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Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced today that he would not run for the U.S. Senate in Michigan next year.
“I care deeply about who Michigan will elect as Governor and send to the U.S. Senate next year, but I have decided against competing in either race,” Buttigieg wrote in a post on X this morning.
“While my own plans don’t include running for office in 2026, I remain intensely focused on consolidating, communicating, and supporting a vision for this alternative,” he wrote in a subsequent post.
In a post on Substack, Buttigieg wrote more about his decision-making process, saying he “seriously” considered running for Michigan’s open Senate seat and governorship, but adding: “My party has a deep and talented bench here in Michigan, and I am certain that we will nominate an outstanding candidate for each office.”
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A coalition of 21 Democratic state attorneys general filed suit today in Massachusetts federal court alleging the administration’s planned cuts to the Education Department are “unlawful.”
“This massive reduction in force (RIF) is equivalent to incapacitating key, statutorily-mandated functions of the Department, causing immense damage to Plaintiff States and their educational systems,” the suit says.
It says the cuts are a first step toward dismantling the agency, which Trump has said should be shut down. The president’s “directive to eliminate the Department of Education — including through the March 11 decimation of the Department’s workforce and any other agency implementation — is an unlawful violation of the separation of powers, and the Executive’s obligation to take care that the law be faithfully executed,” says the suit, which seeks a court order blocking efforts to shutter the agency.
New York Attorney General Letitia James, who’s leading the suit, said in a statement: “Firing half of the Department of Education’s workforce will hurt students throughout New York and the nation, especially low-income students and those with disabilities who rely on federal funding. This outrageous effort to leave students behind and deprive them of a quality education is reckless and illegal.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The White House has directed the U.S. military to draw up options for increasing the American troop presence in Panama to achieve President Trump’s goal of “reclaiming” the Panama Canal, according to two U.S. officials familiar with the planning.
During a joint address to Congress last week, Trump said that “to further enhance our national security, my administration will be reclaiming the Panama Canal.” Since then, administration officials have not said what “reclaiming” means.
U.S. Southern Command is developing potential plans that vary from partnering more closely with the Panamanian military to the less likely option of U.S. troops seizing the Panama Canal by force, the officials said. Whether military force is used, the officials added, depends on how much the Panamanian military agrees to partner with the U.S.
The Trump administration’s goal is to increase the U.S. military presence in Panama to diminish China’s influence there, particularly access to the canal, the officials said.
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The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee voted this morning to advance Trump’s nominees to lead the National Institutes of Health and Food and Drug Administration.
The committee advanced Jay Bhattacharya to serve as NIH director in a 12-11 vote and Marty Makary to serve as FDA commissioner in a 14-9 vote.
The nominees, who are both medical doctors, raised the concerns of some Democratic senators about their positions on certain health issues. Bhattacharya opposed lockdowns during the Covid-19 pandemic and pushed for herd immunity by allowing the disease to spread among young people.
Makary testified at his confirmation hearing that he would review a Biden-era rule that allowed patients to obtain mifepristone, part of a two-drug regimen for a medication abortion, through telehealth visits.
A group of more than 80 Afghan women who fled the Taliban regime to study in Oman say they are at risk of imminent deportation to Afghanistan after their U.S.-funded scholarship was canceled as part of the Trump administration’s cuts to foreign aid.
The female students received an email on Feb. 28 informing them that the scholarship program administered by the U.S. Agency for International Development at the Middle East College of Oman had been terminated along with thousands of other foreign aid initiatives, according to the email obtained by NBC News.
In a letter to aid groups, the Afghan women are appealing for urgent help to allow them to continue their studies abroad and avoid returning to a country where, they say, they will face certain persecution and life-threatening risks.
“The situation is catastrophic,” the letter says. “Being sent back to Afghanistan would mean the permanent loss of our education and exposure to severe risks, including oppression, insecurity, and a future without opportunities. This is a life-or-death situation for many of us.”
Read the full story here.
Four Democratic senators are calling for an ethics investigation and possible disciplinary action in response to Trump and Elon Musk using their official public roles and resources to promote Tesla at the White House.
