Heritage Explains

$32,000 for a “transgender comic book” in Peru. $2 million for sex changes and “LGBT activism” in Guatemala. Hundreds of millions of dollars to fund “irrigation canals, farming equipment, and even fertilizer used to support the unprecedented poppy cultivation and heroin production in Afghanistan,” benefiting the Taliban This sounds like the wishlist of a crazy progressive NGO. But it’s not. These are all grants of US Taxpayer money, made by USAID. The United States Agency for International Development. Over the last week, the Trump Administration has taken steps to rein in such questionable uses of public funds in the federal government. Here to explain what they’re doing and why it matters is David Ditch, Senior Policy Analyst at the Heritage Foundation.  — Follow David Ditch on X: https://x.com/davidaditch Learn more about The Heritage Foundation: www.heritage.org — Have thoughts? Let us know at heritageexplains@heritage.org

Over just the last week, the number of daily border crossings has crashed compared to the Biden administration. Border enforcement in the interior has been seriously undertaken. The US military has been deployed to assist Customs and Border Protection.  Here to walk us through the details of this Sea Change is Lora Ries, Director of the Border Security and Immigration Center, here at the Heritage Foundation.  — Follow Lora Ries on X: https://x.com/lora_ries Learn more about The Heritage Foundation: www.heritage.org — Have thoughts? Let us know at heritageexplains@heritage.org

The executive order is a tool the Constitution places at the president’s disposal, allowing him to effect changes within the executive branch of government. As President Donald Trump steps into office this week, he has signed many such orders, which have already had a broad impact on the way the federal government works. I sat down with Heritage Fellow Steve Groves to better understand these changes.  — Follow Steve Groves on X: https://x.com/stevegroves Learn more about The Heritage Foundation: www.heritage.org — Have thoughts? Let us know at heritageexplains@heritage.org

One of the key components of the incoming Trump administration was securing the southern border. President Trump campaigned heavily on this issue, and now it is time to implement policy to deliver. To get a sense of what the Trump administration may pursue in the first hundred days of the new administration, I sat down with Simon Hankinson, Senior Reseaarch Fellow in the Border Security and Immigration Center here at the Heritage Foundation — Follow Jim Carafano on X: https://x.com/jjcarafano Learn more about The Heritage Foundation: www.heritage.org — Have thoughts? Let us know at heritageexplains@heritage.org

One of the key components of the incoming Trump administration was securing the southern border. President Trump campaigned heavily on this issue, and now it is time to implement policy to deliver. To get a sense of what the Trump administration may pursue in the first hundred days of the new administration, I sat down with Simon Hankinson, Senior Reseaarch Fellow in the Border Security and Immigration Center here at the Heritage Foundation — Follow Simon Hankinson on X: https://x.com/watchfulwaiter1 Learn more about The Heritage Foundation: www.heritage.org — Have thoughts? Let us know at heritageexplains@heritage.org

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from your friends at the Heritage Foundation! This week, we bring you a classic of the Christmas season.  “A Visit from St. Nicholas” was composed by New York writer and businessman Clement Clark Moore in 1823. Now over 200 hundred years old, it remains one of the most well-known and iconic American poems ever. It established many key characteristics of Santa Claus as we know him today. Prior to Moore’s poem, St. Nicholas (or in the Dutch, Sinterklaas) enjoyed his jolly, gift-giving reputation primarily among Dutch immigrants. Moore embellished the historical bishop with a sleigh, reindeer, white beard, chimney-diving ability, and the Santa-esque physique we all know and love.  — Learn more about The Heritage Foundation: www.heritage.org — Have thoughts? Let us know at heritageexplains@heritage.org

President Trump has promised new policies on border enforcement, designed to make Americans safer and to protect national sovereignty. To this end, he has selected career law enforcement officer Tom Homan as his Border Czar. I sat down with Tom to ask him about this new position and specifically, to shed light on one of the more contentious parts of Trump’s vision: the removal of illegal aliens from the American interior via deportation.  — Tom Homan on X: https://x.com/RealTomHoman — Have thoughts? Let us know at heritageexplains@heritage.org

In May of 2023, a man named Daniel Penny boarded a subway car in New York City. During transit, a man named Jordan Neely began to threaten Penny and the other passengers on the car. Expressing a desire to defend himself and others, Penny, an ex-Marine, put Neely in a chokehold until the train arrived at the next station. Shortly after the incident ended, Neely unfortunately died.  New York has brought a criminal case against Daniel Penny. The highly publicized trial concluded yesterday in Manhattan, with the jury delivering a verdict of “Not Guilty”. Because of the immediate nature of the event, we’ve decided to bring Heritage Explains to you a bit early this week. I sat down with Cully Stimson, Senior Legal Fellow here at the Heritage Foundation, to discuss the case. He’s a lawyer, but also a former prosecutor and judge, so it would be hard to find someone more qualified to shed light on Daniel Penny’s exoneration.  — Follow Cully Stimson on X: https://x.com/cullystimson Rogue Prosecutors Book: https://www.heritage.org/rogue-prosecutors — Have thoughts? Let us know at heritageexplains@heritage.org

Tariffs have been a hotly debated point in American politics since the country began. President-elect Donald Trump has demonstrated his support for tariffs, receiving criticism from both the left and some sections of the right. To understand the conservative approach to tariffs, we sat down with Richard Stern, the director of the Grover M. Hermann Center for the Federal Budget here at the Heritage Foundation.  — Follow Richard Stern on X: https://x.com/richastern?lang=en — Have thoughts? Let us know at heritageexplains@heritage.org

Brenda Hafera, Assistant Director of the Simon Center for American Studies, dives into the life of Mercy Otis Warren, a pivotal yet often overlooked figure of the American Revolution. They explore Warren’s contributions as a political writer and playwright, showcasing her influence on early American thought. The discussion connects themes of gratitude to her legacy, especially timely with Thanksgiving approaching. Hafera highlights Warren's bravery in advocating for justice, reflecting on how these lessons from history resonate in today’s America.