Things Musk (and Trump) Did... Day 58 | Blog#42
While Republicans cement destruction, some Dems hug their "pragmatism"...
Yesterday’s post
Democratic News Corner
Note from Rima: Sometimes it takes two articles on the same topic from two separate outlets to get the full picture…
Michigan Democrat says she ‘can’t just be an activist’ and calls on party to act
One constituent pressed the freshman senator on how she would “step up for us now” in the way, the person said, that Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jasmine Crockett and Sen. Bernie Sanders have been “screaming, enraged, passionate” in response to the Trump administration.
“Everyone you mentioned has a lot of words, but what have they actually done to change the situation with Donald Trump and the cuts and the attacks on our judiciary and the attacks on our Constitution?” Slotkin asked, before touting her national security and intelligence background, which she noted required “prudent planning.”
Slotkin said she can’t “chain [herself] to the White House and become an activist full time,” because she has to focus on addressing issues like federal cuts.
“All of those things require me to be more than just an AOC. I can’t do what she does because we live in a purple state, and I’m a pragmatist,
Continue reading at CNN
Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin says her job is to be more than just an ‘activist’ against Trump
“We know that you are against these current awful happenings going on in the world, but it is simply not enough for you to repeatedly tell us that you are,” Fellows said.
Her question, posed at a gathering to address cuts to federal agencies made by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency and concerns about social services like Medicaid, was met with applause, the first of any questions asked of the congresswomen.
Slotkin responded by saying she also serves Michigan residents who voted for Trump and that she is responding to the needs of residents who are impacted by changes at the federal level and executive orders from Trump.
Continue reading at the Associated Press
Filed under WTF?!?
Newsom: Bannon sounds a lot like Sanders, ‘what Democrats said 20, 30 years ago’
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said on a Tuesday podcast episode that conservative media figure Steve Bannon sounds a lot like Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and “what Democrats said 20, 30 years ago.”
“When you talk to a guy like Steve Bannon, you know, he reminded me a little bit of my grandfather when he talks about working folks and he talks about how we hollowed out the industrial core of this country,” Newsom said on an episode of his “This is Gavin Newsom” podcast that featured Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D), in comments highlighted by Mediaite.
Walz cut in, trying to point out that former President Biden’s election victory in 2020 has been rejected by Bannon.
“I understand that … we can dismiss the notion of election denialism, we could completely dismiss what he did on Jan. 6, but I don’t think you can dismiss what he’s saying. Reminds me a lot of what Bernie Sanders was saying. Reminded me a lot of what Democrats said 20, 30 years ago.”
Continue reading at The Hill
Does this match Newsom’s description?
Sanders, AOC hit the road for a ‘populist revolt’
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-Vt.) is set to headline town hall events in Western states with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) beginning Thursday, as progressives outline a strategy for a “populist revolt” to fight back against President Trump.
Sanders’s rallies across the Midwest have drawn huge crowds, with thousands of supporters in small towns and rural parts of the country gathering to hear his message on lifting the working class.
Those events have been among the few bright spots for Democrats, who have largely struggled to land on a consistent message or united front against Trump during his second term. Polls show the Democratic Party’s brand is at a historical low point, while Trump’s approval rating is hovering near all-time highs.
Sanders adviser Faiz Shakir said he’s received countless questions from Democrats about how the 83-year-old is able to marshal such intense enthusiasm in surprising parts of the country.
Continue reading at The Hill
Wes Moore’s star is rising as Democrats look for a comeback
When Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) took the stage at the annual Gridiron Club dinner on Saturday night, he mockingly made mention of the thing Democrats have been buzzing about for months: his presidential ambitions.
“If I actually wanted to be president, I wouldn’t do any of this,” Moore said. “Instead I would take my case directly to the people who are in charge of our democracy. The Kremlin.”
The comment, made at a dinner where the motto is “singe not burn” and journalists mingle with lawmakers from both parties, got a rousing reaction from Democrats.
Moore’s political prospects have only gained steam in the party in recent months, as Democrats desperately try to find someone to lead them out of the wilderness, to save them.
Lately, the 46-year-old’s name is among the first to come up in conversation.
“Wes Moore is the Captain America of Democratic politics,” said Jamal Simmons, a prominent party strategist who worked for former Vice President Kamala Harris. “He’s a veteran, an athlete and a Rhodes Scholar who still connects with everyday people.
Continue reading at The Hill
4 more progressive groups pressure Schumer to ‘stand up’ or resign as leader
An alliance of youth groups demands he use “every tool you have” or step down.
Liberal youth groups are piling onto Chuck Schumer, urging the Senate minority leader in a new letter to fight more aggressively against President Donald Trump or resign as leader.
“Chuck Schumer, your leadership is failing to meet the moment,” reads the memo, which was first shared with POLITICO. “Gen Z voters want leaders with a backbone who will stand up to billionaires and fight for working people. But it’s not just us. You have lost the trust of millions of voters and many of your colleagues in Congress.”
The sideswipe against Schumer is the latest sign of mounting pressure he is facing from within his party after voting last week for a GOP stopgap funding bill.
Rep. Glenn Ivey (D-Md.) became the first Democrat in the House on Tuesday to openly suggest that Schumer should call it quits as minority leader. Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.) also said “yes” when asked if he should retire or resign. The liberal organization Indivisible has called for Schumer to leave his leadership post as well.
The letter by youth organizations demanded that Schumer “Obstruct the MAGA agenda with every tool you have” and “Stand beside us at protests.” It was signed by the Sunrise Movement, College Democrats of America, United We Dream Action and Voters of Tomorrow.
Continue reading at Politico
Police end Democratic lawmaker's town hall after fiery confrontations
A heated confrontation broke out at Democratic Congressman Sean Casten's town hall on Wednesday in Downers Grove, Illinois forcing police to escort constituents out of the building.
Watch the video at CNN.com
Democrat says he doesn’t trust Trump administration on federal worker buyouts
Rep. Kweisi Mfume (D-Md.) on Wednesday shared his lack of faith in the Trump administration to honor the buyouts it offered to thousands of federal workers amid its moves to overhaul the government.
“I’ve told people not to take the buyout,” Mfume said during a rally. “I don’t trust the government. I never thought I’d say that before.”
The Trump administration offered two million federal workers across the country a roughly six-month buyout offer that would allow government employees to leave their positions but be paid through the end of the fiscal year in September.
About 75,000 federal workers took the buyout as of mid-February, the White House said, which falls short of the projected 5 to 10 percent they were looking for.
Continue reading at The Hill
Netanyahu gives Fetterman ‘silver-plated beeper’
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gifted Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) a “silver-plated beeper” during the lawmaker’s visit to the Jewish State, inspired by Israel’s covert operation when thousands of devices on Hezbollah fighters detonated last year.
“This is a silver-plated beeper. The real beeper is like one-tenth the weight,” Netanyahu said on Wednesday after handing the symbolic device to the senator. “It’s nothing, but it changes history.”
Continue reading at The Hill
California Democrats invite EPA head to witness cross-border sewage crisis first-hand
California Democrats are urging the newly confirmed Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin to visit a fraught wastewater treatment plant that has been struggling to contend with a cross-border sewage crisis.
Reps. Scott Peters and Juan Vargas and Sens. Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff — wrote a letter to Zeldin this week, inviting him to come witness firsthand the public health hazards affecting the southernmost residents of California.
“As you know, decades of underinvestment in cross-border wastewater infrastructure have led to the flow of untreated sewage into San Diego,” the letter stated. “EPA served as an important advocate for this issue in the last Trump Administration and we hope the agency will continue to do so once again.”
The lawmakers were referring to an unrelenting crisis affecting the city of Imperial Beach and its San Diego County neighbors, which have for years been the cross-border recipients of wastewater tainted with chemicals and pathogens. This unfettered flow, which results from inadequate treatment in Mexico, ends up in California via ocean plumes and the Tijuana River Watershed.
Continue reading at The Hill
DNC invests in Florida special elections
The Hill was the first outlet to learn of the investment, which according to the DNC will allow the Florida Democratic Party to bring in “additional full-time organizing capacity to mobilize voters and volunteers on the ground” in the state’s first and sixth congressional districts.
The investment will also cover the roll out of a voter protection program in the two districts, which will include over 200 poll watchers and greeters to be deployed on Election Day. The DNC did not provide a specific dollar amount for the investment.
Florida has become a red state over the past decade, making the DNC investment more notable. Trump carried the state by 13 points in November.
“I ran for DNC Chair on a platform to compete in elections everywhere – in all 57 states and territories and across all 3,244 counties,” DNC Chair Ken Martin said in a statement.
Continue reading at The Hill
Democrat Bennet on Schumer: ‘It’s important … to know when it’s time to go’
Bennet, like many other Democrats, hosted a town hall for frustrated constituents to speak about the Trump administration and the recent continuing resolution fight that put Schumer’s tenure in the spotlight.
“I do think on the leadership question, it’s always better to examine whether folks are in the right place, and we’re certainly going to have that conversation,” Bennet said at a town hall in Golden, Colo., NPR reported.
He later added that he was one of the first Senate Democrats to cast doubt on former President Biden’s ability to stay in the presidential election after his poor debate performance against now-President Trump.
“Let me just say it’s important for people to know when it’s time to go,” he said in response to a question about if he would call on Schumer to step aside.
“We’re going to have conversations, I’m sure, in the foreseeable future, about all the Democratic leadership,” Bennet added.
Continue reading at The Hill
‘Dodging your question’: Bennet stops short of calling on Schumer to resign — but invokes the Biden fight
The Colorado senator’s remarks are a more subtle jab compared to the barrage some House Democrats have launched against the Senate Democrat leader.
“On the leadership question, it’s always better to examine whether folks are in the right place, and we’re certainly going to have that conversation,” the Coloradoan said in a town hall in Golden, Colorado, Wednesday evening.
Bennet sidestepped a question about whether he would call for Schumer to step down, referencing the end of Biden’s disastrous 2024 election bid where the president ultimately stepped aside after growing agitation from other elected Democrats.
“In dodging your question, let me just say: It’s important for people to know when it’s time to go, and I think in the case of Joe Biden, and we’re going to have conversations I’m sure in the foreseeable future, about all the Democratic leadership,” he said.
Continue reading at Politico
House Democratic campaign arm says it raised over $11.1M in February
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) said it raised over $11.1 million during the month of February.
The haul is an improvement from the committee’s January haul, which saw the House Democratic campaign arm raise $9.2 million.
“The American people are angry and fed up with House Republicans’ crusade to enact the largest cut to Medicaid in history and pledging fealty to Elon Musk’s ongoing effort to dismantle Social Security and gut the VA. No wonder they are hiding from their constituents,” Chair Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.) said in a statement. “House Democrats, united under the leadership of Hakeem Jeffries, are harnessing the public’s energy to put together the resources and strategy that will help us take back the gavels in November 2026.”
Continue reading at The Hill
Carville blasts Democrats for focusing too much on urban voters
“I think it was always the time for Democrats to campaign hard in rural areas,” Carville said during an episode of “Politics War Room,” highlighted by Mediaite.
“I don’t know how the party ever got away from that,” he added. “Some of its more urbanist members and commentators lived in a folly of a world that we could exist … in elections by just concentrating on large urban areas.”
Continue reading at The Hill
DNC chair: Trump told students ‘he doesn’t give a damn about them’ with move against Department of Education
“Today, Donald Trump and the corrupt billionaire he installed as Education Secretary told 50 million public school students across America that he doesn’t give a damn about them. We should be investing in kids instead of billionaires,” a statement from Martin in a Thursday DNC release obtained by The Hill’s sister network NewsNation reads.
