Things Musk (and Trump) Did... Day 70 | Blog#42
I was battered and bruised, but the king was amused
I was battered and bruised, but the king was amused / and before the siesta, he made me his jester / and I found out soon, that to be a buffoon / was a serious thing as a rule! / For a jester's chief employment, is to kill himself for your enjoyment / and a jester unemployed is nobody's fool!
Yesterday’s post
Things Musk (and Trump) Did... Day 69 | Blog#42
Answer: Why… There were Presidents for life in the very places Trump called shithole countries!
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I publish this daily news post, updated all throughout the day (and night), every day. I publish it free to all because it is more important to me to keep us all informed
Yesterday’s news worth repeating
Yesterday’s news cycle was very heavy
Democrats slam Senate GOP’s plans to write off tax cuts
Republicans want to use an accounting tactic that critics say would entirely upend the Senate’s budget process.
Top Senate Democrats, including Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, slammed Republicans over their plan to use an accounting tactic that would zero out the cost of extending trillions of dollars of tax cuts.
Senate Republicans are trying to “make a second round of Trump Tax giveaways look like it would cost $0, rather than the true $37 trillion over 30 years,” Schumer wrote in the Monday letter to Majority Leader John Thune, which was co-signed by top Finance Committee Democrat Ron Wyden and top Budget Committee Democrat Jeff Merkley, both of Oregon. “This is nothing other than budget fraud.”
The accounting method, known as “current policy baseline,” would appear to entirely cancel the costs of extending $4.6 trillion of President Donald Trump’s expiring tax cuts. The tactic would solve a big political headache for Republicans, since the GOP tax bill is already heaving under the costs of Trump’s campaign proposals.
But the proposal has sparked objections across the political spectrum from fiscal experts who warn that it could further explode future budget deficits. The letter quotes several GOP critics of the plan.
“If you and conference go down this road, you will be destroying the last vestige of fiscal discipline left in the reconciliation process,” the Democrats write to Thune. “No longer would new tax cuts or spending programs ever need to be offset. The lasting consequences to our national debt will be severe.”
Because Congress has never used the accounting method to extend expiring tax cuts before, Senate Republicans want to get a sign off from the chamber’s parliamentarian before proceeding with their budget plans. That ruling could come as soon as Tuesday or Wednesday.
Continue reading at Politico
Senate Dems to launch Social Security war room
Senate Democrats will launch a war room Tuesday dedicated to fighting back against the Department of Government Efficiency's cuts to Social Security, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: The White House is planning service cuts to Social Security that current and former officials warn would break an already strained system.
The war room will serve as a central hub for Senate Democrats to plan messaging, create content, provide oversight, make field visits and host town halls to pummel the GOP on the issue.
The Trump administration is planning to cut some identity verification phone services at the Social Security Administration next month, after postponing the move last week.
Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) and Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) organized the war room, we are told.
The big picture: DOGE continues to slash agencies and programs across the federal government. Social Security is where Democrats are digging in the hardest.
Continue reading at Axios
Democrats sue Trump over his proposed sweeping overhaul of US elections
Party leaders say no president has authority to change how elections are administered.
Democrats are heading to court to challenge President Donald Trump’s executive order seeking to impose federal control over how elections are run throughout the country.
A suit filed Monday in federal court in Washington argues that Trump’s March 25 order titled “Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections,” is an unconstitutional attempt to wrestle authority over elections from the states and set new voting requirements such as proof of citizenship and changes to ballot deadline rules.
Nearly the entire Democratic party’s fund raising and campaign apparatus joined the suit as did Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, challenging what they called a “power grab” in a statement announcing their action.
“It’s anti-American and Democrats are using every tool at our disposal — including taking Trump to court — to stop this illegal overreach that undermines our democracy,” they said.
The legal action is an attempt to head off an effort to drastically change how elections are administered in the U.S. by a president who has falsely claimed he won the 2020 election that he lost to Joe Biden and that voters without legal residency have cast large numbers of ballots.
Continue reading at Politico
Where’s the gold? Germany’s conservatives sound the alarm over reserves in the US
Germany keeps over €100 billion worth of gold reserves in the New York Federal Reserve.
Can the United States be trusted with Germany’s gold?
Its leader is trying to cripple the country’s most important industry. His deputy thinks it’s a pathetic freeloader. The man who has their ear is throwing what look a lot like Nazi salutes and openly interfering in its elections to support a far-right party that its own intelligence service thinks is a threat to the constitution.
No wonder, then, that some politicians in Germany are worried that what was for decades seen as one of the world’s most reliable storehouses might not be so secure after all.
Germany holds the world’s second-largest gold reserves, and keeps 37 percent of them — some 1,236 metric tons, worth €113 billion — in the vaults of the New York Federal Reserve. Those holdings of precious metal guarantee that, should the need ever arise, the Bundesbank has access to something it can change into U.S. dollars (or any other hard currency).
The very idea that they might not be safe would have been considered ridiculous from 1945 ... until a couple of weeks ago. But the certainties of Germany’s postwar existence have been turned on their head and — as the recent scrapping of a notorious cap on public borrowing showed — the unthinkable is suddenly very thinkable indeed. All the more so given evidence of Trump’s willingness to push the limits of his powers and assert presidential primacy over the judicial system.
German tabloid Bild, owned by POLITICO parent company Axel Springer, reported on Thursday that outgoing Christian Democratic Union (CDU) lawmaker Marco Wanderwitz is one of those concerned.
Continue reading at Politico Europe
Trump wants to move student loans to SBA. Republicans aren’t so sure.
Although SBA managed a wealth of Covid relief programs, it normally runs a much smaller operation than student debt.
President Donald Trump has yet to win over his own party with his push to “immediately” transfer the Education Department’s massive student loan operation to another agency slated for deep staff cuts.
Trump was expected to propose moving the agency’s $1.6 trillion portfolio to the Treasury Department — a concept long-discussed on Capitol Hill and suggested in Project 2025, The Heritage Foundation’s conservative policy blueprint. Instead, the president announced this month that the Small Business Administration would get it, surprising many lawmakers and conservatives who track the issue.
Although SBA, which provides financial support to companies for disaster relief, training and other needs, managed a wealth of Covid relief programs, it normally runs a much smaller operation than student debt. It’s also slated to lose 43 percent of its staff.
Continue reading at Politico
Brazil’s Lula to meet Putin and Xi amid global trade war fears
SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will meet with Russia’s Vladimir Putin in Moscow and China’s Xi Jinping in Beijing, two important partners for the South American giant, in May. The announcement Monday came as the world braces for a global trade war following U.S. President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs.
The press office of Brazil’s Presidency told The Associated Press that Lula is expected to attend Russia’s Victory Day celebrations on May 9, marking the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II. The Brazilian leader then planned to travel to Beijing to participate in the China-Community of Latin American and Caribbean States Forum on May 12.
It will be Lula’s first official trip to Moscow and his second to China during his third, nonconsecutive term as president. During his previous administrations (2003-2010), he visited Russia twice and China three times.
[…]
China is Brazil’s top trading partner. In 2024, it accounted for 28% of Brazil’s exports and supplied 24.2% of the country’s imports.
The United States ranked second, providing 12% of Brazil’s imports and purchasing 15.5% of its exports, according to Brazilian government data. In 2024, Brazil recorded a slight trade deficit of $283.8 million with the U.S.
Continue reading at the AP
Today’s news
Democratic News Corner
Cory Booker's epic Senate speech puts Democrats back in the spotlight
Note from Rima: Booker has been speaking on the Senate floor for 24 hours. A record.
So long, Strom: Cory Booker breaks Thurmond’s Senate record with 24-hour speech
The New Jersey Democrat has held the floor since Monday night in protest of President Donald Trump.
Cory Booker wrote himself into the Senate annals Tuesday, setting a new record for the chamber’s longest speech when he held the floor for more than 24 hours and surpassed the late Sen. Strom Thurmond’s 1957 filibuster against civil rights.
The New Jersey Democrat took the floor at 6:59 p.m. on Monday, saying he was doing so with the “intention of disrupting the normal business of the United States Senate for as long as I am physically able” in order to protest the actions of President Donald Trump and his administration.
“Our constituents are asking us to acknowledge that this is a crisis. So I am going to stand here until I no longer can,” Booker said.
As of 7:18 p.m. Tuesday, he surpassed Thurmond’s 1957 speech, which lasted 24 hours and 18 minutes, according to the Senate historian. Booker is still speaking from the Senate floor.
Continue reading at Politico
Democrats use FDA hearing to protest agency job cuts
“Rome is burning and we’re talking about sunscreen,” Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) said.
Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee slammed Republicans for holding a routine hearing on the FDA’s regulation of consumer products amid HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s sweeping layoffs of the agency’s workers and his ousting of its top vaccine regulator.
“Rome is burning and we’re talking about sunscreen,” Health subcommittee ranking member Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) said about the hearing, which focused on the FDA’s regulation of over-the-counter products like antacids, painkillers and cold medicine.
About 10,000 of the agency’s 80,000 workers were laid off late Monday as part of a reduction in force impacting staff across the agency, including at the Food and Drug Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and National Institutes of Health. And late last week, Kennedy, a longtime anti-vaccine activist, and FDA commissioner Marty Makary agreed to push out top FDA vaccine official Peter Marks as they seek to overhaul the agency.
Democrats’ protest of the moves at HHS comes amid broader tensions on the committee over the Trump administration’s swift moves to overhaul the federal government, including the major cuts undertaken by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency initiative and congressional Republicans’ plans to make cuts to Medicaid.
Continue reading at Politico
Democratic Senators Call for Privacy Act Reform in Response to DOGE Takeover
The Privacy Act Modernization Act would update 1974 legislation for the modern age, restricting government use of personal data and introducing new penalties, including prison time, for violators.
In 1974, the United States Congress passed the Privacy Act in response to public concerns over the US government’s runaway efforts to harness Americans’ personal data. Now Democrats in the US Senate are calling to amend the half-century-old law, citing ongoing attempts by billionaire Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to effectively commit the same offense—collusively collect untold quantities of personal data, drawing upon dozens if not hundreds of government systems.
On Monday, Democratic senators Ron Wyden, Ed Markey, Jeff Merkley, and Chris Van Hollen introduced the Privacy Act Modernization Act of 2025—a direct response, the lawmakers say, to the seizure by DOGE of computer systems containing vast tranches of sensitive personal information—moves that have notably coincided with the firings of hundreds of government officials charged with overseeing that data’s protection. “The seizure of millions of Americans’ sensitive information by Trump, Musk and other MAGA goons is plainly illegal,” Wyden tells WIRED, “but current remedies are too slow and need more teeth.”
The passage of the Privacy Act came in the wake of the McCarthy era—one of the darkest periods in American history, marked by unceasing ideological warfare and a government run amok, obsessed with constructing vast record systems to house files on hundreds of thousands of individuals and organizations. Secret dossiers on private citizens were the primary tool for suppressing free speech, assembly, and opinion, fueling decades’ worth of sedition prosecutions, loyalty oaths, and deportation proceedings. Countless writers, artists, teachers, and attorneys saw their livelihoods destroyed, while civil servants were routinely rounded up and purged as part of the roving inquisitions.
The first privacy law aimed at truly reining in the power of the administrative state, the Privacy Act was passed during the dawn of the microprocessor revolution, amid an emergence of high-speed telecommunications networks and “automated personal data systems.” The explosion in advancements coincided with Cassandra-like fears among ordinary Americans about a rise in unchecked government surveillance through the use of “universal identifiers.”
A wave of such controversies, including Watergate and COINTELPRO, had all but annihilated public trust in the government’s handling of personal data. “The Privacy Act was part of our country’s response to the FBI abusing its access to revealing sensitive records on the American people,” says Wyden. “Our bill defends against new threats to Americans’ privacy and the integrity of federal systems, and ensures individuals can go after the government when officials break the law, including quickly stopping their illegal actions with a court order.”
Continue reading at Wired
Chuck Schumer says he’s taking the fight over federal spending to Trump country
HUNTINGTON, N.Y. (AP) — The Senate’s top Democrat is no stranger to political maneuvering. But his latest act — a tightly choreographed blitz through Republican-held districts — signals a sharpened strategy: take the fight over federal spending directly into Trump country, and force Republicans to own the response.
On Monday, Sen. Chuck Schumer visited two nursing homes, one on Staten Island, the other in suburban Long Island, to spotlight what Democrats warn would be catastrophic consequences if Republican-led efforts to slash Medicaid succeed. The choice of backdrop was deliberate, as both facilities sit in congressional districts held by GOP members who have largely aligned with President Donald Trump’s agenda.
“I’m here to localize the budget data,” Schumer said, flanked by nurses and administrators at the Staten Island facility. “We talk about the big budget issues in Washington, but they affect real people. They affect people who need this help, and cutting it would be devastating, and that’s why we’re fighting it tooth and nail.”
What might once have been dismissed as routine constituent outreach has evolved into a full-throated, offensive-minded campaign to reframe Democrats as defenders of core social safety nets — and to force Republicans to answer for the real-world impact of their budget proposals.
Continue reading at the AP
Walz says he told Harris he ‘can be a train wreck’
“I said about 90 percent of the time, I can be really good, but about 10 percent of the time, I can be a train wreck because I’m speaking from the heart, like a teacher sitting in a teachers lounge or a laborer sitting at the break table,” Walz said in an interview with New York Magazine when asked about his time on the trail with former Vice President Harris.
[…]
Walz said he pushed progressive policies but it didn’t expand the realm for educated workers seeking opportunity.
“I heard this from someone who said, with Democratic go-to messages, basically to Black men, these Democratic politicians led with ‘We restored felon voting rights,’ and the Black men said, ‘But we’re not felons, we’re MBAs looking for capital,’” he told New York magazine.
“The restoration of felon voting rights is important — I did that in Minnesota — but it’s not aspirational. With Donald Trump, everything’s gold-plated and he’s hanging around with these stars, and I don’t know if we do enough of that.”
Walz said Democrats have struggled to connect with voters well before last year’s presidential race, adding that Harris had little time to prepare after President Biden dropped out of the presidential race.
