Congress braces for first 100 days
By Alexis Simendenger As Republican lawmakers gear up for the 119th Congress, the House and Senate are bracing for differing challenges in the first 100 days of President-elect Trump’s administration. Senate Republicans must contend with a slate of controversial Cabinet nominees. Chief among them: Defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth; former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (Hawaii), Trump’s pick for director of national intelligence; and FBI director nominee Kash Patel. Hegseth, especially, has drawn increased criticism from Republican senators after skepticism about his qualifications for the job and allegations of sexual misconduct, excessive drinking and financial mismanagement in previous roles. Hegseth faces a very tough path to confirmation in the
Biden isn’t the first president to pardon a relative. Here’s how the power works
By Rachel Treisman The topic of presidential pardons is back in the spotlight this week after President Biden announced he signed a “full and unconditional” one for his son. Hunter Biden was convicted earlier this year of federal gun charges for lying about his addiction to crack cocaine when he purchased a gun, and separately pleaded guilty to tax offenses for failing to pay at least $1.4 million in federal taxes. Sentences in both cases were scheduled to be handed down later this month. The president has said publicly that he would not pardon his son — but reversed that promise in an announcement on
Why Trump’s HUD pick is a red flag for housing advocates
By Jennifer Porter Gore President-elect Trump recently announced his nomination of Scott Turner to lead the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Turner, a former NFL player and Texas legislator, would be the first — and so far, only — Black appointee in Trump’s second cabinet. But for housing advocates, his nomination and Trump’s anti-fair-housing agenda raise plenty of red flags. Indeed, while most housing advocates know little about Turner, they’re amply aware of and concerned about what the second Trump administration has signaled will be its housing policy. Trump’s Housing Policies Weren’t Great During Trump’s first term, HUD
Government efficiency goals are great — but not at the expense of the American people
By William S. Becker Donald Trump will not be the first elected leader who wants to fix inefficiencies and waste in government. But will he do it to benefit the American people or the authors of Project 2025? The two motives would produce vastly different outcomes. Waste and inefficiency are present in any large organization, and the U.S. government is one of the biggest. Its 2024 budget was $6.75 trillion; it spends over $760 billion annually on goods and services, making it the world’s largest single consumer. Other national leaders have attempted to ferret out waste. In 1975, Sen. William Proxmire (D-Wisc.) introduced his monthly Golden Fleece
Biden just gave Trump a new pardon playbook
By Kyle Cheney In his sweeping pardon of Hunter Biden, President Joe Biden did not just protect his son. He also handed President-elect Donald Trump a template to shield his own allies and stretch the pardon power even further. Legal experts say Trump now has fresh precedent — and political cover — to issue expansive pardons absolving his allies not only of specific offenses, but even any undetermined crimes they may have committed. With the singular exception of Gerald Ford’s pardon of Richard Nixon, no modern American president had ever issued such a broad grant of clemency until Joe Biden’s “full and
We haven’t seen a pardon as sweeping as Hunter Biden’s in generations
By Betsy Woodruff Swan Hunter Biden’s pardon looks a lot like Richard Nixon’s. President Joe Biden’s grant of clemency on Sunday night — an extraordinary political act with extraordinary legal breadth — insulates his son from ever facing federal charges over any crimes he possibly could have committed over the past decade. Experts on pardons said they could think of only one other person who has received a presidential pardon so sweeping in generations: Nixon, who was given a blanket pardon by Gerald Ford in 1974. “I have never seen language like this in a pardon document that purports to pardon offenses that
3 Reasons Why Trump Ditching the Department of Education Will Especially Hurt Black Students
By Phenix S. Halley President-elect Donald Trump has outlined plans for his second term in scary detail: using military force to execute mass deportations, clearing out DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) policies, and, shockingly, even eliminating the Department of Education (DOE). In preparation for four more MAGA years, Trump announced Linda McMahon, the former wrestling executive, will head the DOE he vows to abolish, yes. With Americans everywhere still reeling from the Nov. 5 results, it’s time we truly understand what’s at stake if the 44-year-old DOE is abolished — especially for Black students. Billions of Dollars Won’t Be Federally Regulated It’s important
Trump shake-up spurs optimism and anxiety among key US allies
By Laura Kelly Some of America’s key security allies are hopeful President-elect Trump’s impetuous streak might spur resolution to drawn-out conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, but there’s also deep anxiety about the “America First” agenda, compounded this week by Trump’s tariff threats. These competing sentiments were on display over the weekend at the Halifax International Security Forum, where top diplomats, defense ministers, U.S. lawmakers, foreign politicians, military brass, and democracy activists scoured for any clues on where Trump can be convinced to stand with allies, and where he is intent on going rogue. Rosa Brooks, a law professor
Republicans fume after President Joe Biden pardons his son Hunter
By Megan Lebowitz GOP lawmakers began publicly fuming shortly after President Joe Biden announced that he was pardoning his son Hunter Biden. President-elect Donald Trump’s communications director, Steven Cheung, reacted to the announcement without naming the president or his son. “The failed witch hunts against President Trump have proven that the Democrat-controlled DOJ and other radical prosecutors are guilty of weaponizing the justice system,” Cheung said in a statement. “That system of justice must be fixed and due process must be restored for all Americans, which is exactly what President Trump will do as he returns to the White House with an
Trump team eyes quick rollback of Biden student debt relief
By Michael Stratford President-elect Donald Trump is poised to pull the plug on President Joe Biden’s yearslong push to cancel student debt for tens of millions of people as Republicans sweep into power in the coming months. Trump transition advisers and outside allies have been discussing ways to quickly unwind the various Biden-era initiatives that offered new or easier paths to loan forgiveness for borrowers, according to two people familiar with the discussions. The move would be the culmination of nearly four years of attacks by GOP lawmakers and attorneys general on Biden’s student debt relief policies. On the campaign