to find these disclosures…

The same lawyers that received settlement funds because of their relationship with the Attorney General’s Office get to decide how much taxpayer money the SCAG’s office gets for its budget. Does that seem like a conflict of interest to you?

Article posted with permission from Palmetto State Watch Foundation

The post Will Legislators Who Profited From Opioid Settlements Vote on AG’s Budget? appeared first on The Washington Standard.

If there was any doubt on Trump’s allegiance to corporate profit over public health, this erases that. -Carey Gillam

After violating the law for months in imposing tariffs, which subsequently are paid by AMERICANS, not foreigners, President Donald Trump has once again demonstrated why he is a friend of Big Business and cares nothing for the people he is to serve.  On Wednesday, Trump signed an executive order to protect glyphosate, a harmful chemical that causes all sorts of health issues, and it looks like he will be protecting corporations that use and manufacture said chemical against the people whom it harms.

Children’s Health Defense reports:

President Donald Trump late Wednesday signed an executive order intended to boost domestic production of glyphosate.

Glyphosate is the active ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup weedkiller. Bayer, which acquired Monsanto in June 2018, is facing tens of thousands of lawsuits from people alleging Roundup caused them to develop cancer.

Trump’s order also grants legal immunity to domestic manufacturers of products containing glyphosate when manufacturers are ordered, under the Defense Production Act of 1950, to produce the products.

The Defense Production Act is used in national emergencies to compel the production of materials or supplies necessary for national security.

Bayer is the only company producing glyphosate in the U.S. However, U.S. farmers also import the chemical from China, Reuters reported.

The executive order also applies to elemental phosphorus, used in weapons production, electronics and batteries. Elemental phosphorus is also used to make glyphosate.

Trump said elemental phosphorus and glyphosate-based herbicides are scarce materials critical to national defense, and that inadequate domestic production poses an imminent threat to military readiness and food security.

“Glyphosate-based herbicides are a cornerstone of this Nation’s agricultural productivity and rural economy,” he said.

The order directs U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins to create rules for increasing the supply of phosphorus and glyphosate.

Trump’s order riles groups opposed to pesticide use

Trump’s executive order outraged MAHA activists, many of whom have been fighting the use of Roundup and other glyphosate-based weedkillers for decades.

“The implications of this executive order are irreversible,” Zen Honeycutt, executive director of Moms Across America, told The Defender.

She added:

“Not only has Trump gone back on his word to go after pesticides, destroying the delicate trust that was being built by the MAHA movement with the government, but he paved the path for glyphosate to continue destroying farmland, fertility, and our families’ health for generations to come.

“That is not a dramatic statement. It’s what the independent science has been telling us for decades.”

Toxicologist Alexandra Muñoz, Ph.D., denounced the decision on X. “The executive branch has just endorsed a carcinogen and enshrined it. This is outrageous and unacceptable. Glyphosate is a carcinogen — and the idea that promoting a carcinogen will make us stronger as a country is deeply misguided!!”

Investigative journalist Carey Gillam, author of two books exposing Monsanto’s corrupt practices to sell glyphosate and Roundup, said the order confirmed that Trump’s allegiance is to corporate profits over public health.

If there was any doubt on Trump’s allegiance to corporate profit over public health, this erases that. https://t.co/6InNGernXl @thenewledenews @CenterForBioDiv #MAHA @GlyphosateGirl

— carey gillam ✍️ 📓 (@careygillam) February 19, 2026

‘Clearly designed to offer a broad immunity’

The executive order states that it “confers all immunity provided for in section 707 of the Act (50 U.S.C. 4557).” The act itself says “no person shall be held liable” for “any act” resulting from compliance with an order issued under that law, Gillam wrote for The New Lede.

Brett Hartl is director of Government Affairs for the Center for Biological Diversity, which has filed multiple lawsuits challenging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s approval of glyphosate. Hartl told The New York Times that Trump’s order is “alarming because it’s clearly designed to offer a broad immunity.”

Bayer has already paid about $10 billion to resolve lawsuits filed against Monsanto before the German chemical giant acquired Monsanto. The company still faces more than 60,000 lawsuits nationally.

Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court said it will hear a controversial case that could determine whether Bayer can be held liable for failing to warn people that Roundup weedkiller may cause cancer.

The decision came after the Trump administration submitted an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court justices to hear the case. The administration argued that federal laws governing pesticides likely preempt states from making their own labeling requirements.

Bayer CEO Bill Anderson reportedly personally attended Trump’s inauguration.

Bayer ‘will comply with this order to produce glyphosate’

Last week, Bayer announced that Monsanto had reached a tentative agreement to settle tens of thousands of lawsuits alleging Roundup caused cancer for $7.25 billion.

The company has also been rolling out a series of legislative attempts to constrain consumers’ ability to sue it for health damages from glyphosate.

Earlier this year, a broad bipartisan coalition of food and environmental health advocates succeeded in eliminating a Bayer-backed provision tucked into a congressional appropriations bill that would have restricted the ability of people to sue the company for failing to warn of health risks if the U.S. Food and Drug Administration didn’t require the warnings.

Bayer has been pushing for a similar measure to be written into the pending Farm Bill,

The company also created a lobbying group, the Modern Ag Alliance, which has been pushing for laws at the state level to make it harder for consumers to sue over pesticide risks.

The state laws would shield Bayer from future lawsuits and potentially nullify at least some of the 67,000 active claims against the company. Georgia and North Dakota have passed these liability shield laws.

Bayer declined to comment on how the executive order related to its other attempts to shore up its immunity to liability.

