Politics
- USPolitico
Medicaid shortfall forces California to borrow $3.44B
The surprise budget gap comes as Congress weighs large cuts to the program.
4 min read - USAssociated Press
Federal student loan site down Wednesday, a day after layoffs gutted Education Department
An hours-long outage Wednesday on StudentAid.gov, the federal website for student loans and financial aid, underscored the risks in rapidly gutting the Department of Education, as President Donald Trump aims to dismantle the agency. Hundreds of users reported FAFSA outages to Downdetector starting midday Wednesday, saying they were having trouble completing the form, which is required for financial aid at colleges nationwide. The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, a
3 min read - USAssociated Press
North Dakota Legislature close to asking US Supreme Court to undo landmark same-sex marriage ruling
North Dakota lawmakers are on the verge of making their state the first to tell the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn its decade-old ruling that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. “The original Supreme Court ruling in 2015 went totally against the Tenth Amendment, went totally against the North Dakota Constitution and North Dakota Century Code (state laws),” sponsor Republican Rep. Bill Tveit said.
4 min read - USAssociated Press
A breakdown of major EPA deregulatory moves around water, air, climate
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin on Wednesday announced nearly three dozen deregulatory moves that he said would spur the U.S. economy by rolling back rules that have unfairly burdened industry. Many of the moves would affect landmark regulations aimed at protecting clean air and water. The Biden administration set limits on planet-warming emissions from existing gas and coal-fired power plants – a major step in the administration’s effort to reduce greenhouse gases fro
8 min read - USAssociated Press
Trump administration resumes detention of immigrant families after Biden-era pause
The Trump administration resumed family detention of immigrants last week in a South Texas facility after a Biden-era pause, a legal nonprofit group providing services to migrant families said Wednesday. Fourteen immigrant families with children as young as one year old were in the detention facility in Karnes County, Texas, about 50 miles (80.5 kilometers) southeast of San Antonio, according to RAICES, which provides services to families at the center. Both the Obama administration and Trump'
2 min read - PoliticsNBC News
Senate Democrats make their move in the shutdown fight: From the Politics Desk
The House’s passage of a Republican stopgap funding bill has put Senate Democrats in a bind: Either back a measure they disapprove of and give up some of the only leverage they will have on major legislation this year, or reject it and allow a government shutdown to occur.
7 min read - PoliticsPolitico
‘Be careful about this’: Warnings abound as GOP considers writing off tax cuts
Republicans will discuss the accounting maneuver with President Donald Trump on Thursday.
6 min read - USAssociated Press
Judge hopes to rule next week on Trump order banning transgender people from military service
A federal judge said Wednesday that she hopes to rule next week on whether to block President Donald Trump’s administration from banning transgender people from serving in the U.S. military. At the end of a daylong hearing in Washington, D.C., U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes said it is her “strong hope” that she will issue a decision next Tuesday or Wednesday. Reyes acknowledged that her ruling probably won't be the “last stop in this train's journey,” given the near-certainty of an appeal.
2 min read - USNBC News
In rural Louisiana, Speaker Mike Johnson’s constituents fear potential Medicaid cuts
In House Speaker Mike Johnson’s backyard, many residents rely on anti-poverty programs to help make ends meet — and are pleading with the Louisiana Republican to protect those benefits as Congress weighs steep federal spending cuts.
5 min read - PoliticsBusiness Insider
Trump is backing Elon Musk's assumed role in the White House — see how their relationship has evolved over the years
Donald Trump and Elon Musk haven't always gotten along, but now the two powerful men are close political allies and frequently spend time together.
18 min read - USAssociated Press
St. Louis could lose control of its police to a state-appointed board under Missouri bill
St. Louis would lose control over its police force under a bill Missouri lawmakers approved Wednesday, possibly joining a few cities nationally where local elected officials don't fully manage law enforcement. The measure would grant Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe the power to appoint four voting members to a new St. Louis police board, all of whom must be city residents. Kehoe in a Wednesday statement said he looks forward to seeing the bill on his desk and praised lawmakers for “prioritizing pub
4 min read - PoliticsAssociated Press
Judge temporarily blocks parts of Trump's executive order seeking to punish law firm Perkins Coie
A federal judge blocked President Donald Trump's administration Wednesday from enforcing portions of an executive order designed to punish a prominent law firm linked to Democratic-funded opposition research during the 2016 presidential campaign into ties between the Republican candidate and Russia. U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell in Washington granted a temporary restraining order sought by the firm, Perkins Coie, one day after it filed a federal lawsuit alleging it’s being illegally targeted
3 min read - USAssociated Press
Republican Maine lawmaker sues House speaker over censure for post on transgender athlete
A Republican lawmaker in Maine has sued the state's Democratic House speaker over her censure that followed a social media post about a transgender athlete participating in high school sports. Rep. Laurel Libby's posted about a high school athlete who won a girls' track competition. The post went viral and touched off a spat between President Donald Trump and Democratic Gov. Janet Mills.
