Submitted by Thomas Kolbe

The loss of Europe’s geopolitical power is the defining decline narrative of our time. As Europeans, we are condemned to become unwilling witnesses of continental decay. And in no field of politics does the toxic amalgam of eco-socialism, elite arrogance, and rampant infantilism become more visible than at the level of the European Union.

What we are witnessing in Brussels and the leading capitals of the EU are desperate attempts at coordinated foreign policy – and the realization that the cooperation of powerless individual entities does not necessarily lead to better outcomes than bilateral cooperation.

That this realization must have reached the highest circles of European politics could be observed at the end of this week. The four “big ones” – Germany, the United Kingdom, France, and Italy – called for a maritime alliance and the protection of the Strait of Hormuz.

Fifty additional states – according to the initiators of this rather peculiar political camouflage – are expected to join the European alliance. Leadership claims are naturally being made by the former maritime powers Britain and France, above all France, whose aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle may stand as the last remaining symbol of Europe’s great naval tradition at the center of these activities – if one can even approach the Persian Gulf at all.

The situation remains fragile: the currently stable ceasefire ends on Wednesday. And negotiations between the United States, Israel, and Iran are entering their final phase. From a European perspective, our assumptions are once again confirmed: the EU and its slowly re-approaching partner the United Kingdom are staging a political cabaret. First came the wait-and-see approach until Americans and Israel had militarily decided the situation. Meanwhile, some NATO members refused cooperation with the United States, only to now, after everything has been decided, attempt to place themselves at the forefront of political forces seeking to guarantee the security of the Strait of Hormuz.

Through constant media overdrive, Starmer, Macron, Meloni, and Merz present themselves as the decision-makers of the moment – it is their harvest time, collecting cheap public dividends. But is that really the case? Do they seriously believe that the majority of Europeans are not fully aware of what is happening? That European power is essentially the product of media magic – permanent propaganda wrapped in moral excess? A shadow of past greatness, reduced to virtual impotence, ultimately dissolving into the very media theatre that we, as embarrassed Europeans, are forced to endure every day.

The German contribution to the mission, as announced by Chancellor Friedrich Merz, is predictably modest: mine countermeasure vessels (eight available), one supply ship, and two P-8 Poseidon reconnaissance aircraft. No frigates – they are tied up in a NATO deployment in the North Atlantic. Germany does have a defense budget that exceeds all other Europeans by billions, yet even this money appears to vanish into the nirvana of bureaucracy and into the coffers of defense contractors, who are popping champagne corks thanks to the government’s debt-driven spending spree amid multiple conflict scenarios.

As for the possible German contribution. But as said: whether a military deployment will actually take place remains uncertain. Europe is already feeling the consequences of its energy dependency and its eco-socialist policy course, which hit like an icy wind. Yet this does not change the fact that policymakers continue to refuse to acknowledge the geopolitical vacuum, and instead begin trying to piece together diplomatically what they have shattered in recent years – especially in relations with the United States and Russia.

From poker we know: those who repeatedly bluff at the same table with empty hands and are exposed will be dismantled in future rounds. A US withdrawal from NATO would likely also mean a full retreat from the Ukraine conflict. This move would expose both Europe’s fragile finances and its non-existent security infrastructure. The EU faces economic and geopolitical problems it cannot manage alone.

From a European perspective, not many options remain. To those advocating closer alignment with China: China sees Europe primarily as a dumping ground for surplus production from its politically driven export sector. Europe could be pressured at any time via export restrictions on rare earths or microchips. This is not a viable option.

Reintegration of Russia into a broader Eurasian cooperation would be a natural and obvious element. The attempt to force regime change in Moscow has failed. The idea, attributed to EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, of fragmenting Russia into ethnic components in order to maintain leverage and control access to raw materials and energy resources remains a fantasy of hysterical Europeans trapped in their globalist worldview.

The United States remains, with its increasingly despised president in Europe, Donald Trump. He creates facts and destroys European dream worlds. And he executes a political program that allows the United States to dominate the Western Hemisphere over the long term. That the Americans project their power in the world’s maritime choke points – the Panama Canal, the Strait of Hormuz, and, following the agreement with Indonesia, the Strait of Malacca – shows: Washington is preparing for the power struggle with China.