In a statement to The Defender on behalf of Monsanto, a Bayer spokesperson said:

“President Trump’s Executive Order reinforces the critical need for U.S. farmers to have access to essential, domestically produced crop protection tools such as glyphosate. We will comply with this order to produce glyphosate and elemental phosphorus.”

RFK Jr. endorses executive order

U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has publicly criticized glyphosate for years. As an attorney, in 2018, he helped to win a landmark $289 million jury verdict against Monsanto for plaintiffs who said that Roundup caused their cancer.

As a presidential candidate in 2024, Kennedy said in a post on X that glyphosate is “one nof the likely culprits in America’s chronic disease epidemic.”

However, in a statement reported by the Times, Kennedy said he supported the president’s decision.

“Donald Trump’s executive order puts America first where it matters most — our defense readiness and our food supply,” Kennedy said. “We must safeguard America’s national security first, because all of our priorities depend on it.”

Since taking office, Kennedy has argued that banning glyphosate would put farmers out of business and that instead it should be phased out.

Article posted with permission from Sons of Liberty Media

The post MAHA Betrayal: Trump Directs USDA to Make More Glyphosate, Signals Liability Protection for Pesticide Makers appeared first on The Washington Standard.

Kathleen Marquardt and Lt. ret. Robert Powell provided the contents of that bill.

Environmentalists have been using geoengineering to create the lies of climate change. They have used geoengineering to create unusual weather patterns to bolster the lie of climate change.

For decades governments have used various methods to alter or manipulate the atmosphere starting with cloud seeding to make rain for agriculture. That is a perfectly innocent use of geo-engineering. Regretfully, the powers-that-be who would control the world have devised far more negative, even demonic, uses.

In order to achieve a couple of aims for the New World Order, those powers have recently been using geoengineering in evil ways. i.e. drought in Northern California and Hawaii, flooding people out of their homes in Texas, for example – pretending it’s “Climate Change”; not that it’s been manipulated or seeded with poisonous materials – tone being coal ash over high volume nuclear plants cooling towers. We probably aren’t even aware of all the times these tactics are being used. But our world is being destroyed as we sit here and watch, being told that nothing nefarious is going on.

Tactical Evidence:

We need to put a stop to it now. The Arizona bill below, covers these esoteric or oblique issues. If we can get even half or more states to ban these human, animal, and plant poisons, we will have started taking back our beautiful planet.

Sec. 2. Title 13, chapter 29, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding                       section 13-2931, to read:  

13-2931. Unlawful manufacturing, acquisition, possession or making of modified messenger ribonucleic acid injections or products; enforcement; nonfeasance in public office; classification; definition  

A. It is unlawful for a person to INTENTIONALLY or knowingly manufacture, acquire, possess or make readily accessible to another person modified messenger ribonucleic acid injections or products.  

b. The governor, the attorney general and all county attorneys, county sheriff’s departments and other law enforcement agencies shall collaborate and shall use all lawful means necessary to enforce this section.  

c. The enforcement of this section is a mandatory duty imposed by law. A state or local government official who knowingly fails to enforce or investigate violations of this section after being provided with reasonable evidence of violations is guilty of nonfeasance in public office pursuant to section 38-443.  

d. A resident of this state may seek injunctive relief, declaratory relief and monetary damages from this state or a state or local government official for lack of enforcement of this section.  

e. A violation of this section is a class 2 felony and may be prosecuted under section 13-2308.01 as terrorism and under section 13-2308.03 as unlawful use of an infectious biological substance when the elements of those offenses are established. A person convicted of a violation of this section is subject to the enhanced penalties prescribed in sections 13-2308.01 and 13-2308.03 when applicable, including the possibility of life imprisonment if the violation causes a person’s death.  

f. For the purposes of this section, “MODIFIED messenger ribonucleic acid injections or products”:  

1. Means any of the following:  

(a) With regards to COVID-19 injections, modified messenger ribonucleic acid as related to the gene altering agents. For the purposes of this subdivision, “gene altering” means to substitute two N-methyl-pseudouridine amino acids for the usual uridine components to elude immune destruction of the messenger ribonucleic acid, which then allows the messenger ribonucleic acid that produces the pathogenic Spike protein to exist within cells for a longer period of time.  

(b) Any injection or product that contains modified messenger ribonucleic acid.  

(c) Any human gene therapy product for any infectious disease indication, regardless of whether the administration is termed an immunization, a vaccination or another similar term.  

(d) Nanotechnology or nanoparticles that alter genes and that create a biosynthetic cell replication.  

(e) self-amplifying or self-replicating modified messenger ribonucleic acid. For the purposes of this subdivision, “self-amplifying” or “self-replicating” means a form of modified messenger ribonucleic acid that is capable of making copies of itself once inside a cell, leading to a higher level of antigen production over a prolonged period.  

2. Does not include naturally occurring messenger ribonucleic acid that is a single-stranded molecule of ribonucleic acid that corresponds to the genetic sequence of a gene.  

Sec. 3. Legislative intent  

It is the intent of the legislature to designate modified messenger ribonucleic acid injections and products as biological agents and weapons of mass destruction as defined in section 13-2301, Arizona Revised Statutes, as amended by this act, and to both:  

1. Declare that their use is an act of terrorism under section 13-2308.01, Arizona Revised Statutes, and an unlawful use of an infectious biological substance under section 13-2308.03, Arizona Revised Statutes.  

2. Prohibit their possession, use or distribution in this state.  

Sec. 4. Short title  

This act may be cited as the “Sansone mRNA Bioweapons Prohibition Act”.  

Sec. 5. Emergency  

This act is an emergency measure that is necessary to preserve the public peace, health or safety and is operative immediately as provided by law.  

