New York Times makes big admission about Trump's tariffs



President Donald Trump began in April to radically transform how trade is conducted internationally, announcing tariffs on friendly and adversarial nations alike in an effort to settle scores and to exact concessions favorable to the United States, such as those made by Japan and the European Union last month.

"Our country and its taxpayers have been ripped off for more than 50 years, but it is not going to happen anymore. It's not going to happen," Trump said at the "Liberation Day" ceremony where he announced a sweeping list of tariffs. "This will be, indeed, the golden age of America. It's coming back. And we're going to come back very strongly."

This tariff-driven upheaval has rankled establishmentarians at home and abroad — some of whom have launched legal challenges, issued condemnations, and threatened retaliation. Of course, the media has also worked feverishly to paint the tariffs as reckless and as more grease down the slope to economic ruin.

'Revenue and reciprocity are the twin benefits of the Trump tariffs.'

Nearly four months after the New York Times characterized Trump's approach as a "burn-it-down-first, figure-out-the-consequences-later recklessness," the paper admitted on Sunday that the tariffs are already netting a great deal of money for the government.

The Times' Washington, D.C., tax policy reporter Andrew Duehren confirmed on Sunday that Trump's recent assertion that "Tariffs are bringing Billions of Dollars into the USA!" was correct.

RELATED: Main Street's silent plea: Exempt us from the next tariffs

Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

"Even before the latest tariffs kick in, revenue from taxes collected on imported goods has grown dramatically so far this year," Duehren wrote. "Customs duties, along with some excise taxes, generated $152 billion through July, roughly double the $78 billion netted over the same time period last fiscal year, according to Treasury data."

Citing data from the U.S. Treasury Department, the Times indicated that tariffs brought in over $29 billion in the month of July alone.

Analysts reportedly estimated that the tariffs could be worth well over $2 trillion in additional revenue if left untouched over the next 10 years.

"Tariffs are not going to be a huge source of revenue, couple trillion over a decade, but not trivial at all," Christopher Whalen, chairman of Whalen Global Advisors, told Blaze News in a statement. "But the tariffs are appropriate and are a way to get the world to give at least equal treatment to American goods. Revenue and reciprocity are the twin benefits of the Trump tariffs."

'I do not think this is a true source of revenue, only a substitution and reordering of taxes.'

While the tariffs are bringing in boatloads of cash, some critics have noted that Americans are the ones ultimately paying the price — something that might be more tolerable if Trump's idea to scrap American income tax and lean instead on tariffs as the main source of federal revenue were implemented.

Economic expert and Blaze Media contributor Carol Roth said in a statement to Blaze News, "When you think of the word 'revenue' when it comes to the federal government, you should think taxes because that's the primary source of government revenue. When it comes to revenue from tariffs, it is no different."

"The majority of the tariff burden is coming not from foreign exporters, but rather from U.S. consumers and U.S. businesses," Roth said, alluding to a Goldman Sachs analysis that estimated foreign exporters were only absorbing 20% of the higher costs from tariffs.

RELATED: Tariffs vs. free trade: Which is BETTER for the American auto industry?

Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Goldman Sachs economists reportedly indicated that eventually, 70% of the direct cost of tariffs would be kicked to consumers through higher prices.

"This means tariffs are mostly revenue that is moving from one pocket to the other, so to speak, as businesses and consumers that pay tariffs then have less money to contribute otherwise to the economy, impacting other tax or government 'revenue' collection," Roth continued. "Unless we fundamentally reorder how taxes are paid (as well as spending) to something that is focused on a consumption tax (which I personally do not think is a good idea given how our economy functions today), I do not think this is a true source of revenue, only a substitution and reordering of taxes."

'I think this is addictive.'

"We all know that making the [Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017] tax cuts permanent through the [One Big Beautiful Bill Act] was important to the economy, so why would anyone think that adding in the equivalent of more taxes through tariffs is a good idea?" Roth added. "Also, given that cost of living remains a top issue for Americans, adding costs — even if it is only in certain areas of the economy — is in conflict with the administration's agenda."

Regardless of where the money is coming from, there are concerns that the U.S. government might become overly reliant on tariffs as a revenue stream.