Continue reading at The Hill
Schumer and Jeffries appear together for the first time since funding blowup
The two leaders stressed that Democrats are united against the GOP’s forthcoming reconciliation bill.
The top two Democratic congressional leaders stressed unity during their first joint appearance since a government funding fight put them on opposing sides and exposed deep rifts within the party.
“We are standing together in defense of the American people,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told reporters, adding that “House and Senate Democrats are united in defending Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, veterans benefits and nutritional assistance.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer spoke after Jeffries: “We are all on the same page. Donald Trump is taking away things working people vitally need all to do tax cuts for the billionaires.”
The event was the first side-by-side appearance for Jeffries and Schumer since last month’s tussle over whether to advance a GOP-drafted government funding bill or trigger a government shutdown. Jeffries and all but one of his members voted “no” on the bill, while Schumer took a procedural vote to advance the legislation past a Senate filibuster. He ultimately voted against it.
Jeffries initially did not comment on whether he had lost confidence in Schumer, fueling rumors of a rift, then later indicated that he supports Schumer’s continued leadership.
Continue reading at Politico
National Security
Elon Musk visited the CIA to discuss DOGE measures
Elon Musk visited the CIA headquarters on Monday for talks on government efficiency, the spy agency director of public affairs Liz Lyons told Axios.
Why it matters: This is the first time Musk has visited the CIA since the establishment of DOGE, the federal cost-cutting department that is he is the face of.
Unlike other government departments, DOGE isn't going to get unlimited access to CIA databases or internal systems because most of it is top secret, a source familiar with the issue said.
Behind the scenes: Lyons said Musk, senior adviser to President Trump, was hosted by CIA director John Ratcliffe and deputy director Michael Ellis. A group of top CIA career officials also attended the meeting.
During the meeting SpaceX and Tesla CEO Musk briefed Ratcliffe and other CIA officials about key insights from DOGE work so far at other departments and agencies and "the ways in which those lessons could be thoughtfully applied at CIA," Lyons said.
A source familiar with the meeting said the CIA has an internal DOGE team that was formed after Trump's executive order. The team that includes CIA career officials has been working for several weeks.
CIA officials didn't give Musk an intelligence briefing, but discussed with him "how the CIA is unique" in comparison to other government agencies, the source said.
Continue reading at Axios
White House says Signal case is "closed," as investigation calls grow
The Trump administration has taken action to ensure a Signal group chat that inadvertently included The Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg can never happen again, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Monday.
Why it matters: There have been growing calls from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle for an investigation into the Signal scandal, with Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee the latest to call for an independent probe in a letter Monday to Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.
What they're saying: "As the president has made it very clear, Mike Waltz continues to be an important part of his national security team, and this case has been closed here at the White House as far as we are concerned," Leavitt told reporters Monday.
Continue reading at Axios
LIVE: Lt. Gen. Dan Caine’s confirmation hearing for Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Pentagon offering new round of voluntary resignations, retirements
The Defense Department plans to offer a new round of voluntary resignations and early retirements to the civilian workforce, but how it will go about this is unclear.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth signed a new memo that orders the Defense Department’s top personnel official to “immediately” offer retirement to all eligible civilian employees and open a deferred resignation program, DefenseScoop first reported.
In the memo, signed Friday but released to defense officials Monday, Hegseth said that “exemptions should be rare,” as the intent is to “maximize participation” so the Pentagon can minimize the number of firings “that may be required to achieve the strategic objectives.”
The memo does not specify what any retirement or resignation offers would entail or how many of the Pentagon’s 900,000-person civilian workforce will receive them.
Continue reading at The Hill
Report: Waltz used Gmail for official work
National Security Adviser Michael Waltz and other senior officials used their personal Gmail account for government business, The Washington Post reports.
Why it matters: The administration's handling of sensitive information is already under scrutiny, and Gmail is even less secure than Signal.
Waltz used Gmail for things like his calendar and unclassified work documents.
Those materials are not as sensitive as the attack plans at issue in Waltz's now-infamous Signal thread, but experts told the Post they still should be somewhere more secure than personal email.
Another senior national security aide used Gmail for "highly technical conversations with colleagues at other government agencies involving sensitive military positions and powerful weapons systems relating to an ongoing conflict," the Post reports.
What they're saying: NSC spokesperson Brian Hughes said in a statement to Axios: "This is the latest attempt to distract the American people from President Trump's successful national security agenda that's protecting our nation.
Continue reading at Axios
Former acting AG Whitaker confirmed as US envoy to NATO
His selection had surprised U.S. allies because the lawyer had no significant foreign policy experience.
The Senate confirmed former acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker, a national security newcomer, to serve as U.S. ambassador to NATO amid uncertainty about President Donald Trump’s commitment to the alliance.
Whitaker’s nomination was confirmed by the Senate in a 52-45 vote Tuesday.
His selection had come as a surprise to U.S. allies in November, as the one-time acting attorney general was an unknown in the national security arena and had no significant foreign policy experience.
Whitaker is expected to push Trump’s campaign to pressure NATO members into increasing military spending. The president has insisted that alliance members meet a commitment of spending at least two percent of GDP on defense.
Trump has also cast doubt on the U.S. commitment to NATO’s core principle of mutual security — that an attack on one member should be seen as an attack on the whole alliance. Trump last month said that he might reconsider U.S. participation in the pact, saying “if they don’t pay, I’m not going to defend them.”
Continue reading at Politico
Economics
Japan’s Ishiba says he will push for US auto tariffs exemption
TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Tuesday his government is making last ditch efforts to get U.S. President Donald Trump to exclude his country from an increase in auto tariffs due to take effect from Wednesday.
Ishiba told reporters he is willing to fly to Washington to negotiate directly with Trump. The U.S. will begin collecting 25% tariffs on auto imports on Thursday, with taxes on fully-imported cars kicking in at midnight, U.S. time. The tariffs are set to expand to applicable auto parts in weeks to come.
So far, Japan has not managed to win exemptions from the tariffs hitlist despite its status as the biggest U.S. ally in Asia. Japan has stepped up cooperation with other countries that also are being affected. Japanese Trade Ninister Yoji Muto flew to Seoul to meet with his counterparts from South Korea and China and agreed to promote a free and fair trade and investment, saying Trump’s trade policies are fueling protectionism.
Continue reading at the AP
A Senate vote to reverse Trump’s tariffs on Canada is testing Republican support
WASHINGTON (AP) — With President Donald Trump’s so-called “Liberation Day” of tariff implementation fast approaching, Senate Democrats are putting Republican support for some of those plans to the test by forcing a vote to nullify the emergency declaration that underpins the tariffs on Canada.
Republicans have watched with some unease as the president’s attempts to remake global trade have sent the stock market downward, but they have so far stood by Trump’s on-again-off-again threats to levy taxes on imported goods.
Even as the resolution from Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia offered them a potential off-ramp to the tariffs levied on Canadian imports, Republican leaders were trying to keep senators in line by focusing on fentanyl that comes into the U.S. over its northern border. It was yet another example of how Trump is not only reorienting global economics, but upending his party’s longtime support for ideas like free trade.
Continue reading at the AP
Trump fears sank stocks in the first quarter
Chart: Performance of major stock indices in Q1 2025
Tariff uncertainty and recession fears just drove U.S. stocks to one of their worst quarters in years.
Why it matters: A sharp decline in stocks used to be enough to get President Trump to change his policy positions — but these are different times.
By the numbers: The S&P 500 ended the first quarter down 4.6%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped 10.4% and the broad Russell 3000 fell 5%.
It was the worst performance since mid-2022 for all three.
Continue reading at Axios
Senate parliamentarian could make or break Trump agenda
Senate Republicans are facing crunch time on a long-overdue budget resolution, which has divided their conference over the possibility of cutting Medicaid and adding language to increase the debt ceiling by as much as $5 trillion.
Whether they move on the bill this week could depend largely on a key ruling from Senate parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) has told colleagues that he wanted to get the budget to the floor this week, but that timeline is already slipping as GOP senators have yet to coalesce around the proposal, and it has yet to get the green light from the powerful parliamentarian.
Thune told reporters Monday that he’s not yet sure whether the budget will be ready to go this week, noting that the discussions with the parliamentarian are “ongoing” and he wants to make sure nearly his entire conference is “comfortable” with the plan.
“We want to get to it as quickly as we can, and I’m hoping that enables us to move on it this week,” Thune said.
Continue reading at The Hill
Trump federal worker firings threatens to destabilize DC economy
President Trump’s widespread firing of federal workers threatens to destabilize a Washington economy closely intertwined with the fate of government employees.
More than 80 percent of the nation’s federal employees are located outside Washington, but the concentration of workers in the capital means President Trump and Elon Musk’s plans are sure to have an outsize impact locally.
The D.C. government dropped its projection for how much the government will take in annually over the next five years, lowering its estimate by roughly $342 million because of a forecast for “sharp declines” in the federal workforce.
Internal data from Bank of America shows credit card spending in Washington has dipped since February, something the bank concluded was “likely due to the impact of DOGE cuts.”
Unemployment filings also jumped for D.C., Maryland and Virginia across both February and March.
Continue reading at The Hill
Axios Markets newsletter
🤡 It may be April Fools' Day, but rest assured, we're not joking around here. (Maybe some puns, but the news is all real.)
📉 We're back on tariff watch, and Americans really don't like what they're seeing. Plus, stocks have a lousy quarter, and what's at stake in DOGE's push for privatization.
👀 Situational awareness: The White House is now looking at leveraging the debt ceiling "X date" this summer to force a budget reconciliation bill through Congress. "Gun to the head, the whole agenda, and the country's credit rating and global depression all rolled into one," an official says. Go deeper.
All in 840 words, a 3-minute read.
1 big thing: Americans dislike tariffs
Chart: Share of Americans who say they approve of how Trump is handling select issues
Sometime tomorrow, the Trump administration is supposed to announce a raft of new tariffs, part of "Liberation Day."
Why it matters: Americans don't seem to be into this tariff stuff. The Trump administration's trade policies are pretty unpopular, per a new poll released yesterday by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
By the numbers: While nearly half of respondents to the survey said they approved of the administration's efforts on immigration, only 38% support Trump's trade negotiations with other countries.
Context: A separate survey from CBS News found 72% of Americans believe tariffs will raise prices in the short term, and 47% said prices would be up for the long term.
The big picture: Americans could really feel these new levies.
If the White House goes through with a reported policy option of 20% broad-based tariffs, it'll cost the average household between $3,400 to $4,200 in lost purchasing power, per an estimate out yesterday from the Yale Budget Lab.
The higher estimate takes into account the likelihood that other countries retaliate. Lower-income households will disproportionally bear the brunt, with their income dropping nearly three times as much as those at the top, per the analysis.
Between the lines: President Trump was voted into office on the belief that he would be a better steward of the economy than his predecessor. Immigration and the economy were priorities for voters who supported Trump.
2. Stonks stank in the first quarter
Tariff uncertainty, combined with recession fears, just drove U.S. stocks to one of their worst quarters in years.
Why it matters: A sharp decline in stocks was once enough to get Trump to change his policy positions, but these are different times.
By the numbers: The S&P 500 ended the first quarter down 4.6%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped 10.4% and the broad Russell 3000 fell 5%.
It was the worst performance since 2022 for all three.
The intrigue: U.S. stocks badly underperformed the world to start the year.
The MSCI World ex USA Index, which tracks all large developed markets other than the U.S., rose 5.5% in the quarter.
3. Worries over DOGE privatization push
It's not just tariffs changing the way America works. Elon Musk also wants to take the federal government private, part of the DOGE-led effort to shrink the bureaucracy.
Why it matters: Pushing more of the federal government's work into the private sector could lead to greater efficiency, but the downsides could cost taxpayers in other ways.
Because the priorities are different — public interest for the government and profits for businesses — privatization can mean everyday services run differently than people are accustomed to. But it can also mean they cost more and don't work as well.
Zoom out: "We should privatize anything that can reasonably be privatized," Musk said at a recent tech conference.
Privatization doesn't have to mean completely moving something into private sector hands. It can also mean more work is contracted out.
Musk himself benefits from this kind of semi-privatization, like NASA's increasing reliance on SpaceX, says Michael Strain, an economist at the conservative American Enterprise Institute.
Where it stands: So far three entities — long targeted by conservatives — are in the administration's sights: Amtrak, the Postal Service and mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, says Joe Brusuelas, chief economist at RSM.
Inside Congress
GOP senators vs. Trump on tariffs
IN TODAY’S EDITION:
— GOP senators plot Trump tariff rebuke
— Budget concerns heating up
— Joint Chiefs pick hits the hot seat
GOP senators could deliver a stinging rebuke of Donald Trump today, with several indicating they plan to join Democrats in opposing the president’s plan to hike tariffs on Canada.
Republican Sens. Susan Collins and Thom Tillis signaled Monday they intend to back Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine’s resolution that would block Trump’s 25 percent across-the-board tariffs on the nation’s northern neighbor and leading trade partner. The resolution would terminate the national emergency Trump declared last month over fentanyl trafficking and illegal immigration to justify the tariffs.
They’ll join GOP Sen. Rand Paul, a cosponsor of Kaine’s resolution and a strong opponent of tariffs. Sen. Chuck Grassley — one of many farm-state Republicans who has raised particular concerns about the Canadian tariffs — said Monday he hadn’t decided whether to oppose the president.
Collins is worried about potential disruptions to key economic drivers in her home state of Maine, whose economy is closely integrated with Canada’s — for instance: lobstering, pulp and paper, potatoes and blueberries.
“Imposing tariffs on Canada, which is our closest neighbor, [a] friendly ally, is a huge mistake and will cause disruption in the economies of both countries,” said Collins, pointing to the Canadian flag pin she was wearing on her lapel alongside one of the American flag.
Four Republicans would need to join all 47 Senate Democrats in backing Kaine’s resolution for it to win approval, and it’s still unclear if supporters will hit that number. If they do, it would be the GOP Congress’s biggest break with Trump since he took office in January — and it would serve as a warning shot as his economic policies roil markets and threaten core industries across the country.