Should Europeans believe that the two giants will not ultimately reach an understanding, they are likely mistaken. The United States and China are working at high speed to consolidate their spheres of influence, reorganizing financial systems and commodity markets in line with their specific industrial needs. Moreover, the costs of an escalating conflict between the two would be too high. It is therefore logical to divide the world into corresponding spheres of power and shift the costs onto others.

For Europeans, it becomes a burden that the unavoidable has happened: access to energy and its distribution have once again become instruments of power. Oil and gas dominate – the so-called “declared dead” are living longer than ever. And Europe’s dependency is striking: up to 60 percent of primary energy demand must be imported.

Those who fail to conclude from this simple observation that the time has come for diplomacy and fair negotiations with partners – and that the era of lecturing the world with a moral finger in order to enforce a Net Zero climate regime is over – have simply been overtaken by reality.

Brussels’ strategy to impose a European climate regime on the world failed the moment Donald Trump buried the European climate policy anchored by his predecessor Barack Obama. The fact that politicians such as Friedrich Merz, Lars Klingbeil, and Ursula von der Leyen continue to cling to climate doctrine, CO₂ trading, and the transformation agenda is tragic for Europe. Our economies are now bleeding out until economic reality – higher energy prices, rising unemployment, and the emerging sovereign debt crisis – forces a political shift.

About the author: Thomas Kolbe, a German graduate economist, has worked as a journalist and media producer for clients from various industries and business associations. As a publicist, he focuses on economic processes and observes geopolitical events from the perspective of the capital markets. His publications follow a philosophy that focuses on the individual and their right to self-determination

Authored by Victoria Friedman via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Sweden may need to consider options to reduce energy consumption, including rationing, if the disruption to the flow of fuel supplies continues as a result of the Iran war, the country’s prime minister and finance minister said on on April 23.

“We are not planning any rationing right now, but we are prepared for it to happen,” Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said at a press conference, according to Swedish daily newspaper Aftonbladet.

Speaking alongside the prime minister, Minister of Finance Elisabeth Svantesson described the situation as “the worst crisis in a very long time, when it comes to energy.”

“Government rationing is something that you absolutely want to avoid in every situation. That is why we are working on measures that will ensure that we do not get there,” Svantesson said.

Kristersson also said the Swedish economy is now in a worse scenario than it was before the conflict.

The warnings from Sweden come as other countries in Europe are bracing for the impact of surging energy prices.

On April 22, Germany’s economy ministry cut its growth forecasts ​in half for 2026, with Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy Katherina Reiche saying economic recovery will be “slowed down by external geopolitical shocks.”

Germany now expects 0.5 percent growth for this year, down from an earlier projection of 1 percent. Next year’s growth outlook has also been cut 0.9 percent from 1.3 percent.

The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action said the Iran war, and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz “especially,” has led to shortages and a rise in the price of energy and other commodities.

The ministry now expects inflation to increase to 2.7 percent this year ⁠and 2.8 percent in 2027, up from 2.2 percent last year.

Airlines Impacted

Airlines are increasing prices, cutting back on perks, and dropping routes to save money and fuel.

United Airlines said on April 22 it may have to increase ticket prices by up to 20 percent to offset the rise in jet fuel costs.

The airline’s CEO Scott Kirby made the announcement to investors during a quarterly earnings call, saying United’s goal “is to do whatever it takes to recover 100 percent of the increase in jet fuel prices as quickly as possible.”

“Yields need to increase by about 15 percent to 20 percent,” Kirby said, adding that the company is assuming fuel prices could remain elevated for longer, according to a transcript of the call published on financial commentary and analysis site Seeking Alpha.

“Realistically, there probably isn’t enough time to make up 100 percent of the fuel price increase this year. But I feel very good about 100 percent recovery and getting to double-digit margins in 2027.”

Lufthansa announced on April 21 that 20,000 short-haul flights would be canceled this summer.

The German carrier said in a statement that the flights “will be removed from the schedule through October, equivalent to approximately 40,000 metric tons of jet fuel, the price of which has doubled since the outbreak of the Iran conflict.”

