The long-awaited Senate battle over election integrity has officially begun.

Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) just confirmed that debate on the SAVE America Act is kicking off TODAY on the Senate floor, setting the stage for a dramatic showdown that will finally force every Democrat (and any spineless RINO) to publicly defend their opposition to requiring proof of American citizenship before voting in federal elections.

Last week, Thune performed a U-turn of sorts, telling reporters that there would be a vote this week, giving those advocating for the SAVE Act a chance to pass it.

But then he made clear he thought the whole issue was a waste of time since Democrats would probably end up defeating the measure anyway.

Sen. Thune: “That debate will happen. But as I said, I can guarantee the debate. I can guarantee a vote. I just can’t guarantee an outcome.

I think there are a lot of optimistic views about what Democrats may or may not do.

We all know, because we deal with them every day, that the Democrats are not all of a sudden going to decide that this is something they want to be for.

I think you have a lot of optimists out there, and I appreciate that, and a lot of passion and energy behind getting an outcome here. But getting an outcome would require Democrat votes.

And, you know, we’ll give them a chance. Like I said, they’ll have that opportunity to vote one way or the other on this.

But I would be very, very surprised.”

Then last week, Senator Lee, the lead sponsor of the SAVE America Act, confirmed that after intense negotiations with Thune’s office, a HYBRID form of the “talking filibuster” is set to be implemented.

Mike Lee: “Okay, important update on the Save America Act and the effort to get it passed. Look, I am guardedly optimistic. We’ve turned kind of a corner over the last few days. There’s been some uncertainty about exactly what procedure we will and will not be using. In the end, we’ve been working closely with Leader Thune and his staff, and they’ve been great to work with.

What we’re coming up with is something that I think is best described as a hybrid version of the talking filibuster. But look, let’s not get mired down in nomenclature. What matters far more than what we call it is what we do with it.

We’re going to bring it to the floor. We’re going to debate it for an extended period of time before filing cloture. And in my view—at least, I don’t want to speak for anyone else—this bill needs to remain on the Senate floor before we file cloture for as long as it takes to get it done.

Now, the fact that Leader Thune and his office have been willing to work with us on this, and that they appear open to a variation of that, is a good thing. So let’s keep up the momentum. Let’s encourage them to continue to do this. Let’s put the bill on the floor. Let’s make those who want to filibuster speak, and keep it on there as long as possible.”

On Monday, Senator Lee just dropped the hammer and confirmed that debate on the SAVE America Act is kicking off TODAY on the Senate floor.

In a fiery statement, Sen. Lee made it clear that this will not be business as usual in the Senate.

“After two years of preparation, the Senate will begin debating the SAVE America Act tomorrow. Once we’re on this bill, we must stay on it until it’s passed into law. Filibustering senators must be required to speak—no zombie filibusters here. Get it done. Pass it on.”

Lee doubled down in a video message, calling this moment a culmination of years of effort alongside Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX), who originally co-authored the legislation.

“It’s been about two years since Chip Roy and I wrote the SAVE Act, which later became the Save America Act. Tomorrow, this will come to fruition as the Save America Act comes to the floor of the United States Senate.

I invite all within the sound of my voice who would like this bill to become law to reach out to as many people as possible—friends, neighbors, and especially United States senators who might listen to you. Ask them, “Please get this passed.”

Tell them we need to invoke the talking filibuster in the United States Senate. No zombie filibuster will suffice on this one. We’ve got to turn to this bill. We’ve got to debate it. We’ve got to stay on the bill until it becomes law.

There can be no surrender. There can be no ifs, ands, or buts. There can be no cheap imitations here.

The Republic is on the line. Let’s get this done.”

WATCH:

After two years of preparation, the Senate will begin debating the SAVE America Act tomorrow

Once we’re on this bill, we must stay on it until it’s passed into law

Filibustering senators must be required to speak—no Zombie Filibusters here

Get it done

Pass it on pic.twitter.com/GGfJkNMUAU

— Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) March 16, 2026

When asked directly whether this effort amounts to a talking filibuster, Lee’s response was blunt:

“Yes.”

Yes

— Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) March 17, 2026

The post SENATE SHOWDOWN BEGINS: Sen. Mike Lee Confirms SAVE America Act Debate Kicks Off TODAY — Allegedly “Talking Filibuster” to FORCE Democrats to Defend Their Opposition on the Floor appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

According to the comptroller, New York City spent an eye-popping $81,000 per person on services for the homeless last year.