On Thursday, the president signed an executive order looking to facilitate his goal of getting rid of the Department of Education. The order recognizes that it would take congressional action to completely close down the department, but Trump ordered Education Secretary Linda McMahon to do all she can to result in its abolition.
Continue reading at The Hill
Chuck Schumer's March survival plan
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is in survival mode, calling colleagues and reaching out to Democratic groups to address concerns about his leadership.
Why it matters: The goal is to show party activists he has the fire in his belly to stare down President Trump and Elon Musk.
Schumer's strategy is two-fold: Tell his critics he understands their concerns while looking for ways to prove them wrong.
He agrees with his doubters that Senate Democrats have to go on offense, according to people familiar with the matter.
Look for Schumer to zero in on Trump's cuts to Social Security phone services when lawmakers get back to Washington next week as a key example of his new aggressiveness.
Zoom out: Schumer's role as leader isn't under serious threat, but there are plenty of House members and progressive activists who are deeply frustrated with him.
Grassroots groups are taking shots at Schumer at nearly every turn, with several of them calling on him to resign. That's not going to happen.
Continue reading at Axios
Bernie Sanders LIVE from Las Vegas with AOC and Steven Horsford
Bernie Sanders: LIVE from Tempe with @AOC (LIVE at 9PM ET)
Yesterday’s news worth repeating
US State Department confirms program tracking abducted Ukrainian children halted • FRANCE 24
Trump tells Zelensky he’ll address issue of abducted Ukrainian children
President Trump promised to address the issue of Ukraine’s missing and abducted children by Russia during a call with President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday, despite the halting of U.S. funding for an investigation into identifying them.
The issue is at the center of an international war crimes arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin and one of his top officials.
“President Trump promised to work closely with both parties to help make sure those children were returned home,” national security adviser Mike Waltz and Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a joint statement.
Zelensky, in a statement following the call, said he raised with Trump “the return of Ukrainian children who were taken by Russian forces.”
Continue reading at The Hill
Today’s news
Mike Johnson targets Harris territory to expand his majority
Chart: Democrat-held districts the NRCC is targeting in 2026
As of March 17, 2025
House Republicans are looking well beyond the roughly dozen Trump-district Democrats as they try to grow their two-seat majority.
Why it matters: For the entire length of House Speaker Mike Johnson's (R-La.) tenure, just a handful of House Republicans have been able to hold him hostage. He wants that to finally change.
Continue reading at Axios
Trump to order a plan to shut down the US Education Department
President Donald Trump plans to sign an executive order Thursday calling for the shutdown of the U.S. Education Department, according to a White House official, advancing a campaign promise to eliminate an agency that’s been a longtime target of conservatives.
The official spoke on the condition of anonymity before an announcement.
Trump has derided the Department of Education as wasteful and polluted by liberal ideology. However, finalizing its dismantling is likely impossible without an act of Congress, which created the department in 1979.
A White House fact sheet said the order would direct Secretary Linda McMahon “to take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure (of) the Department of Education and return education authority to the States, while continuing to ensure the effective and uninterrupted delivery of services, programs, and benefits on which Americans rely.”
Continue reading at the Associated Press
Trump to gut Education Department
Note from Rima: Trump’s been talking about loving the uneducated since… 2015
He’s also been telling us he’s going to “grab, grab, grab…” since 2016
Finding Sobriety in 2016: Sanders, Clinton & Trump's "Grab, grab, grab..." Edition | Blog#42
Finding Sobriety in 2016: Sanders, Clinton & Trump: "We’re going to grab and grab..." Edition
A list of the Social Security offices across the US expected to close this year
Dozens of Social Security Administration offices across the country are slated to close this year due to actions taken by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency as part of the Trump administration’s unprecedented effort to shrink the size of government.
DOGE has published a list of nearly 800 federal real estate leases that it is seeking to cancel. The Associated Press has obtained an internal planning document from the General Services Administration, which manages federal real estate, which shows when nearly two-thirds of those cancellations are expected to go into effect.
The offices are closing despite a new requirement that tighter identity-proofing measures be put in place to prevent fraud and abuse. These steps will require millions of recipients and applicants to visit agency field offices rather than interact with agency employees over the phone.
Continue reading at the Associated Press
Republicans want Musk to shut up about Social Security
Musk’s statement that Social Security is a “Ponzi scheme” and plans to cut up to 12 percent of the Social Security Administration’s workforce is giving GOP lawmakers heartburn.
They warn that Social Security reform is known as the “third rail” of politics for a reason: Any party that touches it is likely to get zapped come Election Day.
And Republicans fear that reductions in staff and field offices will boomerang on them, predicting that constituents will grow frustrated if it becomes more difficult and time-consuming to address problems related to benefit claims.
“It doesn’t help the president when you have somebody who clearly is not worried about whether or not Social Security benefits are going to be there for him” leading the effort to shrink the Social Security Administration, said Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), referring to Musk, the world’s richest person.
“It worries Americans all over the country,” she said of people who rely on Social Security benefits to live day to day. “This is why Social Security has been kind of viewed as the untouchable from a political perspective, and why the president made very clear we’re not dealing with Social Security.”
Continue reading at The Hill
DOGE Social Security plan targets small fraud at possible high cost
In less than two weeks Social Security is set to enact major changes that threaten to upend services for many Americans, in order to fight fraud that amounts to a fraction of 1% of the agency's spending.
Why it matters: Social Security Administration veterans and powerful lobbying groups warn the changes, made at breakneck speed, may even foment more swindling.
The agency's internal documents caution the changes will effectively cut some Americans off from receiving benefits.
Former officials say the changes will overwhelm the agency's already stretched resources, with staffing at a record low and America's aging population rapidly rising.
Catch up quick: At a press conference on Tuesday, acting commissioner Lee Dudek said $100 million is lost each year to direct deposit fraud. To address it, the agency is curtailing its phone services.
Effective March 31, Americans won't be able to call and sign up for Social Security benefits, or make major changes to their accounts that require ID verification.
They either must use the internet or visit a field office, not an easy option for many of the people who most rely on Social Security.
By the numbers: $100 million in fraud represents about 0.00625% of the $1.6 trillion the government sends out each year in Social Security benefits.
Continue reading at Axios
FBI agent who has criticized the bureau arrested on charges of sharing confidential information
An FBI agent who has previously criticized the bureau was arrested this week on charges of illegally disclosing classified information, according to court records filed Tuesday.
Johnathan Buma, who has worked for the FBI for 15 years, allegedly printed copies of confidential FBI documents and messages and later shared the material with associates as part of a draft of a book he was writing on his time in the bureau.
He was arrested Monday at a departure gate at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York as he was waiting to board an international flight, court records said.
An attorney representing Buma did not immediately return an emailed request for comment.
Continue reading at the Associated Press
Why Trump’s antitrust agenda could spell trouble for Big Tech
The Trump administration is moving forward with several Biden-era antitrust lawsuits, policies and positions, signaling a continued focus on aggressive antitrust enforcement that could spell trouble for Big Tech.
Despite President Trump’s seemingly close relationship with tech leaders in his second term, his administration doesn’t appear keen to let up on antitrust enforcement, which has increasingly taken aim at the industry’s biggest players in recent years.
“Overall, what we’re seeing is largely continuity between the Biden and Trump antitrust regimes,” said Nidhi Hegde, executive director at the American Economic Liberties Project, a non-profit that advocates for strong antitrust enforcement.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) indicated earlier this month that it is still seeking a breakup of Google, even after Trump hinted that he might oppose such a move last fall.
Continue reading at The Hill
Trump’s FTC firings stir debate about agency independence
Commissioners Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Kelly Slaughter said they were both illegally fired on Tuesday. It followed weeks of swirling concerns about the agency’s independence as Trump moves to expand his control at various regulatory bodies.
The move quickly sparked a slew of criticism from Democratic lawmakers and tech advocacy groups who blamed the decision in part on Trump’s recent links to technology executives who are already facing enforcement from the agency.
“This unlawful activity imperils the FTC’s ability to stand up to corporate abuses and protect consumers,” Reps. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) and Jerry Nadler (D-NY) said Tuesday.
“Trump and [Elon] Musk want to transform a vital INDEPENDENT agency into yet another political plaything for their billionaire buddies as they continue to wage war on the rule of law itself, leaving Americans defenseless against skyrocketing prices, predatory prices and the unchecked power of monopolies,” the lawmakers added.
Continue reading at The Hill
Pence’s advocacy group finds its footing in Trump’s second term
Former Vice President Mike Pence’s advocacy organization, Advancing American Freedom, is seeking to find the right balance during President Trump’s second term.
So far, it’s made a splash in being one of the few conservative organizations to publicly oppose Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s confirmation, and it’s torn into Trump’s proposed tariffs.
But at the same time, it doesn’t want to fall into being “Never Trump” – a category that would get it largely dismissed by the bulk of the right.
“It can sound, at times, like it’s adversarial. We don’t intend for it to be adversarial. We intend for it to be entirely independent,” said Tim Chapman, president of Advancing American Freedom. “We intend for it to be something that, when functioning, can really, actually make the administration better.”
Continue reading at The Hill
Starmer ignores Putin to keep pushing Ukraine peacekeeping plan
The British prime minister is pushing his “coalition of the willing” — but there are big questions over its viability while the U.S. and Russia continue to sideline Europe.
LONDON — Hopes of a ceasefire in Ukraine appear distant after Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin’s phone call this week. Perhaps someone should tell the U.K. prime minister.
European military leaders will gather on Thursday at Northwood, west London, as Britain, led by Keir Starmer, continues undaunted in its push to act as a guarantor for any ceasefire that might be achieved in Ukraine.
The summit comes despite the brush-off that Russia's president gave his U.S. counterpart in a much-hyped call Tuesday, dismissing a plan for a fuller 30-day ceasefire presented by the U.S. and Ukraine.
Putin continues to hold fast to seemingly impossible red lines — including the end of all foreign military aid and Western intelligence-sharing with Kyiv — while the U.S. has been unwilling to offer any security guarantee for a postwar peacekeeping presence in Ukraine.
Starmer is nonetheless determined to move toward what he calls the "operational phase" of planning to protect any potential Ukraine ceasefire. Kyiv’s allies, led by Starmer and France’s Emmanuel Macron, are aiming to sustain the pressure for a pause in fighting, and to isolate Putin as the main roadblock to peace.
The backdrop to Thursday's summit — which aims to flesh out a so-called coalition of the willing — is daunting.
And as the talks begin it is far less clear what the ultimate objectives of the peacekeeping force might be — or whether Ukraine's allies can really sustain it for the long haul.
Continue reading at Politico Europe
JD Vance ‘had a point’ on migration, Danish socialist prime minister warns EU leaders
For Mette Frederiksen, controlling “mass migration” is just as important as deterring Russia.
There’s not much the socialist Danish prime minister agrees on with the Trump administration.
For one, U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to annex Greenland, an autonomous Danish dependent territory. He’s also shown a particular desire to side with Russian President Vladimir Putin when it comes to the country’s invasion of Ukraine, a sentiment Mette Frederiksen has ardently opposed.
Surprisingly, though, the center-left Frederiksen told POLITICO in an interview that the Trump administration’s Vice President JD Vance was right when it comes to migration and limiting the mass arrival of foreigners.
“I consider this mass migration into Europe as a threat to the daily life in Europe,” said the leader of the prosperous European welfare state, echoing what Vance said weeks earlier at the Munich Security Conference. Frederiksen used mass migration interchangeably with irregular migration during the interview.
