[Video below.] Rep. Mike Lawler said Sunday that removing more than 25 million undocumented immigrants from the United States is not a practical option, arguing instead for immigration reforms that combine border enforcement with a structured legal framework for those already living in the country.
Appearing on This Week, Lawler was questioned by host Jon Karl about an opinion piece he recently authored addressing immigration policy. Karl said, “You had an interesting op ed in the New York Times, about immigration, saying that, you know, not only do we need security on the border, we need, and reforms to, to to the way ICE is operating. We need a legal pathway forward for the people who are here illegally. Tell me why this is important and if you’ve gotten any traction on this.”
Lawler responded by pointing to decades of inaction on immigration and what he described as widespread public frustration. “Look, this is an issue that I’ve been focused on for years. You know, for 40 years, we have not solved our immigration crisis. The American people were rightly outraged by what happened under the Biden administration, where you had over 10.5 million migrants cross our border, most of them illegally. You know, porous Southern border needed to be shut down. President Trump did that. The fact is, we have had nine straight months of net-zero illegal border crossings. You’ve had 675,000 people deported, 1.9 million people. Self-deport. Many of those folks are criminal aliens or people who have been involved in the criminal justice system. The American people overwhelmingly support that. But what they do believe, if you’ve been in this country, right or wrong, for five, ten, 15, 20 years, your children and your grandchildren are American citizens. People don’t want to see families broken apart. And so there’s got to be a legal path forward, not a path to citizenship, but a legal path forward for people to come out of the shadows so that they can work legally, that they can pay their taxes, pay any back taxes owed, pay a fine, not collect government benefits, and not commit a crime.”
He concluded by tying his position to pending legislation and reiterating that large-scale removals are not feasible. “That is the basis of the Dignity Act, so that we can actually start to solve a crisis that has been, in effect, for 40 years. We have over 25 million people in this country who are undocumented. You’re not rounding them all up and kicking them out. It’s not realistic.”
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[Video below.] Sen. Adam Schiff said Sunday that President Donald Trump is laying the groundwork to interfere with upcoming elections, asserting that the president is openly signaling an intention to manipulate or overturn the democratic process.
Speaking on This Week, Schiff responded to questions from host Jon Karl, who pressed him on what Trump meant by statements suggesting federal control over elections and Republican involvement in voting procedures. Karl asked, “What does he mean? What do you think he means when he says nationalize the elections? Or specifically that Republicans should take control of the voting?”
Schiff replied, “I think he fully intends to try to subvert the elections. He will do everything he can to suppress the vote. And if he loses the vote, and I think the Republican does now expect they’ll get a real drubbing in the midterms. He’s prepared to try to take some kind of action to overturn the result, and we really shouldn’t question that. We saw him try to the point of insurrection to overturn the 2020 election. We see him now taking these extraordinary steps with an election now five years ago. He’s basically telling us he intends to interfere in this coming upcoming election. He hasn’t brought prices down. There’s chaos and killing in American streets by ICE agents. The public has turned against him in every election we’ve had since his election.”
Continuing his remarks, Schiff argued that Trump’s political standing has steadily eroded and that the president is unwilling to accept another defeat at the ballot box. “The voters have swung wildly against him. And as you know, he said at that prayer breakfast, his ego cannot stand another loss. So we have to prepare for the worst. We have to prepare in every way we can. And frankly, the best preparation we have is not the Congress, because Republican senators, for the most part, are not going to stand up to him. The courts are useful at the lower levels, but at the Supreme Court, they have left him unrestrained. The best protection we have is to mobilize the largest voter turnout in U.S. history to so overwhelm the vote and get the kind of margins we saw in Texas in that special election so that there’s no way they can cheat.”
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President Donald Trump said he is weighing a plan to send Americans $2,000 rebate checks using money generated from tariffs, signaling a potential new round of direct payments tied to his trade policies.
Speaking in an interview with NBC News correspondent Tom Llamas that aired ahead of the Super Bowl, Trump said the idea is under active consideration, citing the scale of revenue he says tariffs are producing for the country.
“We’d make it — I’m looking at it very seriously,” Trump said in the interview. “I’m the only one who can do it because I’m taking in hundreds of billions of dollars of money from tariffs.”
When asked whether the public should anticipate receiving the payments, Trump indicated it was possible but said a final decision has not yet been made.
“Oh yeah, sure. I can do that,” he said. “I haven’t made the commitment yet, but I may make the commitment.”
