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From Director Vought to A-11 update, OMB minimizing GAO’s role

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5 months ago

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The Office of Management and Budget is making its feelings known about the Government Accountability Office publicly and in regulations.

Russ Vought, OMB’s director, said yesterday that GAO, like other independent agencies, doesn’t have a place in overseeing the executive branch.

“We are not big fans of GAO. They are a quasi-legislative independent entity. Again, something that shouldn’t exist,” Vought said during a speech at the National Conservatism Conference.

Office of Management and Budget director Russell Vought. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)

Prior to the speech, OMB also made its stance about GAO clear in its update to Circular A-11, where it specifically called out GAO’s role in oversight.

“Updates guidance regarding the role of GAO as a Legislative Branch agency, whose opinions are non-binding on the Executive Branch and streamlines references to GAO throughout the circular. Fiscal guidelines for the Executive Branch are set by OMB and the Office of Federal Financial Management,” OMB wrote in the changes section of A-11.

GAO pushed back against Vought’s comments at the conference.

“Clearly Russell Vought does not value transparency and accountability. GAO’s mission is to support Congress in carrying out its constitutional responsibilities,” said Gene Dodaro, comptroller general of the United States and head of GAO, in a statement. “During my tenure as Comptroller General alone, GAO’s work has saved taxpayers over $1.2 trillion and resulted in tens of thousands of improvements to how federal programs work.”

GAO has been more aggressively touting its impact on the government over the last several months, especially since some House lawmakers wanted to cut its budget by 50%.

GAO released two blog posts explaining its role and its non-partisan approach to oversight and recommendations. It also highlighted the real-dollar benefits of its efforts.

“In fiscal year 2024, GAO’s work yielded $67.5 billion in financial benefits, a return of about $76 for every dollar invested in GAO. Our average return on investment for the past 6 years is $123 to $1,” GAO wrote in its 2026 budget request.

The Senate restored GAO’s budget for 2026, approving an $812 million budget, which is on par with current spending levels.

New language in Circular A-11

GAO’s budget remains in flux as the House and Senate still need to come to agreement to pass a final bill.

“GAO is a national treasure. Its insights and recommendations, though sometimes hard to hear, are invaluable to improve the efficiency and impact of the federal government. Moreover, it seems to be among the few institutions giving the administration any pushback on its ambitious efforts to expand executive power,” said a former OMB official, who requested anonymity for fear of retribution. “In my experience, Congress has zealously guarded GAO’s independence. I don’t see that today, at least on the Republican side, and that’s unfortunate.”

Along with Vought’s comments, the administration’s cemented its disdain for GAO’s role in A-11.

OMB added language to the new version of the Circular specifically calling out GAO.

For example in the 2025 version, OMB wrote under section 10.11 “What are the responsibilities and functions of GAO”:

“GAO is a Legislative Branch Agency that serves as an investigative arm of the Congress. GAO examines the use of public funds, programs and activities, and provides analyses, options, recommendations, and other assistance to help the Congress make oversight, policy, and funding decisions. GAO opinions are not binding on the Executive Branch. Executive Branch agencies, instead, must adhere to the opinions of the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel, and are expected to comply with guidance from the OMB in interpreting relevant fiscal laws and administering federal programs.”

In the 2024 version of A-11, OMB wrote in the same section:

“GAO is the investigative arm of the Congress. GAO helps the Congress meet its Constitutional responsibilities and helps improve the performance and accountability of the Federal Government for the American people. GAO examines the use of public funds, evaluates Federal programs and activities, and provides analyses, options, recommendations, and other assistance to help the Congress make effective oversight, policy, and funding decisions. In this context, GAO works to continuously improve the economy, efficiency, and effectiveness of the Federal Government through financial audits, program reviews and evaluations, analyses, legal opinions, investigations, and other services. GAO’s activities are designed to ensure the Executive Branch’s accountability to the Congress under the Constitution and the Government’s accountability to the American people. GAO is dedicated to good government through its commitment to the core values of accountability, integrity, and reliability.”