"I think this is addictive," Joao Gomes, a finance and economics professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, told the Times. "I think a source of revenue is very hard to turn away from when the debt and deficit are what they are."

The national deficit is presently $1.33 trillion, and the national debt is $36.91 trillion.

Despite Democratic complaints over the tariffs, Ernie Tedeschi, director of economics at the Yale Budget Lab, suggested that there may be hesitance among both Republicans and Democrats to roll back the tariffs if that would mean a greater federal debt load.

"Congress may not be excited about taking such a politically risky vote when they didn't have to vote on tariffs in the first place," Tedeschi told the Times.

Rather than scrap the tariffs, Democrats are apparently thinking about ways in which they can blow the money.

Democratic strategist Tyson Brody noted, "The way that Democrats are starting to think about it is not that 'these will be impossible to withdraw.' It's: 'Oh look, there's now going to be a large pot of money to use and reprogram.'"

Some Republicans also have a mind to redistribute the funds.

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) introduced legislation last week that would send tariff rebate checks to Americans. The amount of the rebate would be at least $600 per adult and dependent child, or more if tariff revenue exceeds current projections for 2025.

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The GOP establishment lost to Trump — now it's rebranding as ‘neo-MAGA’



From the moment Donald Trump announced his run for president, the Republican establishment hated his guts. In 2016, the brash New York billionaire was treated like a joke — an embarrassment degrading the political process. But as Trump gained momentum, establishment figures faced a choice: Throw in with “NeverTrump” or pretend they’d seen the light.

Some bolted to NeverTrump outfits like the Bulwark or the Lincoln Project. Others stuck around, biding their time, waiting for a chance to reclaim the party from the populists. Now that Trump defines the GOP, they’ve shifted strategies. If you can’t beat MAGA, co-opt it.

MAGA has never been a cult, despite what the detractors may say. Supporters have stood by him because he fought for the things they care about.

Trump’s first term resembled an awkward arranged marriage. He won the heart of the base and created a movement mostly detached from the GOP machine. But he lacked the institutional infrastructure necessary to govern. Running the executive branch requires armies of staffers, bureaucrats, and loyal operatives — none of which MAGA had.

That vacuum was filled by GOP establishment swamp creatures, many of whom actively opposed the president and his agenda. Key officials undermined him. Military leaders lied to his face. Despite some major victories, Trump’s presidency was defined by a constant war against a hostile ruling class.

The great Republican hope?

With outrageous legal attacks from the Biden administration raising doubts about Trump’s electability, Ron DeSantis was encouraged to step in. I like DeSantis — he’s my governor, and he has done an outstanding job, especially standing up to the COVID-19 insanity. But the truth is that DeSantis has never been a gifted campaigner. He barely scraped by in 2018 against a man later found doing meth in a hotel with a male prostitute.

Trump, whatever his flaws, is a force of nature on the campaign trail. Anyone paying attention could see that DeSantis was walking into a meat grinder.

Still, many Republicans who hadn’t declared themselves NeverTrump saw DeSantis as their chance to strike. He had a solid record and stuck closer to the establishment line. He was more disciplined, less prone to off-script rhetoric, and — most important — not under indictment.

So the donor class and the consultant class threw their weight behind him. The money flowed, the media declared him the future, and the campaign ... flopped. Hard.

After DeSantis’ inevitable loss, anti-Trump Republicans were left stunned, tending to their bruised egos and looking for a new angle. Trump had survived an assassination attempt and beaten Kamala Harris. It was clear: He was the party. The idea that he could be swapped out for a more polished Republican was delusional.

Strain on the base

MAGA wasn’t going to be defeated by recycled talk about small government and lower taxes. The only remaining play was to redefine the movement from within.

Trump’s second term began with a burst of action: government agencies were shuttered, birthright citizenship was challenged, and deportations resumed. MAGA supporters were elated. Progressives were stunned. But the GOP establishment was left wondering how to reinsert itself into power.

Then came the cracks.

Trump ordered a strike on Iran at Israel’s request — only for Benjamin Netanyahu to blow off the president’s social media appeals to honor a ceasefire. Trump floated amnesty for illegal aliens working in agriculture and hospitality. The Justice Department and FBI dismissed any suggestion that Jeffrey Epstein had blackmailed elites, was murdered, or left behind a client list.

