Trump Admin Seizes U.S. Institute of Peace in Police Standoff
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
Judge Blocks Musk-Led Shutdown of USAID Over Legal Violations
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 Trump Admin Explain Venezuelan Deportation Flights
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 Avoids Shutdown as Senate Passes GOP-Led 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% Tariffs on European Wine, Champagne
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 Launches Massive Deregulation, Targets Climate Rules
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
Rubio: 83% of USAID Programs Canceled in Major Overhaul
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
21 States Sue Trump Over Mass Layoffs at Education Dept.
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
Schumer Backs GOP Bill to Avert Shutdown, Splits Democrats
By Carl Hulse Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the minority leader, broke with his party on Thursday and lined up enough Democrats to advance a Republican-written bill to keep federal funding flowing past a midnight Friday deadline, arguing that Democrats could not allow a government shutdown that many of them have demanded. During a private luncheon with Democrats, Mr. Schumer stunned many of his colleagues by announcing that he planned to vote to allow the G.O.P. bill to move forward, and indicated that he had enough votes to help Republicans break any filibuster by his own party against the
Trump Escalates Tariff Battle, EU and Canada Retaliate
By Natalie Sherman US President Donald Trump has pledged to impose more tariffs after his latest move to introduce import taxes on steel and aluminium entering the US prompted retaliation from the European Union (EU) and Canada. Trump said that “of course” he would respond to the countermeasures, repeating his warning to reveal “reciprocal” tariffs next month on countries around the world. “Whatever they charge us with, we’re charging them,” he said. The threat marked a further escalation of a trade war which has rattled financial markets amid concerns over the impact on the economies and consumers in many countries