Please share this with everyone you know; the more people we can wake up, the more that will be pushing for this evil to be ended. Send it to all your local officials.

Article posted with permission from Sons of Liberty Media

The post Stop The Chemtrail Destruction: Here’s A Bill Every Legislator Needs To Support appeared first on The Washington Standard.

Trump is pressuring Congress to ban investor buying. But Congress says no.

Lawmakers Push Back on Trump’s Proposed Ban

The Wall Street Journal reports Proposed Ban on Investors in the Housing Market Hits a Wall in Congress

The White House is at loggerheads with Congress over one of President Trump’s signature housing proposals, a ban on Wall Street investors buying single-family homes.

Trump officials pressured Congressional Republicans in recent weeks to include the investor ban as an amendment in either of the major housing bills currently winding through the House and the Senate, according to people familiar with the matter.

But lawmakers in both chambers have resisted adding the investor ban, which traditional free-market advocates, Wall Street executives and the home builder industry generally oppose. Any such amendment could derail the bipartisan momentum behind both housing packages that have been in the works for months.

The House is set to vote on its bill as soon as Monday, where it is expected to pass with bipartisan support. The Senate passed a similar bill last fall.

Lawmaker pushback to Trump’s investor ban shows how the White House and Congress favor different approaches to addressing America’s housing crisis, which sent sales last year to a 30-year low. Home values have soared by more than 50% since 2019 and are pricing out many first-time buyers.

Trump announced his own housing proposals this year that were more focused on stimulating demand, including instructing the government-backed mortgage-finance companies to buy $200 billion in mortgage bonds in an effort to lower mortgage rates.

The president also issued an executive order last month to restrict the ability of large investors from buying single-family homes. Single-family home investors own a small slice of the overall housing market, but that still equates to hundreds of thousands of homes. Institutional housing investors are concentrated in certain cities like Atlanta and Dallas.

The president directed Congress to make the policy law, since the White House is limited in its ability to implement such a ban unilaterally.

Key GOP lawmakers so far aren’t inclined to do so. House Rep. French Hill of Arkansas, who serves as chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, denied the White House’s request to add an amendment to the Housing for the 21st Century Act, a package of various proposals to boost housing supply.

A similar story is playing out on the Senate side, where Trump would have to win over Republicans to get an investor ban amendment included in the ROAD to Housing Act.

An Illegal Executive Order

Essentially, Trump admits that he signed an illegal, toothless executive order.

Now Trump is pressuring Congress to get it done. But there is resistance in the House and Senate, so this appears over.

Related Posts

February 3, 2026: One Year In, How Is Trump Doing with His Promise to Eliminate Inflation?

At Davos, Trump proclaimed he “defeated inflation”.

February 5, 2026: Farm Lobby Sends Damning Letter to Congress About Trump’s Tariffs

The letter complains of the “indiscriminate and haphazard nature” of Trump’s tariff policies.

“It is clear that the current Administration’s actions, along with Congressional inaction, have increased costs for farm inputs, disrupted overseas and domestic markets, denied agriculture its reliable labor pool, and defunded critical ag research and staffing. And these impacts are not happening in a vacuum.”

That’s a major damning letter. Please read it.

Dear Zoomers, Trump Says He “Wants to Drive Up Housing Prices”

Finally, please note Dear Zoomers, Trump Says He “Wants to Drive Up Housing Prices”

Somehow, I doubt Gen Z will like this message.

The messaging of this administration on tariffs, housing, and deportations is hopelessly out of touch.

Article posted with permission from Mish Shedlock

The post Why Did Trump’s Housing Ban Hit a Wall in Congress? appeared first on The Washington Standard.

Our nation was founded on Christian principles and is one of the reasons our republic has lasted for 250 years. History has taught us that freedoms are only preserved when morality is prioritized, otherwise society devolves into chaos. The Ten Commandments provide a moral foundation for children and is a wonderful addition to a well-rounded, classical education.

Related Post: Both S.C. Chambers Filed Their Versions of Bills to “Fix” SCDOT – And They Must Be Stopped

While this bill is well-intentioned, it has no enforcement and will act more as a feather in the cap of the legislature rather than addressing the root problems of federal- and state- run compulsory education overshadowing the discretion of local school districts. If passed, it will almost certainly face legal challenges as the three states that have already passed similar laws are now tied up in legal battles over this issue. Our suggestion for the SC General Assembly is to learn from other states and allow for a poster to be made available as an option, but not to require it.

Guaranteed Court Challenges

The U.S. Supreme Court upheld in a 1980 Kentucky case that requiring a public school to post a copy of the Ten Commandments (purchased with private contributions) is unconstitutional as violating the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment [Stone v. Graham, 449 U.S. 39].

H.3217 mirrors this case and is guaranteed to be taken to court following enactment. Is taxpayer money being best used by paying for a losing legal battle or is there an alternative that avoids legal challenges?

Three states have passed similar laws and are all tied up in court: Lousiana, Arkansas, and Texas. Unless the South Carolina legislature has a big plan to challenge Stone v. Graham and is confident it can overturn this decision, legislators need to think long and hard about this piece of legislation.

Related Post: Inside the Meltdown: GOP Backlash Derails South Carolina’s Incumbent Protection Act (H.3643)

Make It An Option, Not A Requirement

The reason the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Stone v. Graham unconstitutional was because the government was mandating that something should be posted. Instead of mandating H.3217, what if instead the bill allowed for the Ten Commandments to be made available to teachers and allow the local school district and/or school to handle it from there?