This was especially disturbing given that Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel had built their MAGA reputations by promising to expose Epstein’s secrets. Suddenly, the story changed. The fabled “client list” did not exist after all. The “truckload” of evidence amounted to nothing. Cover-up? What cover-up?

The strain on Trump’s relationship with his base was real — and that was the opening establishment Republicans needed.

RELATED: Progressive castoffs don’t get to define the right

Blaze Media illustration

Enter ‘neo-MAGA’

Out of nowhere, a new class of Trump supporter emerged: neo-MAGA. Most of these operatives were DeSantis die-hards last year. Now they claim to be Trump’s most loyal defenders. They spend their time lecturing actual Trump supporters for lacking faith in a man they previously ridiculed.

In their telling, MAGA never meant ending regime-change wars — it meant launching new ones in Iran. MAGA never meant deporting illegal aliens — it was just about gang members and drug traffickers. MAGA never cared about Epstein’s client list, so don’t worry about it. Just trust the process. Trust the staff. Trust the people who said the files were real and now insist they were imaginary.

The “trust the staff” line is especially rich, considering that many of these same influencers trashed Trump’s appointment of Steve Witkoff as a negotiator for not being sufficiently pro-Israel. Now they demand blind loyalty to the very people they attacked last week.

This isn’t about loyalty to Trump. MAGA has never been a cult, despite what the detractors may say. Supporters have stood by him because he fought for the things they care about: economic populism, national sovereignty, immigration, and a restrained foreign policy. When he delivers, they cheer. When he falters, they push back.

Neo-MAGA wants to replace that dynamic with a new one — one where dissent is heresy and the old GOP agenda returns under a different label. These operatives see a chance to ride the MAGA brand back into power, reshaping it into something safer, softer, and friendlier to the donor class.

But the base haven't forgotten. They remember who bolted. They remember who mocked them. They remember who told them DeSantis was the future. And they know that the same people now preaching unity were, until five minutes ago, rooting for Trump to fail.

Whatever disagreement exists between Trump and his base, both should beware of the interlopers trying to turn this moment into a reset for the GOP establishment. MAGA wasn’t built on loyalty to staffers or influencers. It was built on promises, and those promises still matter.

USDA exploring possibility of mass vaccinations for American poultry despite RFK Jr.'s warnings



Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. warned earlier this year that vaccinating poultry against highly pathogenic avian influenza A (H5) viruses might transform farms into incubators for mutant viruses — viruses that could potentially leap to humans.

"All of my agencies have advised against the vaccination of birds," Kennedy told Fox News' Sean Hannity, "because if you vaccinate with a leaky vaccine — in other words, a vaccine that does not provide sterilizing immunity, that does not absolutely protect against the disease — you turn those flocks into mutation factories."

"They're teaching the organism how to mutate," continued Kennedy. "And it's much more likely to jump to animals if you do that."

Despite Kennedy's concern — which is apparently shared by the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Food and Drug Administration — the U.S. Department of Agriculture is looking seriously at mass vaccinations for American poultry.

A USDA spokesperson told Blaze News that the USDA "is exploring the viability of vaccinating poultry for HPAI" but noted that the "use of any vaccine has not been authorized at this time."

This vaccine exploration appears to have taken on greater energy in February when egg prices were reaching record highs.

After flying south of $3 between 1994 and 2022, the price for a dozen eggs began to rise dramatically during the second half of the Biden era, then even higher earlier this year, reaching an all-time average high of $6.22 in March.

RELATED: The 'cage-free' myth: Why everything you think you know about ethical eggs is wrong

Allen J. Schaben/Getty Images

Although there were multiple factors at play — including the shift in various states to cage-free hens and record consumer demand — the price spikes were largely driven by the mass exterminations of commercial and backyard bird populations ordered by the USDA in response to HPAI viruses.

Blaze News previously noted that between Feb. 8, 2022 — when the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service first confirmed bird flu belonging to the clade 2.3.4.4b in an American commercial flock — and March 2025, the USDA directed the extermination of over 166.41 million birds. Fewer egg-laying birds naturally means diminished supply and higher prices.