Elsewhere, Air Canada said last week it would stop flying to New York City’s John F. Kennedy International Airport and raise baggage fees on some flights because of rising fuel costs.

Virgin Australia said last week that it was raising fares, and Australian carrier Qantas Airways said last month that it would increase fares on its international routes in response to the surge in jet fuel costs.

Guy Birchall and Owen Evans contributed to this report.

It’s no secret that Europe and western satellite nations like Canada and Australia have been rather hostile in rhetoric when it comes to the US.  This trend started well before the war in Iran and is owed largely to the ideological break between American conservative movements and European globalists and “multiculturalists”.  

The Trump Administration’s trade tariffs are a big factor, but they are ultimately just another reflection of the separation of ideals between the US and its liberal “allies”.  At bottom, US tariffs against allied economies are merely a response to decades of allies using tariffs against the US.  Tensions between western powers are rooted in a conflict of principles, not economics.  

Despite these tensions and the fact that countries like Australia have made it clear that they will not aid the US in reopening the Strait of Hormuz (which Australia relies on for the majority of its energy supplies), Trump has offered considerable help to prevent Australia from facing total economic collapse.

Australians are calling it the “Ship of Shame” – A series of refined fuel imports from the US over the course of the past month which are preventing the country crossing the “dry up” threshold.  Australia imports around 90% of all it’s refined fuels, including diesel which the nation relies on heavily for industrial needs and freight needs. Around 60% of Australia’s refined fuels are produced in Asia using oil that passes through the Strait of Hormuz. 

Without these US shipments, the country was four weeks away from critical shortages and potential industry shutdowns.  Australian political leaders have proven to be either incompetent or indolent in their responsibilities to prepare the country for energy emergency.  

Critics will argue that Australia would not have to worry about fuel shortages were it not for US intervention in Iran.  But, as we warned in March, the blame rests squarely on the shoulders of the liberal Australian government, which has crippled their own economy with strict “green” polices, carbon taxation and their continuous efforts to thwart homegrown energy production. 

Australia’s economic weakness is a product of many years of mismanagement and has nothing to do with the Trump Administration or the war in Iran.

The US sent around 240,000 metric tons of fuel products in March alone, the largest amount to Australia in over 30 years, with more on the way.  Along with some alternative supplies coming from Africa, Malaysia and other markets, Australia’s emergency reserves are actually greater than they were before the war in Iran (with an extra 10 days of supply on top of their previous totals). 

However, there is still a threat of “long tail” shortages and price hikes if the closure of the Hormuz lasts longer than a couple of months.

The lesson is clear; economic interdependency is a mistake and “just in time” supply chains are foolish.  Furthermore, green energy is utterly useless and a form of economic suicide.  Australia is a perfect model for what not to do when developing a national energy policy.

The country’s sudden desperate need for aid from Trump and the US will hopefully wake up the Australian public to the fact that their current far-left political leadership is inept at best, and self destructive at worst.  

Via The Cradle

Two Israeli air force technicians who were operating at the Tel Nof Air Base near the city of Ashdod are set to be charged with espionage for Iran in the US-Israeli war launched against the Islamic Republic in late February, Israeli media reported Wednesday.

This marks the latest case in what has been referred to as an “espionage epidemic” in Israel. According to a report by Israel’s Broadcasting Corporation (KAN), the technicians worked on Israel’s F15 jets. The two were identified as Asaf Shitrit and Sagi Haik.

The report says they handed over documents detailing engine diagrams and photos showing a flight instructor’s face, violating military censorship regulations. 

The two technicians were also enlisted to gather intelligence on Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and former army chief Herzi Halevi. 

KAN revealed that authorities are mulling stepping up the charges to treason against one of the air force technicians. Eight other soldiers are being accused of knowing about the spying and failing to report it.

The Tel Nof base commander summoned the troops for a security briefing and informed them that he has been asked to clarify the incident to Israel’s Shin Bet security agency. 

Over 50 indictments have been filed against Israeli citizens for spying for Iran since October 2023, Mondoweiss revealed in a report.