“There is nothing more urgent than mass migration,” Vance told a partly shocked audience of Europeans Feb. 14, saying the threat was bigger than Russia. Frederiksen, who was in the audience when Vance gave his speech that day, said she “unfortunately” disagreed with him on Russia. She described Russia as the No. 1 threat facing Europe.
Still, he had a point on migration, she conceded.
Continue reading at Politico Europe
No industry, no tanks: EU bets on more clean steel to secure its future
Saving and greening European steel mills is now a key part of the EU’s defence strategy.
BRUSSELS — The EU needs to build more tanks — and there’s no reason why those tanks can’t be green.
In a bid to save its decaying steel and metal industries, the EU has formulated a plan to protect the sector against unfair competition from abroad, high energy prices and a looming trade war with the U.S. — all while helping it go green.
With this strategy — which is largely based on leveraging the EU’s arsenal of trade measures against cheaper foreign products and subsidizing the sector’s decarbonization — Brussels is hoping that saving metals manufacturing will also boost the defense industry and ultimately, keep Europe safe.
“A main battle tank contains 50 to 60 tonnes of high-quality steel, a self-propelled artillery system, up to 100 tonnes, a fighter aircraft 3 tonnes of aluminium,” the Commission writes in the plan, adding that “a stable and resilient supply chain for these materials is critical to strengthening the European Defence Technological and Industrial Base, ensuring the EU’s preparedness and internal security.”
The 19-page document acknowledges how central steel has been for European integration, with the bloc’s first steps towards cooperation hailing back to the European Coal and Steel Community formed after World War II.
Continue reading at Politico Europe
Ukraine’s long-range Neptune cruise missile is a potential trump card
Russia is talking of halting energy infrastructure attacks just as Ukraine unleashes a powerful new cruise missile.
KYIV — Donald Trump's effort to cajole Russia's Vladimir Putin into agreeing to a 30-day ceasefire was a flop, but the Kremlin does seem interested in pausing energy infrastructure attacks — at the same time that Ukraine has unleashed its devastating new Neptune cruise missile.
Ukraine successfully tested its first long-range cruise missile on Friday night, hitting an oil refinery in Tuapse, about 1,000 kilometers from Ukrainian-controlled territory in Russia’s Krasnodarskiy Kray region. It caused a fire that took three days to extinguish.
"After the attack of the Kyiv regime, on the night of March 14, a tank containing about 20,000 tons of gasoline caught fire at the oil depot. On the surface, the fire covered more than a thousand squares, the fire was assigned the fourth degree of danger," Krasnodar Governor Veniamin Kondratiev said in a statement on Monday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy issued a statement saying: "We’re happy with the results of Long Neptune."
Continue reading at Politico Europe
EU rifts open even before Trump trade war gets rolling
An early show of European unity is being tested as capitals seek cover from U.S. president’s tariff onslaught.
BRUSSELS — In the end, it’s always about the booze.
Europe's trade war with Washington has barely started, but some EU leaders are already dropping their weapons and fleeing the battlefield in a bid to escape Donald Trump’s tariff onslaught against their exporters.
In the week since the EU executive announced it would retaliate against the U.S. president’s steel and aluminum duties, the leaders of France, Italy and Ireland have publicly criticized its strategy, which includes reinstating tariffs on bourbon whiskey that date back to 2018 from the start of April.
In a one-two punch, Ursula von der Leyen’s European Commission wants to add a second round of tariffs worth €18 billion on U.S. exports by April 13.
Trump has been quick to escalate, threatening to slap an eye-watering 200 percent tariff on all wines, champagne and alcoholic products coming from the EU.
Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is now warning against a “vicious circle” of trade escalation. Her French counterpart, François Bayrou, has accused the Commission of “hitting the wrong targets.” And Ireland’s leader Micheál Martin has criticized the executive for resorting to its retaliation playbook from a similar trade fight in Trump’s first term from 2017 to 2021.
Continue reading at Politico Europe
Ask not what the EU can do for markets — but what markets can do for the EU
The push for a bigger EU private money pot has become a war of attrition. But Trump and Ukraine might be the spark that finally sets it in motion.
The key question when EU leaders convene on Thursday to discuss defense spending and economic competitiveness will be whether they can finally mobilize private capital — rather than relying solely on taxpayer funding — to secure Europe's future.
Thus far, years of half-hearted efforts to deepen financial markets have stalled, bogged down by bureaucracy and self-interest. Yet with geopolitical reality biting, the impetus to finally unify the continent's fragmented capital system and make it serve European interests is slowly emerging.
Will this be the week real strides are taken to create a single market for investment — known as the Savings and Investments Union (SIU)? Those in charge really hope so.
The battle lines
Ursula von der Leyen's European Commission has said it wants to prioritize the creation of a U.S.-style investment culture to get its risk-averse savers to start investing the roughly €10 trillion they have languishing in their bank accounts in the stock market instead.
The rationale is clear: It would give EU companies more cash, allowing them to spend on priority projects like defense, boosting Europe’s economy. The only setback? Brussels has been trying to get this underway for more than a decade, with little success.
Continue reading at Politico Europe
U.S. once again hits new low in World Happiness Report
Chart: World Happiness country rankings, 2021–2025
By average life evaluation score, from survey of about 1,000 adults per country conducted annually
The U.S. hit a new record low on the annual World Happiness Report released Wednesday night.
Why it matters: The drop in the U.S.' ranking comes on the back of a monumental U.S. election and as many Americans report struggling to stay afloat financially.
The big picture: The U.S. ranked 24th in the 2025 World Happiness Report, one spot lower than it did last year, when it likewise broke a new record low.
Continue reading at Axios
ECB’s Lagarde: EU needs to be ready for tariff ‘blackmail’ in age of Trump
The U.S. president’s escalating trade war looms over a key summit of European leaders in Brussels today.
Europe needs to “stand ready for anything” including attempts to “use tariffs as a weapon” and “blackmail” European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said on Thursday.
Answering a question from lawmakers about the effects of U.S. President Donald Trump’s policies in unusually direct language, the central bank chief said that “the strategy of others to consolidate, weaken, strengthen, repatriate manufacturing, use tariffs as a weapon, blackmail ... should reinforce our determination to be strong.”
Lagarde was addressing the European Parliament’s Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee before heading over to a meeting of EU heads of government later in the morning, where the question of how to respond to threatened U.S. tariffs on European goods will loom over discussions.
Lagarde said the ECB estimates that unilateral U.S. tariffs would hit the eurozone’s growth rate by 0.3 percentage points in the first year, and by as much as 0.5 percentage points if the EU retaliated in kind. Inflation could rise by 0.5 percentage points, she said.
Continue reading at Politico Europe
New York City mayoral contender nabs nod from a top House progressive
It’s not AOC, but it’s a start for Brad Lander.
NEW YORK — New York City mayoral challenger Brad Lander has notched the endorsement of the Congressional Progressive Caucus chair as he vies to be the front of the pack of left-flank Democrats trying to thwart former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s comeback bid and oust Mayor Eric Adams.
Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas), a rising star in Washington, said he and Lander believe cities should spearhead the nationwide fight against President Donald Trump, who remains deeply unpopular in New York City.
Casar’s nod comes from 1,700 miles away, but Lander is hoping it might lead New York City progressives like Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Adriano Espaillat and Nydia Velázquez to follow suit. None of the three have endorsed in the race.
Casar and Lander met a decade ago when the House member was on the Austin City Council and Lander was a New York City Council member. He’s now the city comptroller.
“When you see the different failures of Mayor Adams’ leadership, I think that’s hurt Democrats across the country and I think that a Mayor Brad Lander would bring pride back to Democrats and progressive-leaning Democrats in what’s a really dark time,” Casar told POLITICO.
Continue reading at Politico
Sidelined by Trump and Musk, Hill spending leaders fight for relevance
The Appropriations process on Capitol Hill may have never been so broken.
Congressional appropriators, the lawmakers with jurisdiction over government funding, were once among the most powerful figures on Capitol Hill — tough and often-revered negotiators who struck bipartisan deals even in the most polarized times. Those days might be over.
Last week’s rapid-fire push by GOP leaders to enact a stopgap funding bill through September put into sharp relief the waning influence of the House and Senate Appropriations committees that once ran the show. With President Donald Trump giving Department of Government Efficiency chief Elon Musk and White House budget director Russ Vought unprecedented latitude over the federal purse strings, the leaders of the spending panels were ultimately sidelined by the executive branch and their own party leaders.
Appropriators insist they are merely experiencing a setback, not headed for extinction, and that they fully intend to regain their relevance. Republicans are pledging a return to “regular order” by completing all 12 annual spending bills on time — a feat that has not been accomplished since the 1990s.
“Heads will explode” among appropriators if GOP leaders don’t facilitate that return, said Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, an appropriator and a member of Senate Republican leadership.
“We better go through the traditional process,” Capito said.
Continue reading at Politico
Behind the Curtain: Trump's mind control
To fully appreciate President Trump's mesmerizing control over Republicans, consider their scant public dissent over ideas many of them privately disdain:
Support for Vladimir Putin.
Support for on-again, off-again tariffs, and a worsening economy.
Support Elon Musk's haphazard budget-cutting.
Making Canada the 51st state.
Pardoning most Jan. 6 defendants.
Why it matters: It's the worst-kept secret in town. Most elected Republicans are staying silent on issues they find dubious, dumb or destructive.
In private, they're more forthcoming about their concerns and their mixed motivations for zipping their lips — genuine support for Trump and genuine fear of crossing him.
Continue reading at Politico
Stocks throw off more cash than ever
Chart: Cash returned to shareholders by S&P 500 companies
S&P 500 companies returned a record $1.6 trillion to shareholders in 2024, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices, three-fifths of which was in the form of buybacks.
Why it matters: The record amounts of cash being thrown off by U.S. stocks aren't just helping to support stock market valuations, they're also bolstering domestic consumption and international markets.
By the numbers: The $1.6 trillion returned to shareholders in 2024 represents a 14% increase from 2023.
That's a much bigger raise than anything seen in the labor markets, allowing investors to pocket more income while also reinvesting a meaningful amount in hot markets like, say, Germany.
Between the lines: There's room for these numbers to grow even more.
The $1.6 trillion works out to just 3.2% of S&P 500 earnings, down from 4.6% in 2022 and 6% in 2018.
Continue reading at Axios
Tesla falls after Commerce secretary recommends buying stock
Tesla shares fell early Thursday after Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick used a TV appearance to urge Americans to buy stock in Elon Musk's car company.
Why it matters: Cabinet secretaries don't typically recommend individual stocks, much less those linked to the president's closest adviser.
His recommendation was potentially overshadowed, though, by one of Tesla's most fervent defenders on Wall Street calling the company's situation a "crisis."
What they're saying: "I think, if you want to learn something on this show tonight, buy Tesla," Lutnick said on Fox News Wednesday evening. "It's unbelievable that this guy's stock is this cheap. It'll never be this cheap again."
"I mean, who wouldn't invest in Elon Musk? You gotta be kidding me."
By the numbers: Tesla shares were down about 1.7% in premarket trading Thursday to $231.75.
The stock is down 5% in the last five days, 35% in the last month and 42% so far this year.
Continue reading at Axios
Exclusive: Elon Musk group's playbook in Wisconsin's court race
Elon Musk has spent millions on the race for a single seat on Wisconsin's Supreme Court. Now the billionaire's political group is offering the GOP candidate free advice: Get Trumpier.
