An Alabama state GOP lawmaker says expanding the current “Don’t Say Gay” law would stop the record drop in school enrollment.

State Rep. Mack Butler of Rainbow City has filed legislation to expand the “Don’t Say Gay” law, first passed in 2021, from K-5 classrooms to all public school grades, according to the Alabama Reflector:

“Butler said in an interview Wednesday the bill is meant to help public schools focus on educating students and claimed that the recent enrollment decline partially comes from parents who are unsatisfied with LGBTQ content in schools. Alabama public officials have not said that was a reason for the drop in the K-12 population.”

Rep. Butler added, “as you’re seeing with the decreased enrollment, and a lot of it’s the CHOOSE Act and the virtual school or home schooling, but there absolutely is a dissatisfaction with what we’re doing, and I see this as helping public education get them back to their actual core charge.”

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The “Don’t Say Gay” legislation would “prohibit classroom instruction or discussions related to gender identity or sexual orientation from being provided to public school students in prekindergarten through twelfth grade.”

It would “prohibit public preK-12 teachers and education employees from displaying a flag or insignia relating to sexual orientation or gender identity on school property,” and “prohibit public preK-12 teachers and education employees from referring to a student by pronouns inconsistent with the student’s biological sex at birth.”

The Reflector also reported that the “Alabama Legislature in the last five years has passed several laws targeting LGBTQ+ people, including the original ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law passed in 2021 and a ban on gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth the following year.”

According to BillTrack, Butler also has sponsored legislation prohibiting “schools and public libraries from presenting or sponsoring drag performances,” a bill requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in all public schools, a bill requiring the “broadcast of the Star-Spangled Banner” weekly, and several bills related to religious exemptions for vaccine requirements.

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Questions are swirling after the U.S. Department of Defense confirmed it has accepted an anonymous gift of $130 million to help pay the troops during the federal government shutdown. President Donald Trump earlier this week told reporters a “friend” of his offered to cover the soldiers’ salaries. Reportedly, the Pentagon is limited in what private gifts it can receive and how they may be used.

“By the way, a man, a friend of mine,” the President said on Thursday, “a friend of mine, a man that’s great — I’m not gonna use his name unless he lets me do it.”

“He called us the other day,” Trump continued, “and he said, ‘I’d like to contribute any shortfall you have because of the Democrats’ shutdown. I’d like to contribute, personally contribute, any shortfall you have with the military, because I love the military, I love the country, and any shortfall, if there’s a shortfall, I’ll contribute it.'”

“And today, he sent us a check for $130 million.”

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On Friday, Defense Department Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell confirmed the payment, according to PBS NewsHour’s Nick Schifrin:

“On October 23, 2025, the @DeptofWar accepted an anonymous donation of $130 million under its general gift acceptance authority.  The donation was made on the condition that it be used to offset the cost of Service members’ salaries and benefits. We are grateful for this donor’s assistance after Democrats opted to withhold pay from troops.”

Bloomberg News reported that the “donation is President Donald Trump’s latest maneuver to seize greater control of government functions amid the shutdown, which has stretched into its fourth week.”

Questions immediately arose.

Defense One reporter Meghann Myers noted, “donors of amounts over $10,000 need to be vetted for conflicts of interest. Hard to do if the donor is anonymous. Or is the donor known to the Pentagon and they have agreed to withhold their identity?”

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Bloomberg reported, “While individuals can make unconditional gifts to the US Treasury, they’re credited to the general fund or used to pay down the national debt. The money can’t be spent without a congressional appropriation — and it’s that lack of an appropriation that has shut down the government.”

Former Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger added, “The US spends roughly $16 billion per month on pay for the troops. So the idea that $130 million has somehow kept the DOD pay afloat is odd.”

Bloomberg also noted that the “$130 million total would only cover a small portion of the payroll for the nation’s roughly 1.3 million active-duty military members — averaging about $100 per person.”

The U.S. military is allowed to accept private donations, but only for “military schools, hospitals, libraries, museums, cemeteries and similar institutions, and to help service members and civilian employees who are wounded or killed in the line of duty, and their families,” Bloomberg noted.

Former U.S. diplomat Brett Bruen commented, “This doesn’t just raise major ethical concerns, it raises serious security concerns. Our military should be benefiting from or beholden to no one other than the American people.”

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Dr. Mehmet Oz, the head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), said the ultimate goal of the American health care system is to help increase the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) by “trillions” of dollars.

The United States is the only high-income nation in the developed world without any form of universal health care.

The CMS Administrator’s remarks come just as millions of Americans are anxiously waiting to see by how much their health insurance premiums will rise next year. Many are expected to at least double without the Affordable Care Act subsidies that will expire at the end of this year unless Congress and the President act.

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“What the health care system should do is not just pay the bills,” Oz told Fox Business‘ Maria Bartiromo Friday morning.

“We should make you so healthy that you flourish in life, and you would engage the workplace.”

“Getting America back to work, full speed, getting you to work longer if you desire, that builds trillions of dollars of value to the GDP,” Oz added.

“That’s the goal of the health system,” he said.

Bartiromo agreed, saying, “Absolutely.”

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Pediatrician and public health expert Dr. Annie Andrews, who is running for the U.S. Senate from South Carolina, responded sarcastically: “Ahh yes I’ll never forget the moment I decided to pursue a career in medicine so that I could keep Americans in the workforce and boost the GDP.”

Dr. Jonathan Reiner, a professor of medicine and surgery and a CNN medical analyst, expressed disagreement with Oz: “The goal of the health system is not to build trillions of dollars for the GDP.”

Dr Oz: “We should make you so healthy that you flourish in life and you engage the workplace. Getting America back to work full speed, getting you to work longer if you desire, that builds trillions of dollars of value to the GDP. That’s the goal of the health system.” pic.twitter.com/c3K96dats1

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 24, 2025

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