While H.3217 may be rooted in good intentions, mandating the display of the Ten Commandments in every classroom is both legally precarious and unlikely to address the real issues facing South Carolina’s schools. Rather than risking taxpayer money on a guaranteed court battle, the legislature should consider its options, such as a voluntary approach by making the Ten Commandments available as an option for schools and teachers. This respects local control, upholds constitutional protections, and still allows students to benefit from a moral framework in their education.

Article posted with permission from Palmetto State Watch

The post H.3217: Should The Ten Commandments Be Required To Be Posted In Classrooms? appeared first on The Washington Standard.

Anna Herron has the story at Palmetto State Watch.

The South Carolina House and Senate have each filed their own versions of legislation to “modernize” the South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT). Despite coming from different chambers, both bills share many bad parts. Rather than streamlining government, improving accountability, or reducing costs for taxpayers, both proposals expand government, raise fees and taxes, increase debt, and pave the way for permanent toll roads. What else would you expect from Republican supermajorities that routinely campaign on limited government and fiscal restraint?

SCDOT Secretary Justin Powell worked closely with legislative staff, the Municipal Association of South Carolina (MASC), members of a special House ad hoc committee, and other politically connected interests to craft their wish list. The result is nearly 15,000-worded legislation that grows bureaucracy, weakens oversight, and creates many new revenue streams for the state.

How We Got Here: The SCDOT Modernization Ad Hoc Committee

Last year, House Speaker Murrell Smith announced the creation of the SCDOT Modernization Ad Hoc Committee, made up of 24 House members. The committee was charged with modernizing and expanding South Carolina’s transportation infrastructure. Since raising the gas tax, now stuck at 28.75 cents per gallon since 2022, is politically impossible, Speaker Smith asked the committee to explore alternative ways to increase revenue for SCDOT.

The committee was also tasked with reforming the permitting process, increasing accountability to the state, and updating the state’s toll road statutes. However, public hearings largely consisted of agencies, transit authorities, and private contractors asking for more money. At one point, Representative Don Chapman even joked that the committee’s logo should have been dollar signs.

After the committee traveled to the coast three times, Greenville and the Midlands for six public hearings, three subcommittee meetings, and three full committee meetings, the drafts were drawn up.

One of the slides from the presentations that were presented by the committee

The Bills: H.5071 and S.831

House Bill 5071 was filed January 29, 2026 with 45 Republican and three Democrat sponsors. Nine days earlier, Senate Bill 831 was filed by Senator Larry Grooms of Berkeley County, the Republican chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee. The bills are strikingly similar and reflect the same policy priorities pushed by SCDOT leadership.

What the Bills Do — And Why It Matters

1. A New Coordinating Council and More Unelected Bureaucracy

Both bills create a new “Coordinating Council,” as requested by Secretary Powell. This council would govern metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) and newly created rural planning districts. It would consist of two local representatives appointed by the governor and eight to ten state agency heads—a structure Representative Leon Stavrinakis criticized as being “very Columbia-centric.”

Currently, the governor appoints a nine-member SCDOT Commission, and that commission appoints the Secretary. The House bill eliminates the commission entirely and makes the Secretary directly accountable to the governor. The Senate bill, by contrast, keeps the Commission in place and doubles up on the unelected bureaucracy.

2. Higher Local Taxes and Property Tax Pressure

Both bills allow counties to impose a new 2% sales tax and increase annual millage beyond the limits set in the controversial Act 388. In exchange, counties would be incentivized—or required, as written in the Senate version—to take over responsibility for certain roads identified by SCDOT and approved by the Coordinating Council.

The difference between the bills is important: the House version makes the transfer voluntary, while the Senate version makes it mandatory. Either way, this should be a wake-up call for anyone who believes the Republican Caucuses are serious about reducing or abolishing property taxes.

3. Public-Private Partnerships (P3s)

These bills authorize SCDOT to enter into public-private partnerships, a policy Representative Gary Brewer advocated for more than once during the ad hoc committee meetings. P3s shift public infrastructure into arrangements that often guarantee profits for private companies while transferring long-term financial risk to taxpayers, as revealed in the next section.

4. Debt and Toll Roads: The Future of South Carolina

Both bills dramatically expand the state’s ability to take on transportation debt. They allow the Retirement System Investment Commission to finance turnpike bonds, potentially tapping into the state’s roughly $51 billion public employee pension fund.

They also eliminate the Infrastructure Maintenance Transportation Fund (IMTF) and redirect those dollars into the State Highway Fund, which can be used to finance additional road debt. They further allow toll revenues to be used for highway projects rather than the project on which the toll is collected, removing long-standing taxpayer safeguards.

Even more concerning, the bills explicitly state that turnpike bonds do not count toward South Carolina’s constitutional debt limit and remove the requirement for public hearings before issuing those bonds. The result is a framework that enables toll roads across the state, billions in borrowing, and little to no public input. That’s a sweet deal for those P3s, creating a dedicated revenue stream that benefits private companies.

5. Massive Fee Increases on EVs, Hybrids, and Truckers

Both bills more than triple the biennial (every two years) registration fees for electric and hybrid vehicles. Hybrid fees would increase from $60 to $200, while EV fees would jump from $120 to $400. That’s a tax increase of over 300%. Electricity used to charge EVs would also be taxed at 4.5 cents per kilowatt hour, while it’s currently not taxed. Commercial truckers would also be hit with increased fees. If their trucks weigh over 11,000 pounds, they must pay an additional 10% of their biennial fee.

Secretary Powell has argued these increases on EVs and hybrids are justified because gas-tax payers, according to his team’s findings, pay on average $200 per year. But for drivers spending $300 per month on gas at $2.50 per gallon, annual gas taxes exceed $400. On top of that, the legislature grants the State Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office sole authority to adjust all of these fees and electricity taxes for inflation every four years. That raises serious concerns about taxation without representation.

