Trump administration’s Social Security changes could limit access to benefits for millions
By Stephanie Sy Significant changes will be coming for Social Security recipients. Millions will no longer be able to verify their identity over the phone, creating a challenge for older Americans and those with disabilities. Advocates are raising concerns about the burden this could place on an already vulnerable population. Stephanie Sy discussed more with Kathleen Romig. Amna Nawaz: Significant changes will be coming for Social Security recipients starting on March 31. Millions of Americans will no longer be able to verify their identity over the phone, creating a challenge for older Americans and those with disabilities. Stephanie Sy joins
Trump to order a plan to shut down the US Education Department
By Collin Binkley And Chris Megerian President Donald Trump plans to sign an executive order Thursday calling for the shutdown of the U.S. Education Department, according to a White House official, advancing a campaign promise to eliminate an agency that’s been a longtime target of conservatives. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity before an announcement. Trump has derided the Department of Education as wasteful and polluted by liberal ideology. However, finalizing its dismantling is likely impossible without an act of Congress, which created the department in 1979. A White House fact sheet said the order would direct Secretary Linda McMahon “to take
DOGE vs. Institute of Peace: Standoff leads to police intervention, board overhaul
By Savannah Kuchar A stand-off between President Donald Trump’s administration and an independent nonprofit came to a head this week in a dramatic public scene involving police. Since Friday, members of Trump and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency had sought and been repeatedly denied access to the U.S. Institute of Peace office in Washington. After arriving again unannounced on Monday, the staffers were able to enter with assistance from Metropolitan Police Department officers. The initial months of Trump’s second term have been marked by his and his billionaire ally’s endeavor to slash bureaucracy, consequently turning much of the federal government on its head. The
Federal judge says Elon Musk exceeded his authority and that dismantling USAID was ‘likely’ unconstitutional
By Katelyn Polantz Billionaire Elon Musk appears to have overstepped his executive branch authority with his Department of Government Efficiency, a federal judge said Tuesday as he indefinitely blocked the dismantling of USAID. “The court finds that Defendants’ unilateral actions to shut down USAID likely violated the United States Constitution,” said Judge Theodore D. Chuang of the US District Court in Maryland. Chuang said that DOGE cannot terminate any more contracts or grants of USAID, nor can it fire or put on leave any more employees. He also cut off DOGE staffers from sharing sensitive personal data kept by the
Judge demands answers of Trump administration in Venezuela deportation case
By Ted Hesson and Tom Hals A federal judge on Monday gave the Trump administration a Tuesday deadline to provide details about plane loads of Venezuelans it deported despite orders not to, in a brewing showdown over presidential power. President Donald Trump claims the deported Venezuelans are members of the prison gang Tren de Aragua, which he designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. The White House on Saturday published a Trump proclamation that invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to declare the gang was conducting irregular warfare against the U.S. Later on Saturday, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg issued an order blocking the deportations, but the flights
US government shutdown averted as Senate passes spending bill
By Ali Abbas Ahmadi The US has averted a government shutdown after the Senate passed a Republican-led measure to keep the government funded for the next six months. The stopgap funding bill passed in the Senate 54-46, as two Democrats joined all but one Republican senator in voting yes. President Donald Trump had signed it into law, a White House spokesman said on Saturday. The key vote came earlier when some Senate Democrats, after fierce debate, allowed the measure to pass a procedural hurdle. The Senate minority leader, Democrat Chuck Schumer, and nine others broke with their colleagues to vote
Trump Threatens 200% Tariff on Champagne and Wine From Europe
By Jeanna Smialek and Ana Swanson President Trump escalated his trade war with the European Union on Thursday, threatening 200 percent tariffs on European wine and champagne that deepened anxiety among businesses and consumers on both sides of the Atlantic. Mr. Trump’s announcement, in which he called the European Union “hostile and abusive,” came a day after the bloc’s leaders unveiled plans to retaliate against a batch of U.S. tariffs that took effect this week by imposing 50 percent tariffs on imports of U.S. whiskey and several other American products. “If this tariff is not removed immediately, the U.S. will shortly place a 200 percent
EPA head announces sweeping plan to revoke dozens of environmental regulations
By Matthew Daly In what he called the “most consequential day of deregulation in American history,” the head of the Environmental Protection Agency announced a series of actions Wednesday to roll back landmark environmental regulations, including rules on pollution from coal-fired power plants, climate change and electric vehicles. “We are driving a dagger through the heart of climate-change religion and ushering in America’s Golden Age,” EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said in an essay in The Wall Street Journal. If approved after a lengthy process that includes public comment, the Trump administration’s actions will eliminate trillions of dollars in regulatory costs and “hidden taxes,” Zeldin
Secretary of state says 83% of USAID programs are being canceled
By Caroline Lenton Secretary of State Marco Rubio said early Monday that 83% of programs funded by U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID , are being canceled, in the latest for the beleaguered agency that provides humanitarian aid overseas and has become the target for the Elon Musk-helmed Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE . Rubio said on his personal X account that the cancellations come after a six-week review, and that “the 5200 contracts that are now cancelled spent tens of billions of dollars in ways that did not serve, (and in some cases even harmed), the core national interests of the
Democratic Attorneys General Sue Over Gutting of Education Department
By Hurubie Meko and Troy Closson A coalition of 21 Democratic attorneys general sued the Trump administration on Thursday, two days after the Education Department fired more than 1,300 workers, purging people who administer grants and track student achievement across America. The group, led by New York’s Letitia James, sued the administration in a Massachusetts federal court, saying that the dismissals were “illegal and unconstitutional.” “Firing half of the Department of Education’s work force will hurt students throughout New York and the nation, especially low-income students and those with disabilities who rely on federal funding,” Ms. James said in a news release. “This