Federal Government Watch -
Mostly Clueless In Washington
by Clare M. Lopez
November 2025
“FBI thwarts planned Halloween jihad massacre in Michigan” by Robert Spencer at Jihad Watch, October 31, 2025
“Witkoff’s ‘Palestinian’ adviser claims Hamas only has to give up ‘heavy weapons’” by Daniel Greenfield at Front Page Magazine, October 24, 2025
“Bipartisan senators criticize Trump’s nominee for Kuwait over accusations of antisemitism” by Laura Kelly at The Hill, 10/23/25
“DHS Revokes Visa for British Journalist Accused of Supporting Terrorism” by Peter Aitken at Newsweek, October 26, 2025
“Dozens of Muslim groups blocked from receiving federal security grants: Report” by Syma Mohammed at the Middle East Eye, 10 October 2025
“Republicans Launch New Front in Immigration Fight: Banning Immigrants Who Follow Sharia Law” by Dmitri Bolt at Townhall, October 13, 2025
Mostly Clueless In Washington
by Clare M. Lopez
November 2025
“FBI thwarts planned Halloween jihad massacre in Michigan” by Robert Spencer at Jihad Watch, October 31, 2025
- Averting this planned jihad massacre in Michigan is to the credit of the FBI, certainly. But the point that Robert Spencer makes here is that while the Justice Department said the plot was “tied to international terrorism”, neither the DOJ nor the FBI clearly stated that the plot was an Islamic terror (jihad) operation.
“Witkoff’s ‘Palestinian’ adviser claims Hamas only has to give up ‘heavy weapons’” by Daniel Greenfield at Front Page Magazine, October 24, 2025
- No, President Trump’s 20-point plan states clearly that HAMAS must disarm or be disarmed completely; there is no provision for HAMAS to keep any weapons at all. Of serious concern here is that US envoy Steve Witkoff’s ‘Palestinian’ advisor, Bishara A. Bahbah, who issued this statement, formerly was an advisor to Yasser Arafat and the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO).
- UPDATE: "Steve Witkoff: Hamas Promised Me It Would Disarm", by Hugh Fitzgerald at Jihad Watch, November 9, 2025
- Amazing how naive some of our senior administration people are about HAMAS & Islam!
“Bipartisan senators criticize Trump’s nominee for Kuwait over accusations of antisemitism” by Laura Kelly at The Hill, 10/23/25
- At the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on 23 October 2025, both Republican and Democrat members opposed Amer Ghalib, President Trump’s nominee for Ambassador to Kuwait, because of his history of antisemitic comments and positions. How President Trump was advised to even nominate such an individual for this important post is not clear but would seem to demonstrate problems within the administration with regard to vetting for personnel nominations.
“DHS Revokes Visa for British Journalist Accused of Supporting Terrorism” by Peter Aitken at Newsweek, October 26, 2025
- Although this case ended appropriately with the revocation of this British journalist’s visa and himself taken into ICE custody for deportation, the fact that he obtained an entry visa in the first place is troublesome.
- More here: “Sami Hamdi, British Muslim journalist, detained by ICE at SFO after visa revoked” by Cynthia Dizikes at The San Francisco Chronicle, October 26, 2025
- It’s interesting that it took Laura Loomer, an investigative reporter and podcast host, to alert authorities to Hamdi’s problematic profile
“Dozens of Muslim groups blocked from receiving federal security grants: Report” by Syma Mohammed at the Middle East Eye, 10 October 2025
- The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) seems finally to be on the right track in identifying Muslim Brotherhood front groups such as the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) and others and cutting them off from receiving USG grants.
- More here: “FEMA Funding Controversy: Security Concerns and Discrimination Claims Against Islamic Organizations” at Mezha.net on 11 October 2025
“Republicans Launch New Front in Immigration Fight: Banning Immigrants Who Follow Sharia Law” by Dmitri Bolt at Townhall, October 13, 2025
- The intentions here may be good ones, but the fact is that Rep. Chip Roy’s proposed ‘Preserving A Sharia-Free America Act’ is already unnecessary, given that Article VI of the US Constitution states that the ‘Supreme Law of the Land shall be the Constitution of the U.S. and the laws derived from it’. It is also unclear how an intending immigrant’s adherence to Islamic Law (sharia) would be determined, especially given that under sharia, faithful Muslims are obligated to lie to infidels when the issue at hand itself is obligatory (like jihad).