Related: Snow Hits Columbia Over the Weekend [PSW/Alaina Moore]

Why These Bills Are Bad Policy

Taken together, these bills raise taxes and fees, increase long-term debt, expand unelected bureaucracy, reduce transparency, and provide no meaningful reduction in government size. That combination directly contradicts what voters are typically promised by Republican supermajorities.

What You Can Do

The process is not over yet. House Bill 5071 awaits consideration by the Ways and Means Committee. 45 Republicans have signed onto the bill, including three members of that committee. We will provide updates when this bill moves. Senate Bill 831 is scheduled for its third subcommittee hearing this Wednesday, February 4, at 11:00 a.m. You can read the agenda HERE.

Contact the following senators and tell them to vote AGAINST S.831:

Chairman Sean Bennett – (843) 821-3009 – SeanBennet@scsenate.gov

Rex Rice – (864) 884-0408 – RexRice@scsenate.gov

Brian Adams – 803-212-6024 – BrianAdams@scsenate.gov

Mike Reichenbach – (803) 212-6016 – MikeReichenbach@scsenate.gov

Overture Walker – (803) 212-6100 – OvertureWalker@scsenate.gov

Ed Sutton – (803) 212-6056 – EdSutton@scsenate.gov

Allen Blackmon – (803) 212-6172 – AllenBlackmon@scsenate.gov

Research and written by Anna Herron, co-authored by Melissa McFadden

Article posted with permission from Sons of Liberty Media

The post Both S.C. Chambers Filed Their Versions of Bills to “Fix” SCDOT – And They Must Be Stopped appeared first on The Washington Standard.

The Geller Report has more:

“The USADF Director of Financial Management’s fraudulent acts betrayed the trust of the American people,” said Acting Assistant Inspector General for Investigations Sean M. Bottary. “As the Inspector General with continued oversight jurisdiction over U.S.-funded foreign assistance, we will utilize our global investigative reach to aggressively detect and disrupt those who defraud taxpayer dollars programmed overseas.”

🚨 BOMBSHELL from Sen. Mike Lee on the Senate floor:

The U.S. African Development Foundation (USADF) is a publicly admitted fraud machine—and Congress just voted to KEEP funding it!

This morning, DOJ announced USADF’s CFO, Mathieu Zahui, charged and pleading guilty to TWO… pic.twitter.com/KVqbBlrLNw

— Max Creel (@myc19631) January 31, 2026

The CFO of the U.S. African Development Foundation just pled guilty to corruption and bribery charges.

So why is Congress about to shovel more money into USADF? pic.twitter.com/1A6ZJI4Gck

— Mike Lee (@SenMikeLee) January 30, 2026

🚨 SENATE UNIPARTY CAUCUS: On the SAME DAY the DOJ announced U.S. African Development Foundation (USADF) CFO pleaded guilty to kickbacks via Kenyan shell companies & lying to feds, Senate VOTED DOWN @BasedMikeLee‘s amendment to defund this fraud-ridden “trash” agency (per its own… pic.twitter.com/L3yxEPIEgR

— Publius (@OcrazioCornPop) January 31, 2026

Senator Mike Lee Lee warned the vote would funnel billions in taxpayer dollars into earmarks for priorities voters never approved—ranging from aid tied to illegal immigration to controversial social programs—while GOP lawmakers who once boasted about backing DOGE quietly reversed course. The effort to defund USADF was backed by the agency’s acting chairman and CEO themselves, yet a bloc of Republican senators broke ranks to kill it. Critics argue the episode exposes how entrenched NGO funding pipelines—long fueled by U.S. aid dollars—prop up activist networks and Democratic fundraising, and why attempts to shut them down trigger fierce resistance from both parties’ establishments.

Senator Mike Lee FUMES after Senate Republicans vote to FUND the US African Development Foundation despite its leader admitting to CORRUPTION, and DOGE confirming it’s fraud

“This vote to defund USADF was supported by the acting chairman and CEO of USADF itself and his call to defund it was based on an indictment and a guilty plea of this chief financial officer among other things that led to calling it a culture of waste, fraud, and abuse!”

“It was also echoed by the Department of War’s DOGE office and this was set at a simple majority threshold. Should have been easy.”

“Republicans acting alone could have, would have, and should have defunded this today but instead what was the result? Well it was defeated.”

“All Democrats voted to table it and they were joined by just enough Republicans, just a small handful of them, to table this measure with a vote of 58 to 42. But I look forward, let’s just say, to hearing my colleagues explain this vote.”

🚨 BREAKING: Sen. Mike Lee FUMES after Senate Republicans vote to FUND the US African Development Foundation despite its leader admitting to CORRUPTION, and DOGE confirming it’s fraud

“This vote to defund USADF was supported by the acting chairman and CEO of USADF itself and his… https://t.co/1wsG0OzHLV pic.twitter.com/1elDmSrx8f

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) January 30, 2026

The Senate is about to throw 7 billion dollars of your money at earmarks for aid to illegals, puberty blockers for kids, and charging stations for electric vehicles, among other things.

Remember when every Republican bragged about supporting DOGE?

The Senate is about to throw 7 billion dollars of your money at earmarks for aid to illegals, puberty blockers for kids, and charging stations for electric vehicles, among other things.

Remember when every Republican bragged about supporting DOGE? pic.twitter.com/J7gzSbZhbD

— Mike Lee (@SenMikeLee) January 30, 2026

The Senate is about to throw 7 billion dollars of your money at earmarks for aid to illegals, puberty blockers for kids, and charging stations for electric vehicles, among other things.

