House Advances Measures Targeting Taliban Support and Restoring U.S. Energy Dominance
The House of Representatives moved decisively this week to choke off outside financial support flowing to the Taliban regime and to safeguard America’s energy independence—two priorities that conservatives argue are essential to national security and economic stability under President Donald Trump.
Lawmakers passed the No Tax Dollars for Terrorists Act (H.R. 260), which codifies the principle that U.S. policy must “oppose the provision of foreign assistance by foreign countries and nongovernmental organizations to the Taliban, particularly those countries and organizations that receive United States-provided foreign assistance.” The measure reflects growing alarm across Washington that international aid is being funneled into Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.
The bill’s sponsor, Tennessee Republican Rep. Tim Burchett, said on the House floor Monday that Afghans who have resisted Taliban rule have warned him that global aid is enriching the very forces the United States spent decades fighting.
“According to them, nearly all of the cash aid sent to Afghanistan ends up in the hands of the Taliban,” Burchett stated. “Mr. Speaker, they will hate us for free. We do not need to give them hard-earned American tax dollars.”
The legislation compels the Secretary of State to produce, within 180 days, a comprehensive plan to discourage foreign governments and international groups from providing assistance to the Taliban. It also instructs the administration to outline strategies for supporting Afghan women and former U.S. partners who remain endangered, and requires periodic congressional updates on all aid entering Afghanistan.
Despite broad bipartisan support, some Democrats attempted to revive old talking points. Rep. Jonathan Jackson (D-Ill.) endorsed the bill’s objective but criticized the previous administration, arguing lawmakers lacked clarity about its Afghanistan policy.
“There is not a consensus about what the Trump administration is doing on Afghanistan, because they won’t tell us,” Jackson stated. “We urgently need more information and assurances from the Trump administration about their priorities in Afghanistan and now Iran.”
The bill cleared the chamber by voice vote with no opposition and now heads to the Senate.
House Strengthens U.S. Energy Production With New Protections for Domestic Drilling
The Taliban funding bill is not the only measure advancing under Republican leadership. Earlier this month, the House passed a major energy bill aimed at preventing future presidents from unilaterally blocking domestic oil and gas production. The “Protecting American Energy Production Act” passed 226–188, marking another substantial victory for President Donald Trump’s ongoing effort to restore America’s energy dominance.
The legislation prohibits any president from imposing a hydraulic fracturing ban without congressional approval—a direct response to former President Joe Biden’s sweeping restrictions, including his last-minute ban on drilling across 625 million acres of coastal and offshore territory.
Its author, Rep. August Pfluger of Texas, said the bill was drafted in response to the Biden administration’s hostility toward the American energy sector.
“When President Biden took office, his administration took a ‘whole of government’ approach to wage war on American energy production, pandering to woke environmental extremists and crippling this thriving industry,” Pfluger said in a statement following the bill’s passage.
“My legislation that passed today is a necessary first step in reversing Biden’s war on energy by preventing the federal government from banning the use of hydraulic fracturing,” he said.
The move aligns directly with President Trump’s longstanding “drill, baby, drill” pledge to expand U.S. energy capacity and drive down costs for American families. If enacted, the measure would prevent future administrations from weaponizing executive power to throttle one of the nation’s most critical industries.
On Monday, Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum launched internal reviews to root out agency actions that “burden” domestic energy development, reversing what officials describe as coercive climate directives and lease restrictions inherited from the Biden era.
Democratic Frustration Intensifies
These legislative victories come amid growing dissatisfaction among Democrats with their own party’s performance in Congress. A new Quinnipiac University national poll found that 53% of Democratic respondents disapproved of how congressional Democrats are handling their jobs, while just 41% expressed support—an indicator of deepening fractures within their base.