Why it matters: The Wisconsin contest — a nationalized proxy fight between the political parties and billionaire benefactors — is a referendum on President Trump.
It's the first major election of Trump's second term, and could decide the balance of power on the swing state's highest court.
For Democrats, the April 1 election quickly has become a way to harness anger at the president.
For Republicans, it's a test of trying to turn out Trump voters when he's not on the ballot.
The court election will determine the tilt of an ideologically divided bench — in a purple state where state-level decisions carry national implications for abortion rights, legislative redistricting and election laws.
Continue reading at Axios
Young people could be most at risk with HIV prevention cuts
Prospective cuts to domestic HIV prevention efforts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention could widen health disparities and weigh heaviest on young Black and Hispanic men in the South, public health officials say.
Why it matters: A Health and Human Services plan reportedly under consideration that would scrap the agency's HIV prevention division and transfer its functions elsewhere would mark a significant shift from President Trump's first term, when he pledged to end HIV in the U.S. by 2030.
The U.S. spent $1.3 billion to prevent HIV, viral hepatitis, STIs and tuberculosis in FY23, and statistics show populations of young people in the South, particularly those who are Black or Hispanic men, saw the highest rates of new diagnoses in the U.S.
What they're saying: "There is nothing more heartbreaking than having to tell a 14-year-old that they have an illness that they won't be able to cure, and they'll have to take medication in various forms for the rest of their life," said Raynard Washington, a county health director in Mecklenburg, North Carolina.
The plan being considered could be announced as soon as this week, the WSJ reported, and come as part of a bigger reorganization of the CDC. Administration officials cautioned that no final decision on streamlining had been made.
By the numbers: There were 37,981 new cases of HIV diagnosed in the U.S in 2022, an increase from 36,096 in 2021.
Continue reading at Axios
Trump’s bluntness powered a White House comeback. Now his words are getting him in trouble in court
WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump’s shoot-from-the-lip style kept Americans on the edge of their seats during last year’s campaign. But now that he’s speaking as a president and not as a candidate, his words are being used against him in court in the blizzard of litigation challenging his agenda.
The spontaneity is complicating his administration’s legal positions. Nowhere has this been clearer than in cases involving his adviser Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency, the driving force in his efforts to downsize and overhaul the federal government.
The latest example came earlier this week, when U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang ruled that Musk had likely violated the Constitution by dismantling the United States Agency for International Development.
The lawsuit turned on the question of whether the billionaire entrepreneur had overstepped his authority. Justice Department lawyers and White House officials insist that Musk is merely a presidential adviser, not the actual leader of DOGE.
Continue reading at the Associated Press
Trump presses Federal Reserve to cut rates
President Trump again pressed the Federal Reserve to cut interbank lending rates as the administration’s sweeping tariffs are set to resume next month.
“The Fed would be MUCH better off CUTTING RATES as U.S. Tariffs start to transition (ease!) their way into the economy. Do the right thing,” Trump wrote Tuesday night in a post on Truth Social. “April 2nd is Liberation Day in America!!!”
The central bank announced earlier Wednesday that it would keep rates steady at a 4.25 to 4.5 percent range even with some indications that the U.S. economy might be leaning toward a slowdown.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said during a press conference Wednesday that Trump’s looming tariffs threaten to slow the economy’s growth even more, with inflation increasing back to annual 3-percent increase.
Powell said while “we were getting close and closer” to stabilizing prices, “I wouldn’t say we were at that.”
Continue reading at The Hill
Possible NOAA layoffs alarm broader weather forecasting community
Fears have grown among National Weather Service advocates that the Trump administration is seeking to privatize or significantly downsize it — moves they say would undo a careful division of labor among government, academia and the private sector.
Why it matters: A balance has been struck over decades within the "weather enterprise" in which NOAA collects raw weather data from the Earth's deep oceans to space, disseminates forecasts through NWS and issues life-saving watches and warnings.
With recent cuts to the agency, and further staff reductions potentially looming, some fear this balance will be knocked off kilter and that public safety will suffer.
What they're saying: "It is vital for the protection of life and property… that the existing weather enterprise be sustained and enhanced moving forward," Peter Neilley, director of weather forecasting sciences and technologies at The Weather Company, told Axios.
He said it's simply "not an option" to stop issuing tornado warnings and other life-saving services 24/7 and that doing so requires a dedicated workforce.
After the recent cuts at NOAA, the American Meteorological Society said: "This unique private-public partnership didn't happen by accident but by design and through persistent effort."
Zoom in: John Dean, CEO of the venture fund-backed weather observation and forecasting firm WindBorne, sees his company as helping NOAA gather data and tap into new, AI-driven models.
Continue reading at Axios
Trump is planning to order a shutdown of the Education Department. Here’s what it does
The White House says Education Secretary Linda McMahon will be directed to facilitate the department’s closure while “continuing to ensure the effective and uninterrupted delivery of services, programs, and benefits on which Americans rely.”
Eliminating the department altogether would be a cumbersome task, which likely would require an act of Congress.
In the weeks since he took office, the Trump administration already has cut the department’s staff in half and overhauled much of the department’s work. Trump adviser Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency has cut dozens of contracts it dismissed as “woke” and wasteful. It gutted the Institute of Education Sciences, which gathers data on the nation’s academic progress.
The agency’s main role is financial. Annually, it distributes billions in federal money to colleges and schools and manages the federal student loan portfolio. Closing the department would mean redistributing each of those duties to another agency. The Education Department also plays an important regulatory role in services for students, ranging from those with disabilities to low-income and homeless kids.
Continue reading at the Associated Press
The Education Department was created to ensure equal access. Who would do that in its absence?
The biggest question for many is what happens to the billions of dollars sent to run public schools every year, such as Title I funding, which supports schools in communities with high concentrations of poverty.
Educating low-income children, students learning English and those with disabilities often costs more because it requires specialized teaching or smaller class sizes. Districts without a strong tax base to fund schools often struggle to meet these students’ needs, which Congress recognized by authorizing the money.
McMahon has said she wants to send the money directly to states, with fewer restrictions. Some have worried that without guardrails or federal oversight, states will use the money to advance their own priorities in ways that potentially entrench inequality.
If the funding is distributed to states as block grants, it’s potentially a “way to defund public education,” said Del Pilar. Block grants allow politicians to “direct funds as they see fit, and that could be away from schools,” he said.
Continue reading at the Associated Press
French academic denied entry to US for ‘personal opinion’ on Trump
France’s Higher Education Minister Philippe Baptiste said that “he had learned with concern that a French academic who was going to a conference in Houston was denied entry before being deported” back to Europe, according to a ministry statement seen by POLITICO.
“This measure was apparently taken by the American authorities because the researcher’s phone contained conversations with colleagues and friends in which he expressed a personal opinion on the Trump administration’s research policy,” he said.
The French Foreign Affairs Ministry meanwhile said it “regretted the situation” in a statement and wanted to promote “freedom of expression” and “academic and scientific cooperation.”
The academic, who works in the space sector and whose identity has not been revealed, was travelling to the U.S. on March 9, and underwent a random check on arrival, according to the AFP agency. His phone and computer were examined and messages referring to Trump’s policies toward the academia were found.
Continue reading at Politico Europe
'Deplorable': French scientist denied US entry over text messages criticising Trump
French officials have expressed their dismay after a French scientist was denied entry into the United States because immigration officers found text messages containing a "personal opinion" about the Trump administration and its policies on scientific research.
The French foreign ministry said its consulate had been informed of the incident, adding that it "deplored the situation".
However, the ministry said the United States had the "sovereign" right to decide who could enter or remain on its territory.
In a statement issued on Wednesday and sent to the AFP news agency, France's Minister of Higher Education and Research Philippe Baptiste said he had “learned with concern” that a space researcher working for the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) was stopped for a random check at an unspecified US airport and expelled due to critical text messages about US President Donald Trump.
“This measure was apparently taken by the American authorities because the researcher’s phone contained exchanges with colleagues and friends in which he expressed a personal opinion on the Trump administration’s research policy,” the minister said.
The researcher was reportedly en route for a conference in Houston when the incident took place on March 9.
Continue reading at France 24
Border czar on Alien Enemies Act deportations: Will wait for DOJ, the courts to ‘fight this out’
“I’ll wait ’til the DOJ and the courts fight this out as far as the Alien Enemies Act [and] how far we will go,” he told NewsNation’s Chris Cuomo. “But my comment was, ‘You’re not gonna stop deportation flights, you’re not going to stop the arrest of gang members and you’re not gonna stop the arrest of [Tren de Aragua members].”
“We can hold TdAs up to six months before we remove them, so my comment there is we are gonna keep doing what we are doing,” he added.
U.S. District Judge James Boasberg issued an order over the weekend that three flights, carrying hundreds of Venezuelan migrants the Trump administration alleges are members of criminal gangs, including TdA, needed to be turned around.
Continue reading at The Hill
Majority of Europeans see Trump as an enemy, survey shows
4 in 10 Europeans also say the US president “acts like a dictator.”
More than half of Europeans consider U.S. President Donald Trump an “enemy of Europe,” according to a survey conducted in the EU’s eight largest countries and Denmark.
In the poll, aimed at taking the temperature of European citizens on transatlantic relations and security issues ahead of the ongoing European Council summit, 51 percent say Trump — a longtime massive EU skeptic — is an enemy of the continental alliance.
According to the survey, commissioned by Le Grand Continent and Cluster 17 and conducted among more than 10,000 people between March 11 and 14, even more people — 63 percent — say that Trump’s election makes the world less safe.
Only 13 percent believe Trump “respects democratic principles,” while 43 percent say the U.S. president “has authoritarian tendencies” and 39 percent even think Trump “acts like a dictator.”
Continue reading at Politico Europe
Pentagon restores Navajo Code Talkers webpages after outcry
The Pentagon has restored webpages detailing the contributions of Navajo Code Talkers and other Native American veterans after widespread backlash to their initial removal.
Webpages highlighting the Code Talkers and Native American wartime contributions had been removed from the site in an effort to purge any diversity, equity and inclusion programs as part of compliance with President Trump’s executive order ending all federal DEI programs.
In addition to the Code Talkers, a webpage on Jackie Robinson, Japanese American veterans and Army Maj. Gen. Charles C. Rogers, a Black recipient of the Medal of Honor, were also removed.
Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren on Tuesday sent a letter to the Pentagon demanding an explanation for the removal of the Navajo Code Talkers webpage.
Continue reading at The Hill
DOJ creating path for people with criminal convictions to again own guns
The Justice Department (DOJ) plans to create a process for those with criminal convictions to restore their gun rights, sparking alarm it will return firearms to those convicted of violent crimes.
The interim rule, posted in the Federal Register Thursday, follows a February executive order from President Trump directing a review of the country’s gun restrictions to “assess any ongoing infringements.”
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) has the power to restore gun rights, but the agency has been blocked from doing so under congressional appropriations riders since 1992. Under the DOJ proposal, the attorney general would designate that power within the department.
Continue reading at The Hill
Jewish scholars condemn cancelation of federal funding to Columbia
A group of 400 Jewish professors and students have written a letter condemning the cancelation of some $400 million in federal funding to Columbia University, a move the Trump administration says is in response to the school’s handling of antisemitism.
“We are Jewish faculty, scholars, and students at U.S. universities — representative of the community that this administration purports to be protecting from antisemitism on campuses. Let us be clear: These actions do not protect us,” the letter reads.
