Supreme Court Backs Trump on DEI Grant Termination
By Lawrence Hurley The Supreme Court on Friday allowed the Trump administration to terminate Education Department grants for teacher training that officials deemed to violate their new policy opposing diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. The 5-4 decision blocks a Massachusetts-based judge’s ruling that said the administration had failed to follow the correct legal process in terminating the grants. About $65 million in grant payments are outstanding. The decision is the first win for President Donald Trump at the Supreme Court in his second term. Five of the court’s conservatives were in the majority, while Chief Justice John Roberts joined the three liberals in dissent.
Trump Admin Threatens School Funds Over DEI Compliance
By Tyler Kingkade The Trump administration on Thursday threatened to pull federal funding from K-12 districts and states if they don’t certify within 10 days that they do not have unlawful diversity, equity and inclusion practices. States have to sign and submit a certification form asserting that each of their districts do not give advantages to people based on their race, according to a memo sent to education officials by the U.S. Department of Education. The form itself warns that states or individual schools could be subject to litigation or be forced to pay back funds if they’re found to violate the law. The directive is
RFK Jr. Reinstates Workers After HHS Cuts 20,000 Staffers
By Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Thursday that some of the programs and workers purged in last week’s dramatic restructuring plan to shed 20,000 staffers will be reinstated, saying they were mistakenly cut. “There were some programs that were cut that are being reinstated,” Kennedy told ABC News. “Personnel that should not have been cut were cut; we’re reinstating them, and that was always the plan.” The restructuring plan is part of the Department of Government Efficiency’s workforce optimization initiative, led by Elon Musk, President Donald Trump’s billionaire adviser. Departmental agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration, Centers for Disease Control
Congress Moves to Curb Trump’s Canadian Tariffs Power
By Sahil Kapur and Scott Wong The fallout from President Donald Trump’s aggressive new tariffs has spurred Congress into action, with a growing number of Republicans joining Democrats to express interest in using their power to restrain him. After the GOP-led Senate delivered a rare rebuke to Trump on Wednesday by voting to undo his tariffs on Canada, lawmakers in both chambers are weighing additional steps to rein him in. Senators are eyeing other mechanisms to rescind Trump’s existing tariffs while limiting his ability to impose new ones. And Democrats in the House are exploring ways to force a vote to revoke Canadian tariffs, putting out
Elon Musk to Exit Trump Admin as Doge Cuts Face Scrutiny
By Joseph Gedeon Elon Musk’s polarizing stint slashing and bashing federal bureaucracy will probably soon end, with the world’s richest person’s government service hitting its legal limit in the coming weeks. “He’s got a big company to run … at some point he’s going to be going back,” Donald Trump told reporters on Monday. “I’d keep him as long as I could keep him,” the president added. As a special government employee, Musk faces a strict 130-day cap on his service – probably expiring in late May if counted from the day of inauguration, despite earlier White House claims Musk was “here
Senate Rebukes Trump Over Canada Tariffs in Close Vote
By Stephen Groves The Senate passed a resolution Wednesday night that would thwart President Donald Trump’s ability to impose tariffs on Canada, delivering a rare rebuke to the president just hours after he unveiled sweeping plans to clamp down on international trade. The Senate resolution, passed by a 51-48 vote tally with four Republicans and all Democrats in support, would end Trump’s emergency declaration on fentanyl trafficking that underpins tariffs on Canada. Trump earlier Wednesday announced orders — his so-called “Liberation Day” — to impose import taxes on a slew of international trading partners, though Canadian imports for now were spared from new taxes. The Senate’s
Judge Dismisses Corruption Case Against NYC Mayor Adams
By Madeline Halpert A federal judge has permanently dismissed the criminal case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams, weeks after the Trump administration directed prosecutors to drop the corruption charges. The move led to the resignation of Manhattan’s top federal prosecutor who accused Adams of striking a deal with the Trump administration to dismiss his case in exchange for immigration enforcement. The Manhattan judge dismissed the case “with prejudice”, which means the Department of Justice (DOJ) cannot refile the charges against Adams based on the same evidence. Adams was charged with conspiracy, fraud, soliciting illegal campaign contributions, and bribery.
Elon Musk Fails in Wisconsin Supreme Court Election Bid
By Reid J. Epstein Elon Musk’s money can buy him love from Republicans, but not, it turns out, a Wisconsin Supreme Court election. A campaign awash in more than $25 million in spending by the world’s richest man and groups tied to him ended up much like the other elections of the first months of President Trump’s second term: with a surge of energy from Democratic Wisconsin voters that overwhelmed whatever turnout Republicans could manage in response. On the same night that Judge Susan Crawford, the liberal candidate, was delivering a thumping to Judge Brad Schimel, the Trump-backed conservative, Democrats
Susan Crawford Defeats Musk, Trump-Backed Schimel in WI Race
The Democratic-backed candidate for Wisconsin Supreme Court defeated a challenger endorsed by President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk on Tuesday, touting her victory as a win against powerful interests and cementing a liberal majority for at least three more years. Susan Crawford, a Dane County judge who led legal fights to protect union power and abortion rights and to oppose voter ID, stood on stage surrounded by the court’s four current liberal justices and celebrated her win as a victory for democracy while also taking a dig at Musk. “Growing up in Chippewa Falls, I never could have imagined that I would be
Cory Booker Sets Senate Speech Record With 25-Hour Protest
By Ali Abbas Ahmadi US Senator Cory Booker has broken the record for the longest speech ever delivered in the Senate. The New Jersey Democrat’s marathon address, a symbolic protest against President Donald Trump, in which he warned of a “grave and urgent” moment in American history, ended after for 25 hours and four minutes. Although it was not a filibuster – a speech designed to obstruct passage of a bill – it held up legislative business in the Republican-controlled Senate. The rules for such speeches require a speaker to remain standing and forgo bathroom breaks. The previous record was