Still, the resolution has no teeth — it is ultimately a political statement. Any show of opposition in the Senate is likely to die in the House, where Speaker Mike Johnson has already moved to block the ability of tariff critics to force a floor vote on ending the types of national emergencies Trump is leaning on to levy his tariffs.
Continue reading at Politico Inside Congress newsletter
Britain does not deny concessions on agriculture in UK-US talks
Food standards remain a red line in negotiations, but U.K. officials refuse to rule out concessions on lowering tariffs for some U.S. meat imports.
LONDON — British officials have not denied that a potential trade deal with the United States would include concessions on agriculture.
The U.S. administration is planning to unveil so-called reciprocal tariffs on trading partners on Wednesday, dubbed “Liberation Day” by U.S. President Donald Trump.
According to The Times, an economic deal with the U.S. is “on the table and ready to sign,” and would include the lowering of tariffs on imports of U.S. beef, chicken and other meat.
Two U.K. officials refused to rule that out when approached by POLITICO on Tuesday. But hopes have faded the U.K. will be able to secure carve-outs before the tariffs take effect.
While food standards remain a red line in negotiations, which are expected to continue beyond Wednesday, giving U.S. producers greater access to the U.K. market would put Britain’s farmers — already infuriated by tax changes — under further pressure.
In an interview with Times Radio on Tuesday morning, U.K. Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said food standards were a “red line” for the U.K., suggesting Britain would not accept hormone-treated beef and chlorine-washed chicken, a major sticking point in previous negotiations.
Continue reading at Politico Europe
EU vows it's ready to retaliate as Trump trade war looms
The European Union is ready to take "firm counter-measures" to respond to U.S. reciprocal tariffs, the president of the European Commission said Tuesday.
Why it matters: The world is on the brink of a historic trade war, one that threatens to spark a bout of stagflation with profound consequences for global economies.
What they're saying: "We have everything we need to protect our people and our prosperity," Ursula von der Leyen told the European Parliament. "We have the strength to negotiate, we have the power to push back."
"Of course, there are severe issues in the world of trade, without any question," she acknowledged, listing problems like market access and theft of intellectual property.
But she called for a collaborative solution to the problem.
"Tariffs are taxes that will be paid by the people. Tariffs are taxes for the Americans on their groceries and their medication. Tariffs will just fuel inflation, exactly the opposite of what we wanted to achieve."
What to watch: Wednesday is President Trump's much-touted "Liberation Day," when he is expected to announce sweeping tariffs that could potentially impact most U.S. imports.
Continue reading at Axios
Big Tech hopes for Trump defense against EU fines
Some American tech giants bracing for expected European fines are hoping President Trump defends them, even as he hammers them at home.
The big picture: The White House is likely to view aggressive fines and remedies as overreaching European policy that discriminates against American innovation, but it's not yet clear how the administration will act in response.
Driving the news: Europe is gearing up to fine Meta for alleged violations of the Digital Markets Act (DMA), the bloc's competition law for digital firms, per reports from the New York Post and the Financial Times.
The punishments for not adhering to the DMA will likely include huge fees along with compliance measures that would change how U.S. social media companies operate in Europe.
The DMA is meant to keep Big Tech "gatekeepers" as designated by the EU from unfairly boxing out smaller tech companies.
Europe first accused Meta of violating the DMA last summer. Google and Apple were accused of violating the DMA earlier this month.
Flashback: Under the Biden administration, there was a lot more cooperation between the EU and the U.S. on tech issues.
Continue reading at Axios
Trump, trade and tariffs redefine Canada’s election
All Canadians want to know right now is who has the best shot of handling threats from Washington
OTTAWA — Donald Trump has defined the terms of Canada’s federal election and the next test will be how the candidates hoping to be Canada’s next prime minister respond to the president’s “Liberation Day” tariffs.
A snap election in the middle of a trade war is underway. On Wednesday, Trump is expected to introduce 25 percent tariffs on automobiles, as well as so-called reciprocal tariffs.
The threat to Canada makes the 2025 election the most consequential, single-issue, foreign-facing Canadian ballot since the 1988 campaign over the country’s decision to sign a free trade deal with the United States.
Mark Carney, who replaced former Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on March 14, has already overcome a massive hurdle: He achieved a peaceful first contact with the president without being abused or ridiculed. Meanwhile, since Trump’s return to the White House, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has been bedeviled by lingering associations between his right-wing base and MAGA loyalists.
Carney and Trump held their first phone call last Friday, amid warnings the new leader should avoid an in-person White House visit to remove the risk of a devastating photo-op akin to what Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy endured in February.
“I don’t think it’s in anybody’s interest in Canada to get Zelenskyy-ed,” Flavio Volpe, president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association of Canada told POLITICO.
Continue reading at Politico
1 big thing: The ghosts of trade wars past
History, they say, may not repeat but it rhymes. America's periods of high tariffs dating back to the 1800s carry eerie similarities to today's trade war escalation.
Why it matters: The history of post-tariff higher prices and weaker economic conditions offers some perspective for what might happen in the months and years ahead.
Tariffs have historically resulted in retaliation, pain for agricultural interests, higher consumer costs, political backlash and currency chaos, according to a new briefing by a trade group that represents companies responsible for nearly all of U.S. footwear sales.
What they're saying: "Regardless of the era, the consequences of high tariffs and retaliations remain largely the same," Andy Polk, senior vice president of the Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America, tells Axios.
"You could swap the names of the main actors and their quotes, justifications, and politics would remain basically the same."
"Almost like a blind taste test, if you lay out the quotes, it would be hard to guess which person said what and when," adds Polk, who says he's a descendant of President Polk — who lowered tariffs in the mid-1800s.
Flashback: The 1890 McKinley Tariff imposed levies of roughly 50% on almost all imports, a policy aimed at protecting domestic industry from foreign industry.
Several nations, including Canada, retaliated with tariffs on agricultural goods. The briefing cites a go-to expert on trade history, Douglas Irwin, whose book notes that Canada created stronger trade ties with Britain.
Many economists had expected Canada would be so economically damaged that it would join the United States — a parallel to Trump's "51st state" rhetoric.
The Smoot-Hawley Tariff, which raised the average tariff to almost 60%, resulted in higher sugar prices for the American public, to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars, while tariffs on imported eggs soared, the briefing notes.
The Trump 1.0 trade war in 2018 resulted in higher prices from a slew of consumer goods, including washing machines, clothing and furniture.
2. Solid job market present, future warning
Hiring held up in the first full month of the Trump administration and layoffs remained low. But employers pulled back on the number of posted job openings, which could be an early sign of cracks in the labor market.
Driving the news: That is the takeaway from the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) for February, offering a more granular understanding of what was happening with employment trends than the much-watched monthly jobs report.
It showed that the largely stable labor market of the last six months remained stable in the early weeks of the new administration, despite some softening in business and consumer confidence surveys.
By the numbers: Hiring was essentially flat in February, rising by 25,000, and the rate remaining stable at 3.4%. The rates at which people voluntarily quit their jobs or were fired were also unchanged.
However, employers cut back the number of posted job openings by 194,000, sending the rate of job openings to 4.5% from 4.7% in January.
The drop in openings was particularly pronounced in wholesale and retail trade, and in arts, entertainment, and recreation.
Between the lines: The new data lines up nicely with other economic and survey data lately, which shows economic conditions holding up fine for the moment. But forward-looking indicators point to a newfound sense of caution among employers.
Continue reading at Axios Macro newsletter
Factory activity slumps as manufacturers brace for Trump tariffs
U.S. manufacturers are sounding worried about the Trump administration’s trade policies ahead of a hotly anticipated announcement on tariffs that’s expected from the White House on Wednesday.
Makers of chemical products, electronics, metals, machinery, foods and transportation equipment all expressed concerns about tariffs in Tuesday’s manufacturing purchasing managers index from ISM, a monthly business survey.
The survey showed manufacturing activity contracting in March, continuing a 26-month downward trend after expansions in January and February.
“Customers are pulling in orders due to anxiety about continued tariffs and pricing pressures,” one survey respondent in the computer and electronics sector said.
“[We are] starting to see slower-than-normal sales in Canada, and concerns of Canadians boycotting U.S. products could become a reality,” another respondent in the food and beverage sector said.
Continue reading at The Hill
Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs will go into effect immediately, White House says
New York (CNN) — President Donald Trump’s promised tariffs are a day away – and they’ll go into effect sooner than some had expected. As in, immediately, the White House said Tuesday.
Continue reading at CNN.com
Trump’s tariff announcement may be the beginning of Wall Street’s woes
Recession risks are climbing, with big banks downgrading their expectations for future economic growth and warning that inflation will accelerate.
Wall Street has been paralyzed by trade policy uncertainty. That’s only a prologue for what’s in store after President Donald Trump announces global tariffs at a Rose Garden ceremony Wednesday that he has dubbed “Liberation Day.”
“We’re still in the early innings of the story,” said Ron Temple, the chief market strategist for Lazard’s financial advisory and asset management business. “I don’t believe most investors and, frankly, most Americans fully appreciate how these tariffs are going to translate to higher inflation, lower growth and lower corporate profits.”
The stakes are enormous. The White House has framed the announcement as a marquee event that will clarify how Trump’s tariff plans will spur domestic manufacturing and wages. But if the president fails to make a convincing case, it could further shake consumers and businesses and ratchet up the likelihood of an economic slump, jeopardizing his goal to revive Rust Belt communities and redefine global trade.
Recession risks are climbing. Big banks are downgrading their expectations for future economic growth and warning that inflation will accelerate as businesses digest the effects of the tariffs — including the inevitable waves of retaliation from U.S. trading partners. Whatever reassurances Trump can provide probably won’t resolve lingering questions about how future tariffs might hit key sectors of the economy or how companies should navigate a global trade war.
“The headlines will probably be pretty clear. I’m not sure the details will be,” said Richard Bernstein, a former top investment strategist at Merrill Lynch who now leads his own $16 billion investment firm. For CEOs, “it’s the clarity and the details that matter.”
Continue reading at Politico
Scoop: White House promises to show its work on 3% GDP growth
In a closed-door meeting on Monday night, President Trump's top economic advisers promised GOP senators they would show their work on how they plan to deliver 3% GDP growth to help lower the cost of the "one big, beautiful bill."
Why it matters: The promise of a booming economy, even if it includes some shock therapy, is central to Trump's overall theory on how businesses and individuals can receive tax cuts while deficits simultaneously can be reduced.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett told Senate Finance Republicans last night they would share their plans later this week.
"They were just very optimistic about how much growth we're going to have moving forward, and how popular this plan is and how important it is for our economic health," a senator familiar with the discussions told us.
Some senators are willing to be persuaded that Trump can cut taxes and juice the economy like he did in his first term, but he has some work to do.
Zoom in: Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) is dealing with three GOP factions that are colliding over the Trump budget bill.
Debt hawks: Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.) expressed their concerns about the overall amount of deficit spending. Johnson wants to return to pre-pandemic spending, and Cassidy has been publicly saying that if a current policy baseline is used, Congress must pay for it. (Thune embraced a current policy approach today.)
Free traders want to know if the administration's rosy economic assumptions would include the expected impact of Trump's tariffs, which he's expected to announce tomorrow.
Continue reading at Axios
Health and Science News
The health industry is starting to express alarm about RFK Jr.
Drug and medical device makers didn’t oppose Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s confirmation as health secretary but are speaking up in opposition to the agency downsizing he ordered.
Drugmakers made a calculated risk during HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s confirmation process in choosing not to publicly criticize a nominee who called their products dangerous.
They’re starting to reconsider.
After the firing of thousands of Department of Health and Human Services employees on Tuesday, industry trade groups that have mostly sought to curry favor with the new administration began to express alarm.
“While we support improving FDA efficiency to deliver more affordable generic and biosimilar medicines to patients faster, many of the reported cuts appear to do the opposite,” said John Murphy, CEO of the Association for Accessible Medicines, which represents generic drugmakers.
The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the powerful lobbying arm of the brand-name drug industry, also questioned the wisdom of the large cuts at the agency.
“We recognize the need to find efficiencies, but it’s critical the FDA has the expertise and capacity it needs to maintain its gold standard regulatory review,” PhRMA spokesperson Alex Schriver said. “The rapid and substantial changes at FDA this week raise questions about the agency’s ability to fulfill its mission to bring new innovative medicines to patients.”
Continue reading at Politico
NIH director pledges to implement changes "humanely"
Newly confirmed National Institutes of Health director Jay Bhattacharya told staff that they face challenges amid large-scale cutbacks and that he will try his best to "implement new policies humanely," according to an all-staff email sent this morning and shared with Axios by the agency.
Why it matters: The message comes days after HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced a sweeping reorganization of the federal health bureaucracy, which includes laying off roughly 1,200 NIH employees.
Layoff notices started going out to HHS employees this week.
Bhattacharya, a Stanford health economist who just began his first full week as NIH director, acknowledged in his email that the agency will be under close watch by his superiors in the Trump administration.
"I recognize that I am joining NIH at a time of tremendous change. Every inch of the federal government is under scrutiny — and NIH is not exempt," Bhattacharya wrote.
"Many of our valued colleagues are losing their jobs, which is in no way a reflection of the quality of their work. I want to express my deepest gratitude to those who will be affected for all you have contributed to the mission of the NIH," he added.
Continue reading at Axios
RFK Jr. sends ‘worrisome signal’ with vaccine chief’s ouster
Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. won’t acknowledge the scientific consensus that childhood vaccines do not cause autism.
That skepticism over seemingly settled science appeared to come to a head over the weekend when the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) top vaccine official was forced out and issued a fiery public letter blasting Kennedy.
“It has become clear that truth and transparency are not desired by the secretary, but rather he wishes subservient confirmation of his misinformation and lies,” wrote Peter Marks in his resignation letter.
“Efforts currently being advanced by some on the adverse health effects of vaccination are concerning,” Marks continued. “Undermining confidence in well-established vaccines … is irresponsible, detrimental to public health, and a clear danger to our nation’s health, safety, and security.”