Security analysts and commentators in Israel have described the situation as an “espionage epidemic” fueled by public distrust of political leadership, corruption, and general discontent among Israelis. 

Recent cases in 2026 alone include an Iron Dome reservist accused of passing system details for $1,000, multiple active-duty soldiers charged with espionage, and a thwarted plot to assassinate former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.

The Iron Dome reservist, Raz Cohen, was arrested in a joint operation by the Shin Bet and the police’s Lahav 433 major crimes unit. According to the indictment filed by the Jerusalem District Attorney’s Office, Cohen had been communicating with an Iranian agent since December via the Telegram messaging app.

The reservist allegedly took photographs and videos that he shared with his Iranian handlers and provided coordinates for several locations, including the Hatzor, Hatzerim, Nevatim, and Tel Nof air bases, as well as an additional classified facility.

Ukraine has hailed the long awaited approval and release of a whopping a €90 billion loan by the European Union, which belatedly happened Thursday after months of negotiations.

“The European support loan for Ukraine has been unblocked – €90 billion over two years,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on X.

“For us this is important, and it will strengthen, of course, our army, Ukrainian forces, and allow us to boost production of air defense systems and work more to protect our energy system for the winter. Together we will solve many issues of protecting lives. And of course, we will keep working to push Russia to real diplomacy to end this war,” he said.

Hungary and Slovakia, which had blocked the package, did not object before the 3 p.m. deadline, clearing final approval. This after a major Hungarian election wherein PM Viktor Orban suffered defeat, and rapid political transition is underway.

These countries lifted their vetoes after oil flows through the Druzhba pipeline finally resumed Thursday following earlier damage from Russian strikes. The timing interestingly corresponded with Hungarian opposition leader Péter Magyar cinching victory in a historic election.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen welcomed the decision while traveling to Cyprus for talks with European leaders on the Middle East-driven energy crisis.

“While Russia doubles down on its aggression, we are doubling down on our support to the brave Ukrainian nation enabling Ukraine to defend itself,” von der Leyen wrote on X.

The loan is heavily weighted toward military spending, and the NY Times says that it signifies that Kiev’s Western backers see peace as being very far away. And additionally, this was unleashed by Brussels: 

The latest EU sanctions against Russia – the 20th round since the invasion – blacklist Russian banks and energy companies, as well as entities in the United Arab Emirates, Thailand and China, including Hong Kong, for helping Moscow evade western restrictions.

Again, as for what changed to finally unlocked the loan, Washington Post bluntly points out the obvious big elephant in the room…

“The two-year loan is moving forward after its main opponent, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, lost his campaign for reelection this month,” WaPo writes.

Submitted by Tsvetana Paraskova of OilPrice.com

Rooftop solar installations in Europe have surged since the Middle East war triggered a new oil and gas supply crisis and hiked power prices.

Demand from households and businesses willing to install rooftop solar systems soared in March and continues to rise at even higher rates in April as consumers look to insulate themselves from spiking gas and electricity prices, equipment wholesalers and renewable utilities in Northwest Europe have told Reuters.

Rooftop solar demand in Germany, the Netherlands, and the UK has jumped by between 30% and 50% since the war in the Middle East began on February 28, according to various industry executives who spoke to Reuters.

Sales at Germany’s solar equipment wholesaler Solarhandel24 more than tripled last month and are set to triple again in April, amid soaring demand for rooftop solar, company representatives told Reuters.

German solar solutions provider Enpal also reported strong rooftop solar demand driving a 30% jump in orders in March from a year earlier, and expects a further 33% surge in April.

The UK is also looking to boost rooftop solar installations as part of the government’s measures unveiled this week and aimed at breaking the outsized influence of gas prices on electricity prices.

UK firm OVO Energy said in an analysis last month that there are around 13.7 million homes across the UK that are ready for solar panels – nearly half of all residential buildings. If these are installed, they would generate 28.5 terawatt-hours (TWh) of renewable energy every year—enough power to charge all of the UK’s 1.2 million EVs for almost 10 years, OVO Energy says.