The Trump administration has threatened there will be more such cuts in the future and said funds would not be restored unless the school takes certain actions reforming academic and disciplinary functions.
Continue reading at The Hill
Jordan sees ‘another legislative remedy’ besides judicial impeachment
House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) is planning hearings on judges who block Trump administration actions and eyeing legislation to place limits on judicial power as calls to impeach those judges ramp up.
Those actions, Jordan suggested in a CNN interview on Wednesday, could be “another legislative remedy” to address the matter.
Impeachments that President Trump, Elon Musk, and GOP lawmakers are calling for have virtually no chance of removing any of the judges. Even if the razor-thin House majority impeached a judge, it would take support from at least 14 Democrats to convict in the Senate.
But Jordan is not completely ruling out impeachment, a process that has traditionally moved through the House Judiciary Committee.
Continue reading at The Hill
Zelensky describes exchange with Trump on nuclear power plant ‘ownership’
Zelensky made his remarks during a Zoom briefing with reporters Wednesday night, responding to a question from the Financial Times.
Whether U.S. control over the plant could serve as part of a peace plan was a “question of whether we are able to recover it and recover operations,” Zelensky told the British newspaper.
The Ukrainian president said he was exploring with Trump whether “there could be an understanding that the U.S. could recover [the power plant].”
“…and the president asked, ‘What if there is an understanding that America can restore it?’” Zelensky described to reporters. “I told him [Trump]: ‘Yes, if it is possible to modernize, invest money, etc., we are ready to discuss it with you.’ But we spoke exclusively about one station that is under temporary occupation by Russia.”
Continue reading at The Hill
Hawley to introduce legislation to curb court rulings against Trump agenda
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, says he will introduce legislation to curb what he says is a “dramatic abuse of judicial authority” by courts that have issued injunctions against President Trump’s agenda, including the deportation of alleged criminal gang members.
“District Court judges have issued RECORD numbers of national injunctions against the Trump administration — a dramatic abuse of judicial authority. I will introduce legislation to stop this abuse for good,” Hawley posted on the social media site X.
Hawley issued the statement amid several ongoing court battles between the Trump administration and district court judges.
Continue reading at The Hill
Crucial JFK information still unreleased: Author James H. Johnston
Missing memo between LBJ and CIA director wasn't sent to Archives
Memo reportedly discussed Cuba and Castro after JFK's assassination
Authors doubt any conspiracy evidence exists in archived documents
JFK memo reportedly discussed Cuba and Castro after assassination
According to Johnston, State Department historians viewed the document in 1997 and noted the conversation included discussion about Cuba and “how they were going to get rid of [Fidel] Castro.” The full contents of this conversation remain unknown to the public.
Continue reading at The Hill
How Trump’s firings could break the 110-year-old FTC
Removing two Democratic commissioners could trigger a cascade of problems for the longstanding agency, and even blow back on Republicans.
By firing commissioners Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Kelly Slaughter Tuesday night, Trump overturned decades of precedent at a key consumer protection and competition regulator.
The agency, under leadership from both parties, has challenged several major companies, including Facebook for privacy violations, Amazon for antitrust practices and Volkswagen for false emissions claims. A major antitrust case against Meta is scheduled to go to trial in April.
“If this stands, it totally ends the Federal Trade Commission as we have known it,” said Stephen Calkins, a former FTC general counsel who teaches law at Wayne State University.
Democrats fear the firings are just the beginning for not just the FTC, but the entire constellation of independent agencies that regulate American businesses.
Continue reading at Politico
If Trump Defies the Courts, Here’s What a Judge Can Do
A former federal judge weighs in on the escalating tension between the White House and the judiciary.
Amid the growing battle between President Donald Trump and the courts, a once-unthinkable question is harder to shrug off: Will the administration deliberately defy federal judges if it doesn’t get what it wants?
The issue has come into sharp relief in the challenge to the administration’s deportation of Venezuelan nationals under the purported authority of the Alien Enemies Act. The presiding judge — James Boasberg, chief judge of the federal district court in Washington, D.C. — directed the government from the bench to turn the planes around carrying the deportees. That did not happen, though the administration claims it did not deliberately defy the judge. Boasberg has since pressed the government for more information, and on Friday, he will hold a hearing to consider the matter further.
To consider Boasberg’s options and the implications, I spoke with Shira Scheindlin, a former federal judge in Manhattan who served on the bench for 22 years. She is no stranger to complex, high-profile disputes involving the government, and as I can attest from brief personal experience — I once litigated before Judge Scheindlin while I worked in the private sector — she had a well-earned reputation for exercising firm control over her courtroom and the lawyers who appeared before her.
Scheindlin said that in the debate over whether the United States is already in a constitutional crisis, the real red line is if the executive branch defies the judiciary, a move that Trump says he wouldn’t take.
But if it were to happen?
“That’s when authoritarians become dictators and really tear down the temple by just ignoring the Constitution, ignoring the judiciary,” she said. “That would be the shocking end to our 250-year experiment.”
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Continue reading at Politico Magazine
Trump is serious about impeaching a federal judge. But that doesn’t mean it will happen, deputy chief of staff says.
James Blair said the president is encouraging “public debate” about executive power.
Speaking to POLITICO’s Playbook Deep Dive Podcast, James Blair defended the president’s call to remove “an obviously partisan judge” from the bench while conceding that Congress ultimately may not impeach Judge James Boasberg.
“What we’re encouraging is a public debate and I think it’s a reasonable public debate,” Blair said in the interview Wednesday.
He told POLITICO that the president was attempting to shine “a big old spotlight” on what the administration views as a judicial encroachment on executive power with a social media post calling the judge a “Radical Left Lunatic” who should be removed.
Continue reading at Politico
EU to delay retaliatory tariffs on US whiskey, other exports
The European Union will delay tariffs on U.S. exports into the trading bloc in response to the imposition of tariffs on European aluminum and steel, a measure announced in February by the White House as part of an overhaul of the U.S. trade policies.
The EU had been planning to levy two tranches of tariffs starting April 1 on a range of U.S. goods that includes agricultural products and clothing items but announced Thursday that the countermeasures will be taking effect beginning in mid-April.
“The EU countermeasures that were announced on 12 March will all take effect in mid-April,” spokesperson Olof Gill said in a statement sent to The Hill.
Gill called the new effective date for the tariffs a “slight adjustment” that would not diminish their economic impact but would allow additional time for negotiations.
Continue reading at The Hill
Lawmakers clash with constituents following more angry town halls
Shouts of “January 6” and “tax the rich” flooded a town hall in Laramie, Wyoming, on Wednesday, where GOP Rep. Harriet Hageman faced a hostile crowd as she attempted to drown out the noise and answer questions – the latest such Washington lawmaker to be grilled in their home states.
Hageman said she liked the opportunity to do town halls “because it lets me come here, give you an update on what I’m doing back in Washington, DC,” prompting a swift response of “nothing” from one man.
“If you have so little respect for our process and for what we are in this country,” Hageman started before being interrupted by some boos. “Then I would ask you to leave.”
Continue reading/viewing at CNN.com
Trump says crypto will ‘unleash an explosion of economic growth’
President Trump offered praise for the crypto world Thursday, suggesting the industry will “unleash an explosion of economic growth.”
“Pioneers like you will be able to improve our banking and payment system and promote greater privacy, safety, security and wealth for American consumers and businesses alike,” Trump said in virtual remarks at the Digital Asset Summit in New York.
“You will unleash an explosion of economic growth and, with the dollar-backed stablecoin, help expand the dominance of the US dollar,” he continued.
Continue reading at The Hill
Tesla Cybertruck recalled over panel that can fly off in traffic
Tesla is recalling substantially all units of the Cybertruck pickup over a defect that could cause a panel to fly off in traffic.
Why it matters: The Cybertruck — which has been dogged by quality issues, causing several previous recalls — has been trumpeted by Tesla CEO Elon Musk as a reflection of the company's engineering prowess.
Driving the news: Tesla is recalling 46,096 units of the Cybertruck over a stainless steel exterior trim panel that "can delaminate and detach from the vehicle," according to a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration document.
The recall covers Cybertrucks assembled from November 13, 2023, to February 27, 2025.
Tesla has identified 151 warranty claims "that may be related to the condition" but "is not aware of any collisions, fatalities, or injuries" tied to the defect, according to a safety recall report.
Context: It's the latest in a series of recalls for the Cybertruck.
Continue reading at Axios
Here are the names of the Venezuelans deported by the U.S. to El Salvador
U.S. officials have said 137 of the Venezuelan men were treated as "enemy aliens" and removed from the country under the 18th century law. The other 101 were deported under regular immigration procedures, the officials have said.
Beyond that, the U.S. government has provided scant details about the deportations and has not publicly released the names of those sent to El Salvador. Family members and lawyers of deportees have said they only learned their loved ones or clients had been deported to the small Central American country through videos and photos posted by the Salvadoran government and news outlets.
The Trump administration has said it verified that all the Venezuelan deportees have connections to Tren de Aragua, but those accusations have been denied by relatives of some of those who were deported. The U.S. government has said in a court declaration that while some of those expelled have criminal histories in the U.S., "many" do not.
CBS News is publishing the U.S. government's list of the names of the 238 Venezuelan deportees sent to El Salvador below. How long they will remain imprisoned in El Salvador and whether their family members and lawyers will be allowed to communicate with them remain open questions.
CBS News reached out to DHS and the State Department for comment on the list.
The names of Venezuelans deported to El Salvador
Continue reading at CBS News
DoorDash, Klarna sign deal for deferred, installment food delivery payments
DoorDash and Klarna, a company that offers “buy now, pay later” programs, have come together on a deal for deferred and installment food delivery payments.
“In the coming months, DoorDash customers will be able to enjoy Klarna’s seamless range of payment options when purchasing groceries, retail, and even DashPass Annual Plan – on DoorDash.com or through the DoorDash app,” according to a webpage on the deal on Klarna’s website.
Klarna is set to be shown as a way to pay when DoorDash customers are checking out, with customers given options to either pay for their whole purchase, pay via four installments or pay at a time that works better for them, according to the webpage.
Continue reading at The Hill
UK issues travel warning for US
The United Kingdom updated its advice for travel to the United States on Thursday, warning of harsh consequences for British passport holders who violate U.S. immigration laws.
The notice comes just a day after Germany updated its travel advice after three of its citizens were detained trying to enter the U.S.
The U.K. foreign office confirmed earlier this month that it was providing support to a British national detained in the U.S. after reports circulated of a woman detained at the border, Reuters reported.
In its updated advice, the U.K. foreign office told citizens to “comply with all entry, visa and other conditions of entry.”
“The authorities in the U.S. set and enforce entry rules strictly,” the office said. “You may be liable to arrest or detention if you break the rules.”
Continue reading at The Hill
Boasberg says Trump administration ‘evaded’ deadline for deportation flight info
A federal judge on Thursday said the Trump administration’s response to his request for more information on Venezuelan deportation flights was “woefully insufficient” and “evaded” obligations to show they complied with an earlier court ruling.
In a new order, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg said the Justice Department refused to meet his Thursday deadline to hand over the flight information and instead submitted a declaration from an Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) official informing that “Cabinet Secretaries are currently actively considering whether to invoke the state secrets privilege.”
The order came after Boasberg ordered the government to privately provide more details about the flights in a sealed filing, saying he was once again rebuffed by the government.
“The Government again evaded its obligations,” Boasberg wrote, noting that the filing from the ICE official included the same information about the flights.