Marks has been criticized for being too friendly with companies seeking approvals for novel gene therapies, while Kennedy has railed against what he sees as an overly cozy relationship between regulators and industry.
Continue reading at The Hill
Planned Parenthood faces key Supreme Court test over Medicaid access
The Supreme Court on Wednesday is due to hear a high-profile case blending patients' rights with reproductive care access, stemming from South Carolina's move to block Medicaid recipients from getting care at Planned Parenthood clinics in the state.
Why it matters: At issue is whether Medicaid patients can freely choose their provider for any service — not just reproductive care. But the case has major implications for Planned Parenthood, which derives a significant chunk of its funding from the safety net program and is the biggest provider of abortion services in the country.
It's the first abortion-adjacent case since President Trump's second-term inauguration, and his administration will play a prominent role, arguing along with South Carolina for the state's position.
The case is being heard by the Supreme Court amid other efforts to defund Planned Parenthood, including freezing Title X family planning funds.
What they're saying: The case is "a political lightning rod, because it's Planned Parenthood," said Elizabeth Taylor, executive director of the National Health Law Program, which has written a brief in support of Planned Parenthood in the case.
Continue reading at Axios
Democratic senators call for investigation into assisted living facilities in Medicaid
Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.), Kirsten Gillibrand (N.Y.) and Ron Wyden (Ore.) wrote to the GAO, asking that the office provide an update to a 2018 report in which it found that federal oversight of the health and welfare of Medicaid beneficiaries in assisted facilities was lacking and allowing for abuse and neglect to go unnoticed.
The 2018 report found that more than half of state Medicaid agencies could not tell the GAO the number of critical incidents in assisted living facilities or the nature of these incidents. While some incidents — such as physical, emotional or sexual abuse — were identified in all states, some states did not identify incidents indicative of possible abuse, such as medication errors or unexplained deaths.
As the senators noted in their request, continued reporting in the following years found that violations at assisted living facilities were often not penalized.
“A new GAO report could provide legislators and the American public with a stronger understanding of why assisted living facilities were so rarely held accountable for neglecting the safety of their residents, and could pave the way for future rules, regulations, or laws that more effectively keep assisted living residents safe,” they wrote.
Continue reading at The Hill
Staff cuts at federal health agencies have begun
(CNN) — Some employees at US health agencies have started receiving notice that their jobs are being cut.
“This [reduction in force] action does not reflect directly on your service, performance or conduct,” according to one email to a US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention staff member that was obtained by CNN. The email, sent by Thomas J. Nagy Jr., deputy assistant secretary for human resources at HHS, said the person would be placed on administrative leave and would no longer have access to building as of Tuesday.
It was not immediately clear how many employees had received notice Tuesday morning. CNN has reached out the HHS for comment
Continue reading at CNN.com
Layoffs begin at US health agencies charged with tracking disease, researching and regulating food
The layoffs are expected to shrink HHS to 62,000 positions, lopping off nearly a quarter of its staff — 10,000 jobs through layoffs and another 10,000 workers who took early retirement and voluntary separation offers.
[…]
The department on Thursday provided a breakdown of some of the cuts.
__ 3,500 jobs at the Food and Drug Administration, which inspects and sets safety standards for medications, medical devices and foods.
__ 2,400 jobs at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which monitors for infectious disease outbreaks and works with public health agencies nationwide.
__ 1,200 jobs at the National Institutes of Health, the world’s leading health and medical research institution.
__ 300 jobs at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which oversees the Affordable Care Act marketplace, Medicare and Medicaid.
Continue reading at the AP
New drug cuts down genetically inherited heart disease risk factor
New drug shows success lowering genetically inherited heart disease risk
Nearly a quarter of the world's population has elevated risk, doctor says
Elevated lipoprotein levels bring the risk of heart attacks and strokes
An experimental drug has shown success in lowering the risk of genetically inherited heart disease by 94 percent during the second phase of its trial.
Lepodisiran, an experimental drug from the pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly, is a small interfering RNA (siRNA) therapy designed to lower the production of lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)], a genetically inherited risk factor for heart disease, according to a press release Sunday.
“Nearly a quarter of the world’s population has elevated levels of Lp(a), putting them at a significantly higher risk of cardiovascular events such as heart attacks and strokes,” said Steven Nissen, chief academic officer of the Heart, Vascular & Thoracic Institute at the Cleveland Clinic.
Continue reading at The Hill
FDA’s top tobacco official is removed from post in latest blow to health agency’s leadership
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration’s chief tobacco regulator has been removed from his post amid sweeping cuts at the agency and across the federal health workforce handed down Tuesday, according to people familiar with the matter.
In an email to staff, FDA tobacco director Brian King said: “It is with a heavy heart and profound disappointment that I share I have been placed on administrative leave.”
King was removed from his position and offered reassignment to the Indian Health Service, according to a person familiar with the matter who did not have permission to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Dozens of staffers in FDA’s tobacco center also received notices of dismissal Tuesday morning, including the entire office responsible for enforcing tobacco regulations.
King, who joined the agency in 2022, has been vigorously criticized by vaping lobbyists for ordering thousands of companies to remove their fruit and candy-flavored e-cigarettes from the market. During his time at FDA, teen vaping has fallen to a 10-year low.
Continue reading at the AP
Live updates: Mass layoffs begin at HHS
Kennedy lays off thousands across the health bureaucracy
Overnight notices hit civil service leaders as well as the rank and file.
“I woke up at 5 a.m., heard my friends got the email so I went to the building to clear out my personal stuff before they shut down my building access,” said one laid off CDC employee. “I grabbed my diplomas off the wall and my favorite plants … just so demoralizing.”
Among those cut at the FDA was Peter Stein, director of the Office of New Drugs. The policy office inside of OND was also eliminated.
Another top FDA regulator, Brian King, the director of the agency’s Center for Tobacco Products, was placed on administrative leave, according to an email sent to his staff and obtained by POLITICO. He’s sought to curtail youth use of e-cigarettes.
“I encourage you to hold your heads high and never compromise the guiding tenets that CTP has held dear since its inception,” King wrote in the email to his staff. “We obeyed the law. We followed the science. We told the truth.”
Nearly every press officer at the FDA was let go, one agency employee said. The more-than-a-dozen workers affected fielded media inquiries related to the agency’s vast regulatory portfolio.
Also axed was the FDA’s Office of Strategic Programs, including its director, Sridhar Mantha. He co-chaired the AI Council at the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. The council helped develop policy around AI’s use in drug development and assisted the FDA in using AI internally.
Continue reading at Politico
Supreme Court weighs whether states can cut off Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood
WASHINGTON (AP) — There are just two Planned Parenthood clinics in South Carolina, but every year they take hundreds of low-income patients who need things like contraception, cancer screenings and pregnancy testing.
The organization has long been at the center of the debate over abortion, but its clinics across the U.S. also provide a range of other services. In South Carolina, Medicaid patients often seek out Planned Parenthood because they often have difficulty finding a doctor who accepts the publicly funded insurance.
A case coming before the Supreme Court from South Carolina on Wednesday could upend that option. That’s because the state’s Republican governor, Henry McMaster, is pushing to block any public health care dollars from going to Planned Parenthood.
Federal law already prohibits Medicaid money from going to pay for abortions, with very limited exceptions, and South Carolina now bans almost all abortions around six weeks after conception.
Continue reading at the AP
More than 5M could lose Medicaid coverage if feds impose work requirements
Congressional Republicans hope those rules would save more than $109 billion over a decade.
Under an emerging Republican plan to require some Medicaid recipients to work, between 4.6 million and 5.2 million adults ages 19 to 55 could lose their health care coverage, according to a new analysis.
The study, conducted by Urban Institute researchers with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, calculated that up to 39% of the 13.3 million adults in that age group who became eligible for Medicaid when their states expanded the program under the Affordable Care Act would lose coverage if Congress required states to impose work rules.
The report suggests that most of those people would lose coverage not because they aren’t complying with the rules, but because they would struggle to report their compliance to the state.
“Most adults who would lose eligibility for federal Medicaid funding are working, engaged in work-related activities, or could qualify for exemptions not readily identifiable through state databases but could still face disenrollment because of the reporting requirements,” it states. The study identified several barriers to reporting, including lack of broadband access and lack of transportation.
Forty states plus the District of Columbia have expanded Medicaid under the ACA. Overall, nearly 72 million people, about a fifth of Americans, are enrolled in the program for low-income people, which is funded jointly by the federal government and the states.
Continue reading at Stateline (a Pew Research Foundation publication)
23 states, DC sue Trump administration over billions in lost public health funding
Democratic attorneys general and governors in 23 states and Washington, DC, have filed a lawsuit against the US Department of Health and Human Services and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., alleging that the department’s sudden rollback of $12 billion in public health funding was unlawful and harmful.
In the lawsuit, filed Tuesday, the states are seeking a temporary restraining order and injunctive relief to immediately halt the administration’s funding cuts that they say will lead to key public health services being discontinued and thousands of health-care workers losing their jobs.
Last week, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention pulled back about $11.4 billion in funding allocated to state and community health departments during the Covid-19 pandemic response. The CDC expects to start recovering this money in about 30 days, according to HHS. An additional $1 billion from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration was terminated, according to the attorneys general.
HHS said Tuesday it does not comment on ongoing litigation.
“The COVID-19 pandemic is over, and HHS will no longer waste billions of taxpayer dollars responding to a non-existent pandemic that Americans moved on from years ago. HHS is prioritizing funding projects that will deliver on President Trump’s mandate to address our chronic disease epidemic and Make America Healthy Again,” the agency said in a statement last week.
The coalition of states argues that even though these eliminated funds were allocated during the Covid-19 pandemic, they were never intended only for Covid-19 response. Rather, much of the funding was allocated to support the public health system in the long term, as well as for pandemic preparedness and certain behavioral health services, including addiction treatment and suicide prevention.
Continue reading at CNN.com
States scramble to address ‘catastrophic’ halt to federal pandemic education aid
“These funds have been spent or committed with every expectation of reimbursement,” Maryland schools chief Carey Wright said.
State education superintendents and elected officials scrambled on Monday to assess how schools across the country will absorb the Trump administration’s move to halt payouts on billions of dollars in federal pandemic aid, while warning that construction and tutoring programs could stop without a resolution.
New Jersey Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy said his state was facing a “devastating federal funding cut from the Trump Administration” of $85 million — an assertion that prompted rebuke from the federal Education Department.
Michigan officials said their schools stood to lose approximately $40 million already committed to projects including heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems. And Maryland authorities declared the state could lose hundreds of millions of dollars that help pay for programs including literacy, tutoring, infrastructure and summer school initiatives.
“Shock does not begin to describe our reaction when we received the notification,” of Friday’s decision from the Education Department, Maryland schools chief Carey Wright told reporters.
“The USDE’s decision is catastrophic,” Wright said of the federal agency. “These funds have been spent or committed with every expectation of reimbursement.”
Schools were required to finalize plans to use the last of nearly $130 billion in federal Covid-19 relief aid by September 2024 and liquidate the money by January, unless they won a reprieve from the Biden administration.
Those “liquidation extension” requests could have allowed schools to spend the federal money on previously approved, ongoing projects through early next year.
Continue reading at Politico
Anti-DEI-Whitewashing Movement
FCC chair threatens ABC’s broadcast license over Disney DEI practices
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chair Brendan Carr suggested in an interview Monday that ABC’s broadcast license could be at risk as the federal regulatory agency probes Disney, ABC’s parent company, over its alleged efforts to promote diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) through its hiring practices.
“If the evidence does in fact play out and shows that they were engaged in race- and gender-based discrimination, that’s a very serious issue at the FCC, that could fundamentally go to their character qualifications to even hold a license,” Carr said in an interview with Fox News’s Jacqui Heinrich on Monday.
“But we’re going to follow the facts wherever they go,” he added.
Continue reading at The Hill
General News
Amber Ruffin on being dropped from Correspondents’ dinner: ‘When people take away your rights … you’re supposed to call it out’
Amber Ruffin is speaking out publicly for the first time since being dropped as this year’s White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) dinner’s entertainer, mocking the media and saying she would have been “terrifically mean” in her remarks.
The 46-year-old “Have I Got News for You” personality made an appearance on “Late Night” on Monday, just days after the WHCA announced in an email to its members that its annual dinner would no longer be “featuring a comedic performance this year.”
Ruffin was poised to headline the buzzy black-tie gala — which President Trump declined to attend throughout his first term in office — on April 26 in Washington.
“At this consequential moment for journalism, I want to ensure the focus is not on the politics of division but entirely on awarding our colleagues for their outstanding work and providing scholarship and mentorship to the next generation of journalists,” WHCA President Eugene Daniels said.
“I’m a big fan of Amber Ruffin and I would’ve loved to hear what she had to say,” said “Late Night” host Seth Meyers, before the comic appeared on the NBC show, where she works as a writer.
Ruffin skewered the decision by mocking a joke that Meyers was in the process of making about a burglar robbing and setting fire to a New York City bodega.
“Obviously I’m going to make a punchline and make fun of the guy who robbed the bodega,” Meyers said.
Continue reading at The Hill
Elon Musk says he sent MAGA influencer Ashley St. Clair $2.5 million, open to paternity test
Tech billionaire Elon Musk and conservative influencer Ashley St. Clair publicly feuded on X on Monday after she accused the world’s richest man of withdrawing childcare support and refusing to take a paternity test.
Musk defended himself against those claims, saying he has given St. Clair more than $2 million and is open to a paternity test.
“I don’t know if the child is mine or not, but am not against finding out. No court order is needed,” Musk said in a post on X, responding to reporting that a court has ordered him to take a paternity test.
“Despite not knowing for sure, I have given Ashley $2.5M and am sending her $500k/year,” he added.
Continue reading at The Hill
Cornell student targeted by Trump admin says he’s leaving US
Cornell University student Momodou Taal, whose visa was revoked over his involvement in pro-Palestinian campus protests, said he left the United States voluntarily on Monday after a judge declined to intervene to block the Trump administration from taking steps to deport him.