Trump likened the potential rebates to recent one-time bonus payments issued to U.S. service members, pointing to a $1,776 check tied to his budget initiatives.
The comments come as Trump continues to aggressively defend his tariff strategy, arguing that it has boosted the American economy while compelling other countries to contribute financially to U.S. prosperity. He said tariffs are “making our country rich” and bringing in “tremendous amounts of money.”
“The one thing that they don’t say anymore is affordability, because I fixed the problem that they created,” Trump said.
{Matzav.com}Dear Matzav Inbox,
A 13- or 14-year-old boy approaches mesivta with excitement, hope, and genuine fear. For him, this is not just another school year. It is the most consequential decision of his young life so far — the place where he hopes to grow in Torah, mature emotionally, and begin shaping the person he will become.
Yet the reality confronting many boys and families this year is deeply troubling.
A boy is required to choose a “first-choice” mesivta without knowing whether that yeshiva views him the same way. Acting responsibly, with the guidance of devoted parents, rebbeim, and a menahel who know him well, he selects the yeshiva where he is most likely to succeed — academically, socially, and spiritually. He applies to a small number of appropriate options, honestly informing the others that they are not his first choice.
And then the system collapses around him.
He is not offered a first-round farher at his top choice. By design, he is also excluded from consideration at his second, third, and fourth choices. Within days, he is no longer choosing between yeshivos. He is scrambling for anything available — sometimes ending up at a 25th or 30th option, a place wholly unsuited to his abilities, temperament, or needs.
In an instant, a hopeful trajectory is altered. A boy who entered the process with enthusiasm is left confused and demoralized. Parents are forced to explain to their child why sincerity, honesty, and following guidance led not to placement, but to exclusion. The question hangs painfully in the air: who created a system in which a child bears all the risk, while having almost no agency?
How did we arrive at a process so lopsided that it overwhelmingly favors mosdos while effectively silencing the interests of the boys themselves?
Yes, last year’s chaos was real. Yes, corrective measures were necessary. But is the answer truly to swing the pendulum so far that fear of disorder justifies outcomes that are devastating to children and families? Can it really be acceptable that, in the name of avoiding past mistakes, we knowingly consign boys to environments that are inappropriate for them — academically, socially, or culturally?
This is not theoretical. The pain is real. The fallout is real. And the long-term consequences are real.
If our goal is to build bnei Torah, then a system that extinguishes hope at the very entry point of a boy’s mesivta years demands serious reexamination. We owe our children better than a process that treats their futures as collateral damage.
Respectfully,
Chaim Shimon Charlap
To submit a letter to appear on Matzav.com, email MatzavInbox@gmail.com
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[Video below.] President Donald Trump said Sunday that the United States is already operating under what he called the “Trump economy,” expressing pride in current conditions and forecasting an even stronger year ahead in 2026.
“I think ’26 is even going to be better,” Trump told “NBC Nightly News” anchor Tom Llamas during the network’s annual presidential interview tied to the Super Bowl, a tradition Trump resumed in 2025 and continued in 2026 after it was skipped in prior years.
Trump pointed to a surge of investment and construction activity across the country as evidence of economic momentum, describing unprecedented levels of capital flowing into the U.S.
“You know, we have hundreds of billions of dollars pouring into our country. Actually, trillions: $18 trillion is being invested in our country as we speak. And there are factories and plants and thousands of businesses being built all over the country.
“Nobody has ever seen anything like what’s happening right now in America.”
The president also took aim at Democrats, saying they have struggled to craft an effective economic message against him after what he characterized as years of inflation under the previous administration.
“In the last four days, it’s only four days, the Democrats have not uttered the word ‘affordability,'” Trump said in the interview, which was recorded earlier in the week and aired on Super Bowl Sunday. “They’re the ones that caused the problem.
“I took over a mess in every way.”
Trump highlighted growth figures under his leadership, asserting that gross domestic product has increased by 5.6% since he took office, alongside what he described as historic investment commitments.
While acknowledging that the president’s party often faces losses in midterm elections, Trump said he hopes Republicans can counter that trend by advancing election-related legislation, including the SAVE Act, which would establish voter ID requirements, require proof of citizenship, and limit mail-in voting to specific circumstances such as illness, military service, disability, or travel.
“We’re working on the SAVE America Act, which is going to secure up our – a lot of things – but secure up our voting,” Trump said. “I think people would like to do it. And I think Democrats would, too.
“You know, when you go to voter ID and you ask Democrats, it’s polling at 82% with Democrats.
“I’m not talking about Democrat politicians. I’m talking about Democrats.