OMB also changed the requirements in the Anti-Deficiency Act section of A-11.

The 2025 version now says:

“Similarly, agencies should not seek decisions from GAO on appropriations and budgetary matters, either informally or pursuant to 31 U.S.C. § 3529. Rather, agencies should consult their general counsel on such matters, who should reach out to OMB’s Office of General Counsel as needed. In accordance with Executive Order 8248 and section 22, agencies should coordinate with OMB on any correspondence with GAO to ensure policy consistency.”

In the 2024 version, OMB told agencies:

“Under the constitutional doctrine of separation of powers, a legal opinion by a Legislative Branch agency cannot bind the Executive Branch. Nevertheless, if the Government Accountability Office (GAO) finds an agency has committed an ADA violation, the agency must report such violation to the President, the Congress and the Comptroller General in accordance with 31 U.S.C. § 1341 or § 1517(b). The report to the President must contain an explanation as to why the violation was not discovered and previously reported by the agency. If GAO finds that an agency has committed an ADA violation and the agency, in consultation with OMB, does not agree with GAO that a violation has occurred, the agency must still report, and provide a report to the President, the Congress, and the Comptroller General that explains the agency’s position.”

An email to OMB seeking comments on Vought’s speech and A-11 additions was not returned.

Oversight and transparency would be harmed

Chris Mihm, a former managing director for strategic issues at GAO and now an adjunct professor of public administration and international affairs at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University, said that while there always has been inevitable and worthwhile institutional tensions between OMB and GAO given the respective roles and responsibilities, it was never direct or personal.

“We always respected each other and the objectivity and integrity of the work, even in those cases where we strongly disagreed,” Mihm said in an email to Federal News Network. “Cutting back on GAO would undermine congressional decision making while also hampering Executive Branch operations. The problem now, of course, is GAO is part of a larger story about the unified executive and an across-the-board rejection of independent oversight and transparency. The impoundment issue is another part of that.”

Mihm is referring to GAO’s oversight of OMB’s potential or real violations of the Impoundment Control Act. The audit agency initiated 39 investigations over whether the Trump administration violated the 1974 law.

So far, GAO has found several violations by the White House.

In his speech, Vought said the administration has “dusted off the notion of impoundment.”

“The notion you can spend less than the Congressional appropriation. That is important. That, in and of itself, will make it that we have budgets again that are not ignored. The President’s budget started to be ignored in the 1970s when impoundment largely went away,” Vought said. “Notice it was not called the Impoundment Prevention Act. It was called the Impoundment Control Act. Even then, Congress knew it didn’t have the right to take this power away from the president. We’ve been very clear that yes, we will look opportunities for Congress to vote on rescissions and DOGE cuts.”

Mihm said the continued debate over the power of the purse will be something to continue to watch.

“Individual members of Congress have spoken out but, as on many other issues these days, Congress as an institution seems all too willing to cede its constitutional and historical authority and prerogatives,” he said. “By the way, this is why the selection of the next Comptroller General is so vitally important.”

Dodaro’s 15-year term comes to an end in December. The Comptroller General is nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate.

The post From Director Vought to A-11 update, OMB minimizing GAO’s role first appeared on Federal News Network.

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‘Pamphlets About Sharia Law and Other Islamic Things’ in Texas High School

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10 hours ago

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February 11, 2026

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Image: Wikimedia Commons (Deceased Chief Commander of Hizbul Mujahideen and Others)

High school students in Wylie, Texas, were recently provided with Muslim religious materials by representatives of an Islamic organization called Why Islam.

On February 2, in a video shared on X by Sara Gonzales, the president of the High School Republicans at Wiley East High School disclosed that members of Why Islam were providing hijabs to certain female students, along with Qurans and pamphlets about Sharia law to the student body—over their lunch hour “on public school taxpayer-funded time.”

In the follow-up reports regarding this incident, media outlets failed to mention Why Islam’s ties to groups that have long been scrutinized for their anti-Semitic views, sympathies toward terrorism, and other concerning affiliations.