“Today I took the decision to leave the United States, free and with my head held high,” Taal wrote in a post on X.
Taal sued the Trump administration over the legality of two executive orders the administration is using in its crackdown on foreign students who participated in pro-Palestinian protests. A judge ruled against Taal, saying the court does not have subject matter jurisdiction and the student did not show a clear threat to his constitutional rights that would be solved by the lawsuit.
Taal said he was due to submit a second briefing in court, which he planned to do “with the hope that I could stay out of detention” as the lawsuit progressed, but he decided to leave the country instead, fearing for his safety.
“Given what we have seen across the United States, I have lost faith that a favourable ruling from the courts would guarantee my personal safety and ability to express my beliefs,” Taal wrote in his statement.
Continue reading at The Hill
Can Keir Starmer bring down bills before bills bring him down?
Downing Street is worried about rising energy bills. Every option for bringing them under control could bring political pain.
LONDON — Labour came into office promising to bring down exorbitant energy bills.
Voters, anxious about the cost of living, expect the government to act on its pledge — but their bills are still rising.
Inside Downing Street, that is starting to cause alarm.
“The prime minister has given all his ministers a very clear steer that bringing down bills is of critical importance,” Energy Minister Michael Shanks told the U.K. parliament last week.
POLITICO spoke to 27 energy analysts, officials, pollsters, Labour politicians and their opponents, to work out the options open to ministers and the size of the political challenge if they fail.
Many lamented a public debate marked by a lack of honesty on all sides.
Labour insists that its drive to rid the power system almost completely of fossil fuels by 2030 will bring down bills. It may well, experts say — but that’s unlikely to be in time for the next general election in 2029, the only political timeline that matters for Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Continue reading at Politico Europe
EU readies counterstrike on Big Tech, US banks over Trump’s mega tariffs
Brussels sees America’s transatlantic trade surplus in services as its Achilles’ heel.
BRUSSELS — It’s one thing to hit Harley-Davidson motorbikes and bourbon whiskey. It’s another to go after Silicon Valley or Wall Street.
The European Union is considering opening up a new battlefront as President Donald Trump prepares to impose so-called reciprocal tariffs on all of America’s trading partners on Wednesday.
“Liberation Day,” as Trump has called it, would mark the biggest escalation in the trade war he first launched against Canada, Mexico and China following his Jan. 20 inauguration. Universal tariffs soon followed on steel and aluminum and then on cars — putting the onus on the European Commission, the EU’s executive, to defend the economic interests of the 27-member bloc.
Brussels has so far played by the traditional trade-war rulebook, matching Trump’s broader tariffs on the industrial metals with equivalent levies on iconic American brands like Harley-Davidson. The tit-for-tat response is intended to match, or “mirror,” the administration's moves — but not to escalate.
Now, with Washington threatening to punish the EU further, not only for its existing tariffs but also for what it sees as nontariff barriers such as its tech regulations, Brussels is preparing to up the ante.
Continue reading at Politico Europe
Almost 40 percent of Americans report facing extreme weather: Survey
Nearly 40 percent of Americans experienced extreme weather last year — and those who did were more likely to be concerned about climate change, according to new polling.
Gallup found that 37 percent of Americans experienced extreme weather over the past two years, up from 33 percent in prior surveys.
The polling was conducted in early to mid-March, following devastating wildfires in California. The number of people in the West who said they had experienced extreme weather grew significantly to 43 percent from the prior survey in 2023, when just 30 percent of those in the U.S. West said they had experienced extreme conditions.
Continue reading at The Hill
Colleges watch nervously as Columbia scrambles to appease Trump
Universities could soon face two tough options: bow to the Trump administration or fight back.
The federal government has yet to restore $400 million in frozen funding to Columbia even after the Ivy League school agreed to change its disciplinary policies and put some departments under academic receivership, as the administration demanded. The concessions are only a “first step” to restore the funding, Trump officials have said, though they have yet to lay out any others.
Developments in the saga surrounding Columbia, which is accused by White House of failing to protect its students from antisemitism, will be closely watched by other colleges that could find themselves under President Trump’s eye.
The University of Pennsylvania and the University of Maine have both already seen some of their federal funding paused over policies related to transgender athletes, and Trump’s Education Department announced Monday it is initiating a review of Harvard University similar to that at Columbia, potentially threatening billions of dollars in federal grants.
Continue reading at The Hill
Immigrant removals continue slide under Trump, new data show
The Trump administration's pace of removing immigrants from the U.S. continues to lag behind Joe Biden's pace last year, even as detentions have jumped under President Trump, new numbers show.
Driving the news: The pace of removals under Trump is actually slowing compared to his first two weeks in office, despite several high-profile raids and the targeting of foreign students as part of a sweeping immigration crackdown,
The declining rate of removals is partly the result of dramatically fewer people crossing the border illegally, a sign that Trump's stepped-up enforcement there is working as intended and deterring would-be crossers.
But several other factors are complicating Trump's push to expand "fast-track" deportations. Among them: Civil liberties groups are challenging rapid deportations in court, and the administration fired 29 immigration judges and senior staffers.
The decrease in removals came before the administration sent 238 alleged Venezuelan gang members to a prison in El Salvador, leading immigrant rights groups to claim it was a stunt partly aimed at boosting the removal numbers.
By the numbers: In Trump's first full six weeks in office, the administration removed 27,772 immigrants from the U.S., according to data from the ICE detention management database and collected by the nonpartisan Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC).
Continue reading at Axios
Trump administration admits ‘error’ in deporting Maryland resident to El Salvador
The Department of Justice says it has no recourse now that the man is in his home country, where he’d previously feared torture and persecution.
The Trump administration acknowledged late Monday that it had inadvertently deported a man to El Salvador last month despite a court’s determination that he had a legitimate fear of persecution in his home country.
“This removal was an error,” a top Immigration and Customs Enforcement official wrote in a statement to a federal judge.
Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran, was on one of three deportation flights to his home country on March 15 amid a frantic legal fight over President Donald Trump’s decision to invoke war powers to hasten the deportation of more than 100 Venezuela nationals to El Salvador. In addition to the Venezuelans subject to Trump’s invocation of the Alien Enemies Act were other deportees with purported gang ties.
Trump’s use of centuries-old war powers to speed deportations — invoked just three times in American history — has provoked a fierce legal and political battle over the president’s authority.
A federal judge has barred further removals under the Alien Enemies Act while proceedings play out in court. That decision triggered Trump to call for the impeachment of judges who have ruled against his administration. The judge, James Boasberg, is also weighing whether the Trump administration defied his order by deporting some Venezuelans to El Salvador after he demanded the March 15 flights be halted or turned around.
Continue reading at Politico
MAGA media's criticism of the "deep state" goes global
MAGA media is railing against an international "deep state" following a series of setbacks for overseas allies of President Trump.
Why it matters: Trump's loyal movement has sought to steadily expand its influence abroad, allying itself with right-wing parties and leaders in Europe, Latin America and Asia.
Now, they're denouncing legal challenges faced by some of those allies and are egged on by a leader in the White House eager to intervene in other countries' affairs to enforce his worldview.
Zoom in: Marine Le Pen, the leader of a far-right French party, was convicted of embezzling European Parliament funds Monday and deemed ineligible to stand in French elections for the next five years. Trump called the verdict a "very big deal."
"She was banned for running for five years, and she's the leading candidate. That sounds like this country," he added.
Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is being prosecuted for allegedly staging a failed coup after losing reelection in 2022.
Continue reading at Axios
Trump's "Art of the Deal" hits new hurdles
President Trump's global dealmaking blitz is facing new obstacles, with early optimism eclipsed by broken ceasefires, pissed-off allies and thinning patience at home and abroad.
Why it matters: Ten weeks isn't a long time in foreign policy. But it was Trump who promised instant results — and Trump whose "Art of the Deal" credentials are at risk if chaos consumes his early presidency.
Zoom in: Nothing has redefined America's relationship with the world like Trump's plans for sweeping tariffs, which will come to a head on Wednesday — or what he calls "Liberation Day."
Leaders all over the world are seeking last-minute deals to avoid tariffs, while lamenting that Trump hasn't actually made clear what they could do to placate him.
So instead, they're vowing retaliation — setting the stage for a massive global trade war that could plunge the U.S. and other countries into a recession.
"The old relationship we had with the United States based on deepening integration of our economies and tight security and military cooperation is over," said new Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.
The big picture: Trump is barely 70 days into his term. He's scored early victories in getting Latin American countries to cooperate on deportation flights, including a high-profile prison deal with El Salvador.
Continue reading at Axios
Rainstorms are getting more intense amid climate change
Chart: Rainstorms are getting more intense amid climate change
Rainstorms are getting more intense in many U.S. cities amid human-driven climate change, a new analysis finds.
Why it matters: More intense precipitation events can cause flash-flooding, landslides, dangerous driving conditions and other potentially deadly hazards.
Driving the news: Hourly rainfall intensity increased between 1970 and 2024 in nearly 90% of the 144 locations analyzed, per a new report from Climate Central, a research and communications group.
Among the cities with an increase, hourly rainfall intensity rose by an average of 15%.
How it works: The researchers divided each location's total annual rainfall by its total hours of annual rainfall, using NOAA weather station data.
Continue reading at Axios
D-Day for Musk: Democrats in Special Elections Target Trump’s DOGE Chief
Special Elections Reveal Trump’s Weak Spot: Elon Musk
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Trumpeting new tariffs he hopes will return industry to America, President Donald Trump has called April 2 “Liberation Day.”
But April 1 could be, and should be, Liberation Day for congressional Republicans when it comes to Elon Musk.
If the Democratic-aligned nominee for a Wisconsin Supreme Court wins and the Republican candidate only narrowly prevails here, a NASCAR capital that’s nobody’s idea of a battleground, GOP lawmakers on the ballot next year will have cause to repeat Trump’s signature line from his show business days: You’re fired.
There’s little that congressional Republicans and their counterparts in state capitals can do about Trump and his insistence on pushing inflation-spiking tariffs. He grips his party like no modern president, and they must accommodate every impulse.
However, Musk has turbocharged the backlash to Trump and accelerated the revival of demoralized Democrats and independents appalled by the billionaire’s cavalier attempt to slash the federal government. If they don’t push the White House to cut Musk loose, Republicans are tempting a replay of 2017 and 2018, when Democrats scored gains in Trump’s first term, but with twin targets for the left this time.
Don’t take my word for it.
Continue reading at Politico
5 reasons all eyes are on Tuesday’s elections in Florida and Wisconsin
The races are an important bellwether for the country’s political pulse in the second Trump era.
Voters will head to the polls Tuesday in Wisconsin and Florida to decide two House seats and a state Supreme Court seat, races that have attracted immense spending and will be bellwether’s for the country’s political pulse in 2025.
With that in mind, Score is looking at a few key themes to decipher what tomorrow’s elections mean — and what they don’t — heading into the rest of the year.
The Musk effect
Elon Musk has played a key role in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race between liberal candidate Susan Crawford and conservative candidate Brad Schimel — both as a target for Democrats in campaign ads and as a heavy financial backer for Republicans.
Which of those two will resonate more with voters? Tuesday may provide some answers.
Musk ramped up his efforts in Wisconsin in the final days — and also threw some cash behind Florida’s special election — as Republicans have faced a string of special election losses, including a shocker in Pennsylvania last week.
Despite some high-dollar donations backing Democrats from the likes of Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and mega donor George Soros, no one is coming close to Musk. Two Musk-linked PACs have contributed a whopping $17 million in support of Brad Schimel, and Musk himself gave $3 million to the state Republican party.
Continue reading at Politico
Vulnerable Republicans step up appeals to Trump amid primary threats
Vulnerable GOP senators are taking steps to appeal to President Trump as they stare down the possible threat of primary challengers next year.
A handful of these senators have faced criticism from the right wing accusing them of not being sufficiently supportive of Trump and his agenda.
Since Trump took office in January, however, some of these Republicans, including Sens. Bill Cassidy (La.), John Cornyn (Texas) and Thom Tillis (N.C.), have taken steps to show their allegiance to Trump through public statements and support for his nominees.
“[Trump’s] the most powerful he’s ever been,” Republican consultant Scott Wilfong said. “And if you don’t have his favor, you’re looking to get it.”
The risk of a primary challenge for not being supportive enough of the president has been a political reality for the GOP during the Trump era. Since first taking office, Trump has shown a willingness to criticize members of his own party, withhold his endorsement of them and even back challengers to incumbents, unlike any of his predecessors in the Oval Office.
Continue reading at The Hill
DOGE Is Trying to Gift Itself a $500 Million Building, Court Filings Show
The documents reveal a DOGE affiliate is attempting to transfer the headquarters of an independent think tank, the United States Institute of Peace, to the government at no cost.
The DOGE-affiliated acting president of the United States Institute of Peace, a Congressionally funded, independent think tank, has moved to transfer the agency’s $500 million headquarters building to the General Services Administration free of charge, according to court documents revealed in a recently filed lawsuit.
Tensions at USIP have been escalating for weeks, starting when the Trump administration fired the agency’s 10 voting board members on March 14 and USIP staffers denied DOGE representatives access at the front door. Three days later, DOGE employees made their way into the building, reportedly using a physical key from a former security contractor. The dramatic confrontations culminated in a full takeover, with former State Department official Kenneth Jackson assuming the role of president. As of this past Friday, most USIP staffers have received termination notices.
Former USIP officials have since filed a lawsuit against Jackson, DOGE, Donald Trump, and other members of the Trump administration, seeking an immediate intervention “to stop Defendants from completing the unlawful dismantling of the Institute,” according to the complaint. While US district judge Beryl Howell declined the USIP request for a temporary restraining order that would reinstate the institute’s board on March 19, she sharply criticized DOGE’s conquest in court.
Continue reading at Wired
Top Officials Placed on Leave After Denying DOGE Access to Federal Payroll Systems
DOGE demanded full access to a US Department of the Interior system that handles even the Supreme Court’s paychecks. When top staff asked questions, they were put on leave.