“This is woefully insufficient. To begin, the Government cannot proffer a regional ICE official to attest to Cabinet-level discussions of the state-secrets privilege,” wrote Boasberg, an appointee of former President Obama.
Continue reading at The Hill
Musk and DOGE barred from accessing personal Social Security data by judge
A federal judge on Thursday temporarily blocked Elon Musk and DOGE employees from accessing Americans' personal information in Social Security Administration systems.
Why it matters: More than 65 million Americans receive Social Security and the administration's databases are full of personal details about recipients.
The judge ordered DOGE employees to "disgorge and delete" any personally identifiable information that they have that hadn't been anonymized.
What they're saying: "The American public may well applaud and support the Trump Administration's mission to root out fraud, waste, and bloat from federal agencies, including SSA, to the extent it exists," District Judge Ellen Lipton Hollander wrote in a 137-page opinion.
"But, by what means and methods? The DOGE Team is essentially engaged in a fishing expedition at SSA, in search of a fraud epidemic, based on little more than suspicion."
What's next: The Trump administration was ordered to file a status report by 1pm ET on Monday documenting steps it has taken to comply with the order.
Read the order
Continue reading at Axios
Judge blocks DOGE from accessing Social Security data of millions of people
“The DOGE Team is essentially engaged in a fishing expedition at SSA, in search of a fraud epidemic, based on little more than suspicion,” said U.S. District Judge Ellen Hollander in a 137-page ruling.
“The DOGE Team is essentially engaged in a fishing expedition at SSA, in search of a fraud epidemic, based on little more than suspicion,” said U.S. District Judge Ellen Hollander in a 137-page ruling. “It has launched a search for the proverbial needle in the haystack, without any concrete knowledge that the needle is actually in the haystack.”
Hollander, an appointee of President Barack Obama, said the group’s broad access likely violated privacy laws. The Maryland-based judge ordered an immediate halt to the DOGE Social Security team’s access to any systems that contain sensitive data of Social Security recipients. She ordered Musk, DOGE and other affiliates to destroy any non-anonymized data they’ve obtained.
“Ironically, the identity of these DOGE affiliates has been concealed because defendants are concerned that the disclosure of even their names would expose them to harassment and thus invade their privacy,” the judge wrote. “The defense does not appear to share a privacy concern for the millions of Americans whose SSA records were made available to the DOGE affiliates, without their consent.”
Hollander also barred the group from installing software in Social Security systems and to remove any software that has been installed since President Donald Trump began his second term. DOGE, under the order, is also prohibited from altering any code in the Social Security system.
The judge left room for DOGE team members to eventually regain access to sensitive data of recipients, but only after certifying they had completed required training and after providing a “detailed explanation” — potentially with court review — of the need to obtain “non-anonymized” data.
Continue reading at Politico
Trump signs executive order to dismantle Department of Education
While the order recognizes it would take an act of Congress to completely shutter the department, Trump directed Education Secretary Linda McMahon to do all she can to achieve its end.
“Today, we take a very historic action that was 45 years in the making,” he said at a signing ceremony at the East Room of the White House that included multiple school-age children sitting at classroom desks. “I will sign an executive order to begin eliminating the federal Department of Education.”
“The department’s useful functions […] will be preserved, fully preserved,” Trump added, referring to Pell Grants, Title I funding and programs for students with disabilities. “They’re going to be preserved in full and redistributed to various other agencies and departments.”
“But beyond these core necessities, my administration will take all lawful steps to shut down the department. We’re going to shut it down and shut it down as quickly as possible,” he added at the ceremony, which was attended by Republican lawmakers and governors including Rep. Virginia Foxx (N.C.), Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Indiana Gov. Mike Braun, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Continue reading at The Hill
DOJ reduces ADA compliance guidance, pointing to Trump order
The department withdrew 11 pieces of compliance guidance in what it called an effort to streamline review processes and reduce costs for consumers.
The ADA is a civil rights law that prevents discrimination against individuals with impairments in areas of public life.
The first five repealed pieces of guidance reference COVID-19 conditions including mask exemption policies, access to resources that help disabled employees explain their rights, and regulations for a medical or family aide in hospital settings, in addition to rules for street eateries to remain ADA compliant.
The six other pieces related to accessible features in retail establishments and lodging facilities, customer service protocols at hotels, input from customers with disabilities, reaching out to customers with disabilities and assistance at self-service gas stations.
Continue reading at The Hill
Federal cuts impact plans to grow Texas grid; advanced energy options face delays
AUSTIN (KXAN) – A push toward what the Trump administration has called a “Golden Era of American Energy Dominance” could be in trouble.
Experts warn that the development of new energy sources, like advanced nuclear reactors and cold fusion, could be facing delays as a result of budget cuts and defunding efforts in the federal government.
“Research universities are being caught up in a broader series of actions,” said Rob Bradner, a Washington D.C.-based attorney and partner with Holland & Knight.
In January, President Trump issued an executive order calling for a pause on federal grants. In February, the judicial branch ordered the administration to unfreeze the funds.
“We are merely looking at parts of the big bureaucracy where there has been tremendous waste and fraud and abuse,” Trump said at the time.
Continue reading at The Hill
Bondi announces charges against 3 individuals in damage to Teslas
Calling the charges a “warning,” Bondi said the three individuals are accused of throwing Molotov cocktails at Tesla dealerships in three different states in recent weeks.
“The days of committing crimes without consequence have ended,” Bondi said in a Thursday statement. “Let this be a warning: if you join this wave of domestic terrorism against Tesla properties, the Department of Justice will put you behind bars.”
Continue reading at The Hill
NAACP president: Trump ‘deliberately dismantling the basic functions of our democracy’
Derrick Johnson, the president and CEO of the NAACP, said he believes President Trump is “deliberately dismantling the basic functions” of U.S. democracy.
In a post on the social platform X, Johnson slammed Trump for his plans to shut down the Department of Education.
“@POTUS is not only seeking to shut down the Department of Education — he is deliberately dismantling the basic functions of our democracy, one piece at a time,” Johnson said. “That decision will only hurt children across America who depend on federal funding for a quality education.”
Trump’s executive order looking to disband the Education Department was first announced weeks ago, but its implementation was delayed without much explanation. The president is expected to sign the order Thursday in the East Room of the White House.
Continue reading at The Hill
‘The job is literally not to die’: Florida Legislature ponders nixing lieutenant governor position amid DOGE debate
The proposed constitutional amendment would also create a new Cabinet position called the “Commissioner of Government Efficiency.”
TALLAHASSEE, Florida — Florida currently doesn’t have a lieutenant governor. And the Republican-controlled Legislature, inspired by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, appears serious about keeping it that way.
A proposal to eliminate the post — which is now vacant due to former Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez resigning to become president of Florida International University — is poised for consideration by the Florida House. Lawmakers advanced the legislation (HJR 1325) through its final House committee Thursday, while senators are moving similar legislation through their chamber.
The proposed constitutional amendment, which would go before voters in the 2026 election, would also create a new Cabinet position called the “Commissioner of Government Efficiency,” a title nicked from the ongoing effort in the federal government sparked by Musk.
If successful, this would expand the size of the current elected Cabinet from three to four. Voters back in 1998 eliminated several elected Cabinet posts as part of an effort to streamline state government and concentrate more power in the hands of the governor.
Continue reading at Politico
Judges, rankled by Trump’s impeachment calls, agree: ‘It’s not a great strategy’
Current and former jurists say the president’s call to impeach judges is dangerous and unwise.
As Trump’s allies have intensified the impeachment movement in recent weeks, current and former judges are rebuking the tactic as unjustified and dangerous, pointing to the availability of a robust appeals process in the courts. They’ve also highlighted the heated environment in which verbal attacks can escalate into physical threats.
And, as a matter of political strategy, some judges question how singling out individual jurists advances the president’s end-game. The vitriol Trump and the MAGA faithful lob at the judiciary is likely to rankle the Supreme Court justices who can deliver the ultimate go-ahead or death knell for stalled aspects of Trump’s agenda.
“It’s a really bizarre way to do business. If he thinks he can intimidate judges, it’s not going to be a successful strategy,” said one sitting federal judge, who was granted anonymity to avoid harassment and retaliation. “It’s not the way to win cases … Maybe it will appeal to the public, maybe from a public relations perspective, but it’s not a great strategy for the judges that I know.”
The judge also said his colleagues were braced for the escalation because of a series of prior pro-impeachment comments from Trump adviser Elon Musk and the introduction of impeachment resolutions by the president’s allies in Congress.
Continue reading at Politico
Trump eyes Europe’s biggest nuclear power plant. Problem: It’s occupied by Russia.
Ukraine isn’t dismissing the U.S. president’s latest plan to provide a semblance of long-term security — but says Russian troops must first leave a city near the plant.
KYIV — U.S. President Donald Trump’s transactional approach to bringing peace to Ukraine has found a new craving: the largest nuclear power plant in Europe.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Trump discussed the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) during a call on Wednesday. Trump offered to help solve the ongoing dispute over Russians illegally controlling the plant, Zelenskyy said.
“President Trump asked me [about the plant], I told him that if it is not Ukrainian, it will not work for anyone. This is illegal. [But] if the Americans are thinking about how to find a way out and want to take it away from the Russians and modernize it — this is a different issue, an open issue. We can talk about it,” Zelenskyy said at a press conference Thursday in Oslo
While such a gambit would be complicated, not least because the invading Russian military currently occupies the site, the leadership in Kyiv is mulling the idea as Ukraine searches for a lasting security guarantee from the U.S. Initially that backstop looked set to take the form of a minerals deal giving America lucrative preferential access to Ukraine's critical raw materials.
Continue reading at Politico Europe
Club for Growth leader urges GOP lawmakers to keep holding town halls
His comments counter advice given by the House GOP’s campaign arm.
The leader of a top conservative group is urging Republican lawmakers to face voters at town halls against the advice of the House GOP’s campaign arm.
David McIntosh, president of the Club for Growth, said Thursday that Republican members of Congress should not shy away from the events that have been flooded by critics frustrated with cuts made by President Donald Trump and his billionaire adviser Elon Musk.
“Do your job. Because the worst thing that can happen for a member of either party is to get out of touch with their constituents,” McIntosh said at a press briefing in Washington. “If the other team’s good at basketball, you don’t leave the field.”
That flies in the face of advice given by Rep. Richard Hudson (R-N.C.), the chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee, who told lawmakers in a private meeting this month to stop holding in-person town halls.
Continue reading at Politico
Tracking the foreign nationals detained by ICE as tourists or U.S. residents
U.S. tourists and permanent residents from around the world have been arrested, detained and deported under the Trump administration's immigration crackdown.
Why it matters: The recent high-profile detentions and deportations demonstrate an escalation in tactics from immigration officials, accused of targeting some for their political stances or involvement.
Read more about the arrests and detentions:
French scientist detained for text messages
A French researcher was prevented from entering the U.S. this month because of messages he sent that were critical of the Trump administration's academic research policies, French government officials told multiple outlets.
The scientist, whose name has not been revealed, was traveling to a conference near Houston, per Le Monde.
"Freedom of opinion, free research, and academic freedom are values that we will continue to proudly uphold. I will defend the right of all French researchers to be faithful to them, while respecting the law," Philippe Baptiste, France's minister of higher education and research, said in a statement.
Zoom out: Baptiste in a post on X said he requested an emergency meeting alongside other European ministers to come up with a plan to preserve academic freedom.
Continue reading at Axios
Trump signs order on critical mineral production
President Trump on Thursday signed an executive order intended to boost production of critical minerals in the United States and confirmed a deal to gain access to minerals in Ukraine was still on track.