“We have to do something about our voting. We need strong borders. We need a fair press, which we don’t have.
“We need elections where people aren’t able to cheat. And we’re gonna do that. I’m gonna do that.”
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[Videos below.] A maamad kabbolas ponim was held this evening at Bais Medrash Govoah in Lakewood, NJ to formally welcome the yeshiva’s newly appointed mashgiach, Rav Reuven Hechster.
The event took place at the end of second seder at the Beren Dining Hall of the yeshiva.
Rav Hechster was named to the position two weeks ago, marking a significant milestone for the Lakewood Yeshiva, the largest in the United States. His appointment comes nearly two years after the passing of the longtime mashgiach, Rav Mattisyahu Salomon.
In addition to his new role in Lakewood, Rav Hechster will continue serving as mashgiach of Yeshivas Mir Brachfeld in Modiin Illit. A close talmid of his revered rebbi, Rav Nosson Meir Wachtfogel, Rav Hechster was originally appointed to his position in Mir Brachfeld by the late rosh yeshiva, Rav Nosson Tzvi Finkel.
Rav Hechster was approached with the proposal to assume the Lakewood post and sought daas Torah from Rav Moshe Hillel Hirsch before making a decision. Delegations from Modiin Illit appealed for him to remain in the city, emphasizing the many mussar talks and vaadim he delivers there, while representatives from Lakewood urged him to accept the position and serve the yeshiva.
Following consultations, it was agreed that Rav Hechster would divide his time between the two mosdos. Under the arrangement, he will spend approximately 20 days each month in Modiin Illit at Mir Brachfeld and about 10 days in Lakewood.
Rav Hechster is widely regarded throughout the Torah world as a central address for guidance and chizuk, with thousands of yungeleit seeking his counsel. In Modiin Illit in particular, he is viewed as a trusted source of direction and inspiration.
Alongside his responsibilities as mashgiach of Mir Brachfeld, Rav Hechster delivers a mussar talk every Motzoei Shabbos, gives a weekly Tuesday vaad at Kollel Ateres Shlomo attended by hundreds of yungeleit, leads a Thursday night vaad for dozens of talmidim at Mir Brachfeld, hosts a Friday vaad for alumni in his home, and conducts a biweekly Sunday vaad for alumni at the Mir Yeshiva in Yerushalayim.
WATCH BELOW FOR CLIPS FROM TODAY’S MAAMAD KABBOLAS PONIM:
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A man in his mid-40s was injured tonight after falling into the shaft of an underground trash container in Bnei Brak during a garbage removal operation. He was rescued from the pit and transported to the hospital in moderate condition.
Emergency responders were dispatched at approximately 10:30 p.m. to Rechov Ha’admur MiSanz in Bnei Brak following reports that a man had fallen into the deep shaft of a buried garbage compactor while it was being emptied.
Volunteers from Hatzalah arrived at the scene together with paramedics and EMTs from Magen David Adom and provided initial medical care to the victim, who sustained multiple injuries. Initial assessments indicated that he suffered trauma to his shoulder, and additional reports noted a head injury as well.
After several minutes, rescue teams succeeded in extracting the man from the shaft. He was fully conscious at the time of the rescue and was evacuated by Magen David Adom ambulance to Maayanei Hayeshua Medical Center for further medical treatment.
Hatzalah chairman Ushi Shlomovitz, along with Hatzalah medics Leiby Zelman and Eliakim Gross, described the scene: “When we arrived, we found a 45-year-old man suffering from a head injury after falling into an underground trash pit at a depth of approximately four meters. Together with Hatzalah and MDA medics and paramedics, we provided him with initial medical treatment, including immobilization and bandaging, and he was evacuated in moderate condition to Mayanei Hayeshua Hospital for continued care.”
{Matzav.com}President Trump on Thursday announced the launch of TrumpRx, a new prescription drug discount platform he described as “one of the most transformative health care initiatives of all time,” saying it would dramatically cut medication costs for Americans.
“This launch represents the largest reduction in prescription drug prices in history by many, many times,” he said.
While the administration is promoting TrumpRx as a major step toward lowering drug costs, The Hill reports that health policy specialists and consumer advocates are questioning how broadly the program will help patients and whether the advertised savings are as substantial as claimed.
TrumpRx currently offers discount coupons for 43 prescription medications, advertising price reductions ranging from 33 percent to 93 percent off list prices. The drugs cover a range of conditions, including obesity, respiratory disorders, infertility, bladder issues, and menopause.