Top career officials at the Department of the Interior (DOI) were placed on administrative leave late last week after declining to immediately give affiliates of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) levels of access to a payroll system that would in theory allow them to, among other things, stop individual Supreme Court justices’ paychecks.
The New York Times has reported that these officials include the DOI’s chief information and information security officers; sources tell WIRED they also include a top lawyer.
For several weeks, say sources with direct knowledge of the situation, DOGE operatives have been seeking what they termed “full” or “system” access to the DOI’s payroll, human resources, and credentialing systems. Among the systems to which it demanded full access is the Federal Personnel and Payroll System (FPPS), which is housed in the DOI’s Interior Business Center and is used by dozens of federal agencies ranging from the Department of Justice to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to handle payroll and records associated with more than 275,000 federal workers, including at agencies outside the executive branch.
Continue reading at Wired
The Proud Boys and Militias Come to Tesla’s Defense
After weeks of “Tesla Takedown” protests, extremist groups are showing up to back Elon Musk’s beleaguered car company.
Over the weekend, thousands of people joined the “Tesla Takedown” protest movement at the company’s showrooms across the country. At the same time, a much smaller number of Elon Musk supporters turned out at Tesla locations for a counterprotest movement that some participants dubbed “Tesla Shield.”
While the protest movement comprises people angered at Elon Musk’s role in the dismantling of federal government agencies, the counterprotest movement that showed up this weekend was peopled mostly by MAGA supporters. Among them were an array of far-right extremists, including members of the Proud Boys, armed militias, and at one event in Idaho, a guy dressed as Hitler.
As Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) rips through huge swaths of the federal government and puts people’s lives and livelihoods at risk, the Tesla protest movement has gained traction. Tesla’s stock price has dropped by more than 30 percent since the beginning of the year. Isolated incidents of vandalism against Tesla vehicles and chargers as well as dealerships have led Trump to push the Department of Justice to treat alleged violent protesters as “domestic terrorists,” and now some extremist groups have taken it upon themselves to help Musk fight back.
Continue reading at Wired
Finland will exit global land mine treaty as Russia fears grow
President Alexander Stubb also announces major ramp up of defense spending to 3 percent of GDP.
Finland will withdraw from the international agreement banning antipersonnel mines, also known as the Ottawa Convention, and spend 3 percent of GDP on defense, the country's President Alexander Stubb said Tuesday.
"Finland will prepare for the withdrawal from the Ottawa Convention," he posted on X. "The decision is based on a thorough assessment by the relevant ministries and the Defence Forces. Finland is committed to its international obligations on the responsible use of mines," he added.
The 1997 Ottawa Convention — also known as the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Treaty — has come under increasing pressure because of the Kremlin's war on Ukraine, especially in countries neighboring Russia.
Last month, Poland and the three Baltic countries announced they would leave the international convention as well. Finland shares a 1,340-kilometer border with Russia.
Stubb also said Helsinki would spend 3 percent of GDP on defense by 2029, compared with 2.4 percent in 2024. That's more than NATO's current 2 percent target, which is widely expected to be raised during a June summit in The Hague.
Continue reading at Politico Europe
California Playbook newsletter
Trump’s next target: HHS office in Pelosi territory
FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: BLUE-CITY BLUES — San Francisco is taking hit after hit as President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk take a wrecking ball to federal agencies.
The latest casualty is the Department of Health and Human Services’ regional office in downtown, as Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s office exclusively confirmed to Playbook. Operations at the agency’s San Francisco division are expected to move to Denver by late April or early May.
Around 318 federal employees are based out of the San Francisco office, including those who administer programs related to Medicaid, Medicare and drug-addiction treatment. Pelosi’s office said most of those workers could lose their jobs due to HHS’ national restructuring plan under the Department of Government Efficiency push to dramatically shrink the federal workforce.
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said last week that the HHS office closures were designed to reduce “bureaucratic sprawl” and save $1.8 billion per year by cutting around 10,000 agency jobs. HHS is shuttering five regional offices across the country and consolidating operations into five larger regional hubs.
But Pelosi said shuttering the San Francisco operation would jeopardize the safety and well-being of millions of people — not just in California, but across the western U.S. — and that it would “gut vital public health initiatives like the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program” that offers treatment to low-income patients with the virus.
“This shortsighted office closure would lead to critical service slowdowns for San Franciscans to get the resources they need and detrimental impacts to our public health response capabilities,” the former House speaker said in a statement, “all in the name of so-called ‘government efficiency.’”
Continue reading at Politico California Playbook (newsletter)
More Americans see permanent Gaza ceasefire as priority: Survey
When asked about the level of importance of negotiating a permanent ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, 59 percent in the poll said it is “extremely important” or “very important” that the U.S. do so, marking a 9 point difference from February 2024, when 48 percent said the same.
An initial ceasefire between Israel and Hamas was broken via Israeli strikes on Gaza last month, angering critics of Israel’s response to the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks in the region. Hamas officials reported that the March strikes killed over 400 Palestinians.
President Trump approved of the March strikes, and has warned in the past that the U.S. would “unleash hell” on Hamas in the case it refused to let go of hostages it has had since Oct. 7, 2023.
In the AP-NORC poll, 26 percent said the U.S.’s negotiation of a permanent ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is “somewhat important,” while 12 percent said it was “not too important” or “not important at all.”
Forty-one percent in the poll also said that the U.S. providing humanitarian aid for Gazans is “extremely important” or “very important,” while 35 percent said it was “somewhat important.” Twenty-one percent said U.S. relief to Palestinians in Gaza is “not too important” or “not important at all.”
Continue reading at The Hill
EPA chief closing environmental museum
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin said Monday that he is shutting down a museum in the EPA’s headquarters in an effort to cut costs.
“EPA will be saving American taxpayers $18 MILLION in annual lease costs by moving staff out of the 323,000 square feet of space we occupy in the Ronald Reagan building in D.C.,” Zeldin wrote in a post on the social platform X.
“Under the Trump Administration, we will proudly be exceptional stewards of tax dollars!”
In a separate video released Monday, Zeldin slammed the National Environmental Museum and Education Center, which opened in 2021 under the Biden administration to highlight environmental and historic events dating back to the EPA’s founding in 1970.
Continue reading at The Hill
Judge temporarily blocks Trump from ending deportation protections for Venezuelans: ‘Smacks of racism’
The swift effort to rescind protections for Venezuelans, as well as the Trump administration’s rhetoric on the issue, featured heavily in the Monday decision from California-based U.S. District Judge Edward Chen.
Chen determined the government did not follow proper procedure for stripping Temporary Protected Status (TPS) from those being deported, and that the administration was “motivated at least in part by animus.”
“As discussed in other parts of this order, the Secretary’s rationale is entirely lacking in evidentiary support. For example, there is no evidence that Venezuelan TPS holders are members of the [Tren de Aragua] gang, have connections to the gang, and/or commit crimes,” Chen wrote, noting that “Venezuelan TPS holders have lower rates of criminality than the general population and have higher education rates than the broader U.S. population.
“Generalization of criminality to the Venezuelan TPS population as a whole is baseless and smacks of racism predicated on generalized false stereotypes.”
Continue reading at The Hill
Harvard says it will work with federal antisemitism task force amid threat of funding loss
Harvard President Alan Garber says his university will work with the federal antisemitism task force after it launched a review of the school.
On Monday, the task force announced it will be reviewing the $9 billion in federal grants to Harvard in a similar style investigation to that of Columbia University, which saw $400 million in funding paused and so far not restored despite concessions to the federal government.
“Earlier today, the federal government’s task force to combat antisemitism issued a letter putting at risk almost $9 billion in support of research at Harvard and other institutions, including hospitals in our community. If this funding is stopped, it will halt life-saving research and imperil important scientific research and innovation,” Garber said.
Continue reading at The Hill
Yale professor leaving US: Trump launching ‘brutal attack’ on freedom
A professor at Yale University said Monday he would be leaving his post and the country over the Trump administration’s “brutal attack” on free speech.
“The message is that they’re going to do a kind of stochastic terrorism against our country,” Jason Stanley, a professor of philosophy with a focus on fascism, told MSNBC.
“They’re going to target people one by one so that those who are in fear will shut up, essentially,” added Stanley, an American who was born in New York.
President Trump has launched broad ideological attacks on America’s colleges and universities, seeking to ban diversity initiatives, cracking down on transgender athlete policies and threatening the immigration status of multiple foreign-born students and professors.
Continue reading at The Hill
‘I don’t know anyone that isn’t pissed off at him’: Trump world turns on Lutnick
As ‘Liberation Day’ nears, patience for the Commerce secretary is wearing thin across the Trump administration.
Inside the White House, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has been perhaps the biggest proponent of ”Liberation Day,” President Donald Trump’s promised unveiling of sweeping new tariffs on Wednesday. But as the day nears, the potential fallout from those tariffs may well liberate Lutnick from his role in the administration, according to half dozen people close to the White House.
While Americans and much of the world brace for a possible season of pain following the imposition of the new tranche of tariffs, Trump’s orbit is ready to play the blame game should things go poorly for the White House. And all the fingers will be pointing at Lutnick, two people close to the administration, granted anonymity to discuss the private dynamics, told POLITICO.
“I think people would take special pleasure in blaming him,” said one.
Lutnick spends substantial time in the Oval Office, hyping the president on his tariff strategy and “giving him bad advice — pushing more aggressive tariffs,” the person said.
Continue reading at Politico
Caine denies Trump’s MAGA hat tale
The nominee for the Joint Chiefs chair said the president “was actually talking about somebody else.”
Retired Lt. Gen. Dan “Razin” Caine, the nominee for Joint Chiefs chair, on Tuesday contradicted President Donald Trump’s claim that he donned a MAGA hat when they met in Iraq.
“For 34 years, I’ve upheld my oath of office and my commitment to my commission,” Caine told Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), during his Senate Armed Services confirmation hearing. “And I have never worn any political merchandise.”
The hearing, a high-stakes moment after Trump fired Gen. C.Q. Brown, the former Joint Chiefs chair in a purge of Pentagon leaders, centered on whether Caine can serve as an apolitical military adviser.
He disputed Trump’s account that during a 2018 visit to Iraq, Caine told him “I would kill for you, sir,” before slapping a MAGA cap on his head.
“I went back and listened to those tapes, and I think the president was actually talking about somebody else,” Caine said in an exchange with the panel’s top Democrat, Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.). And I’ve never worn any political merchandise or said anything to that effect.”
Continue reading at Politico
Florida heads to polls in 2 House special elections — with the spotlight far brighter than expected
Predictions of an easy Republican win quickly evaporated in the closing weeks of the 6th District campaign, bringing in loads of interest, dollars and surrogates.
A Florida pair of House special elections on Tuesday is the earliest chance Republicans have to build on their fragile majority — and one Democrats see as an early voter litmus test of President Donald Trump’s second term.
The races are taking place in Trump’s adopted home state, the source of numerous White House officials. Florida voters supported Trump all three times he ran for president. Democrats — who’ve been all but stomped into irrelevancy there — have been trying to regain their footing, knowing the state’s electoral importance will only grow stronger with projected future population shifts.
The newest chance: Florida’s 6th District, where recent polling shows a tight race. Predictions of an easy Republican win quickly evaporated in the closing weeks of the campaign, bringing in loads of interest, dollars and surrogates.
Democrat Josh Weil has brought in $10 million in largely out-of-state cash from small-dollar donors. Trump, meanwhile, endorsed Republican state Sen. Randy Fine in the district, which he won by more than 30 points in November.
“There’s no such thing as a perpetual red district or a perpetual blue district,” Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin said after canvassing in the district over the weekend. “Everything’s in play.”
Continue reading at Politico
DOJ seeks death penalty for Luigi Mangione
Attorney General Pam Bondi has directed prosecutors to seek the death penalty for Luigi Mangione, the man charged with murder in connection to the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson last year.
The big picture: Mangione's alleged crime and arrest sparked mass debate over America's health care system and attracted nationwide attention.
Mangione has pleaded not guilty to murder and terror charges in New York.
Continue reading at Axios
NOAA operations impaired by Commerce chief's approval mandate
A Commerce Department requirement to have Secretary Howard Lutnick approve many NOAA contracts or extensions is slowing the agency's operations to a crawl, current and former NOAA staff tell Axios.
Why it matters: The requirement of Lutnick's approval on contracts and extensions over $100,000 also is having ripple effects for contractors around the country as some contracts expire or are canceled because the time to review them has elapsed.
It's also raising the possibility that high-priority, previously-awarded contracts will be canceled or modified, depending on Lutnick's views.
Six current and former NOAA staff described dozens of contracts currently awaiting Lutnick's sign-off, with only a tiny fraction having been reviewed so far.
The other side: The department didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
Zoom in: As severe thunderstorms rumbled along the East Coast on Monday, the National Weather Service faced the possibility of losing its ability to bring satellite and observational data into forecast offices in a timely manner, starting at midnight, current and former NOAA staff told Axios.
Continue reading at Axios
Judge rules Alabama can’t prosecute people who help women travel for abortions
A federal judge ruled that Alabama cannot prosecute people or groups who help women travel out of state to get abortions.
“It is one thing for Alabama to outlaw by statute what happens in its own backyard,” U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson wrote in a Monday ruling.
“It is another thing for the State to enforce its values and laws, as chosen by the Attorney General, outside its boundaries by punishing its citizens and others who help individuals travel to another State to engage in conduct that is lawful there but the Attorney General finds to be contrary to Alabama’s values and laws.”
In his 131-page opinion, Thompson handed a win to abortion advocacy groups who sued Alabama’s Attorney General Steve Marshall (R) after he previously said he would consider prosecuting any person or organization that “aids and abets” in an abortion, utilizing the state’s criminal conspiracy law.
Marshall, who was appointed in 2017, has not, so far, carried out such prosecutions.
Continue reading at The Hill
DOGE staffer who resigned over past social media posts reinstated with higher access: Filing
Marko Elez, 25, allegedly relinquished access to sensitive systems being reviewed by DOGE in early February as divulged by the White House.