Image: Screenshot by J.M. Phelps: Ties to ICNA visible on Why Islam’s website

Interestingly, the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) serves as the “chief representative body” in the U.S. for Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI), a South Asian Islamist movement. JeI’s militant wing, Hizbul Mujahideen, has been classified as a terrorist organization by the U.S. since 2017.

The Investigative Project on Terrorism also reported that ICNA’s websites once featured links to groups such as Hamas, Hezbollah, and militant factions active in Afghanistan and Kashmir. Furthermore, ICNA has supported the Islamic Society in Gaza, a group that has been known to radicalize children to support Hamas.

Why should this be a concern for the Texas school district, or any school district for that matter? Because, as stated by Focus on Western Islamism, “ICNA runs…a number of da’wah [proselytization] campaigns—the most active of which is called Why Islam.”

The Gateway Pundit interviewed Melanie Kurdys, a board member of United States Parents Involved in Education (USPIE). When the author of this article pointed out the connections between Why Islam and ICNA, as well as ICNA’s links to JeI, she was appalled.

She likened the discovery to that of the infiltration of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in America’s school systems through initiatives like Confucius Classrooms in K-12 schools and Confucius Institutes at universities.

“I think people have opened their eyes to this,” Kurdys said. “We went through a period of not caring, and now we realize that this was the way the communists managed to infiltrate our country and attempt to seize control. Why would you think this is any different?”

She extended the benefit of the doubt to those handing out the Muslim materials to students at the high school, suggesting they might be unaware of Why Islam’s connections to antisemitic, terror sympathizing groups. However, she also cautioned, “you always have the canary in the coal mine.”

With regard to Why Islam advocating for their Islamic beliefs in the public school, she said other groups in the community should have been afforded the same opportunity, having “a seat at the table.” To the contrary, the student featured in the video claimed that no other faith groups had ever been invited, asserting, “we’ve never had a faith group to my understanding.”

Given that Sharia law is often viewed as incompatible with the U.S. Constitution, American laws, and ” the American way of life,” Kurdys asked why the distribution of pamphlets on this subject was permitted. “Would Americans be granted the same interfaith respect and mutual survival [in a Muslim-majority nation]?”

While she encourages interfaith dialogue for students to gain knowledge, she also fears what could happen if it’s left unbridled and unchecked. After all, there’s already this example in Texas public schools with ties to a few controversial, perhaps dangerous, players.

Whether it’s related to the infiltration of Islamist groups or the CCP, or pornography in libraries, Kurdys said, “You can protect your kids by keeping them out of the government schools and opting for homeschooling or private education.”

The post ‘Pamphlets About Sharia Law and Other Islamic Things’ in Texas High School appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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Trump Admin to Repeal Obama-Era Climate Rule in ‘Largest Act of Deregulation in the History of the US’

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11 hours ago

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February 11, 2026

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Barack Obama speaking at The Connecticut Forum, discussing key issues while holding a microphone and gesturing with his hand.

The Trump administration is planning to wipe away the foundation that supported Obama-era regulations on greenhouse gasses, according to a new report.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the so-called “endangerment finding” of 2009 that labeled six greenhouse gasses as a threat to public health and welfare will be overturned.

The finding gave the Environmental Protection Agency legal authority to limit emissions from power plants and vehicles.

“This amounts to the largest act of deregulation in the history of the United States,” EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said.

The final rule is expected to be made public this week, the Journal wrote.

The Journal said the rule “removes the regulatory requirements to measure, report, certify and comply with federal greenhouse-gas emission standards for motor vehicles, and repeals associated compliance programs, credit provisions and reporting obligations for industries,” citing administration officials it did not name as the source of the report.

The new rule will not directly overturn regulations on power plant emissions but could be a first step in that direction, The Journal report said.

Trump began the process on the day he became president by directing the EPA to determine if the finding should remain in place. In July, the EPA first proposed rescinding the finding.

The report said the officials it did not name estimated removing the finding would reduce costs of compliance by about $1 trillion.

“More energy drives human flourishing,” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said. “Energy abundance is the thing that we have to focus on, not regulating certain forms of energy out.”