Separately, industry association SolarPower Europe has found in research that solar power saved the EU $130 million (111.7 million euros) every day in the first 17 days of the Middle East conflict—savings from avoided fossil fuel imports.

Without solar electricity, the EU’s fossil fuel import bill would have been 32% higher than it currently is, according to the research.

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy, a significant religious liberty case that pits Colorado’s universal preschool funding program against Catholic schools’ faith-based admissions and operational policies.

Earlier this week, the Court granted certiorari in an unsigned order (no dissents noted), limiting review to two questions from the petitioners’ November 2025 petition. Arguments are expected in the Court’s October 2026 term.

In 2020, Colorado voters approved Proposition EE, creating dedicated funding for voluntary universal preschool. The state’s Early Childhood Act and related rules established the UPK program, which provides free preschool (initially 15 hours per week, later expanded in some descriptions) to families at participating public, private, or faith-based providers. The goal: expand access and choice for all families, including through private options.

To participate and receive taxpayer funds, preschools must sign a nondiscrimination agreement. It requires offering “equal opportunity” to enroll and serve children regardless of race, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, gender identity, income, disability, or other protected characteristics. The program includes some targeted preferences or exemptions (e.g., for children of color, low-income families, those with disabilities, gender-nonconforming children, or LGBTQ+ families), but participating providers must still comply with the core nondiscrimination rule.

Catholic Preschools

Catholic preschools operated by the Archdiocese of Denver (including St. Mary Catholic Preschool in Littleton and Wellspring Catholic Academy/St. Bernadette’s in Lakewood) integrate religious formation with early education. They serve as faith-filled communities where children learn, pray, and grow alongside families who share or at least respect core Catholic teachings on faith, morals, sexuality, and gender (e.g., traditional Catholic doctrine on biological sex, marriage, and gender identity). Enrollment policies typically require families to affirm support for these beliefs; some policies also address practical matters like bathroom use aligned with biological sex.

The state determined these practices violate the equal-opportunity mandate – particularly with respect to sexual orientation, gender identity, and religious affiliation – because the schools do not guarantee enrollment to families whose beliefs or identities conflict with Catholic doctrine. As a result, the Archdiocese’s roughly 30+ Catholic preschools were categorically excluded, affecting over 1,500 children and families. At least one preschool closed, and enrollment at others dropped sharply (nearly 20% in some cases), forcing families to pay out-of-pocket or choose non-Catholic options.

Plaintiffs (two parishes/preschools, the Archdiocese, and parents Daniel and Lisa Sheley, who wished to use the benefit at a Catholic preschool) sued in 2023 via the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, arguing Free Exercise Clause violations.

Lower Court Rulings

• District Court (2024): After a bench trial, it largely sided with the state on the nondiscrimination requirement but enjoined enforcement as to religious affiliation (due to certain program preferences). It found no broader First Amendment violation.
   
• 10th Circuit (Sept. 30, 2025): Unanimously affirmed for the state. It held the rule is a neutral, generally applicable law under Employment Division v. Smith (1990), so rational-basis review applies (and the rule survives). The court called Colorado’s approach a “model example” of balancing nondiscrimination with religious accommodation efforts, distinguishing it from recent Supreme Court precedents like Trinity Lutheran, Espinoza, and Carson v. Makin (which bar explicit religious-status discrimination in public benefits). No evidence of anti-religious hostility (unlike Masterpiece Cakeshop).

The 10th Circuit joined a minority position in a circuit split on when exemptions or discretion undermine a law’s “general applicability” under Smith. As the Epoch Times notes, the appeals court held that Colorado’s secular exemptions and discretion “did not undermine general applicability” – applying a Supreme Court precedent known as Employment Division v. Smith (1990). By doing this, the appeals court threw its lot in with the minority position in a circuit split regarding what kinds of exemptions and discretion are considered to undermine general applicability, the petition said.

The case is expected to be heard in the court’s next session, which begins in October.

Submitted by Thomas Kolbe

America remains a country of high social mobility and upward opportunity—something we no longer see on today’s European continent. It may sound kitschy to many Europeans, yet its vibrant economic centers, high geographic mobility, and the flexibility of its people still create the conditions for this unique phenomenon.