Remember when every Republican bragged about supporting DOGE? pic.twitter.com/J7gzSbZhbD

— Mike Lee (@SenMikeLee) January 30, 2026

Weird … as soon as USAID was shutdown, the Democrats started having difficulty raising money.

All of those billions of tax dollars funding their NGO networks and their thousands of activists … they can’t donate any more to their Democrats. https://t.co/CGS4K4heH9 pic.twitter.com/twlCy0COml

— Wall Street Mav (@WallStreetMav) January 31, 2026

As soon as USAID was shutdown, the Democrats started having difficulty raising money.

All of those billions of tax dollars funding their NGO networks and their thousands of activists … they can’t donate any more to their Democrats.

RINOs: These 11 Republicans know the USADF was being run by criminals funding criminals. Despite this they each voted to keep funding it. https://t.co/VdnI2VSYFx pic.twitter.com/GJAAF0DxPq

— @amuse (@amuse) January 31, 2026

Today prosecutors from @USAO_DC held another criminal defrauding U.S. taxpayers accountable.

Mathieu Zahui, the former Director of Financial Management for the United States African Development Foundation, plead guilty to receiving cash payouts from a government contractor and… pic.twitter.com/Otcpm3KGDi

— U.S. Attorney DC (@USAO_DC) January 30, 2026

On the same day the DOJ announced U.S. African Development Foundation (USADF) CFO pleaded guilty to kickbacks via Kenyan shell companies & lying to feds, Senate voted DOWN Senator Mike Lee’s amendment to defund this fraud-ridden “trash” agency (per its own CEO).

CFO pleaded guilty to two felonies for kickbacks (by Zelle)

– Refused President Trump’s authority.

– Bragged about blocking DOGE from entry.

– Hired firms to attack whistleblowers.

– Sent money to non-existent offices.

IS YOUR SENATOR ON THE LIST?

List of Republicans that killed Mike Lee’s effort to defund the United States African Development Foundation which was plagued by waste, fraud, and abuse.

Boozman (AR)
Britt (AL)
Capito (WV)
Collins (ME)
Cotton (AR)
Fischer (NE)
Graham (SC)
Husted (OH)
Hyde-Smith (MS)
Kennedy (LA)
McConnell (KY)
Moran (KS)
Mullin (OK)
Murkowski (AK)
Rounds (SD)
Sheehy (MT)
Sullivan (AK)
Thune (SD)
Tillis (NC)
Wicker (MS)

We reject it!  Now, the People must bring justice against these thieves and fraudsters.

Article posted with permission from Sons of Liberty Media

The post Treasonous Representatives Vote To Fund Corrupt, Criminal USADF To The Tune Of $7 Billion! appeared first on The Washington Standard.

Everyone has been wondering what prompted Marjorie Taylor Greene to make such a dramatic decision, and now she is opening up and letting us understand the real reason why she is resigning from Congress.

The social media posts that I am about to share with you contain some raw language, but I think that it is critical that we attempt to understand what Marjorie Taylor Greene is trying to tell us.

In a response to a post by Mike Cernovich, she suggested that if she stayed in Congress any longer she could be “assassinated like our friend Charlie Kirk”…

It appears that this is the real reason why she has decided to leave Congress.

And considering all of the political violence that we have witnessed over the past couple of years, it would be hard for anyone to argue that she is being irrational.

In another response to Mike Cernovich, Greene suggested that if she just kept doing what she was doing she could be “murdered”…

It is common for outspoken members of Congress to receive death threats.

But I have a feeling that the sort of threats that Greene has been receiving are on another level.

Once she took a very strong stand on the Epstein files, she put herself in great danger.

I can understand why she is so emotional right now.

When you know that you are in the crosshairs, it can be very difficult to remain calm.

Greene followed up the two posts above with this one…

Obviously she used some language that most of us would not use.

But once again, we need to remember that she feels like she could be killed at any time.

There are certainly some things that Marjorie Taylor Greene and I do not see eye to eye on, but she is quite right about the state of the federal government.

Most members of Congress are never going to say anything controversial and will do whatever party leaders tell them to do.

The reason why they are so subservient is because they desperately want to continue being members of Congress.

So year after year, it is business as usual in Washington.

But doing things the way we have always been doing them is a recipe for suicide.

We just learned that the federal government ran a budget deficit of 284.4 billion dollars for the month of October…

As usual, it was government spending that was the problem again, and at $688.7 billion, or over $22 billion per day, the October total was a 17.9% jump compared to the $584.2 billion spent a year prior. And just when the US was making some modest progress on merging the red (spending) and green (revenue) lines.

The combination of these two numbers resulted in a $284.4 billion deficit for the month of October, which was not only higher than the $257.5 billion deficit last October, but also higher than the record covid budget buster of $284.1 billion in October 2020!

And since we are now (only) one month in fiscal 2026, we now have the worst budget-deficit start to a fiscal year in US history.

What we are doing is completely and utterly insane.

With Republicans in power, we were supposed to be spending less money.

But somehow we spent 17.9 percent more money in October 2025 than we did in October 2024.

Why aren’t more people upset about this?

During the past 12 months, the U.S. government has spent 1.24 trillion dollars just on interest on the national debt…

Taking a closer look at the causes of the October budget-busting deficit reveals the same usual suspects: spending across all major categories increased in October, but the most dramatic one was once again the relentless surge in the gross US interest, which is now a record $1.24 trillion in the last twelve months, and is rapidly approaching social security ($1.589 trillion LTM) as the largest source of government spending.

Most Americans simply cannot grasp how much money a trillion dollars is.