Trump signed the order behind closed doors at the White House. A spokesperson said the order would streamline permitting to allow for increased mining of the minerals. Full text of the order was not immediately available.
“It’s a big thing in this country. And as you know we’re also signing agreements in various locations to unlock rare earths and minerals and lots of other things all over the world. But in particular Ukraine,” Trump said at an event where he signed a measure aimed at dismantling the Department of Education.
“One of the things we are doing is signing a deal very shortly with Ukraine with respect to rare earth,” Trump added.
Continue reading at The Hill
France to host another Ukraine summit on March 27
Meeting comes amid efforts to reach ceasefire agreement and follows meeting of EU leaders on Thursday.
BRUSSELS ― Emmanuel Macron is planning to host a group of European leaders on Thursday, March 27, to discuss Ukraine and security in Europe, three officials told POLITICO.
The summit is a follow-up to the French president’s February and March gatherings of European and NATO leaders in Paris to discuss defense guarantees for Ukraine and the wider continent.
The attendees will be “broader circle” of leaders, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said at a press conference at the EU leaders' summit in Brussels, adding that countries who met in London — including those who joined video call — will "probably" be at Thursday's meeting. The Swedish PM said he had been verbally invited to the summit, but had yet to receive a formal invitation.
The meeting will come as European leaders scramble to boost the European Union's defense capacities in the face of threats from Russia and drastic changes to U.S. foreign policy under President Donald Trump. It also reflects increasing political buy-in for a "coalition of the willing" ― a number of EU countries with others, possibly including Canada and Turkey ― to step in to support Ukraine.
Continue reading at Politico Europe
Apple sued for false advertising over Apple Intelligence
Apple has been hit with a federal lawsuit claiming that the company's promotion of now-delayed Apple Intelligence features constituted false advertising and unfair competition.
Why it matters: The suit is the latest fallout from the company's acknowledgment that key features, including an enhanced Siri, won't ship until far later than originally planned.
Driving the news: The suit, filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in San Jose, seeks class action status and unspecified financial damages on behalf of those who purchased Apple Intelligence-capable iPhones and other devices.
What they're saying: "Apple's advertisements saturated the internet, television, and other airwaves to cultivate a clear and reasonable consumer expectation that these transformative features would be available upon the iPhone's release," the suit reads.
Continue reading at Axios
Giving up US NATO command in Europe would give Russia the chance 'to make a lot of mischief'
Judge says Trump administration can’t deport Georgetown University fellow
A federal judge on Thursday ruled the Trump administration could not deport Georgetown fellow Badar Khan Suri, who the university said was detained by the Department of Homeland Security as the Trump administration continues its immigration clampdown.
US District Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles said that while she reviews Khan Suri’s petition in court challenging his detention, the administration is not to remove him from the country unless she issues another ruling to the contrary, according to the order.
In an earlier letter obtained by CNN, Georgetown University Interim President Robert Groves told its Board of Directors that Khan Suri, an Indian national who was in the US on a visa “to continue his doctoral research on peace building in Iraq and Afghanistan,” had been detained by DHS and his visa had been revoked.
“We are not aware of him engaging in any illegal activity and we have not received a reason for his detention,” the letter continued. In a statement to CNN, a university spokesperson said, “We expect the legal system to adjudicate this case fairly.”
Khan Suri’s detention comes as President Donald Trump continues to crack down on students who engage in pro-Palestinian protests.
It’s the latest case in a series of arrests and deportation proceedings the Trump administration has brought against people associated with US colleges and universities, sending shockwaves across the academic community and raising concerns about the protection of free speech.
Continue reading at CNN.com
Trump signs minerals order, confirms Ukraine deal
President Trump signed an executive order intended to boost production of minerals in the U.S. and confirmed a deal to gain access to minerals in Ukraine was still on track.
Trump signed the order behind closed doors at the White House on Thursday. A spokesperson said the order would streamline permitting to allow for increased mining of the minerals, which include copper, potash and gold.
The order invokes wartime powers under the Defense Production Act to expand domestic U.S. mining production, according to information shared by a White House official.
In addition, the efforts to increase mineral production may end up including coal, if Interior Secretary Doug Burgum decides that the fossil fuel should fall under the definition of “minerals.”
Continue reading at The Hill
NY Republican slams Social Security office closure plan: ‘Slap in the face’
Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) on Thursday slammed a New York Social Security office closure plan.
“The decision to close the only Social Security Hearing Office in the Hudson Valley is a slap in the face to thousands of my constituents who rely on these services,” Lawler said in a post on social platform X, referencing the upcoming closure of an office in White Plains, N.Y.
Several Social Security Administration offices around the U.S. are expected to close this year due to the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) cuts to the federal government.
“This office handles over 2,000 backlogged cases and conducts hundreds of in-person hearings every year. Telling my constituents that they now have to travel hours to Lower Manhattan, New Haven, the Bronx, or Goshen is completely unacceptable,” Lawler said Thursday.
Continue reading at The Hill
McConnell warns US giving up military command of NATO would weaken alliance
Former Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) warned on Thursday that the Trump administration would significantly weaken NATO if the United States were to give up military leadership of the alliance for the first time in its 75-year history.
“Weakening American leadership won’t strengthen NATO or U.S. interests. If we’re serious about encouraging more capable European allies, retreating from our position as the leader of the trans-Atlantic alliance would be an odd way to show it,” McConnell said in a statement Thursday afternoon.
He issued the remarks after NBC News reported that the Pentagon is looking at restructuring the nation’s combatant commands and is studying a proposal for the United States to give up its long-held role as NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe.
McConnell warned at a press conference in Kentucky earlier this week that Russia and its allies, including China, continue to pose a serious risk to U.S. interests.
Continue reading at The Hill
Judge tells Columbia not to give House GOP student data until after Tuesday hearing
A district judge said Thursday that Columbia University is not to give the House Education and Workforce Committee information it had requested about student disciplinary actions until after a hearing scheduled for Tuesday.
The GOP-led House panel demanded data on recent activities on campus, including student-specific disciplinary information, as Republicans accuse the university of failing to shield students from antisemitism, the same accusation levied by the Trump administration as it withholds hundreds of millions of dollars in research funding from Columbia.
Detained activist Mahmoud Khalil, a former Columbia student, and others sued to block the school from handing over student records.
The Thursday ruling from Judge Arun Subramanian says it is not based on the merits of the case but to maintain the “status quo” until a hearing is held on the matter.
Khalil, a legal immigrant, sued after he was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He became a target due to his time as lead negotiator for Columbia’s pro-Palestinian encampment last spring.
Continue reading at The Hill
86 percent blame Putin for Russia-Ukraine war: Survey
Nearly all Americans blame the Kremlin’s leader Vladimir Putin for the Russia-Ukraine war rather than Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, according to a survey released Thursday.
The new Chicago Council on Global Affairs-Ipsos poll found that 86 percent of American respondents blamed Putin for the three-year conflict in eastern Europe. Roughly a third placed the blame on Zelensky.
More than half of U.S. adults, 55 percent, were supportive of the country providing economic assistance to Ukraine while another 52 percent were on board for Washington to continue supplying arms and military supplies to Kyiv, according to the survey.
Some 53 percent of respondents said President Trump favors Russia over Ukraine. An NBC News poll, released earlier this week, found that nearly half of Americans believe the president sympathizes with Russia over Ukraine in the conflict. Only 8 percent said they think Trump is on Ukraine’s side.
Continue reading at The Hill
Universities are caving to Trump with a stunning speed and scope
Some of the nation’s oldest and wealthiest institutions are swiftly bending to President Donald Trump, who is acting on longstanding conservative criticisms of universities as elitist and progressive.
Colleges and universities across the country are capitulating to President Donald Trump with staggering speed, moving to slash progressive policies and crack down on student activism as they face compounding threats from an administration hellbent on reshaping higher education.
Columbia University on Thursday appeared poised to submit to a list of Trump administration demands that threaten core tenets of the school’s mission in an attempt to release itself from a $400 million federal funding freeze. The University of California’s board moved on Wednesday to cut diversity statements from recruitment requirements. Dartmouth College on Monday announced it had hired the Republican National Committee’s former chief counsel — an outspoken critic of birthright citizenship — as the college’s top lawyer and leader of its immigration office. And dozens of universities last month rushed to scrub diversity, equity and inclusion policies from their websites and cancel related events.
It’s a stunning display of how some of the country’s oldest, wealthiest and enduring institutions have swiftly folded to Trump, who is acting on longstanding conservative criticisms of universities as elitist and progressive. In the path of the Trump administration’s threats — and with hundreds of millions of dollars at stake — schools are being tested on how their values, jobs and research stand up to today’s political realities.
“It’s going to be tense for a while, because … the [university] presidents are not going to go into full-on resistance mode,” said Holden Thorp, the former chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. “They have too much history and financial resources and people to protect to do that.”
Continue reading at Politico
Judge blocks Trump administration from deporting Georgetown researcher who was in U.S. legally
U.S. District Judge Patricia Giles issued the brief directive Thursday after Badar Khan Suri’s wife said in a sworn court declaration that the couple has no ties to Hamas.
A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration not to proceed, for now, with its efforts to deport an Indian-born Georgetown researcher who was arrested by immigration authorities outside his Virginia home on Monday.
U.S. District Judge Patricia Giles issued the brief directive Thursday, declaring that Badar Khan Suri “shall not be removed from the United States unless and until the Court issues a contrary order.” Giles, an appointee of President Joe Biden, said the order was needed to ensure that the court can resolve a petition Suri filed seeking his release.
The judge issued the order shortly after Suri’s wife, Mapheze Saleh, said in a sworn court declaration that the couple has no ties to Hamas, despite her father’s former high-level role in Gaza’s government.
Suri is a postdoctoral fellow at Georgetown on a valid visa for foreign scholars, according to his lawsuit. Saleh is a U.S. citizen. Neither has been charged with a crime.
Continue reading at Politico
Top housing regulator in upheaval as executives, employees put on leave
Bill Pulte earlier this week fired 14 members of Fannie and Freddie’s boards of directors and appointed himself chair of both.
Newly installed Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte put Chief Operating Officer Gina Cross and Human Resources Director Monica Matthews on leave Thursday, according to the people, who were granted anonymity so they could discuss internal moves.
The sudden developments add to the upheaval at the independent agency, which regulates Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-controlled companies that stand behind about half of the U.S. residential mortgage market. They come as the administration weighs privatizing the giant firms, a decision that could bring a windfall to private investors but that is opposed by many Democrats and others who fear that it could roil the housing finance market.
Pulte, a former private equity executive who hails from one of the most prominent families in American homebuilding, has quickly asserted his grip on the agency since being sworn in last Friday, hollowing out several offices.
Earlier this week, he fired 14 members of Fannie and Freddie’s boards of directors and appointed himself chairman of each — despite a statute stipulating that the director may not “hold any office, position, or employment in any regulated entity or entity-affiliated party.”
Continue reading at Politico
Everyday tattoos got Venezuelan men ID’d as gang members and deported, lawyers say
President Donald Trump ordered the men removed from the U.S. and sent to a notorious El Salvadoran prison under an 18th century wartime law that allows noncitizens to be deported without due process.
The proclamation issued by Trump argued that the wartime law applied because the gang is “perpetrating an invasion” of the United States.
Most lawyers have dismissed that argument and noted that the government has not produced evidence to prove the men are gang members. The men were flown out of the country before they could meet with their attorneys.