The group of Senate Democrats sent a letter to the acting director of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, Doug Collins, who also serves as secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
“Mr. Musk appears to have violated federal ethics laws by using his official position to promote his company. As a Special Government Employee (SGE), Mr. Musk is subject to [ethics office] regulations governing the conduct of executive branch employees,” said the letter, signed by Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Adam Schiff, D-Calif., Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.
“By promoting Tesla during an official press conference with the President while using the White House as a backdrop, Mr. Musk appeared to leverage his senior role in the government and the authority associated with the presidency to recommend Tesla and to imply that the Trump Administration endorses Tesla vehicles,” they wrote.
The senators argued that Musk may have violated ethics laws or standards of conduct, which they said could result in disciplinary action such as suspension or removal.
They asked Collins to recommend that the White House’s designated agency ethics officials investigate what happened and determine if Musk violated federal ethics laws.
“President Trump made the personal decision to buy a Tesla, at a market rate,” White House spokesperson Harrison Fields said in a statement.
The Office of Government Ethics declined to comment.
The White House has withdrawn the nomination of former Rep. Dave Weldon, R-Fla., whom Trump had chosen to serve as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a senior administration official said.
The development came just before Weldon was set to testify at his Senate confirmation hearing at 10 a.m. ET before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.
Axios was the first to report the news, citing sources on Capitol Hill.
It wasn’t immediately clear why his nomination was pulled, but Weldon has held some anti-vaccine views similar to those of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Read the full story here.
Trump took to Truth Social this morning to threaten 200% tariffs on all alcohol from countries that are in the European Union, citing the E.U.’s plan to place a new tariff on U.S. whiskey.
“If this Tariff is not removed immediately, the U.S. will shortly place a 200% Tariff on all WINES, CHAMPAGNES, & ALCOHOLIC PRODUCTS COMING OUT OF FRANCE AND OTHER E.U. REPRESENTED COUNTRIES,” Trump wrote. “This will be great for the Wine and Champagne businesses in the U.S.”
He railed against the E.U. in the post, falsely saying that the union was “formed for the sole purpose of taking advantage of the United States.”
Russian forces have retaken the largest town in the Kursk region previously held by Ukrainian troops and expect to soon roll back all of Kyiv’s gains in the area, the Russian Defense Ministry said today.
With the world waiting to see if Vladimir Putin will accept ceasefire plans suggested by the United States and Ukraine, the Russian president signaled the opposite, if anything.
Dressed in military fatigues, Putin visited soldiers in Kursk — the only Russian region in which Ukraine have captured territory. With his forces gaining momentum on the battlefield, Putin did not sound like a man eager for peace.
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The Education Department cut half its workforce amid Trump’s effort to abolish the agency. The president touted the cuts, saying they shift responsibilities away from the federal bureaucracy and back to the states, but critics said the moves will have a devastating impact. NBC News’ Kelly O’Donnell reports.
Dave Weldon, a former congressman from Florida and physician, is set to appear at a Senate confirmation hearing today for his nomination to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Unknown to many in the general public, he’s well-known in anti-vaccine circles.
As director, experts say Weldon, 71, could serve as a key ally to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who oversees the CDC and appears to share similar views, particularly on vaccines.
Weldon is expected to face questions today from the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee about how he would manage an agency with a $9 billion budget and a staff of more than 13,000, before the Trump administration job cuts.
Weldon served 14 years in the House until 2009, largely staying out of the public spotlight. During that time, however, he attracted the attention of anti-vaccine groups because of his criticisms of the CDC and questions about vaccine safety.
Read the full story here.
Trump’s full-speed-ahead approach to making radical change has forced his allies to fight from a defensive posture — explaining his plans after they have been executed — and raised alarms in his Republican Party that it could all end in a wreck.
The concerns are particularly acute when it comes to the economy, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average having lost about 7% of its value this month and many economists projecting either slower growth or a coming recession. Those fears haven’t deterred Trump from continuing to impose tariffs on foes and friends — which figure to raise prices on U.S. consumers — and slash federal government jobs, grants and contracts.
“There are worries,” said a person who has been involved in discussions about the economy with White House officials. Those effects on the markets and the economy are felt immediately, while policies aimed at spurring growth — including cutting taxes and regulations — will take much longer to implement, this person said.
Privately, officials at the White House’s National Economic Council have indicated fears that it could be difficult to rebound quickly from a downturn, two people familiar with internal White House discussions said.
Read the full story here.
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