2 min read - PoliticsNBC News
Local businesses grapple with Trump's tariffs as G7 envoys meet in Canada
DRUMMONDVILLE, Quebec — Fury over President Donald Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs is fueling growing anxiety across Canada — especially in this working-class Quebec city where some 18% of local jobs are linked to the U.S.
4 min read - USAssociated Press
Wisconsin appeals court overturns ruling allowing for emailing ballots to disabled voters
A Wisconsin appeals court ruled Wednesday that disabled people are not allowed to receive absentee ballots by email, overturning a lower court's ruling less than three weeks before the April 1 election. The initial ruling by a Dane County Circuit Court judge allowing for the ballots to be emailed, made in June, was appealed by the Republican-controlled Legislature. The appeals court in August put the ruling on hold and no ballots were emailed ahead of the November presidential election.
3 min read - USAssociated Press
Tens of billions in Hurricane Helene aid to start by March 21
Tens of billions in aid for victims of Hurricane Helene should start flowing later this month, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins pledged Wednesday, but delays are already making it hard this year for some farmers to plant crops. Congress set a deadline of March 21 to hand out the money when it passed a $100 billion disaster relief package on Dec. 21. The late September storm cut a swath from Florida's Big Bend across eastern Georgia and upstate South Carolina before causing historic fl
4 min read - WorldAssociated Press
UN launches reform initiative as it nears its 80th anniversary and faces funding cuts
The U.N. chief launched a new initiative Wednesday to reform the United Nations as it approaches its 80th anniversary, saying the 193-member global organization needs an urgent update to deal with major funding reductions and still tackle the world's challenges. Secretary-General António Guterres dismissed any relationship between his UN80 Initiative and cuts to foreign aid and other programs that U.S. President Donald Trump and ally Elon Musk say will make the U.S. government more efficient.
3 min read - USNBC News
Immigrant detention centers are at capacity, Trump admin officials say
The Department of Homeland Security is working with several agencies to increase bed space as they ask Congress for more funding.
2 min read - BusinessPolitico
Oil executives supported Trump. Now he's causing them heartburn.
Oil and gas executives were big backers of the Republican president and his "energy dominance' message, but the trade fights he's picked are driving up their costs and threatening to undermine the economy.
9 min read - PoliticsAssociated Press
EPA likely to move to further limit federal protections for wetlands
The Trump administration on Wednesday announced it will reconsider the reach of the nation’s bedrock clean water law and likely further limit the wetlands it covers, building on a Supreme Court decision two years ago that removed federal protections for significant areas. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin said at agency headquarters in Washington that officials will listen to concerns from farmers and other groups worried about federal interference in how they use their l
4 min read - USAssociated Press
Trump administration drops lawsuit against company accused of abusing children at migrant shelters
The Trump administration moved to drop a civil lawsuit Wednesday against the largest provider of housing for migrant children over allegations of sexual abuse and harassment of unaccompanied minors, saying it also would no longer use the provider. The motion to dismiss the suit against Southwest Key Programs was filed after the federal government announced it had moved all unaccompanied children to other shelters. The complaint, filed last year during the Biden administration, alleged a litany
3 min read - WorldAssociated Press
Canada's incoming prime minister says he'll meet Trump if Canadian sovereignty is respected
Canada's incoming Prime Minister Mark Carney said Wednesday he's ready to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump if he respects Canadian sovereignty and is open to talk about a common approach to trade. Trump has declared a trade war on his northern neighbor and continues to call for Canada to become the 51st state, a position that has infuriated Canadians. Trump has threatened economic coercion in his annexation threats and suggested Tuesday the border is a fictional line.
3 min read - PoliticsAssociated Press
EPA terminates Biden-era climate grants worth $20 billion
The Environmental Protection Agency has terminated grant agreements worth $20 billion issued by the Biden administration under a so-called green bank to finance clean energy and climate-friendly projects. The action comes weeks after the EPA froze the grants, which EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has characterized as a “gold bar” scheme marred by conflicts of interest and potential fraud.