Admittedly, the narrative of the “land of unlimited opportunity” may sound exaggerated today—something akin to self-promotion. Yet at its core, it still holds true. Can one still make something of oneself there? Donald Trump’s deregulation program, combined with tax cuts for businesses as well as small and medium incomes, has in any case helped to revive this promise of upward mobility.

Trump’s policies go hand in hand with the elimination of fiscal privileges and subsidies. His goal: the systematic dismantling of the fiscally secured and media-backed strongholds of power of a socialist apparatus that reflects the spirit of European regulatory policy.

Put simply, under Trump, American nationalism and a rejection of ideological engineering have returned to the political agenda. With intense competition and market-driven policies at home, alongside a trade and tariff strategy reminiscent of presidents like Alexander Hamilton and William McKinley, this forms a clear countermodel to his predecessors. They had significantly advanced the European model of climate socialism as a tool of power consolidation.

For the record: it was President Barack Obama who, in 2009, identified carbon dioxide as a lever of power, integrated European regulatory frameworks, and began systematically undermining the traditional American values of individual liberty, mobility, free markets, and minimal government.

The public outrage over Trump’s reversal in key questions of political power architecture stems largely from the fact that too many had grown comfortable in a world of subsidies, NGOs, and public sector employment. European climate socialists now pin their hopes on California Governor Gavin Newsom. In two and a half years, he is expected to enter the White House and initiate a return to the status quo ante.

In Berlin, Brussels, Paris, and London, they are likely already counting the days until a possible political shift in Washington.

Trump has fallen out of favor with Europeans because his agenda of prioritizing American national interests mercilessly exposes the ideological contradictions and intellectual weakness of European socialism. Whether in foreign policy—where the U.S. asserts itself forcefully toward countries like Venezuela or Iran—or in its confrontation with the climate lobby and the left-wing NGO complex, Trump’s policies reflect the will of many Americans to finally address the consequences of globalist policies and draw the logical conclusion: dismantling this socialist overreach.

It is telling that his migration policy meets fierce resistance in the strongholds of Democratic Party power. Where migration and poverty industries have taken root, the immigration authority ICE encounters near civil-war-like resistance.

Yet it is not Trump’s fault that the European social model lies in ruins.

Europe suffers from a lack of self-criticism and a general unwillingness to confront its own ideological failures. Meanwhile, nuclear cooling towers are demolished, coal seams flooded, and gas infrastructure dismantled. The politics of ideological immaturity collide with Washington’s hard-nosed approach and the necessary repair work on a deeply damaged social and economic body.

No matter whom the Republican Party nominates as Trump’s potential successor—be it J.D. Vance or Marco Rubio—the German press has already made its choice. It longs for America’s return to European-style climate socialism: more comfortable, more predictable, and promising continued access to public funding—even for its own future. To underline this, the German weekly WirtschaftsWoche recently published a guest article by Gavin Newsom.

Newsom seeks to persuade foreign governments to view California as an independent economic entity—the world’s fifth-largest economy, still embodying the spirit of boundless opportunity.

The implicit message is clear: California’s economic stagnation is not the result of high taxes or aggressive climate policies in the European mold—nor of its war on oil and gas—but solely the fault of Donald Trump’s tariff policy.

California is Europe in miniature—a shadow of the Old Continent cast across the United States. It now finds itself exposed by Washington’s market-driven reforms, which throw its model into stark contrast. The results are increasingly visible: one system succeeds, the other falters.

In his guest contribution, Newsom naturally avoids addressing the consequences of California’s climate policies. As in Europe, CO₂ costs are placing enormous strain on industry. Companies are leaving—just as they are in Germany—and relocating to states like Texas or Florida, where industrial production is still valued.

Newsom’s socialist course, which began in 2019, is evident not only in rising public debt. More striking is the emergence of a full-fledged poverty management industry. Years of open-border policies enabled the development of a deeply corrupt system of dependency management. California has become a magnet for illegal migrants, drug addicts, and other lost individuals; at the same time, the political framework sustains an extraction economy similar to what we observe in Germany’s migration sector. The parallels are striking.

