Trump signs executive order aimed at ‘eliminating’ Education Department ‘once and for all’: Live updates
President claimed giving control of education to states will halve costs and improve standards
Donald Trump has signed an executive order directing Education Secretary Linda McMahon to “begin eliminating” the Department of Education in favor of leaving decision-making up to individual states. Some programs, such as special needs and student loans, will be preserved and eventually rehomed in other departments.
The policy, which was recommended in the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 manifesto that Trump once distanced himself from, will reportedly see former wrestling boss McMahon instructed to undertake “all necessary steps to facilitate the closure… and return education authority to the states.”
Meanwhile, Trump’s administration has frozen $175 million in federal funding for the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) over opposition to a transgender swimmer’s participation in the institution’s training program.
It has also sparked a fresh diplomatic spat with France after it was accused of denying entry to the U.S. to a French research scientist after immigration officers searched his phone at an airport and found messages critical of the president.
Trump budget will take from poorest to give to wealthy, Yale researchers conclude
Research by Yale University has found that a budget plan being considered by Republican lawmakers would ultimately transfer wealth from the poorest 40 percent of Americans to the richest 1 percent.
Harris Eppsteiner and John Ricco of Yale's Budget Lab found that the proposed GOP budget whose framework was supported last month in a vote by the House would include $4.5 trillion in tax cuts that would largely benefit the wealthy, along with $1.5 trillion in spending cuts, including to benefits for the public, including the poorest.
Graig Graziosi reports.
New analysis says Trump budget plan will take from poorest 40 percent to give to rich
Editorial: Trump is naive, delusional – and being played by Putin
The two leaders may say that they trust each other – but nobody else with any sense trusts either of them.
Trump is naive, delusional – and being played by Putin
Musk responds after Republican senator alleges GOP lawmakers are scared of Trump and DOGE
Utah Republican Senator Mike Lee has lashed out at his Alaska colleague Lisa Murkowski after she alleged that her GOP colleagues were afraid to challenge Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.
Murkowski, speaking to reporters on Tuesday at the Alaska State Capitol in Juneau, described a culture of fear now present within federal departments.
“I get criticized for what I say, and everybody else is like, ‘How come nobody else is saying anything?’ Well, figure it out because they’re looking at how many things are being thrown at me, and it’s like, ‘Maybe I should just duck and cover,’” she said.
Murkowski said that the purging of federal departments under DOGE is “a hit to the morale of the federal workforce.”
“I don’t know a single Republican senator who feels that way. Not even one,” Lee responded on X at midnight on Wednesday evening.
His comment elicited a response from Musk, who appeared to endorse his message by posting two American flag emojis beneath it.
Madeline Sherratt reports.
Musk responds after senator alleges GOP lawmakers fear Trump
Exclusive: Democrats plead with Trump to rethink ‘reckless’ proposed travel ban
A group of House Democrats are pleading with the president to reconsider his “disgraceful and discriminatory” proposed travel ban that could impact 43 countries.
The deadline for Trump’s order directing cabinet members to draft a list of countries that should face travel restrictions because their “vetting and screening information is so deficient” falls today.
A reported draft of the list showed citizens from 43 countries could soon be restricted from entering the U.S., prompting an outcry from the opposition.
Kelly Rissman reports.
Democrats plead with Trump to reconsider ‘reckless’ proposed travel ban
Pentagon axes web pages about Holocaust to comply with Trump DEI order
The Defense Department has taken down or plans to delete thousands of websites to comply with the president’s order eliminating diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) work from the federal government, which means removing pages dedicated to topics like remembering the Holocaust and the September 11 terrorist attacks.
Pentagon removes web pages about Holocaust remembrance to comply with Trump DEI order
Elon Musk donates to Republican members of Congress pushing to impeach judges
The tech billionaire has reportedly donated to seven Republican members of Congress, all of whom support the Trump administration’s calls to impeach or ignore federal judges who have halted parts of the president’s agenda.