'Vaccination in any poultry sector — egg layers, turkeys, broilers, or ducks — will jeopardize the entire export market for all U.S. poultry products.'

In a Feb. 26 op-ed, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins outlined "five steps to tackle avian flu and bring down costs for American families."

In addition to dedicating up to $500 million to help American poultry producers implement "gold-standard" biosecurity measures, increasing financial relief to farms whose flocks are affected by avian flu, removing "unnecessary regulatory burdens on egg producers where possible," and considering temporary import options, Rollins said her agency would "provide up to $100 million in research and development of vaccines and therapeutics, to improve their efficacy and efficiency."

Although egg prices have returned to relatively normal levels, a USDA spokesperson told Blaze News that the agency continues "to evaluate the potential use of vaccines."

"Before making a determination, USDA, in consultation with federal partners, will solicit feedback from state officials, veterinarians, farmers, the public health system, and the American public," said the spokesperson. "USDA is working with federal and state officials and industry stakeholders to develop a potential plan for vaccine use in the United States."

Reuters indicated that industry members anticipate that the agency will complete its plan in July.

RELATED: Cleaning up Biden’s bird flu mess falls to Trump

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (left) and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins (right). Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

There is some controversy over the potential mass vaccination of poultry on the business side of the equation.

Dr. John Clifford, a former USDA chief veterinary officer who advises the USA Poultry & Egg Export Council, told Reuters that chicken meat producers would be dealt a crushing blow if importers stopped importing U.S. poultry over concerns that vaccines were masking the presence of HPAI in flocks.

Some industry groups are, however, warming up to the idea.

Although the National Chicken Council previously suggested that "vaccination in any poultry sector — egg layers, turkeys, broilers, or ducks — will jeopardize the entire export market for all U.S. poultry products," they have since suggested they are on board with the program if exports go unaffected.

The United Egg Producers are apparently even more gung-ho, having helped hatch a plan suggesting an initial vaccination for baby chicks, a subsequent booster shot, then routine testing.

Nicolas Hulscher, an epidemiologist and administrator at the McCullough Foundation, has suggested mass poultry vaccinations are unwise, telling Blaze News that Kennedy's "worries about mass animal H5N1 bird flu vaccination are fully grounded in robust science."

'Biosecurity remains the best and most prudent approach to mitigate the impact of the disease today.'

When asked about the possibility that the USDA might nevertheless proceed with the mass vaccination agenda, Hulscher said that "the USDA is ignoring the glaring risks of creating dangerous mutant strains with their plans to mass vaccinate poultry against bird flu amidst a bird flu animal pandemic."

Blaze News senior editor Daniel Horowitz drove home the point in a recent op-ed, noting that "leaky, waning vaccines that rely on suboptimal antibodies against rapidly mutating viruses can lead to immune tolerance and imprinting. This can cause the immune system to misfire, resulting in negative efficacy. Any short-term protection against severe disease often comes at a long-term cost as the viruses adapt and grow stronger."

Hulscher suggested that the best way forward when tackling HPAI in domestic flocks is better biosecurity: "Installing surface-air purification systems into farms, combined with iodine-based nasal/oral prophylaxis for farm workers, is a much less risky option than mass vaccination."

On this, it appears the USDA agrees.

The agency spokesperson told Blaze News that in the meantime, "because biosecurity remains the best and most prudent approach to mitigate the impact of the disease today, USDA also continues pursuing collaborative efforts with poultry farmers and companies on education, training, and implementation of comprehensive biosecurity measures."

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Leftist Think Tank Ignores Potential Medicaid Fraud To Smear Trump’s Budget Bill

Groups like this fixate on the number of individuals with health insurance coverage, regardless of whether those individuals engage in fraud.

The White House Can Lower Drug Prices By Fixing The Market, Not Price Controls

President Trump shouldn’t adopt socialist-style price controls.

Report: Biden Gave ‘Millions’ In Tax Dollars To ‘Soros-Backed NGO,’ Group Pushing Men In Women’s Prisons

'The American people overwhelmingly rejected these soft-on-crime, defund-the-police policies in the last election because they undermined the safety and security of their communities.'

