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President set to order Education Secretary Linda McMahon to begin dismantling federal agency and hand responsibility for schools over to individual states
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Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order on Thursday directing Education Secretary Linda McMahon to dramatically downsize the Department of Education, close to shuttering the federal agency responsible for America’s schooling in favor of leaving decision-making up to individual states.
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.
A NASA advisor is taking billionaire Elon Musk’s Mars plans to task, writing Thursday that the highly ambitious endeavor won’t happen “anytime soon.”
Musk, the founder of SpaceX, has repeatedly stated that getting humans to Mars is his end goal. Speaking on Fox News this week, he predicted that a multi-planetary civilization could come as soon as the next 20 to 30 years. Previously, he had predicted that an uncrewed landing on the red planet could happen as soon as 2026, with humans there before 2030.
Not so fast, says Dr Paul Sutter…
Here’s Julia Musto’s report.
Billionaire Elon Musk’s repeated attacks on Social Security are reportedly causing disquiet among Republicans, who fear any cuts to the welfare service by his Department of Government Efficiency, DOGE, will lead to disruption and inspire an angry backlash from their constituents.
Joe Sommerlad reports.
President Donald Trump’s administration announced on Thursday an extension of 30 days for New York to end Manhattan’s congestion pricing program, originally set to expire on March 21 and which began in January.
In February, the U.S. Transportation Department rescinded federal approval of the program, which had been issued under Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy stated on Thursday that the department would grant a one-month extension as discussions continue, but he cautioned on X: “Know that the billions of dollars the federal government sends to New York are not a blank check. Continued non-compliance will not be taken lightly.”
Read Duffy’s post in full:
An early investor in Tesla has called for Elon Musk to leave his post as the company’s CEO if he doesn’t depart from his current job focusing on cutting down the federal government.
Ross Gerber told Sky News that Musk has lost his focus and that he’s now too “divisive,” pointing to Musk’s leadership of the Department of Government Efficiency. Musk’s slashing of federal agencies has prompted outrage and protests against Tesla, with owners being urged to sell their vehicles.
Gustaf Kilander reports.
Elon Musk is sending money to members of Congress – including Lauren Boebert – who have expressed support for impeaching judges blocking actions by President Donald Trump and his administration, five people told The New York Times.
Musk has handed the largest possible hard-dollar donation under the law, $6,600, to the seven Republicans and their campaigns after they backed impeachments of judges or called for “action” to be taken against them. This comes after recent rulings against the Trump administration, such as a decision over the weekend by Judge James Boasberg in the Federal District Court in the nation’s capital.
Gustaf Kilander reports.
Alex Woodward writes:
It’s been about 90 minutes since the deadline and the Trump administration has not filed a public response to Judge James Boasberg’s questions about the El Salvador deportation flights. Lawyers had a noon deadline. It’s possible that they might’ve filed something via email directly to the judge himself to argue to keep that information under seal.
After the government pushed for a delay at the last minute yesterday, Boasberg agreed to give them a one-day deadline, “although their grounds for such request at first blush are not persuasive,” he wrote.
The administration has been stonewalling over the past week, arguing that the answers would compromise national security. Lawyers may have invoked a so-called state secrets privilege in an attempt to avoid having to answer them at all.
Stay tuned…
Attorney General Pam Bondi on Thursday announced that the Justice Department is bringing “severe” charges against three individuals accused of targeting Teslas with arson attacks, following the White House’s vow to treat such incidents as domestic terrorism.
Josh Marcus has the latest on this developing story.
An American man who was abducted by the Taliban more than two years ago while traveling through Afghanistan was released as part of a deal struck by the Trump administration, the State Department said.
George Glezmann, a 66-year-old airline mechanic from Atlanta, was on his way back to the United States on Thursday morning after being held by the Taliban since December 2022, when he was seized while traveling through Afghanistan as a tourist.
Ariana Baio reports.
Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick used an appearance on Fox News to encourage viewers to buy stock in Tesla, as the company struggles amid Elon Musk’s involvement in the Trump administration.
Although cabinet secretaries traditionally do not endorse individual stocks, Lutnick told viewers of Jesse Watters Primetime that Musk – a “special government employee” of President Donald Trump – was “the best person to bet on” and that Tesla’s stock will “never be this cheap again.”
Ariana Baio has the story.
As protests against DOGE head Elon Musk spread across the country, a website called “Dogequest” has reportedly published the personal details of Tesla owners, leading to concerns about privacy and safety.
The site reveals the names, addresses and phone numbers of Tesla owners on an interactive map and uses an image of a Molotov cocktail as a cursor. The operators of the site have stated that they will only remove the information of Tesla owners who prove that they have sold their cars, according to 404 Media.
Gustaf Kilander reports.
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