However, he was listed as a staffer in a lawsuit that required the Trump administration to reveal the identity of the agency’s hired workers.
Legal documents categorize Elez as a Department of Labor employee detailed to the United States DOGE Service and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) since March 5.
Filings say he had access to the federal directory of new hires, general ledger accounting system and contract writing system at HHS.
“Mr. Elez was granted read-only access to the above-listed systems in furtherance of the DOGE EOs [executive order] directive to identify waste, fraud, and abuse and to modernize government technology and software to increase efficiency and productivity,” according to court documents.
Continue reading at The Hill
Theaters struggle as Big Tech looks to invest
Domestic box office revenue is down 12% from this time last year, when theaters were still grappling with the fallout from the historic actors and writers strikes.
Why it matters: Theaters never made a full comeback from COVID-19 and experts don't think they ever will. But for tech giants looking to establish themselves in Hollywood, theatrical distribution matters.
Zoom in: Amazon MGM Studios will release 12 to 14 films in theaters in 2026 and potentially 16 films in 2027. Most films will spend 45 days in theaters before being available as pay-per-view and later streaming on Prime Video.
The strategy is a big expansion on its number of titles and length of exclusivity in theaters. Previously, the studio released five to eight movies in theaters annually with no set theatrical window, per the New York Times.
Amazon shared some details of its new strategy at South by Southwest last month, per Deadline, and elaborated at CinemaCon this week.
Zoom out: The shift comes amid a broader shakeup at Amazon MGM Studios. Jennifer Salke exited as head of the studio last week after seven years. Her position will not be filled, per an internal memo.
Continue reading at Axios
Major union launches ad campaign featuring detained Tufts student
One ad reads, “We Fight Together: Free unjustly detained union members,” and features an image of Ozturk, a Turkish national whose case has drawn national attention after a video showed her being arrested on the street by plain-clothes federal officers and taken away in an unmarked van. Ozturk is a member of SEIU Local 509.
A second ad shared with The Hill reads, “Free Speech. Free Workers. Workers are rising up to defend our 1st Amendment rights.”
Continue reading at The Hill
Majorities in Michigan support state-level DOGE, disapprove of Musk: Survey
Most Michigan voters would like to see a state-level agency tasked with making state government more efficient, a new survey found — but that doesn’t mean they are fans of tech billionaire Elon Musk’s efforts on the federal level through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
An MRG poll, released Tuesday, found that 55 percent of respondents have unfavorable views of Musk and DOGE, while less than a third view them favorably. Of those surveyed, 53 percent said they would like to see a state-based agency dedicated to government efficiency.
“Results show voters like the idea of streamlining government, even if they disapprove of the specific federal approach,” MRG President Jenell Leonard said in a statement on the poll’s findings.
Continue reading at The Hill
Supreme Court appears poised to revive terror victims suit against Palestinian groups
In 2019, Congress amended federal terrorism law to let victim lawsuits move forward against the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), responding to a series of court decisions that found the victim’s families had no jurisdiction to sue.
The high court is now being asked to determine whether the law violates due process protections by forcing the groups to consent to federal courts’ authority.
However, the justices also seemed sensitive to the level of deference owed to Congress and the White House since the case could have ramifications for national security and foreign affairs.
Deputy Solicitor General Edwin Kneedler argued that Congress and the executive branch determined that finding the PLO and PA consented to jurisdiction in federal courts would prevent terrorism – and the courts should not override that assessment. He argued that both branches of U.S. government are owed “virtually absolute deference.”
Continue reading at The Hill
Judge refuses Trump admin’s request to move Mahmoud Khalil case to Louisiana
A New Jersey-based federal judge on Tuesday declined the Trump administration’s request to transfer pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil’s immigration detention challenge to Louisiana, where is he is being held.
U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz ruled he has jurisdiction over Khalil’s case because the Columbia University graduate and legal permanent resident was detained in New Jersey when his lawyer filed the challenge.
“The case as filed can go forward only here. The other 93 districts, where the Petitioner was nowhere to be found, are out of the question,” Farbiarz, an appointee of former President Biden, wrote in his 67-page ruling.
Immigration authorities arrested Khalil, a student negotiator in the recent pro-Palestinian demonstrations at Columbia, last month. The Trump administration seeks to revoke his green card over accusations he is “pro-Hamas” and engaged in “pro-terrorist,” antisemitic activity.
Continue reading at The Hill
GOP rep says ‘tariff is a tax’: ‘No question’
Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas) on Monday said a “tariff is a tax,” a day before the Trump administration’s imposition of “Liberation Day” reciprocal tariffs.
In Sessions’s appearance on “CNN News Central,” a Monday opinion piece from The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board was brought up by anchor John Berman.
“In the real economic world, a tariff is a tax. If you raise $600 billion more a year in revenue for the federal government, you are taking that amount away from individuals and businesses in the private economy,” the editorial board wrote in their piece.
Sessions agreed with the Journal’s editorial board, saying that his “view is I could’ve written that myself.”
“I’m … a capitalist who believes in lower prices, lower taxes, opportunities,” he added. “The facts of the case are that Donald Trump, now President Trump, and his advisers believe that they see the mathematics across the country, specifically in certain areas.”
“I am concerned about our trade with Canada, I am concerned about our trade with Mexico and I’m going to give the president a chance to put his plan out.”
Continue reading at The Hill
Trump announces $100M deal with law firm tied to Doug Emhoff, Jan. 6 House panel
The agreement with Willkie Farr & Gallagher states that the firm will provide the equivalent of $100 million in pro bono legal services for causes the administration supports. It is the third such arrangement the White House has reached with a major law firm.
The firm also represented two Georgia election workers who sued Rudy Giuliani for defamation. Giuliani once served as a close Trump confidant as well as a legal adviser during the president’s first term.
“Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP proactively reached out to President Trump and his Administration, offering their decisive commitment to ending the Weaponization of the Justice System and the Legal Profession,” the White House said in a statement posted on Trump’s Truth Social account. “The President is delivering on his promises of eradicating Partisan Lawfare in America, and restoring Liberty and Justice FOR ALL.”
Continue reading at The Hill
Rahm Emanuel returns to Wall Street, but ‘not done with public service’
Emanuel is rejoining the investment bank Centerview Partners, where he worked from 2019 to 2021. He counseled CEOs on mergers, regulation and political information. The move was first reported by Semafor.
“I’m not done with public service, and I hope public service isn’t done with me,” he said in an interview with the outlet.
In February, it was announced that Emanuel joined CNN as a senior political commentator and a global affairs commentator.
Continue reading at The Hill
Boebert appears to confuse Oliver Stone with Roger Stone during JFK records hearing
Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) appeared to confuse Oliver Stone, an American filmmaker and a witness before House lawmakers on Tuesday, with political strategist Roger Stone during a hearing on the release of new documents related to the assassination of John F. Kennedy.
“You wrote a book accusing LBJ of being involved in the killing of President Kennedy. Do these most recent releases confirm or negate your initial charge?” Boebert asked.
“No, I didn’t,” Oliver Stone said. “If you look closely at the film, there’s no — it accuses the President Johnson of part, being part of, complicit in a cover-up of the case, but not in the assassination itself, which I don’t know.”
Continue reading at The Hill
House cancels rest of votes for week after GOP floor rebellion
House Republican leaders on Tuesday canceled votes for the rest of the week after a band of GOP lawmakers staged a rebellion on the floor, bringing legislative action to a screeching halt.
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) informed lawmakers the next vote in the House would be Monday evening.
The announcement came minutes after nine Republicans joined all Democrats in opposing a procedural rule that would have killed a bipartisan effort to allow proxy voting for new parents. The vote also blocked planned votes on GOP priorities to limit the power of federal judges and to require proof of citizenship to vote.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) successfully used an arcane and rarely successful discharge petition procedure to force a vote on Rep. Brittany Pettersen’s (D-Colo.) resolution to allow members who give birth or lawmakers whose spouses give birth to have another member vote for them for 12 weeks.
Continue reading at The Hill
West Wing Playbook: Remaking Government
SCOTUS, meet DOGE
LATEST: He’s donned a cheesehead in Green Bay and handed out millions of dollars to voters. And now, ELON MUSK’s influence in the key battleground state of Wisconsin is about to be tested. In just a few hours, polls will close in the high-profile state Supreme Court race widely seen as the first referendum on Musk’s government takeover.
[…]
DOGE ON SCOTUS WATCH: DOGE has racked up a string of losses in the lower courts. Now it’s about to find out if it has better luck at the highest court in the land.
In the coming days, the Supreme Court may issue its first substantive decisions on the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle the federal bureaucracy. And these initial rulings, though preliminary, will signal how the justices will view the move-fast-and-break-things strategy being implemented by Trump and Musk, his chief deconstruction officer.
Two emergency appeals from the Trump administration on DOGE-related initiatives are now pending at the high court.
In the first case, the administration wants the justices to lift a lower court order that is blocking the Department of Education from immediately terminating $65 million in grants for teacher-training programs that include “DEI.”
In the second case, the administration wants the justices to green-light a bid to fire 16,000 probationary workers at six federal agencies.
The education case is fully briefed, and the justices could rule at any time. In the case about probationary workers, federal employees’ unions are scheduled to file a brief on Thursday — leaving that case ripe for a ruling as well.
The high court has already waded into other aspects of Trump’s attempt to remake the government, though they hardly made waves. In February, the court effectively punted on an appeal related to Trump’s firing of a federal watchdog, and in March, the court dealt Trump a small, short-term loss in his attempt to cancel foreign-aid contracts.
Continue reading at Politico West Wing Playbook newsletter
Senior Russian official is expected to visit Washington for talks with Trump administration this week
(CNN) — Senior Russian negotiator Kirill Dmitriev is expected to visit Washington this week to meet with top Trump official Steve Witkoff for talks on strengthening relations between the two countries as they seek to end the war in Ukraine, according to a US official and two sources familiar with the plans.
His visit will mark the first time a senior Russian official has visited Washington, DC, for talks since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022 and marks a further step in the marked warming in relations between the two countries since President Donald Trump returned to office in January.
Dmitriev is a close adviser to Putin and traveled with top Russian officials to Riyadh in Saudi Arabia in February to start discussing a settlement for the end of the war in Ukraine. He also worked with Witkoff to free American teacher Marc Fogel from Russia, which the Trump administration hailed as a goodwill gesture.
Continue reading at CNN
House Democrat wants to drug test Musk and DOGE staff
A House Democrat is introducing long-shot legislation that would force billionaire Trump lieutenant Elon Musk and his staffers at DOGE to undergo routine drug testing, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.) cited a Wall Street Journal report from 2024 that alleged Musk has used illegal drugs including LSD, cocaine, ecstasy, mushrooms and ketamine as the impetus for her bill.
DOGE spokespeople did not respond to requests for comment.
An attorney for Musk told the Journal that Musk is "regularly and randomly drug tested at SpaceX and has never failed a test."
Driving the news: Sherrill's bill, a copy of which was first obtained by Axios, would require special government employees to undergo a drug test before they begin work and enter into a random drug testing program.
Anyone who tests positive for certain illegal drugs would be barred from federal service for at least a year.
Citing Signalgate, Sherrill said it is "more important than ever to protect the American people from the Trump Administration's reckless incompetence and blatant disregard for national security."
Between the lines: Musk and many DOGE staffers have been designated as special government employees.
Continue reading at Axios
Princeton University grants pulled, president says
The Trump administration has paused dozens of Princeton University's research grants, the school announced on Tuesday.
The big picture: It's the latest Ivy League school, following Columbia and Harvard, to have its federal funding reviewed or revoked.
Princeton is among 60 colleges and universities under investigation for allegations of antisemitic harassment and discrimination.
Driving the news: Princeton president Christopher Eisgruber said in a letter to the campus community that the university received notifications Monday and Tuesday from government agencies, including the Department of Energy, NASA and the Defense Department, suspending several dozen research grants.
Continue reading at Axios
Musk deflects possibility of DOGE stimulus check
The idea of a DOGE stimulus check keeps coming up, but Elon Musk is distancing himself from it.
Why it matters: Musk has begun to downplay what is perhaps the most popular idea (at least on social media) associated with his team's bid to to cut government spending.
Driving the news: In response to a question about DOGE checks at a Wisconsin rally on Sunday, Musk pushed responsibility onto Congress.
Musk said that the decision would be "somewhat up to Congress and maybe the president as to whether specific checks are cut," adding that "whether a check is cut or not, if you reduce wasteful spending the economy is going to be better off."
The latest: The comments come as President Trump suggests a possible looming end to Musk's oversight of the somewhat unpopular initiative.
Continue reading at Axios
Judge holds ICE agent in contempt after he detained suspect during a trial
BOSTON (AP) — A judge in Boston is holding a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in contempt after he detained a suspect while the man was on trial.
ICE agent Brian Sullivan detained Wilson Martell-Lebron last week as he was leaving court. But a Boston Municipal Court judge issued a ruling Monday against Sullivan, arguing that he had deprived Martell-Lebron of his rights to due process and a fair trial by taking him into custody.
“It’s a case of violating a defendant’s right to present at trial and confront witnesses against him,” Judge Mark Summerville said from the bench. “It couldn’t be more serious.”
Judge acts following arrest
Summerville dismissed the charge against Martell-Lebron of making false statements on his driver’s license application -- namely that he wasn’t Martell-Lebron. After that, Summerville filed the contempt charge against Sullivan, which could lead Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden review the case to determine if any charges should be filed.
Continue reading at the AP
Trump-backed Randy Fine elected to Congress in tense Florida special election
National Republicans had been nervous about the race against progressive candidate Josh Weil given close polling and massive Democratic fundraising.
MIAMI — Republicans’ all-hands-on-deck strategy in a tight Florida special election pulled state Sen. Randy Fine into the House on Tuesday, an outcome that slightly increases the margins President Donald Trump will have to work with as he tries to push his agenda through Congress.