States Have No Incentive To Stop Food Stamp Fraudsters From Stealing Your Money

The DOJ discovered millions of dollars in fraud hidden in false food stamp reporting.

Democrats left with egg on their face after cost of a dozen plummets under Trump



The price of eggs began spiraling out of control under the previous administration and continued rising even after President Donald Trump took office in January. While Trump noted that he had "inherited a mess," Democrats and their allies seized on the issue as an albatross to hang around the president's neck.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and a gaggle of other Democrats wasted no time complaining, suggesting in a letter just six days into Trump's second term that he was supposedly not doing enough to lower grocery prices. Democratic MSNBC contributor Brian Tyler Cohen, Brian Krassenstein, and other Trump critics piled on, mocking the president over the mounting egg prices.

Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and his comrades kept this line of attack in recent months, characterizing Trump's promise to lower prices as a lie.

Democrats' loss is once again Americans' gain.

The price of eggs has plummeted by 61% since Trump took office — a trend that forced even the president's critics at CNN to admit that his "egg price fiction has suddenly become reality."

The price for a dozen eggs remained south of $3 between 1994 and 2022. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data indicates that but for a few exceptions, the price during that period hovered around or below $2.

Over 5.2 million birds were culled in the last 30 days.

Prices began to skyrocket during the second half of the Biden era, then hit record highs earlier this year, reaching an all-time average high of $6.22 in March. In some places, the Associated Press indicated that consumers have been shelling out as much as a dollar per egg.

There were multiple factors at play, including the shift in various states to cage-free hens and record consumer demand. However, the primary cause was the mass exterminations of commercial and backyard bird populations ordered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in response to highly pathogenic avian influenza A (H5) viruses.

RELATED: The 'cage-free' myth: Why everything you think you know about ethical eggs is wrong

Allen J. Schaben/Getty Images

Blaze News previously noted that between Feb. 8, 2022 — when the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspect Service first confirmed bird flu belonging to the clade 2.3.4.4b in an American commercial flock — and March 2025, the USDA had directed the extermination of over 166.41 million birds. Fewer egg-laying birds naturally means diminished supply and higher prices.

The Trump administration announced a $1 billion strategy in February to curb bird flu, protect the poultry industry, and lower egg prices. Exploring temporary import options was a big part of the administration's strategy to drive down prices — and perhaps one of the most immediately effective.

In subsequent months, the administration promoted egg imports from various countries, including Brazil, South Korea, and Turkey, and leaned on Europe to export more. Simultaneously, the administration relaxed regulations for eggs laid by hens raised for meat, reported Reuters.

While the bird flu, which is endemic in wild birds, is still infecting commercial flocks — over 5.2 million birds were culled in the last 30 days — the importation of eggs and the easing of restrictions on eggs have helped lower prices.

RELATED: The California law clucking up US egg prices — and how to beat it

The USDA indicated on Friday that a major reason why prices are down is below-average demand for eggs.

"Shell egg demand posted a slight improvement headed into the Memorial Day weekend but remained well below average in the continuation of a trend that began during the sharp price increases in late winter," the agency said in its weekly report.

An April study from Clarify Capital highlighted by Fox Business noted that 34% of Americans had stopped buying eggs on account of the rising prices; 61% of Americans reported eating fewer eggs; and 44% reported using eggs less frequently in cooking or baking.

At the time of publication, the price of a dozen eggs was just over $2.50, according to Trading Economics.

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Majority of voters say economy 'STRONG' for the first time in nearly 4 years, now with Trump in charge



Polling conducted in the wake of President Donald Trump's "total reset" with China, his new tariff deal with the United Kingdom, and inflation's drop to a four-year low revealed on Monday years-high voter confidence in the strength of the economy and a healthy dip in voter pessimism regarding their personal financial situations.

According to the latest Harvard CAPS/Harris poll, 51% of voters — whose top issue altogether after price increases and inflation was the economy — said the economy was "strong." Last month, only 46% said so, and there hasn't been a majoritively positive response to this question since July 2021.

Fifty percent of voters expressed confidence the president's policies will lead to stronger economic growth.