3 min read - USAssociated Press
Reductions in force: A look at which agencies are affected by DOGE-led job cuts
The deep cuts across federal agencies since Donald Trump's return to the White House include reductions in force, which mean not only layoffs but also elimination of positions altogether. Tens of thousands of job losses have been announced by agencies, including the Department of Education, which Trump has said he wants to eliminate altogether. Here's a look at reductions in force so far across federal agencies: What is a ‘RIF’?
5 min read - PoliticsAssociated Press
CDC nominee Dave Weldon is likely to be pressed on his vaccine views at Senate hearing
Dr. David Weldon had been out of the national spotlight for more than 15 years when he was nominated to head the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Weldon, who was nominated by President Donald Trump, needs to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate before he can lead the nation’s top public health agency. The 71-year-old retired Florida congressman is considered to be closely aligned with his presumptive boss, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the U.S. health secretary who for years has been one of the
5 min read - PoliticsBusiness Insider
For the first time, a majority of Americans don't like Trump's economic policies
A majority of respondents in a CNN poll disapproved of President Donald Trump's handling of the economy.
3 min read - USAssociated Press
A former Tennessee lawmaker wasn't allowed to reverse his guilty plea. Now, Trump has pardoned him
President Donald Trump has pardoned a former Republican Tennessee lawmaker who was two weeks into a 21-month prison sentence for an illegal campaign finance scheme that he pleaded guilty to in 2022, before he tried unsuccessfully to take back his plea. Former Sen. Brian Kelsey announced the pardon in a social media post Tuesday evening. Kelsey received a “full and unconditional pardon” for his case and authorities were ordered to release him from prison immediately, according to a copy of the
4 min read - PoliticsReuters
US Senator Shaheen will not seek reelection, adding to Democrats' hurdles
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen on Wednesday became the third Senate Democrat to say she would not seek reelection next year, further complicating her party's hopes of recapturing control of that chamber when President Donald Trump's term reaches its midpoint. Trump's Republicans currently hold a 53-47 Senate majority and Democrats are defending seats in four states seen as competitive by nonpartisan analysts, while Republican incumbents will be on the ballot in just two.
2 min read - PoliticsNBC News
Canada hits U.S. with $21B in retaliatory tariffs as global trade war heats up
The first shots of President Donald Trump’s global trade war have been fired.
3 min read - PoliticsAssociated Press
Find common ground or dig in for battle? Arizona's top Democrats are taking different approaches
Days after Donald Trump was elected to a second term, Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs headed to the Mexican border with a conciliatory message. “Border security was a core issue of the Trump campaign,” she said. “I look forward to having conversations with the incoming president about Arizona’s needs.”
4 min read - USBusiness Insider
A passenger attacked a flight attendant and another flyer before being restrained, affidavit says
An American Eagle passenger was charged with assault after an incident on a flight to Washington, DC. He said he wanted to speak to President Donald Trump.
2 min read - USBusiness Insider
The US military is woefully unprepared for the catastrophic casualties of a major Pacific war
Military healthcare experts told Congress that the current system is simply not able to handle the kind of casualties a major war would generate.
4 min read - WorldReuters
China says US has undermined fentanyl cooperation by imposing tariffs
BEIJING (Reuters) -China said on Wednesday that the U.S. has undermined bilateral counter-narcotics cooperation by imposing tariffs on Chinese goods over fentanyl, calling on Washington to stop using the issue as a bargaining chip to "blackmail" the country. U.S. President Donald Trump has increased tariffs on all Chinese imports to 20% from the previous 10% levy to punish Beijing for what he says is its failure to halt shipments of chemicals used for the production of the deadly opioid fentany
2 min read - USThe Guardian
‘We’re on the edge of chaos’: families with trans kids fight for care as bans take hold
A federal judge blocked Donald Trump’s executive order banning trans youth healthcare, but access remains uncertain
8 min read - PoliticsAssociated Press
State attorneys generals are grabbing headlines with lawsuits. Missouri's Andrew Bailey stands out
When Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey says he’ll seize assets to force China to pay a $24.5 billion award won in a lawsuit over COVID-19, the action might be aimed more at bolstering conservatives’ arguments that China was responsible for the pandemic than collecting any money. Similarly, when the Republican attorney general sued Starbucks last month, alleging that the coffee shop chain discriminated against white men in hiring, the point might have been less about winning in court than
6 min read - PoliticsAssociated Press
Abortion and Musk donations take center stage in Wisconsin Supreme Court debate
Abortion rights and the influence of donations from billionaires Elon Musk and George Soros took center stage in a sometimes testy debate Wednesday between candidates for the Wisconsin Supreme Court less than three weeks before the election. The winner of the April 1 contest will determine whether conservative or liberal justices control Wisconsin's highest court as it faces cases over abortion and reproductive rights, the strength of public sector unions, voting rules and congressional distric
5 min read - USAssociated Press
Justice Department is expected to slash public corruption unit, AP sources say
Prosecutors in the Justice Department section that handles public corruption cases have been told the unit will be significantly reduced in size, and its cases will be transferred to U.S. attorney's offices around the country, two people familiar with the matter said Tuesday. The discussions about shrinking the public integrity section come weeks after the unit's leadership resigned when a top Justice Department official ordered the dropping of corruption charges against New York Mayor Eric Ada
3 min read - PoliticsAssociated Press
Colombian president calls for referendum on health and labor reforms that have stalled in congress
BOGOTÁ, Colombia (AP) — Colombian President Gustavo Petro said Tuesday he will call for a special election in which voters will be able to approve or reject labor reform and health reform, which have been stalled for months in congress. In a nationally televised speech, Petro accused Colombia’s senate of “mocking” voters and siding with the nation’s “oligarchy” by turning down his efforts to reform the nation’s labor laws and its health system.