This leads to some obvious questions. Why are there still homeless people in New York City? How does this city spend this kind of money and still have a homeless problem?

Also, would it not have been better to just give $81,000 to each homeless person on the condition that they get off the street? Couldn’t that have worked better in the end?

The New York Post reports:

NYC spent roughly $81K per person on homeless services last year: comptroller

New York City spent roughly $81,000 per person on homeless services last year — amounting to a whopping $368 million in total bills, a shocking new state report found.

Spending on the city’s Department of Homeless Services’ “Street Homeless Solutions” division more than tripled over the last six years, from $102 million in 2019 — or about $28,000 per “unsheltered homeless person,” according to the report from the state comptroller’s office.

The cost per person was roughly equivalent to the city’s median household income as of the 2024 US Census — $81,228 annually.

Unsheltered homeless people constitute those living regularly on the streets, compared to those who are in some kind of affordable housing or long-term shelter system.

The Big Apple’s unsheltered homeless population increased by 26% over the same timeframe, the report released by Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli found.

About 3,588 unsheltered homeless people were reported in the 2019 fiscal year, while 4,505 were reported in the fiscal year 2025.

One of the problems with homelessness in American cities is that there are too many people making a lot of money ‘solving’ the problem, which never gets solved and only seems to grow.

Comedian and podcaster Adam Carolla recently talked about this problem and although he was referring to Los Angeles, the problem is exactly the same. He notes that when his friend Dr. Drew Pinsky offered his services as an addiction specialist -for free- to the city of Los Angeles, the woke members of the city council turned him down. Watch:

This is EXACTLY why Los Angeles doesn’t take its homeless crisis seriously. @adamcarolla pic.twitter.com/ZbsSfHggTX

— The Adam Carolla Show (@AdamCarollaShow) March 16, 2026

This problem will never be solved with leftists in charge of cities. They do not want it solved. Too many people are making a living from it, because it has been turned into an industry. There is no incentive to fix the problem.

The post REPORT: New York City Spent Approximately $81,000 PER PERSON on Services for the Homeless Last Year appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Investigative journalist Nick Shirley released his latest video on Monday, uncovering $170 million in fraud in California.

And this is just the tip of the iceberg in Democrat-run California.

“We uncovered over $170,000,000 in fraud as these fraudsters live in luxury with no consequences,” Nick Shirley said.

“California’s version of Medicaid called ‘Medi-Cal’ has more than doubled since 2022 from $108 billion to a proposed $222 billion in 2026. Their population, however, has not grown exponentially. However, their spending has,” Nick Shirley said.

“There has been a 1,000 percent increase in hospice care in Los Angeles County,” Nick Shirley said. It’s estimated that the fraud in California could be in the hundreds of billions of dollars.”

Nick Shirley visited ‘hospices’ in Los Angeles and ‘daycares’ in San Diego.

The Somali ‘daycare’ owner/operator screamed at Nick Shirley and called the police after he asked her why there weren’t any children in the facility.

WATCH:

Here is the full 40 minutes of my crew and I exposing California fraud, Minnesota was big but California is even bigger… We uncovered over $170,000,000 in fraud as these fraudsters live in luxury with no consequences. Like it and share it, the fraud must STOP.

We ALL work… pic.twitter.com/7nWX9jL6NI

— Nick shirley (@nickshirleyy) March 17, 2026

In December, Nick Shirley exposed more than $110 million in Somali fraud in Minnesota in one day.

An angry Somali woman ‘working’ at a daycare – with no children inside – slammed the door as journalist Nick Shirley asked some simple questions about the so-called children’s center.

Minnesota Childcare Center claims it takes care of 102 children, however, the facility is empty.

Another Somali learning center couldn’t even spell ‘learning’ correctly.

In a follow up video, Nick Shirley exposed more than $16 million in Somali welfare fraud.

“In this 51 minute video David and I expose another $16 Million in fraud as Minnesota welfare programs continue to operate fraudulently and steal from law-abiding taxpayers,” Nick Shirley said in January.

The post WATCH: Investigative Journalist Nick Shirley Releases Video Uncovering $170 Million in Fraud in California appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.