Musk, who has claimed in recent days that such judges are leading a “judicial coup,” reportedly gave thousands of dollars in donations each to Representatives Eli Crane of Arizona, Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Andy Ogles of Tennessee, Andrew Clyde of Georgia, Derrick Van Orden of Wisconsin and Brandon Gill of Texas, and Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa.
The reported recipients are among the loudest voices in Congress pushing to impeach or to otherwise constrain the judges.
Musk donates to GOP members of Congress pushing to impeach judge who oppose Trump
Judge rebukes DOGE for ‘terrorizing’ U.S. Institute of Peace
A federal judge has expressed alarm at allegations that the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) provoked a dramatic standoff this week with the U.S. Institute of Peace, culminating in what attorneys for the agency called a hostile “takeover” fueled by threats and harassment.
Federal prosecutors have threatened institute officials with criminal prosecution, DOGE members warned that a private security contractor would lose government contracts, and the institute’s president was forcibly removed by several law enforcement agencies – events that attorneys with the Department of Justice have not disputed.
In a hearing in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, District Judge Beryl Howell asked Justice Department attorneys whether Trump’s administration could enforce his executive order seeking to shutter the agency “without using the force of guns and threats by DOGE against American citizens.”
“I mean, this conduct of using law enforcement, threatening criminal investigations, using arms of law enforcement… probably terrorizing employees and staff at the institute, when there are so many other lawful ways to accomplish the goals… why?” she said.
“Just because DOGE is in a rush?”
The institute is not a federal agency but an independent nonprofit established by Congress under Ronald Reagan.
Its headquarters in Washington, D.C., is not government property, and its personnel are not federal employees.
The institute employs roughly 600 people in the United States and overseas with a congressional mandate to help resolve international conflicts.
Alex Woodward reports.
Judge rebukes DOGE for ‘terrorizing’ U.S. Institute of Peace with ‘guns and threats’
Justice Department motion tells deportation judge to be ‘more respectful’
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and other Trump administration lawyers told the federal judge who ordered a stop to the deportations of Venezuelans to a prison in El Salvador to be more “respectful” in an angry court filing on Wednesday.
“The court has no basis to intrude into the conduct of foreign affairs of the government, and a more deliberative and respectful approach is warranted,” the filing scolds.
Judge James Boasberg’s actions “represent grave usurpations of the president’s power,” it adds.
The language was the latest assault by the Trump administration on the power of the courts, which some have labelled a constitutional crisis as the president battles to become the supreme arbiter of everything in the nation.
Mary Papenfuss reports.
Cheeky DOJ motion tells federal deportation judge to be ‘more respectful’
Trump now accused of dodging court order to reverse federal firings
The Trump administration has been accused by another judge of failing to comply with his court order – in this case to reinstate federal employees fired during Elon Musk’s DOGE purges.
Six federal agencies – the departments of Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Defense, Energy, Interior, and Treasury – were ordered by Judge William Alsup of the U.S. District Court for Northern California to rehire all fired probationary employees.
But the Trump administration had responded by putting the fired workers on paid administrative leave.
Here’s the latest from Graig Graziosi.
Trump accused of dodging another court order — to reverse federal firings
Trump administration is seeking to deport Indian student at Georgetown as part of State Department crackdown
The Trump administration is reportedly attempting to deport an Indian post-doctoral fellow from Georgetown University, using the same obscure section of immigration law cited in the detention of Mahmoud Khalil, a recent Columbia grad and pro-Palestine protest leader.
The provision the government allegedly cites allows the Secretary of State to determine non-citizens are eligible for fast-track deportations if they threaten U.S. foreign policy interests.
Masked Department of Homeland Security agents arrived outside the Rosslyn, Virginia, home of Badar Khan Suri on Monday and told him his student visa had been revoked.
In a still-sealed habeas corpus petition filed on Tuesday, Suri’s lawyer said the fellow appeared to be in the process of being punished for the Palestinian heritage and political views of his wife Mapheze Saleh, a U.S. citizen.
Josh Marcus has more.
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