2 min read - PoliticsHuffPost
House Republican Ends Meeting After Getting Called Out For Misgendering Trans Colleague
Republican Rep. Keith Self insisted on referring to Rep. Sarah McBride, the first openly transgender member of Congress, as "Mr. McBride," but she and fellow Democrats didn't miss a beat.
2 min read - PoliticsNBC News
House Republican adjourns hearing after exchange over misgendering Rep. Sarah McBride
Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas, recognized McBride, D-Del., to speak and misgendered her in the process. McBride is the first openly trans member of Congress.
3 min read - PoliticsBusiness Insider
A photographer took a shot of Trump's notes — and they read like a Tesla sales pitch
President Donald Trump checked out Teslas at a White House event Tuesday with Elon Musk. He carried a note with jotted-down Tesla prices.
3 min read - PoliticsAssociated Press
Law firm sues over Trump executive order that seeks to suspend security clearances
A law firm targeted by President Donald Trump over its legal services during the 2016 presidential campaign sued the federal government Tuesday over an executive order that seeks to strip its attorneys of security clearances. The order, which Trump signed last week, was designed to punish Perkins Coie by suspending the security clearances of the firm's lawyers as well as denying firm employees access to federal buildings and terminating their federal contracts.
2 min read - PoliticsHuffPost
Senate Democrats In A Jam On Government Funding
“We're choosing between awful and terrible,” one Senate Democrat lamented of efforts to stave off a government shutdown.
4 min read - BusinessNBC News
Why Trump's rapidly changing economic policies are raising stagflation alarms
If there was one thing President Donald Trump was supposed to represent to many voters, it was the prospect of an upturn in their economic fortunes.
3 min read - PoliticsHuffPost
Trump Escalates Trade War Talk With Canada Even As It Raises Recession Risk
Trump also won consent for his trade wars from House Republicans, who approved language to make it much harder for Congress to block the tariffs.
4 min read - PoliticsHuffPost
Democrat Invokes This 2-Word Philosophy To Defend His Censure Vote Of Al Green Amid Backlash
Experts are weighing in on one Democrat's reasoning for voting to formally rebuke Green for his protest during President Donald Trump's recent speech to Congress.
7 min read - PoliticsBusiness Insider
Donald Trump reviews Tesla Model S: 'Everything's computer'
At the White House on Tuesday, Donald Trump and Elon Musk flitted about among a fleet of Teslas. "Everything's computer," Trump marveled.
2 min read - USHuffPost
Department Of Education Abruptly Closes Offices Wednesday, Citing ‘Security Reasons’
In a cryptic email, an official announced the closures amid reported plans by President Donald Trump to effectively close the department down.
2 min read - USAssociated Press
Appeals court won't lift block on Trump's executive order attempting to end birthright citizenship
A third appellate court has upheld a block on President Donald Trump's executive order limiting birthright citizenship. The 1st Circuit Court of Appeals made the ruling Tuesday, denying a motion from Trump's legal team to immediately overturn a block issued by a federal judge in Massachusetts. Trump's executive order would block automatic citizenship for any child born in the U.S. to someone who is in the country illegally, as well as children born to someone with temporary legal status if the
2 min read - PoliticsNBC News
Congressional Dems, ACLU slam Trump’s 'invasion' immigration proclamation, preview legal challenge
In a letter to the White House, the members of Congress and the ACLU, along with the Brennan Center, called the proclamation 'troubling and misguided'
3 min read