Tattoos are signals of membership in some Latin American gangs, with the facial tattoos of the El Salvadoran group MS-13 perhaps the best known. Experts, though, say tattoos are not central to Tren de Aragua. They also note that tattoos, hugely popular all over the world, are often nothing more than body art.
Continue reading at the Associated Press
Ocasio-Cortez, Sanders take aim at Musk in first joint rally
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) focused their criticism on Elon Musk in their first joint rally in a tour the two are going on this week.
The progressive lawmakers made their appearance in Las Vegas on Thursday as part of Sanders’s “Fighting Oligarchy” tour that he has been taking around the country. Nevada Rep. Steven Horsford (D) was also present at the event Thursday.
Ocasio-Cortez argued that wealthy people in the country, like Musk, are targeting programs like Medicaid and Social Security to allow for additional tax cuts for rich Americans.
“We are here together because an extreme concentration of power and corruption is taking over this country like never before,” she said.
Ocasio-Cortez maintained that an oligarchy is taking hold in the United States, in which those with the most economic, political and technological power “destroy the public good to enrich themselves while millions of Americans pay the price.” She pointed specifically to Musk.
Continue reading at The Hill
Trump rescinds order targeting Paul, Weiss citing commitments from law firm
Trump posted on Truth Social that he had agreed to withdraw the order he signed March 14, which called for a review of security clearances and government contracts with the Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP law firm, called Paul, Weiss for short.
The reversal came as part of an agreement between the firm and the president, according to Trump’s post.
As part of the agreement, the law firm agreed it would not deny representation to clients based on political views; that it would not use any diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies; and that it would dedicate the equivalent of $40 million in pro bono legal services to support the Trump administration’s initiatives such as assisting veterans, combating antisemitism and “fairness in the Justice System.”
The White House said in a statement that Trump made the decision after meeting with Brad Karp, chair of the law firm.
“We are gratified that the President has agreed to withdraw the Executive Order concerning Paul, Weiss,” Karp said in a statement that Trump posted to Truth Social. “We look forward to an engaged and constructive relationship with the President and his Administration.”
Continue reading at The Hill
Hegseth touts $580M in Pentagon cuts
In a new memo, Hegseth asserts the programs are “inconsistent with the priorities” of the department and don’t align with President Trump’s priorities. The cuts are part of the Trump administration’s work with Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which is currently auditing federal departments.
“Today, I’m signing a memo directing the termination of over $580 million in DOD contracts and grants that do not match the priorities of this president or this department. In other words, they are not a good use of taxpayer dollars,” Hegseth said in a video posted to the social platform X.
Among the cancellations were “an HR software effort” known as the Defense Civilian Human Resources Management System (DCHRMS), which was originally meant to take one year and cost $36 million but instead is eight years into its contract and $280 million over budget, Hegseth said in the video.
Continue reading at Politico
Trump calls for a stop to nationwide injunctions amid court setbacks
President Trump on Thursday called for a stop to nationwide injunctions and suggested the Supreme Court should intervene as his administration has faced multiple setbacks from federal judges.
“Unlawful Nationwide Injunctions by Radical Left Judges could very well lead to the destruction of our Country!” Trump posted on Truth Social. “These people are Lunatics, who do not care, even a little bit, about the repercussions from their very dangerous and incorrect Decisions and Rulings.”
Trump said it was the “obligation of Law abiding Agencies of Government to have these ‘Orders’ overturned.”
Trump went on to complain that judges “want to assume the Powers of the Presidency” without getting elected. Experts have noted that judges are not elected so that they do not face political pressure in their rulings.
“Stop nationwide injunctions now, before it is too late,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “If Justice Roberts and the United States Supreme Court do not fix this toxic and unprecedented situation IMMEDIATELY, our Country is in very serious trouble!”
Continue reading at The Hill
Connolly calls for investigation into Lutnick encouraging Americans to buy Tesla stock
House Oversight and Accountability Committee ranking member Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) requested an investigation into Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s comments urging Americans to buy Tesla stock as the company’s shares dip due to mass firings and reform efforts overseen by CEO Elon Musk.
“This is just the latest example of the Trump Administration using taxpayer resources to enrich the President’s inner circle,” Connolly wrote in a Thursday letter to John K. Guenther, acting general counsel for the Department of Commerce.
His inquiry comes two months after President Trump dismissed dozens of independent agency watchdogs without Congressional approval. Regulatory agencies, including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, are also set to undergo layoffs amid concerns about Musk’s involvement in government proceedings while earning billions from the private sector.
Lutnick urged Americans to take advantage of the 34.6 percent drop in Tesla stock to “the best leader of any set of companies in America working for America.”
Continue reading at The Hill
This is the next border fight — and it’s a stinker
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin is picking a fight with Mexico over sewage flowing into San Diego.
Trump administration officials have been pressuring Mexican counterparts to reduce the flow of migrants and drugs over the border. Now they’re turning their attention to the flow of something more scatalogical.
Sewage.
More than 100 billion gallons of raw sewage, trash and stormwater have flowed into San Diego since 2018 as the city of Tijuana’s aging and failing wastewater system has been overwhelmed by a booming population.
San Diego-area beaches are frequently closed due to the toxins, including one shoreline that was shuttered for more than 1,000 days straight. Navy SEALs training in nearby waters have also fallen ill.
The issue grabbed EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin’s attention earlier this month when a construction incident in Mexico sent untreated sewage into the Tijuana River. Since then, he has publicly pressured America’s southern neighbor to focus on the problem — and pay for it.
“Mexico must fully honor its commitment to control their country’s growing pollution and sewage impacting the United States. The time when excuses, delays, or exceptions are tolerated is over,” Zeldin said in a statement Thursday.
Continue reading at Politico
Ukraine’s phony peace has begun. Only Trump still believes it’s real.
Donald Trump’s talks with Vladimir Putin have paralyzed Ukraine’s allies in Europe. Nobody is ready for peace.
It’s only five weeks since the U.S. president stunned the West by calling Vladimir Putin to launch the process he’s promised will bring “an END to this very horrible War.”
In response, the EU’s outraged leaders pushed for a central seat at the negotiating table, and declared there must be no talks “about Ukraine without Ukraine.” Those indignant demands fell on stony ground.
There were more nasty surprises on an almost daily basis — from Donald Trump and his deputy publicly hectoring Ukraine’s “dictator” president in the Oval Office, to castigating the EU over its approach to far-right parties, and then announcing a new wave of tariffs on aluminum and steel.
Eventually, the U.S. and Ukraine patched up their battered relationship sufficiently to hold talks in Saudi Arabia and to agree on a plan for a 30-day ceasefire, pausing all fighting along the front line on land, at sea and in the air. There was only one vanishingly modest condition to Ukraine enacting the truce: Russia would have to agree to do the same.
But when Trump spoke to Putin again this week to press the 30-day truce, Russia’s leader effectively declined.
Continue reading at Politico Europe
EU plan to send more military aid to Ukraine in shambles
The bloc had aimed to send billions in military aid and artillery ammunition to Kyiv, but member countries split on the plan.
Europe's top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, had high hopes of being able to mobilize as much as €40 billion of military aid to shore up Ukraine's position on the battlefield and strengthen its hand in upcoming talks with Russia.
But as EU leaders wound up their gathering in Brussels on Thursday, the plan lay in tatters — not quite dead, but dramatically downgraded from its original ambition.
The problems started, several EU diplomats said, from the plan's inception when the former Estonian prime minister failed to win prior buy-in from crucial stakeholders. The process had been "botched up," one of the diplomats summarized.
The original formulation of the "Kallas plan" had been to ship Ukraine at least 1.5 million rounds of artillery ammunition in 2025. That idea, presented last month, was shot down by a Hungarian veto. Then she tried again, banking on a coalition of willing states to dig into their weapons stores and national coffers to deliver up to €40 billion in military aid to Ukraine this year.
Unfortunately for Kallas — and for Ukraine — her plan didn't survive impact with the reality of a European Union where interest in making sacrifices for Kyiv varies dramatically from country to country.
Continue reading at Politico Europe
Scoop: Musk's PAC offers $100 to Wisconsin voters in pitch against "activist judges"
Elon Musk's political action committee is offering Wisconsin voters $100 to sign a petition expressing their opposition to "activist judges," a cause that President Trump is pressing as judges block or delay several parts of his agenda.
Why it matters: The move reflects how Musk is throwing his considerable wealth behind Trump's priorities — including an upcoming election in Wisconsin for a crucial seat on the state's Supreme Court.
Zoom in: The April 1 election in Wisconsin will determine the tilt of an ideologically divided bench in a swing state where state-level decisions can carry national implications for abortion rights, legislative redistricting and election laws.
Two Musk-backed groups — America PAC and Building America's Future — have combined to spend nearly $20 million to support Brad Schimel, the Republican candidate for the Wisconsin court seat.
The Democratic candidate, Susan Crawford, has drawn millions in donations from progressive donors, including George Soros and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
The Wisconsin campaign is entering its final days as Trump and his allies are attacking federal judges standing in the way of his agenda. Trump has been particularly critical of a judge who is questioning the administration's deportation of alleged Venezuelan gang members.
Trump and Musk have called for the impeachment of that judge, leading to a rebuke from Chief Justice John Roberts.
Continue reading at Axios
What dismantling Education Department means for student loans
President Trump signed an executive order to close down the Department of Education on Thursday — an unprecedented move that presents big questions for student loan borrowers.
Why it matters: The department plays a key role in managing some $1.5 trillion in student debt for more than 40 million borrowers, and a vast majority of its budget is allocated to the agency that oversees the federal student loan system.
Even before abolishing the department, the Trump administration blocked student loan forgiveness and repayment plans, slashed department staffing and wiped the federal watchdog agency tasked with overseeing student loan servicing and collections.
Yes, but: A move to completely abolish the Education Department will likely face legal opposition because eliminating a federal department requires an act of Congress.
However, the administration can cut key funding in the meantime.
State of play: If the department is shuttered, duties including managing federal student aid responsibilities, would need to be shifted to another agency.
"The Department of Education is not a bank, and it must return bank functions to an entity equipped to serve America's students," the executive order says.
Although it's not immediately clear which entity would take over, proposals include transferring student loans to agencies like the Treasury, the IRS, or potentially even to the states.
Continue reading at Axios
Gavin Newsom is getting in Republicans’ heads
It’s not the first time California’s governor has sought to forge inroads in redder parts of the country.
Gavin Newsom is not just in Republicans’ ears. He’s getting in their heads.
[…]
David Kochel, the longtime Iowa Republican strategist, said “the operative class is definitely watching him because he’s doing something very different.” When asked if Newsom could give Republicans problems, Steve Bannon, the MAGA flamethrower who appeared recently on Newsom’s show, said simply, “Hell, yes.”
Added Fergus Cullen, former chair of the New Hampshire Republican Party: “A very talented politician.”
Newsom, a likely presidential contender, infuriated progressives by hosting conservatives on his podcast in recent weeks and breaking with his party on trans athletes in women’s sports. But while the left casts him as a shape-shifter, national Republicans see a candidate honing his skill.
Their concern came to a head this week when the conservative commentator Megyn Kelly warned GOP-ers to stop joining the California governor’s show.
“I don’t like to see it, because my own feeling is this guy’s in training for 2028,” Kelly said on her own podcast with the influential Trump ally and Turning Point USA leader Charlie Kirk. “The better he will get, the better he’ll do, the more he’ll understand how to appeal to people who are more right-wing or independently minded but on the right.”
Continue reading at Politico California
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