Despite this perceived strength, 51% of respondents suggested the economy was nevertheless on the wrong track. When broken down by political affiliation, 72% of Republican respondents, 15% of Democratic respondents, and 28% of independent respondents alternatively said the economy was on the "right track."

Over the past few years, the percentage of Americans who said the country on the whole was on the "right track" dribbled around 30%. However, that number skyrocketed from 28% in January, when Trump took office again, to 42% the following month. It is now at 42% again after a dip in April.

'President Trump is a skilled steward of the economy.'

Last month, 45% of voters said their personal financial situation was getting worse. Pollsters found this month that such pessimism had dropped to 39%, while the percentage of respondents who said they were "just as well off" or that their situation was improving climbed four and two points, respectively.

"The majority of Trump's policies continue to see strong support especially on immigration and government efficiency, even though there is concern Trump has exceeded guardrails with executive orders and tariffs," Mark Penn, co-director of the Harvard CAPS/ Harris poll, said in a statement.

Penn added, "If he is able to successfully lower the price of prescription drugs and hold down the fort on inflation, he will be able to unlock 10% more of voters in his approval rating."

Steve Miran, chairman of Trump's Council of Economic Advisers, said in a statement to Blaze News, "The Harvard/Harris poll is a reflection of the fact that Americans know that President Trump is a skilled steward of the economy."

"The president's policies to preserve low tax rates and reduce them further, cut red tape, create energy abundance, and renegotiate America-last trade deals will combine to create a Trump economic boom — just like they did during his first term," continued Miran. "The best way to create jobs is to create incentives for businesses to hire and invest, and that's what the president's policies do."

'If it fails, Americans will be subject to a $4 trillion tax hike.'

While there is plenty of optimism around the poll results, entrepreneur and business expert Carol Roth told Blaze News that "it's tough to get a read on the consumer right now" and noted that "while the Harvard CAPS/Harris poll went into a slim majority, other consumer polls are near record lows."

"Inflation cooling has been a welcome trend for consumers, as has the tariff pause that led the market to recapture what was lost from the Liberation Day announcements," continued Roth. "But there are concerning signs with debt delinquencies rising."

RELATED: Inflation dips to 4-year low despite trade war hysteria: 'Americans are breathing a sigh of relief'

Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

When asked whether Congress' passage of the tax bill was critical to maintaining this confidence, Miran told Blaze News that "the One Big Beautiful tax bill is a critical part of this policy suite, and if it fails, Americans will be subject to a $4 trillion tax hike, the biggest in history. That's why it's absolutely essential that we get it over the line, and we will."

'We need deregulation and tax cut permanence.'

Eighty percent of respondents said the U.S. government "should move in the next few years" to balance the budget. When asked whether reductions in government spending or increases in taxing were the way to reduce the budget deficits, 78% signaled a desire for spending cuts.

"While getting more certainty and permanence with tax cuts is critical, the big beautiful bill needs a massive diet, and failure to substantially cut spending by the GOP could undo progress on inflation and worsen our already fragile fiscal foundation," said Roth. "We need deregulation and tax cut permanence as well as trade deals and the end of tariffs to engender more growth, as well as some serious fiscal responsibility from Congress to make sure that the economy doesn't get crushed by our ever growing debt burden."

The Harvard CAPS/Harris poll found that 47% of respondents approved of the job that Trump was doing, with 87% of GOP voters approving and 83% of Democrats and 50% of independents disapproving.

The president received highest approval for his handling of immigration and on "returning America to its values," and 52% of respondents said he was doing a better job than his predecessor.

The Republican Party, meanwhile, enjoyed a positive approval rating of 52%, its highest approval rating since March 2023, whereas the Democratic Party, although no longer plumbing record approval lows, still remained 10 percentage points behind, bogged down in part by the 28% of Democrats who evidently don't like what their party is doing.

The White House did not respond to Blaze News' request for comment by publication time.

Editor's note: Carol Roth is a contributor to Blaze News.

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Trump admin takes steps to prevent illegal aliens from leeching off Social Security, welfare programs



President Donald Trump signed a memo Tuesday directing his administration to ensure that illegal aliens are not receiving taxpayer funds from Social Security Act programs, including Old-Age and Survivors Insurance, unemployment insurance, disability insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.

