Stephen Dinan
Articles by Stephen Dinan
Bullets and lobster tails: Pentagon spends nearly $80 billion in one-month spree
The Defense Department went on its biggest monthlong spending spree since the height of the war on terror, dumping nearly $80 billion in a rush to empty its accounts before the end of the fiscal year. Published January 14, 2025
DOGE challenge: Waste watchdog dares Musk, Ramaswamy to cut $800 billion lost to fraud
The federal government spends as much as $800 billion annually on fraudulent benefit payments, according to a leading expert, who said the incoming Trump administration could reduce the federal deficit without slashing departments or agencies. Published January 13, 2025
Big bet: Political betting market Kalshi hires Donald Trump Jr.
Donald Trump Jr., son of the president-elect, has linked up with online betting market Kalshi, which broke new legal ground last year in becoming the first U.S. bookmaker to allow largely unrestricted gambling on election outcomes. Published January 13, 2025
Biden moves to block Trump by renewing ‘temporary’ migrant amnesty
President Biden on Friday gave more than 234,000 refugees from El Salvador another 18 months of amnesty from deportation. Published January 12, 2025
DHS renews deportation amnesty for nearly 1 million migrants
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas renewed temporary protected status -- an amnesty from deportation -- for hundreds of thousands of migrants on Friday, rushing to lock in protection before the next Trump administration takes office. Published January 10, 2025
Justices weighing national security vs. free speech in TikTok case
TikTok's fate now rests in the hands of the Supreme Court, which grappled Friday with whether the company's ties to a foreign adversary are so deep that national security concerns outweigh the company's and its users' First Amendment free speech rights. Published January 10, 2025
Laken Riley Act clears first filibuster test as Democrats rush to back Trump-style immigration bill
Last year the Laken Riley Act couldn't even get a sniff of action in the Senate. Published January 9, 2025
Laken Riley Act clears key filibuster test in Senate; bill pushes DHS to detain criminal migrants
Senators gave a boost Thursday to the Laken Riley Act, voting to head off an initial filibuster of legislation that would push Homeland Security to detain and try to deport illegal immigrants who commit theft or shoplifting crimes. Published January 9, 2025
Guatemalan illegal immigrant in Florida ran guns that were used in crimes in Dominican Republic
A Guatemalan migrant living in the U.S. illegally under a fake identity unlawfully bought hundreds of AK-47 rifles and Glock pistols and shipped them to customers in Haiti and the Dominican Republic, where some were used in crimes. Published January 9, 2025
Road trip tumult: Energy Dept. blistered for wasting taxpayer money on electric vehicle boondoggle
Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm abused American taxpayers with her 2023 publicity road trip in an electric vehicle, said an inspector general who accused her team of overselling their expenses on some travel vouchers and choosing expensive hotel rooms when cheaper ones were available. Published January 8, 2025
Jimmy Carter’s memorial earns taxpayers one-day reprieve
Taxpayers have a one-day reprieve for any payments or returns that are supposed to be due on Thursday, the IRS said, citing the national day of mourning for former President Jimmy Carter. Published January 8, 2025
Truckers file lawsuit to carry guns across state lines
Two truckers have filed a lawsuit challenging Minnesota's gun laws, saying the state won't let them carry their firearms as they drive its roads, even though they're legally licensed to publicly carry their weapons in their home states. Published January 8, 2025
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene announces bill to rename ‘Gulf of Mexico’ as ‘Gulf of America’
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said Tuesday she is writing legislation to officially rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America, as she moves to carry out one of President-elect Donald Trump's latest territorial ideas. Published January 7, 2025
House passes Laken Riley Act to deport illegal immigrants who commit lower-level crimes
The House on Tuesday took the first steps toward President-elect Donald Trump's promised immigration crackdown, passing a bill that would press Homeland Security to detain and deport illegal immigrants arrested for even minor theft crimes such as shoplifting. Published January 7, 2025
Republicans tee up fast votes on Laken Riley Act to deport illegal immigrants who steal, shoplift
Congressional Republicans are speeding their first immigration crackdown bill through Congress with an initial vote scheduled later this week on the Laken Riley Act, which would pressure Homeland Security to detain and deport illegal immigrants who shoplift or steal. Published January 7, 2025
Merrick Garland defends aggressiveness of Jan. 6 prosecutions ahead of Trump’s promised pardons
Attorney General Merrick Garland praised the FBI and his Justice Department prosecutors on Monday as heroes for their zealous pursuit of those who stormed the Capitol four years ago, and said the cases they are building against the participants are a defense of democracy. Published January 6, 2025
How the House GOP upended Democrats’ Jan. 6 narrative
Four years after the day of the fateful attack on the U.S. Capitol -- and two years after congressional Democrats' investigation laid blame largely at Donald Trump's feet -- that narrative has been severely altered thanks to a two-year GOP probe that has rewritten the script. Published January 5, 2025
Sanctuary cities pledge showdown with Trump; defiance stronger than in first term
In President-elect Donald Trump's first term, Democrat-led sanctuary cities refused to help with deportations. This time around, they're pondering a more active resistance. Published January 2, 2025
The politics of creating — or killing — a government website
If the government can't even cut its digital footprint, how can it be expected to cut something important -- like the budget? Published January 1, 2025
For Uncle Sam, Buy American mandate comes with a cost — $130,000 per job
Among the few things Democrats and Republicans in Washington agree on is the need to buy American with taxpayers' dollars. But that consensus does not extend among economists, who say there are real costs to the idea. Published January 1, 2025
