McConnell’s Replacement Revealed In Kentucky GOP Senate Primary
The candidate who will vie for the seat of retiring former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in Kentucky outperformed his competition during Tuesday’s GOP primaries and is likely to win his November race.
Rep. Andy Barr easily bested a slew of other candidates to replace McConnell, a one-time ally of Donald Trump who turned on him after the president’s first term.
Though it’s a race overshadowed by another contest, where Trump is the driving factor in the state, it’s still significant, given that Barr and his Democratic opponent will be at the forefront of change in the political status quo of the Bluegrass state.
Whoever comes out on top in November will replace McConnell, the longest-serving Republican leader in Senate history, who has been a political force and polarizing figure during his decades in the upper chamber.
But like so many races during this and previous cycles in the Trump era, the president was the main factor on the Republican side.
And Barr’s bid for the upper chamber after serving seven terms in the House was spurred by a late endorsement from Trump earlier this month.
The candidate vying for retiring former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s seat in Kentucky decisively outperformed his competitors during Tuesday’s GOP primaries and is poised to likely win the upcoming November race.
Rep. Andy Barr easily surpassed a number of other candidates looking to replace McConnell, a one-time ally of Donald Trump who distanced himself from the former president after Trump’s first term.
Although this race is somewhat overshadowed by another contest in the state, where Trump’s influence is significant, it remains important as Barr and his Democratic opponent will play key roles in changing the political landscape in the Bluegrass State.
Should Barr win in November, which is likely, he will succeed McConnell, who has become the longest-serving Republican leader in Senate history and has been both a powerful and polarizing figure throughout his decades in the Senate.
As with many races in this and previous cycles of the Trump era, the president was a major factor in the Republican Party.
Barr’s campaign for the Senate, after serving seven terms in the House, gained momentum from a late Trump endorsement earlier this month.
“We did have a lead before the endorsement,” Barr said during a campaign event on Monday. “Our lead has skyrocketed since then in the polling that we’re looking at, but we don’t take anything for granted.”
The endorsement helped Barr best his nearest competitor, former Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, who remained confident that he could still win without Trump’s backing.
“I think people are tired of the games that are played in Washington and want somebody that’s looking out for their interests,” Cameron told local news outlet WHAS11 before Election Day.
Trump praised Barr for his loyalty and added that he is the “only Candidate who will easily defeat the Democrat in what will be one of the most important Elections in American History.”
Trump also praised Barr as a strong supporter of eliminating the Senate filibuster, the procedural hurdle Republicans say has stalled the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act.
The legislation has struggled to advance in the Senate amid unified Democratic opposition and limited Republican support for changing Senate rules to pass the measure.
Last month, a version of the SAVE America Act failed to secure enough Republican backing even under a simple 50-vote threshold.
“He will do everything in his power to get it done,” Trump said. “It is desperately needed by the Republican Party to pass the SAVE AMERICA ACT, and all other things necessary for a strong and brilliant Country!”
Trump Admin Says It Uncovered $10 Billion Obamacare Fraud Scheme
The Trump administration says it has uncovered what it describes as a massive fraud scheme within the Affordable Care Act.
Members of Trump’s administration allege that roughly $10 billion in taxpayer money was improperly paid out between 2021 and 2024 because of weakened enrollment safeguards under former President Joe Biden.
According to a Department of Health and Human Services report, officials have already removed nearly three million fraudulent or improper Obamacare enrollments and estimate another 2.6 million questionable enrollments remain.
Administration officials say the findings are part of a broader government-wide effort to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse across federal programs.
The report traces the alleged problems to changes made during the Biden administration that expanded enrollment opportunities while relaxing income verification and eligibility checks.
At the start of Biden’s presidency, approximately 10 million people were enrolled through the Affordable Care Act exchanges. By 2024, enrollment had surged to roughly 22 million.
Federal investigators now believe millions of those enrollments were improper, fraudulent, or created without the knowledge of the individuals involved.
“By our estimate, improper, phantom, and fraudulent enrollment peaked at 5.6 million people in 2025,” the report states.
“We estimate 2.6 million improper and phantom enrollments remain, including over 1 million enrollments without a Social Security number.”
According to the report, several different forms of abuse contributed to the alleged fraud.
Officials say some applicants intentionally understated their income to qualify for larger taxpayer-funded subsidies.
Others allegedly received premium assistance despite failing to meet eligibility requirements.
Investigators also identified what they describe as “phantom enrollments,” in which insurance brokers allegedly enrolled people in Obamacare plans without their knowledge to collect federal commissions.
The report argues that reduced verification requirements made those practices significantly easier to carry out.
Since taking office, the Trump administration says it has restored stricter income verification requirements, ended several special enrollment periods, increased screening for duplicate Medicaid enrollment, and launched investigations into brokers suspected of creating phantom policies.
Officials also say they have strengthened oversight of agents participating in the federal marketplace.
As a result of those efforts, nearly three million enrollments have already been removed from the Affordable Care Act exchanges.
Even after those removals, approximately 19.2 million people remain enrolled.
The administration says its goal is not to reduce legitimate coverage but to ensure taxpayer dollars are being spent only on individuals who actually qualify.
“Preserving the fiscal and programmatic integrity of the ACA Exchanges is key to safeguarding taxpayer-funded resources for those that truly need them,” the report states.
“The federal government paying brokers to enroll individuals without their knowledge is not.”
The report also says the administration will continue pursuing additional enforcement actions against brokers and others accused of exploiting the program.
“The Trump Administration continues to aggressively root out fraud, waste, abuse, and corruption by promulgating new regulations to improve program integrity, investigating suspected improper or fraudulent enrollment, and taking action against agents and brokers committing fraud.”
The findings are likely to reignite debate over the Affordable Care Act and how aggressively eligibility rules should be enforced.
Supporters of the administration argue the report demonstrates that stricter oversight is necessary to protect taxpayers and preserve benefits for those legally entitled to receive them.
Critics of previous verification rollbacks have long warned that loosening enrollment safeguards could increase improper payments and fraud, while supporters of the Biden-era policies argued the changes made healthcare more accessible to eligible Americans, Fox News reported exclusively.
The administration says its investigations remain ongoing, with an estimated 2.6 million additional enrollments still under review as officials continue auditing the federal health insurance exchanges.
Trump has been pushing to replace Obamacare for over a decade, and this may give Republicans enough motivation to actually do something.