If you started spending a million dollars a day when Jesus was born, you still would not have spent a trillion dollars by now.

It took from the founding of our country all the way to 1980 for the federal government to accumulate one trillion dollars of debt.

Now the national debt exceeds 38 trillion dollars, and we are spending more than a trillion dollars a year just on interest on that debt.

This is lunacy!

But we just kept sending the same critters back to Congress over and over again.

And they just kept passing gigantic spending bills over and over again.

I hate what is being done to our once great Republic.

99 percent of the current members of Congress need to be voted out and replaced.

We are drowning in debt because of the spending that they approved, and now the bright future that our children and our grandchildren were supposed to enjoy has been destroyed.

What they have done to future generations of Americans is beyond criminal.

But they aren’t going to get voted out, are they?

Instead, the vast majority of them will be sent right back to Washington the next time an election rolls around.

When Marjorie Taylor Greene said that the politicians in Washington are “burying you and your children and their children and their children in a pine box in a shallow grave”,  she was right on target.

But no matter how much people like me rant about the corruption in D.C., most Americans simply choose not to care, and the clock is ticking.

Article posted with permission from Michael Snyder

The post Marjorie Taylor Greene Explains The Real Reason Why She Is Resigning From Congress appeared first on The Washington Standard.

“A dividend of at least $2,000 a person (not including high-income people!) will be paid to everyone,” Trump wrote on Truth Social Sunday.

“People that are against Tariffs are FOOLS!” the ruler added, insisting that the policy is contributing “trillions of dollars” to the U.S. budget and will help reduce the nation’s $38 trillion national debt. The tariffs are also driving up prices as consumers struggle to make ends meet.

In August, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC that the administration’s priority is to use the tariff revenue to pay down the $38.12 trillion national debt.

Americans Want More Stimulus Checks to Fight Inflation

Walmart & Target Warn Consumers Of Higher Prices Thanks To Tariffs

At a press briefing in the Oval Office on Wednesday, Trump was asked about one judge’s comment that tariffs are essentially taxes paid by the people. “I don’t agree,” he replied. “I think that they might be paying something… But when you take the overall impact, Americans are gaining tremendously.”

A Supreme Court ruling against the tariff policy would be “devastating for our country,” the president said. “I also think that we’ll have to develop a ‘game two’ plan.”

Tariffs are paid by the end consumer. The cost of goods increases down the line, and those selling it increase the price to cover the cost of the tariff. That means that American consumers are the ones paying for these taxes that the ruling class levied.

The promised $2000 could also come in the form of “tax breaks,” Bessent told ABC News. Which means nothing to the American public because we already know the ruling class will not be dismantling the IRS (Internal Revenue Service).

This news comes as eight democrats break ranks to try to end the government shutdown. The U.S. Senate has approved a bipartisan deal to end the federal government shutdown, clearing a major hurdle after more than five weeks of political deadlock.

Article posted with permission from Mac Slavo

The post Trump Promises $2000 “Tariff Dividend” Saying Those Who Opposes Tariffs Are “Fools” appeared first on The Washington Standard.

Representative White did not disappoint.

While each of his posts were very powerful, I want to highlight the last two about lobbyist power and the loss of oversight.

My First Taste of Lobbyist Power

Published on October 4, 2025 by Representative Joe White

On November 29, 2022, I walked into the South Carolina Statehouse as an elected representative for the very first time.

Along with 26 other new legislators, I began what they call “freshman orientation.” It was a full day and a half of paperwork, and procedures–signing forms for health insurance, filling out disclosures, listening to lectures, and being briefed on the ethics rules we were supposed to uphold.

It was also our first introduction to the House leadership, the staff, and the official responsibilities of serving as a legislator. Everything seemed straightforward enough–until the very end.

On November 30, we were told that a “special treat” awaited us. State vehicles were waiting, or we could drive ourselves to Williams-Brice Stadium, home of the South Carolina Gamecocks. I had been there many times before, but I was not prepared for what came next.

When I arrived, I was greeted by cheerleaders, trustees of the University of South Carolina, the university’s president, and even Cocky, the school’s mascot.

Nice music from a live ensemble played, as food and beverage were provided. So many different “important people” patted me on my back as they told me how wonderful I was. “How great that you stepped up to serve,” they said. “We’re looking forward to working with you.”

Then came the finale. The lights in Willie B were lowered. The Jumbotron lit up.

One by one, the faces of each new legislator filled the screen as dramatic movie music played over the stadium speakers.

At 76 years of age, after a long life of raising a family, starting and running a business for 35 years, and faithfully serving my community and my church, I was not impressed!

Frankly, it made me want to throw up!

My worth will never come from being elected to public office. My worth is in my integrity, my courage, and my commitment to doing what is right–not in being elected to office and then being treated like a celebrity by lobbyists.

Unfortunately, I did notice that evening that some of my fellow freshmen were eating it up, literally and figuratively. They were enjoying the food, the wine, the flattery. You could see it in their faces: they were starting to believe the lobbyists who told them how important they were. They were beginning to feel powerful, and they hadn’t even been sworn in yet!

That night was my first look at how lobbyists and special interests get their hooks into new legislators. They don’t start with policy papers. They don’t start with bills. They start by appealing to ego–making you feel important, making you feel special, making you feel like you owe them something. They pretend that you are powerful, knowing full well that they in fact are the power. They have the money–the budget to use to get you to do what they want. You are simply a pawn on their chessboard.

And it works!

Some legislators were already turning before they had ever taken a single vote. Whatever USC wants, USC shall certainly get from them!