Some analysts quickly pointed out that even with the discounts, the prices shown on TrumpRx may still exceed what insured patients typically pay through their health plans.
“If you have insurance, your out-of-pocket costs are probably going to be less than the discounted list price that’s being advertised on TrumpRX,” Juliette Cubanski, deputy director of the Program on Medicare Policy at KFF, told The Hill.
“For people who are looking at this website and maybe they recognize a drug that they take, they really need to understand how their out-of-pocket cost under insurance would compare to the TrumpRx price.”
Cubanski added that TrumpRx could still provide meaningful savings for certain medications that are not consistently covered by insurance plans, including some weight loss treatments and in vitro fertilization drugs, potentially making the program attractive to a broader group of patients.
“It’s a valuable effort for some medications, for some people, and I think especially people who don’t have good coverage of some of these medications,” she said.
All of the drugs listed on TrumpRx are branded medications sold directly by pharmaceutical companies that have entered into “most favored nation” pricing agreements with the Trump administration.
Critics note, however, that many of these branded drugs have generic versions available at far lower prices through existing discount programs.
For example, Protonix, a branded acid-reducing medication produced by Pfizer, is advertised on TrumpRx at a 55 percent discount, reducing its price from $447.28 to $200.10 for a 30-day supply of 20 mg tablets.
By comparison, data from GoodRx shows that the generic version, pantoprazole, can be purchased for $10.47 for the same dosage and quantity using a standard coupon. Even without a coupon, the estimated cost is just under $80.
A similar pattern appears with Tikosyn, another Pfizer drug used to treat irregular heart rhythms. TrumpRx lists Tikosyn at a discounted price of $336 for 60 capsules at a 0.125 mg dosage. GoodRx shows the generic equivalent, dofetilide, available for $23.06 with a coupon, reflecting a 94 percent reduction from the listed price of $373.96.
Generic medications account for the vast majority of prescriptions in the United States. According to the Food and Drug Administration, 91 percent of prescriptions were filled with generic drugs in 2023.
Anthony Wright, executive director of FamiliesUSA, a nonpartisan consumer health advocacy organization, sharply criticized the initiative, calling TrumpRx a “trumped-up catalog of coupons.”
“This is not actually lowering drug prices. It steers consumers to the existing drug company programs for uninsured patients that have been around for a while,” Wright said. “This is pretty limited in terms of both who it effects, what drugs it offers and what the benefits are, especially compared to what already existed previously.”
Not everyone shared that assessment. Ashish Jha, who served as the Biden administration’s White House COVID-19 response coordinator, described TrumpRx as a positive development, particularly for people without insurance.
He said the platform was a “good thing” that “is going to be really, really helpful for people who don’t have health insurance” in comments to The Hill’s sister network, NewsNation.
The TrumpRx website specifies that individuals enrolled in government health programs, including Medicaid, are not eligible to use the discount coupons.
That restriction is likely tied to federal anti-kickback laws, which prohibit offering or receiving anything of value in connection with items reimbursed by government health programs such as Medicaid.
The Hill contacted the Trump administration seeking clarification on whether individuals with private health insurance are eligible to use TrumpRx coupons.
Even if privately insured patients are permitted to participate, the overall reach of the program may remain limited, according to Yunan Ji, an assistant professor of strategy at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business.
“It really only applies to cash-pay patients. So, just considering the scale is cash-pay patients we’re thinking about, you know, a percent of the uninsured, plus some of the people who may be underinsured because their insurance coverage may be limited, but the scope is quite limited at the moment,” she said.
About 8 percent of Americans currently lack health insurance, and with only 43 drugs included so far, TrumpRx is positioned to assist only a small portion of that population. Administration officials have said additional medications will be added in the coming weeks.
Ji also raised concerns about the broader implications of the administration’s “most favored nation” pricing policy.
“The thing about MFN in general — so this is interesting, because MFN is something I teach my MBA students — is that actually, in the long run, it actually puts upward pricing pressure,” she said.
Under Trump’s signature drug pricing approach, pharmaceutical companies are required to sell drugs in the United States at prices no higher than those charged in other countries.
Ji explained that when drugmakers anticipate MFN requirements, they may respond by launching new medications at higher initial prices or delaying introductions in countries with strict pricing controls.
President Trump acknowledged that the policy could have consequences abroad when he announced TrumpRx.
“Drug prices in other nations will go up by doing this, they had to agree,” he said. “In many cases, the drug costs will go up by double and even triple for them, but they’re going way down for the United States.”
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