On Wednesday, Trump is scheduled to announce an executive order directing the War Department to buy electricity from coal-fired power plants.

Trump has made no secret of his support for wiping away regulations that constrict America’s energy supplying.

“My Administration is committed to unleashing American energy, especially through the removal of all illegitimate impediments to the identification, development, siting, production, investment in, or use of domestic energy resources — particularly oil, natural gas, coal, hydropower, geothermal, biofuel, critical mineral, and nuclear energy resources,” Trump wrote in a 2025 fact sheet,

“An affordable and reliable domestic energy supply is essential to the national and economic security of the United States, as well as our foreign policy.  Simply put, Americans are better off when the United States is energy dominant.”

Last month, Trump tweaked the climate change crowd over the extreme cold that hit the U.S.

“Record Cold Wave expected to hit 40 States. Rarely seen anything like it before. Could the Environmental Insurrectionists please explain — WHATEVER HAPPENED TO GLOBAL WARMING???” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.

The post Trump Admin to Repeal Obama-Era Climate Rule in ‘Largest Act of Deregulation in the History of the US’ appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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WAYNE ROOT: President Trump, Take the Offensive. The Moment to Strike is Now. Prove You’re the Greatest Dealmaker in History- Pass the SAVE Act. As a Bonus, Create “Illegal Alien Hall of Shame.” Tie it all to Epstein.

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11 hours ago

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February 11, 2026

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Serious expression of a man in a suit during a formal event, highlighting intense focus and engagement.

By Wayne Allyn Root

I can feel it. The momentum has shifted. This is the moment to take action, to be aggressive, to go for broke.

This is the moment to put the radical left losers on their heels.

This is the moment to win the midterms.

This is the moment to stop voter fraud forever. Which means we stop Democrats from winning elections forever. Because without fraud…and rigged elections…they’ve got nothing. They can’t win without fraud.

This is the moment to use the shocking Epstein scandal to educate the American people.

But most of all, this is the moment to prove Mr. President that you’re the greatest dealmaker in history!

Let’s start with the “Art of the Deal.”

The SAVE Act is the whole enchilada. The whole kit and caboodle. The whole kitchen sink.

Pass it by hook or crook, by any and all means necessary…and the GOP wins the midterms…wins the presidency in 2028…and then with the help of a new Census that bans the counting of illegal aliens, the GOP gains enough electoral votes and new seats in Congress to win for decades to come.

We will control the electoral map!

But we have to get to 2030 first. We can’t get there if we lose the midterms, and lose the presidency in 2028. Then it’s all over. All our plans are dead. If we lose because we didn’t pass the SAVE Act, then the mass deportation is stopped. And election integrity is dead on arrival. Then after 2028 the borders will be open again.And then illegal aliens will vote by the millions to elect Democrats forever more.

It all begins and ends with the SAVE Act.

Here’s how to get it done…

Do you remember Obamacare? Does anyone remember how it passed? It passed only with the most disgusting, disgraceful, blatant, out-in-the-open bribery in America’s history.

Obama twisted the arms of Democrat Congressmen and Senators until they broke. He bribed the last remaining holdouts with anything and everything they wanted to change their final votes to a “YES.” He opened the vault and gave away the kitchen sink (with taxpayer money, of course). He made their dreams come true. He offered them so many goodies that no one could say no.

This was legal bribery- obviously. Because no one in the GOP said a word. The Supreme Court never said a word. Obama used taxpayer money and the most obscne giveawa in history to pass Obamacare by one vote in the US Senate (exactly the 60 he needed to defeat the Filibuster)- and therefore change the entire US economy and healthcare system forever. Trillions of dollars changed hands because of that one vote.

Obama changed the course of history by one vote. And he got the final few votes necessary by any means possible, by hook or crook. He gave away the store- with your money!

Obama gave away billions of dollars of taxpayer money in order to benefit his biggest Democrat donors with trillions of dollars of healthcare spending.

That’s the way the game is played in DC, President Trump.