I share this story because it should be repugnant to every voting citizen in South Carolina. We are supposed to elect men and women who represent us. We are supposed to be governed “of the people, by the people, and for the people,” but too often, the lobbyists and special interests use their power, their money, and their carefully staged spectacles to bend legislators to their will before the first gavel ever falls.

This was my first experience with the influence of special interests in Columbia, and I can tell you this: it is real, it is powerful, and it is a danger to the people’s governance.

There are over 3,000 registered lobbyists at our South Carolina Statehouse–each with an agenda. Come down to the Statehouse some day when we are in session. Observe for yourself. Better yet come down to the clubs and restaurants near the statehouse on a Tuesday or Wednesday evening while we are in session and see how much money is being spent to buy your representative’s vote.

I’d rather hear from 5 constituents in District 40 than any of them.

A side note: (just my opinion)

Ever wonder why we can’t seem to get good insurance and good insurance rates? Ever wonder how our judicial system seems to favor criminals instead of victims?

Two of the most powerful and well-funded groups are insurance interests and lawyers. Many of our legislative impasses are because the legislation could favor one of those over the other. (think Tort reform)

Oversight Lost–Why South Carolina Taxpayers Keep Paying the Price

Published on October 5, 2025 by Representative Joe White

As I sat in a meeting discussing the best use of $1.8 million by a government entity, a legislator with more than 20 years of service asked, “Representative, why are you so concerned about this $1.8 million? We’re responsible for a $14.5 billion budget.”

I replied, “100 here, 100 there, 1,000 here, 1,000 there, a million here, a million there–eventually, it adds up to real money, real, hard earned, taxpayer/constituent money, and I believe we have a fiduciary responsibility to guard it.”

In March 2023, the South Carolina House of Representatives voted to incentivize Volkswagen, doing business under the name of Scout Motors, to locate an electric vehicle plant in South Carolina.

During the debate, I asked a few simple questions:

“Do you know how long it normally takes to do “due diligence” on a project of this magnitude”?

“Eighteen to twenty-four months,” I answered my own question when the bill’s proponent said he didn’t know.

“How long have we known Scout was looking for a site?”

“Since December,” was his reply.

Less than 3 months. Three months of knowing, no due diligence, no completed studies, no public transparency.

Then I asked, “Do you know how many miles of two-lane asphalt road we could resurface with $1.3 billion?”

“No, but I guess you’re about to tell me,” was his response.

“3,500 miles.”

The House approved the deal 100-12. I voted with the minority, not because the project was/is necessarily bad, but because we did not have enough information to make an informed decision.

Oversight and accountability should not be partisan. Our constitutional duty is to ask; Are the laws we pass being enforced? Are the judges we elect making honorable, unbiased decisions? Is the money we appropriate being used wisely AND ONLY for the purpose intended? When we stop asking those questions, corruption and waste follow, EVERY TIME!

In 1989, Operation Lost Trust exposed legislators who were bribed and bought. In 2016, the “Quindom” scandal brought down a Speaker of the House and four others. The pattern hasn’t stopped; it has just evolved.

I have no reason to believe that Columbia developer, Bill Stern is anything other than a successful businessman but the scale of his dealings with the state–and his influence as chairman of the powerful South Carolina Ports Authority demands scrutiny.

Over the last dozen years, Mr. Stern has built a real estate empire intertwined with state decisions:

The State Farmer’s Market was moved to land he purchased just two years before the state decided it needed to move from downtown to his land.

The Department of Natural Resources has relocated to the same site.

The Department of Education left its state-owned 900,000 square foot building on Pendleton Street for a 600,000 square foot building built by Stern and leased back to the state on a 20-year triple net lease.

Most recently, the Department of Health reorganization conveniently led to a 20-year triple net lease in the old SCANA facility, a property Mr. Stern had under contract pending approval of that very move.

Mr. Stern and his wife also chaired Governor McMaster’s inaugural committees in both 2019 and 2023–positions of significant influence. These facts do not prove corruption, but they scream for oversight.

When government fails to oversee itself, it costs the people billons:

$9 billion disappeared in the V. C. Summer nuclear debacle.

$1.1 billion was wasted in the failed Carolina Panther facility in Rock Hill.

Billions more may have been squandered by the Ports Authority through poor management.

For thirty years, we have been told we are going to get our roads fixed. That road money seems to always pave someone else’s pocket.

South Carolina does not have a revenue problem. We have a RESPONSIBILITY problem. We elect representatives, not to rubber stamp billion-dollar deals, but to protect the taxpayers who have to pay for those deals.

Oversight is not glamorous, but it is sacred! When legislators shrug at $1.8 million because “we manage $14 billion,” it’s no wonder the public has “Lost Trust.”

It’s not about the money. It’s about integrity, stewardship, and restoring trust in a government that belongs to the people–not the insiders who profit from it.

Tomorrow, I will issue my earnest plea to South Carolina citizens to join me as you play your part in fixing our democratic republic.

Representative White’s articles show just how susceptible our government officials are when it comes to power and influence. Many times, it doesn’t even take money. Other times, there are financial incentives. I have written many times about Bill Stern, one of the largest benefactors in SC politics. Check out his connections to two of the most powerful players in South Carolina—Attorney General Alan Wilson and Governor Henry McMaster—as well as Stern’s huge payday from the SC legislature HERE.

It is imperative that we elect representatives that actually have an unbendable backbone. It’s easy to make the campaign promise that you will not bend in Columbia, but for most, it’s just a matter of time. So many South Carolinians go in to the statehouse with good intentions but are almost immediately compromised and they don’t even realize it. Words are cheap, liquor is sweet, and power is corrupting.

To read White’s plea to South Carolinians, click HERE.

Article posted with permission from PalmettoStateWatchFoundation.com

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