According to the Associated Press, Trump-endorsed Fine won in a special election against Democrat Josh Weil, a progressive and a teacher, despite nervousness from national party operatives and closer-than-expected polling. Fine, a bare-knuckle former gambling executive who embraces the nickname the “Hebrew Hammer,” will add another firebrand to Florida’s congressional delegation.
Continue reading at Politico
Musk slams ‘fake judges’ who ‘should be ashamed of themselves’
ech billionaire Elon Musk slammed “fake judges” challenging him in legal battles during an interview on Fox News’s “The Five” Tuesday, where he also highlighted the importance of the Wisconsin Supreme Court race.
Musk, who leads the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has been a large focus of the Supreme Court election, which will be decided Tuesday.
“The reason tonight’s elections are so important is that the judge race will decide whether the Wisconsin districts get redrawn,” Musk said.
He argued that Democrats are looking to gerrymander Wisconsin’s congressional districts and “remove two Republican seats.”
“As you may know, the House is currently Republican by a razor-thin margin, which means that losing this judge race has a good chance of causing Republicans to lose control of the House,” Musk said.
Continue reading at The Hill
Federal firings and office closures create concerns for miners
Reported closures and firings at federal offices are creating concerns about the safety and health of coal miners.
On Tuesday, massive layoffs at the Department of Health and Human were expected to result in 873 staff cuts from the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), according to CBS News.
This agency conducts research and makes recommendations to prevent workplace injuries and illnesses.
The NIOSH layoffs– along with other recent Trump administration actions — prompted the United Mine Workers of America Union, whose workers face issues like black lung disease, to question whether there’s now a “war” on coal miners.
“The announced significant downsizing of offices in Morgantown, W.Va., and Pittsburgh, Pa., are particularly devastating to the coal industry, which relies on the research done there to improve its safety practices,” said union international president Cecil Roberts.
Continue reading at The Hill
‘In the long run, we’re all dead’: Trump allies struggle with trade uncertainty
Many of the president’s allies and critics are united by a fear the new levies will plunge weary consumers into a new wellspring of economic uncertainty.
President Donald Trump is fêting his new tariffs with a Rose Garden “Liberation Day” festival.
Wall Street traders, lawmakers, industry leaders, foreign officials and even some members of the president’s team see only dread.
Trump, at a Wednesday afternoon “Make America Wealthy Again” ceremony, will formally announce a series of new, so-called reciprocal tariffs on U.S.’s global trading partners that he says will restore fairness, free the country from a dependence on foreign goods and stimulate the economy.
But many of the president’s allies and critics are united by a fear that the new levies will plunge weary consumers into a new wellspring of economic uncertainty and possibly a recession. Some Republicans, already on edge about losing their narrow congressional majority in the midterms, fear the levies are likely to damage the president’s and the party’s popularity on inflation, an issue of paramount importance to voters who are on edge about the White House’s new trade plans.
“Part of that is Trump’s negotiating style, to keep people he’s negotiating with, other countries, off balance. But he himself has said there’s going to be short term disruption, so of course people are concerned about that,” said Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.).
“We’ll have to see if it works,” he added.
Continue reading at Politico
MSNBC loses its election oracle in breakup with NBC News
Steve Kornacki’s exit is a key domino in the split between MSNBC and NBC News.
America’s favorite election night crush has a new job in television.
Steve Kornacki, the glasses-wearing, khaki-donning data whiz whose spins in charge of MSNBC’s “big board” made him a star of the channel’s election night broadcasts, is headed to NBC News, the network confirmed to POLITICO Tuesday. There, he’ll serve as a contributor, working on “Meet the Press” while also providing broader political and sports coverage.
Kornacki’s exit is a key domino in the split between MSNBC and NBC News, with corporate owner Comcast working to spin off select cable assets into a new and independent, publicly traded cable television business dubbed “SpinCo.”
That’s been messiest for NBC News and its cable counterpart MSNBC, with the two often sharing journalists and resources. Prior to the divorce, Kornacki worked as a national political correspondent at both the networks.
Kornacki’s profile and portfolio have grown in recent years. A sports nut, he’s taken on roles on the network’s “Sunday Night Football” show and helped helm its coverage of horse racing, and has even appeared on the Thanksgiving broadcast of the National Dog Show. And before the 2024 election, he began working on a recurring segment breaking down data with “Meet the Press” anchor Kristen Welker.
Continue reading at Politico
Patronis wins Florida special election to replace Gaetz, giving GOP key House vote
The 52-year-old Republican defeated Democrat Gay Valimont in a special election held after Matt Gaetz resigned late last year.
TALLAHASSEE, Florida — Jimmy Patronis, a mainstay in Tallahassee who rose to the statewide post of chief financial officer, is headed to Congress according to the Associated Press after voters in Matt Gaetz’s former district picked him to replace the firebrand.
The 52-year-old Republican defeated Democrat Gay Valimont in a special election held after Gaetz resigned late last year to mount a short-lived quest to become President Donald Trump’s attorney general.
Valimont, a gun violence prevention activist who ran against Gaetz last November, significantly outraised Patronis in the run-up to the election and faulted him over the state’s property insurance crisis due to his key role in regulating the industry. She also said federal budget cuts supported by the Trump administration would harm veterans in the military-reliant district.
But the 1st District — which stretches from the Alabama border to just west of Panama City — has been ruby-red, with Trump winning 68 percent of the vote back in November. Trump endorsed Patronis at the outset of the contest, and Patronis easily won the GOP primary over nine other candidates.
Patronis leaned into the Trump endorsement, asserting Valimont was “crazy” and that her financial advantage came from Democrats outside the northwest Florida district who “hate Donald Trump.”
“Frankly, they do not like people from the Florida Panhandle,” Patronis said last week during a telephone rally held with Trump.
Continue reading at Politico
White House issues warning to China for war games near Taiwan
The Trump administration on Tuesday issued a warning to China after Beijing announced large-scale war games in the waters and airspace around Taiwan.
The joint military drills, which were launched with no prior notice and included China’s army, navy and air and rocket forces, were meant as a “severe warning and forceful containment against Taiwan independence,” according to a spokesperson for China’s People’s Liberation Army.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt later said the National Security Council had briefed her on the exercises and that President Trump “is emphasizing the importance of maintaining peace in the Taiwan Strait, encouraging the peaceful resolution of these cross-strait issues, [and] reiterating our opposition to any unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion.”
China views Taiwan as its own sovereign territory and has frequently threatened to take the independently governed island by force.
Continue reading at The Hill
Judge extends block on probationary employee firings, but only in some states
A federal judge Tuesday indefinitely barred the Trump administration from terminating thousands of probationary employees, but he declined to extend his order nationwide.
U.S. District Judge James Bredar previously ordered officials to temporarily reinstate probationary employees fired at 18 agencies, no matter where they physically worked.
Replacing that order, the judge’s new preliminary injunction covers two additional agencies, the Defense Department and the Office of Personnel Management. But it simultaneously limits the reinstatements to only those employees whose “duty station” is within Washington, D.C., and the 19 states that are suing.
“Only states have sued here, and only to vindicate their interests as states. They are not proxies for the workers,” wrote Bredar, an appointee of former President Obama.
“Presumably well informed, each state is entitled to decide for itself whether it will seek relief in the present circumstances; it would be inappropriate for the Court to fashion relief having the consequence that decisions properly reserved to the non-party states are effectively, and unnecessarily overruled by this Court,” he continued.
Continue reading at The Hill
Issa cold on impeaching judges
Under questioning by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), former Speaker Newt Gingrich concurred that impeachment proposals have little chance of passing.
A key Republican threw cold water Tuesday on calls by GOP colleagues to impeach federal judges, suggesting the proposals were politically symbolic but were unlikely to pass.
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) said some House Republicans may be introducing impeachment bills “because they were popular and felt strongly within their district, whether or not they were moving anywhere.”
Issa, the chair of a House Judiciary subcommittee on the courts, asked former Speaker Newt Gingrich if he agreed with that assessment. Gingrich, who was testifying as a former congressional leader, concurred that impeachment proposals have little chance of passing.
“They’re political symbols, not legislative symbols,” Gingrich responded, grinning.
Continue reading at Politico
Wisconsin passes ballot measure requiring photo ID to vote
Wisconsin voters were projected to pass a ballot measure that amends the state Constitution to require photo identification in order to vote, according to Decision Desk HQ.
Wisconsin lawmakers referred a ballot measure to voters that would mandate that “a qualified elector may not vote in any election unless the elector presents photographic identification issued by this state, by the federal government, by a federally recognized American Indian tribe or band in this state, or by a college or university in this state, that verifies the elector[s identity,” according to an explanation of the proposal.
“If an elector is unable to present valid photographic identification before voting on election day, the elector must be given the opportunity to cast a provisional ballot and present valid photographic identification at a later time and place, as provided by law,” it adds.
Continue reading at The Hill
Strong turnout in Wisconsin Supreme Court race that drew powerful political interests
Early voting was more than 50% ahead of levels seen in the state’s Supreme Court race two years ago, when majority control was also at stake.
Seven polling sites in Milwaukee ran out of ballots, or were nearly out, due to “historic turnout” and more ballots were on their way before polls closed, said Paulina Gutierrez, the executive director of the Milwaukee Elections Commission.
Clerks all across the state, including in the city’s deep-red suburbs, reported turnout far exceeding 2023 levels.
Continue reading at the AP
Liberal candidate wins Wisconsin Supreme Court race in blow to Trump, Musk
Susan Crawford was projected to win an open seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court race, keeping the high court’s 4-3 liberal majority intact and delivering a blow to Elon Musk and President Trump, according to Decision Desk HQ.
Crawford, a Dane County circuit court judge, defeated conservative candidate Brad Schimel, a former GOP state attorney general, for the seat. Crawford replaces retiring liberal justice Ann Walsh Bradley on the court.
The election offered the first big test for both parties since the November elections and came after record-breaking amounts of money poured into the race. In particular, the race was seen as a test of Musk’s political sway, as his super PAC, America PAC, alone spent more than $12 million to support Schimel. He also traveled to Wisconsin the Sunday before the election, where he handed out $1 million checks to voters who had signed his petition against “activist judges.”
Trump also waded into the race, repeatedly urging voters to go to the polls and support Schimel.
Continue reading at The Hill
Liberal wins overwhelmingly in Wisconsin Supreme Court race, overcoming Musk’s millions
Dane County Judge Susan Crawford won the most expensive judicial race in American history.
Dane County Judge Susan Crawford won a seat on the Wisconsin State Supreme Court on Tuesday — maintaining the court’s liberal-leaning majority and dealing a blow to Republicans.
In a hotly contested race that drew more than $90 million in spending, Crawford beat former Republican Attorney General Brad Schimel by roughly 10 points — on par with a similar Democratic-backed victory that flipped the court just two years ago.
President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk loomed large over the contest. Trump endorsed Schimel, who touted Trump’s support in digital ads and at events, hoping to animate the president’s voters even though he wasn’t on the ballot. Musk, for his part, shoveled millions into the race, including handing out million-dollar checks to two Wisconsin voters last weekend.
Democrats turned the contest into a referendum on Trump’s second term, featuring Musk’s government spending-slashing Department of Government Efficiency heavily in ads during the final weeks of the campaign. Crawford’s win is also a sign that Democrats continue to overperform in non-presidential elections that tend to draw more participation from highly engaged voters.
Crawford’s victory could prove pivotal for a state Supreme Court that’s poised to take up major cases, including on abortion rights and redistricting.
On Tuesday evening, Schimel told supporters that he’d called Crawford to concede, which drew boos from the crowd. “No, no, no, no,” Schimel said, “you’ve got to accept the results.”
Crawford, for her part, said Schimel was “very gracious” on their call. But of Musk, Crawford said in her victory speech, “I never could’ve imagined that I’d be taking on the richest man in the world ... and we won.”
Continue reading at Politico
Republicans win — but underperform — in both Florida special elections
Once-swing-state Florida is now deep red. But Democrats celebrated a tighter-than-expected showing.
Democrats’ millions weren’t enough to flip a pair of House special elections in Florida after President Donald Trump deployed MAGA surrogates to his adopted home state. But they did find some cause for celebration at the margins — literally.
The victories add two more seats to Speaker Mike Johnson’s narrow majority in the House. And the special election in Florida’s 6th District, a nail-biter for many national GOP operatives given that state Sen. Randy Fine was outraised by progressive challenger Josh Weil 10-to-1, did end up as a Republican win.
But the surprise of the night came from the Panhandle’s 1st District, where former Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis won against Democrat Gay Valimont by nearly the same margin that Fine did — something operatives hadn’t predicted in the days leading up to the election.
The results showed Valimont was the first Democrat in recent history to win Escambia County, which includes military-heavy Pensacola.
“Tonight’s results represent a historic overperformance for Democrats and show that voters are already rejecting Trump’s extreme agenda,” Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried said. She added that any Republicans who were in a seat where Trump won by 15 points or less “should be scared about their reelection chances.”
Continue reading at Politico
Plan for Russia to rejoin Olympics sparks disgust in Ukraine
Russian “athletes and officials are part of the state propaganda machine,” Kyiv warns new International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry.
Ukraine’s government has hit out at remarks by the incoming president of the International Olympic Committee opening the door to Russia’s returning to the Games.
Russian athletes have been banned from competing in the Olympics under their own flag since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, which the IOC deemed a violation of its rules.
But incoming IOC President Kirsty Coventry, who takes over from Thomas Bach in June, said in March that she was opposed to banning any countries from competing in the Games and would look to start a “discussion” on allowing Russia back into the Olympic fold by 2026.
That has triggered a withering response from Kyiv, which wants Russia banished from the Olympics and other international sporting events as Moscow’s destructive invasion drags on.
“We will call on the international community to reject any attempts to normalize the presence of Russian and Belarusian citizens in sports as long as the war against Ukraine continues,” Yuri Muzyka, Ukraine’s deputy sports minister, told POLITICO.
“In the Russian Federation, sport is part of state policy, it has no autonomy, and athletes and officials are part of the state propaganda machine,” he said, adding that Kyiv remained “steadfast” in its support for a ban.
Continue reading at Politico
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