Tag Archives: Trump administration

The Associated Press reports: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had an internet connection that bypassed the Pentagon’s security protocols set up in his office to use the Signal messaging app on a personal computer, two people familiar with the line told The Associated Press. The existence of the unsecured internet connection is the latest revelation about Hegseth’s use of the unclassified …

The Hill reports: Demonstrators gathered Thursday on the steps of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for a “die-in” over proposed funding cuts at the agency that could devastate programs addressing LGBTQ health disparities. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has sought to radically reshape HHS and its approach to health care, including through funding cuts to programs …

ABC News reports: Ed Martin, President Donald Trump’s nominee for the next U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C., apologized in a new interview for his past praise of a Jan. 6 rioter who had a lengthy history of antisemitic statements and infamously posted photos of himself dressed as Adolf Hitler. “I’m sorry,” Ed Martin said in an interview with the Jewish …

The Hill reports: Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned states Thursday that they will lose federal funding for roads, bridges and other infrastructure projects if they continue to foster diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs; impede President Trump’s immigration enforcement efforts; or defy other directives from the administration. “Federal grants come with a clear obligation to adhere to federal laws,” Duffy …

Reuters reports: A federal judge in San Francisco on Thursday blocked Donald Trump’s administration from withholding federal funding from several so-called sanctuary jurisdictions that have declined to cooperate with the Republican president’s hardline immigration crackdown. U.S. District Judge William Orrick issued the injunction at the request of 16 cities and counties nationally led by San Francisco that in a lawsuit …

The Associated Press reports: A federal judge on Thursday blocked Trump administration directives that threatened to cut federal funding for public schools with diversity, equity and inclusion programs. The ruling came in a lawsuit brought by the National Education Association and the American Civil Liberties Union, which accused the Republican administration of violating teachers’ due process and First Amendment rights. …

The Washington Post reports: The United States faces millions of measles cases over the next 25 years if vaccination rates for the disease drop 10 percent, according to new research published Thursday. No change in the current vaccination rate would result in hundreds of thousands of measles cases over the same period, according to a mathematical model produced by a team …

The Hill reports: National Economic Council (NEC) Director Kevin Hassett dismissed the notion that President Trump is worried about empty shelves in supermarkets and households due to the ongoing tariff war and claimed the U.S. is actively engaged in trade negotiations with scores of countries around the world. “No, absolutely not,” Hassett said Wednesday night in an interview on Fox …

Axios reports: Food and Drug Administration databases that physicians and public health experts rely on for key drug safety and manufacturing information have been neglected due to DOGE-directed layoffs, leaving health professionals flying blind on basic questions about certain drugs they’re prescribing, current and former FDA officials tell Axios. Information gaps that have become a hallmark of the workforce reductions …

NBC News reports: The Trump administration has quietly transformed the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, forcing out a majority of career managers and implementing new priorities that current and former officials say abandon a decadeslong mission of enforcing laws that prohibit discrimination in hiring, housing and voting rights.  “It’s been a complete bloodbath,” said a senior Justice Department lawyer in the …

The Guardian reports: Norway has launched a new scheme to lure top international researchers amid growing pressure on academic freedom in the US under the Trump administration. Following in the footsteps of multiple institutions across Europe, the Research Council of Norway on Wednesday launched a 100m kroner (£7.2m) fund to make it easier to recruit researchers from other countries. The …

The Independent reports: The leader of President Donald Trump’s White House Faith Office said Wednesday that she willingly “submits” to her husband, whom she dubbed the “head” of her household. “God has an order,” Paula White-Cain told right-wing media outlet Real America’s Voice as she described her vision of the divinely dictated relationship between men and women. “Look, the head …

The education site Chalkbeat reports: President Donald Trump signed executive orders Wednesday that aim to promote stricter school discipline and discourage schools from considering whether discipline policies have a greater impact on students of color. Under former President Barack Obama, the Education Department warned schools that policies that led to students of certain racial groups being suspended or expelled at …

The Washington Post reports: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth directed the installation of Signal, a commercially available messaging app, on a desktop computer in his Pentagon office, said three people familiar with the matter, illustrating the extent to which he has integrated use of the unclassified communications platform at the center of his political troubles with the highly secure systems the …

Politico reports: The White House is partnering with a prominent conservative Christian college in Michigan to produce videos ahead of the United States’ 250th anniversary — a stark contrast to Trump’s ongoing battles with higher education institutions deemed adversarial by his administration. The White House’s rapid response team announced a partnership with Hillsdale College on a video series related to …

The Washington Post reports: Attorney General Pam Bondi convened the first meeting of a task force President Donald Trump has charged with searching for and eradicating what he’s described as “anti-Christian bias” within federal agencies and regulatory practices. Joined by other Cabinet officials, Bondi kicked off the session by attacking the administration of former president Joe Biden, who she said …

The Canadian Press reports: China’s ambassador says Beijing is offering to form a partnership with Canada to push back against American “bullying,” suggesting the two countries could rally other nations to stop Washington from undermining global rules. “We want to avoid the situation where humanity is brought back to a world of the law of the jungle again,” Chinese Ambassador …

CBS News reports: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recently ordered modifications to a room next to the Pentagon press briefing room to retrofit it with a makeup studio that can be used to prepare for television appearances, multiple sources told CBS News. The price tag for the project was several thousand dollars, according to two of the sources, at a time …

CNN reports: The man who allegedly stole a Gucci bag loaded with cash from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was sitting at the table next to hers, according to video of Sunday’s incident reviewed by Secret Service investigators. The surveillance footage of the incident at The Capital Burger restaurant in Washington, DC, showed the suspect purposefully moving close to Noem …

Politico reports: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Wednesday that the Trump administration planned to pursue reforms at the International Monetary Fund and World Bank to achieve a more “sustainable international economic system” that better serves the United States and other countries. Bessent said the Trump administration would not seek to retreat from those institutions but instead push to play a …