The initiative appears to be aimed both at eliminating the monetary incentive for foreign nationals to steal into the homeland and at pressuring the noncitizen net-takers already here to either wean off the dole or hit the road.

The memo directs the Social Security Administration to: expand its fraud prosecutor programs to at least 50 U.S. attorney offices; establish a Medicare and Medicaid fraud prosecution program in 15 U.S. attorney offices; investigate earning reports of individuals supposedly 100 years or older with mismatched records; consider reinstating its civil monetary penalty program; and reinforce program integrity measures so only those foreign nationals who satisfy all eligibility requirements can receive benefits.

'This literally blew us away.'

In a fact sheet detailing the memo, the White House echoed Elon Musk's recent revelation that over two million illegal aliens were apparently assigned Social Security numbers in fiscal year 2024 alone.

Venture capitalist Antonio Gracias, who has been working with the Department of Government Efficiency in scrutinizing the SSA, noted at the Wisconsin town hall where Musk highlighted the provision of Social Security numbers to illegal aliens, "This literally blew us away," reported NewsNation.

"We went there to find fraud, and we found this by accident," said Gracias.

Migrants authorized to legally work in the U.S. are eligible to apply for a Social Security Card — but in order to receive Supplemental Security Income, the Department of Homeland Security must class them as a migrant legally admitted and conferred permanent residency, a migrant granted conditional entry or asylum, or a migrant paroled into the country or admitted as a refugee.

Gracias suggested that in recent years, migrants were given SSNs automatically through the mail without an interview or showing identification.

The White House fact sheet notes that the multitudes of illegal aliens who entered the U.S. under the Biden administration are "siphoning dollars and essential services from American citizens while state and local budgets grow increasingly strained."

The Center for Immigration Studies revealed in a December 2023 report that 54% of households headed by immigrants, including naturalized citizens, legal residents, and illegal aliens, used one or more major welfare program.

'These taxpayer-funded benefits should be only for eligible taxpayers.'

The study indicated that 48% of "illegal-headed households" used food welfare programs; 39% relied on Medicaid; 18% relied on cash welfare; and 4% relied on housing programs.

The House Committee on Homeland Security noted in a November 2023 report that the cost in federal welfare for every one million parolees released into the U.S. under the Biden administration was likely in the neighborhood of $3 billion annually.

As of 2022, American taxpayers were shelling out at least $182 billion annually to provide services and benefits to illegal aliens and their dependents, according to the Federation for American Immigration Reform report cited in the White House's fact sheet. FAIR indicated that net cost is $150.7 billion if the estimated $31 billion taxes illegal aliens cough up are factored.

The White House noted that the $182 billion figure includes $66.4 billion in federal expenses and $115.6 billion in state and local expenses. Again citing FAIR estimates, the White House noted that "a million illegal aliens hold stolen identifications or fraudulent SSNs" — abuse that has long been widespread.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Tuesday, "These taxpayer-funded benefits should be only for eligible taxpayers."

"President Biden should think about what he did in his last term, which is allow tens of millions of illegal people into our country, many of whom were fraudulently receiving these benefits."

The Social Security Administration indicated that Trump's memorandum "reinforces SSA's commitment to safeguarding taxpayer dollars and ensuring the integrity of the programs it administers."

"The Social Security Administration is dedicated to protecting the vital benefits that American workers have earned on behalf of themselves and their families," said acting SSA Commissioner Leland Dudek. "We are committed to working diligently to implement the President's memorandum and to ensure that benefits are paid only to those who should receive them."

Martin O'Malley, the SSA commissioner during Joe Biden's final year in office, told Government Executive, "This is all on brand for them, because they enjoy inflicting cruelty on people in the name of going after immigrants."

"If they go forward with this representative payee plan, they are talking about interrupting benefits that are legally owed to Americans and American-born children here in the U.S.," said O'Malley. "Just because someone might not have proof of their legal status on an SSA record doesn’t mean they aren’t the representative payee for a U.S. citizen, whether it be their husband with a disability, a mother-in-law, an American-born child."

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