Now it’s your turn President Trump to get the deal done…to change the course of history…to prove the “Art of the Deal”…to twist arms until they break…to play Santa and dole out to the holdouts whatever it takes to get the deciding votes. Obama proved it’s all legal.

I don’t care how you get it done. Bend the rules. Give away the store. Legally bribe the holdouts. Legal Senate maneuvering. Kill the Filibuster. Whatever you have to do- DO IT.

This is your legacy, President Trump.

Prove you’re the greatest dealmaker in history. This is your “Art of the Deal” moment.

The SAVE Act means Democrats can’t rig and steal elections anymore. They’ll have to win with ideas- and they don’t have any ideas that appeal to the majority of American voters.

Install Photo Voter ID to vote in federal elections. Install proof of citizenship to vote. End mail-in ballots. Do all of that and Democrats can’t win elections.

Game, set, match.

But this is the last chance EVER to pass it. Fail to pass it and we lose the midterms. With a Democrat majority the chance for election integrity is gone forever. So is the chance to change the Census to ban the counting of illegals. So is mass deportation.

So is your presidency. The whole MAGA agenda is over and you’re a lame duck president.

We become a one-party state. Then comes the censorship and weaponization all over again. Then they send you to prison after your presidency is over.

Pass the damn SAVE Act- by any means necessary.

Now to part 2. “The Illegal Alien Hall of Shame.” America is shocked, outraged and disgusted by Epstein. Rightfully so. Here’s how to tie that outrage to mass deportation.

It’s time to win the PR offensive. It’s time to show the American people why mass deportation is the only way to protect their children. Tie it all to Epstein.

Illegal immigration is Epstein times millions.

America sees one 9-year-old child abused and sexually assaulted by Epstein- and they freak out (as well they should). They see hundreds of underage girls pimped out by Epstein to the most powerful people in the world- and the nation freaks out (as well they should).

But every hour of every day, thousands of young children are assaulted, abused, raped and murdered. All because of open borders, illegal immigration, transnational gangs and Drug Cartels. That’s their business- the Cartels make billions of dollars per week on sex trafficking, child sex trafficking, pedophilia, and the drug trafficking that is killing our children- by the hundreds of thousands.

It’s time for “Show and Tell.”

Create “The Illegal Alien Hall of Shame.” Pay for hundreds of millions of dollars of TV ads between now and the midterms showing the mug shots of illegal aliens who trafficked, abused, assaulted, raped and murdered little girls and boys. Show the parents of children who were murdered, assaulted or abused telling their tragic stories…and thanking President Trump and ICE for arresting these monsters.

This is Epstein times millions.

Prove it with “Show and Tell.” Show the monsters. Show the parents of rape and murder victims. Call it “The Illegal Alien Hall of Shame.” Put the stories front and center, 24/7 from now until the midterms, in front of the American people.

Make the case that we are deporting millions of Epsteins who want to abuse, assault, rape, murder and destroy your children with drugs.

Be aggressive. Take the offensive. Create the momentum- while you work on exploding the economy and making our jobs, GDP and retirement accounts great again. This is what American voters care about. The economy and the crimes of illegals. Tie it all to Epstein.

And pass that damn SAVE Act this week- by any and all means necessary.

Prove you’re the greatest dealmaker in history.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Wayne Allyn Root is a CEO, businessman, best-selling author, and national conservative TV and radio host, who has interviewed President Trump 16 times. Watch Wayne’s TV show “America’s Top Ten Countdown” on Real America’s Voice TV Saturdays at Noon ET and his video podcast “WAR Zone presented by The Gateway Pundit” daily from 6 PM to 8 PM ET at TheGatewayPundit.com. His website is ROOTforAmerica.com. Read Wayne’s latest fun book, “How Democrats Have Made America Great.” It’s 140 blank pages. The joke is on Democrats!

The post WAYNE ROOT: President Trump, Take the Offensive. The Moment to Strike is Now. Prove You’re the Greatest Dealmaker in History- Pass the SAVE Act. As a Bonus, Create “Illegal Alien Hall of Shame.” Tie it all to Epstein. appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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