The Sunshine State, once a place of aspiration for so many, now resembles—especially in its urban centers—the kind of social decay familiar from Europe’s migration-driven slums.

Hardly a model to be proud of—yet, for WirtschaftsWoche, seemingly the ideal form of postmodern urbanity.

Newsom frequently points to the success of Silicon Valley, the powerhouse of digital innovation. Yet this engine of growth quite literally fell into his lap; he has contributed nothing of substance to enhancing the state’s innovative capacity. Silicon Valley existed before Newsom—and it will exist after him, if necessary in a different location, in new form, after escaping the suffocating grip of bureaucratic overreach.

A final word on those Europeans who hope for Trump’s failure: with Newsom and a return of the United States to European climate socialism and mass immigration, capital flight from the EU might temporarily slow. It is entirely possible that European leadership could buy time by pointing to a faltering America. But it would change nothing about Europe’s decline—only delay the inevitable.

About the author: Thomas Kolbe, a German graduate economist, has worked as a journalist and media producer for clients from various industries and business associations. As a publicist, he focuses on economic processes and observes geopolitical events from the perspective of the capital markets. His publications follow a philosophy that focuses on the individual and their right to self-determination

Authored by Chase Smith via The Epoch Times,

Thirty-seven Senate Democrats sent a letter Monday to the U.S. Postal Service’s board of governors calling on the agency to refuse to implement a March 31 executive order that directs the USPS to use state-submitted lists to determine which voters may receive mail-in and absentee ballots.

The order specifically mentions U.S. citizenship as a key element for eligibility.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) led the effort alongside three ranking committee members: Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), ranking member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee; Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), ranking member of the Senate Rules and Administration Committee; and Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Executive Order 14399, signed March 31 by President Donald Trump, directs the Postmaster General to initiate a rulemaking within 60 days establishing uniform standards for mail-in and absentee ballot processing. 

Under the order, USPS would be prohibited from transmitting mail-in or absentee ballots to any voter not enrolled on a state-submitted eligibility list, which the order calls a “Mail-In and Absentee Participation List.” A final rule must be issued within 120 days of signing.

The order also directs the Department of Homeland Security to compile federal citizenship records into state-by-state voter eligibility lists, drawn from Social Security Administration and immigration databases, and transmit those lists to state election officials at least 60 days before each federal election.

The senators argued that the order unconstitutionally transfers authority over federal elections to the executive branch, noting that the Constitution vests authority over the ’times, places, and manner’ of federal elections with the states, subject to alteration by Congress.

“The Constitution provides no role for the President in regulating federal elections,” the Democratic senators wrote. “And no statute delegates to the President any authority to regulate elections or voter eligibility either, including via USPS. By issuing the executive order, however, the President is attempting to unconstitutionally consolidate power to personally regulate American elections.” 

The senators said the order would effectively ban mail-in voting in any state unwilling to submit its absentee voter lists to the USPS, and would give the postal agency power to determine which voters’ ballots get delivered to election officials at all.

The senators also pointed to language in a December 2025 USPS rule on postmarking procedures, in which the agency described its limited role in elections. 

“While the Proposed Rule contains information of potential relevance to election officials and to citizens who choose to vote by mail, the Postal Service does not administer elections, establish the rules or deadlines that govern elections, or determine whether or how election jurisdictions utilize the mail or incorporate our postmark into their rules,” the rule noted. “The Postal Service also does not advocate for or against any particular voting practices (including mail-in voting).”

The order has generated legal battles on two fronts.

1. On the voter data side, the federal government sued 30 states and the District of Columbia for refusing to hand over voter registration records to federal officials, and at least five federal judges have ruled against that effort. 

2. On the mail-in ballot side, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee filed a lawsuit on April 1, arguing that the order restricts Americans’ ability to vote by mail. A coalition of 12 Republican state attorneys general filed motions on April 20 in Massachusetts and Washington to defend the order against that challenge. 

The White House and USPS did not respond to a request for comment before publication.

The letter was addressed to USPS Chairwoman Amber McReynolds, Vice Chairman Derek Kan, Governors Ronald Stroman and Daniel Tangherlini, and Postmaster General David Steiner.