Judge allows federal worker “buyout” plan to proceed, and Trump administration announces it’s closed
By Robert Legare, Mellissa Quinn A federal judge in Massachusetts allowed the Trump administration’s bid to offer “deferred resignations” to federal workers who voluntarily leave government service to continue and lifted a previous court order pausing the program’s deadline. Shortly after the ruling, Office of Personnel Management spokesperson McLaurine Pinover said in a statement that the office was “pleased” with the court’s decision and that the deferred resignation program was closed as of 7 p.m. Wednesday. Roughly 75,000 federal workers have accepted the offer to leave their government positions, according to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. The White House
To pay for Trump’s tax cuts, House Republicans could raise student loan bills for millions of borrowers
By Annie Nova As House Republicans look for ways to slash spending to fund President Donald Trump’s tax cuts, they’ve floated proposals that could raise federal student loan bills for millions of borrowers. GOP lawmakers are expected to use the budget reconciliation process to make major cuts to the federal budget. The savings from the student repayment plan overhaul would be $127.3 billion over 10 years, according to their estimate. The timing is uncertain on when any of these changes could surface. It’s also possible that the final Republican plan will be different than those proposed. But the average student loan borrower could pay nearly $200 a
Trump administration begins sweeping layoffs with probationary workers, warns of larger cuts to come
By Chris Megerian The Trump administration on Thursday intensified its sweeping efforts to shrink the size of the federal workforce, the nation’s largest employer, by ordering agencies to lay off nearly all probationary employees who had not yet gained civil service protection — potentially affecting hundreds of thousands of workers. In addition, workers at some agencies were warned that large workplace cuts would be coming. The decision on probationary workers, who generally have less than a year on the job, came from the Office of Personnel Management, which serves as a human resources department for the federal government. The notification was confirmed by a person
A Tenuous Moment for Minority-Serving Institutions Under Trump
By Sara Weissman On his first day in office, President Donald Trump rescinded a slew of Biden-era executive orders and actions that he deemed “harmful.” In his order disbanding the initiatives, he slammed the former president for injecting diversity, equity and inclusion work “into our institutions,” calling DEI a “dangerous preferential hierarchy.” Among the programs Trump slashed were initiatives Biden created to support Hispanic-serving institutions and tribal colleges and foster greater collaboration between federal agencies and the institutions. Another initiative that included “breaking down barriers” to federal funding for predominantly Black and historically Black colleges also bit the dust. That same week, federal webpages with information about HSIs and
Rep. Ilhan Omar says GOP “doesn’t have the numbers” to dismantle USAID through Congress
By Kaia Hubbard Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Minnesota Democrat, said Sunday that she doesn’t think Republicans have the support in Congress to approve the Trump administration’s gutting of federal agencies and programs, saying “that’s why they’re not bringing it through Congress.” “Every single process that they are going through in implementing Trump’s agenda is, at the moment, illegal, and they know they don’t have the support for it in Congress,” Omar said on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.” Recent actions that the Trump administration has argued are being put in place to make the government more efficient have prompted confusion
How Elon Musk’s DOGE took over the Education Department, one office at a time
By Annie Nova Staffers from Elon Musk’s secretive government slashing effort, DOGE, have pushed the highest-ranking officials at the Department of Education — even those recently appointed by President Donald Trump — out of their own offices, rearranged the furniture and set up white noise machines to muffle their voices, employees at the agency said. Deprived of her office, acting Education Secretary Denise Carter was spotted last week sitting outside the main leadership suite, one staffer said. Meanwhile, acting Under Secretary James Bergeron held off moving into his office, sources told CNBC, because DOGE staffers were occupying it. “They took over the top real estate;
Politics Trump ousts director of Office of Government Ethics
By Kathryn Watson President Trump on Monday removed the director of the Office of Government Ethics, the independent agency responsible for overseeing ethics rules and financial disclosures for the executive branch. “OGE has been notified that the President is removing David Huitema as the director of OGE,” the office said in a notice on its website. “OGE is reverting to an Acting Director.” Huitema was appointed to a five-year term by former President Biden. He was confirmed by the Senate in November 2024 and sworn in on December 16, 2024. The office’s website initially listed Shelley Finlayson as its acting director. Finlayson
Durag Festival to return to Charlotte with new location and HBCU-themed celebration
By Madeline Holly-Carouthers Durag Festival will return to Charlotte on June 21 with a new location and opportunities for artists to showcase their creative talents. The festival, founded in 2018 by Lisa Michelle and the Charlotte artist known as Dammit Wesley, merges culture, fashion and creativity. The annual event centers its celebrations on the durag, a head cloth generally used to protect or cover hair. First-time attendees can expect music, food, art, fashion and an atmosphere that is “unapologetically Black,” according to the founders. “The biggest or the newest change is our location,” Michelle told QCity Metro. “We will be
Justice Department orders charges against NYC Mayor Eric Adams dismissed
By Ken Dilanian, Ryan J. Reilly and Tom Winter Acting U.S. Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove has ordered federal prosecutors in New York to drop corruption charges against New York Mayor Eric Adams, a senior Justice Department official said Monday evening. The order is for all charges against Adams to be dismissed, and the dismissal is without prejudice, the official said, meaning charges could be refiled in the future. The charges have not yet been dismissed, and federal prosecutors in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday night. A formal dismissal request would be filed in court by prosecutors overseen
Trump says he will announce new tariffs on aluminum, steel imports on Monday
By Lucia Suarez Sang President Trump said Sunday that he will announce 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports into the United States on Monday. Mr. Trump, speaking on Air Force One on the way to New Orleans to attend the 2025 Super Bowl, said he would also announce “reciprocal tariffs” on Tuesday or Wednesday, which he said will go into effect immediately. This means that the U.S. would impose import duties on products in cases where another country has levied duties on U.S. goods. “If they charge us, we charge them … every country,” he said, adding, “If they are charging