What to know today
- President Donald Trump said today he is considering "large scale" sanctions and tariffs on Russia to pressure the country into a ceasefire and peace deal with Ukraine. In later remarks in the Oval Office, Trump suggested it might be "more difficult" to work with Ukraine than Russia on ending the war.
- The Trump administration announced it will cancel about $400 million in federal grants to Columbia University over what it alleged is noncompliance with federal anti-discrimination laws.
- Trump hosted the first White House Crypto Summit with industry leaders to discuss plans to roll back many of the regulations put in place by the Biden administration. The president signed an executive order last night establishing a strategic bitcoin reserve, but the price of bitcoin didn't rally before the end of today's summit.
Rubio takes flak for Trump admin’s Russia stance, a sharp contrast from his hawkish history
Trump’s threats of tariffs and sanctions to Russia as leverage to negotiate a ceasefire with Ukraine may be a welcome pivot that draws some attention away from the administration’s recent support for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
It may also move the focus away from the flak that Secretary of State Marco Rubio — known for his hard-line policies against Russia and its backing of communist and socialist countries such as Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua — has been taking as the country’s top diplomat.
After Trump and Vice President JD Vance excoriated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a heated televised exchange from the Oval Office, and following Trump’s assertions that Ukraine — not Russia — started the war, the Cuban American secretary of state has been criticized by Americans who condemn Putin’s invasion of Ukraine as well as Russia’s longstanding involvement with some Latin American countries.
One letter to the editor in the Miami Herald, his hometown newspaper, questioned how Rubio can “sleep at night” now that he’s “anxious to partner with Russia, which recently sent oil to Havana to keep that socialist state’s engine running.”
Trump says former co-defendant in classified documents case will serve on a Naval Academy board
Walt Nauta, who was one of Trump's co-defendants in his classified documents case, will serve on the Naval Academy's board of visitors, the president said in a Truth Social post tonight.
"Our GREAT United States Naval Academy needs a new Board of Visitors," Trump wrote. "I am pleased to announce that an incredible group of Patriots will serve on the Board— Walt Nauta, Sean Spicer, 'Doc Ronnie' Jackson, and Derek Van Orden. Together they will ensure continued Greatness for the Academy!"
Nauta was charged in 2023 in connection with allegedly scheming to help Trump retain classified documents after leaving office following his first term and obstructing investigators' efforts. He pleaded not guilty and the Justice Department dropped its case against him and another co-defendant in January.
The other Naval Academy board members named by Trump include Spicer, who was Trump's first White House press secretary, and Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-Texas, Trump's doctor during his first term. Jackson was demoted by the Navy after a Pentagon review revealed "inappropriate conduct." Van Orden is a Republican congressman from Wisconsin.
Canadians drop their politeness in the wake of Trump’s tariffs
Trump’s tariffs on Canadian goods, coming on the heels of his taunting threats to make the country the 51st U.S. state, are eroding the inherent politeness of Americans’ northern neighbors and rallying them around their own flag.
Canadians are removing American liquor and California wines from their store shelves. They’re pulling back on future visits to the U.S. They’re pushing “Buy Canadian” to counter higher costs and spite Trump. And they are uncharacteristically brandishing unvarnished anger over what they see as a betrayal of a longtime friend.
“I will never visit America again,” Angela Qin, a university student told NBC News as she exited an ice rink in downtown Toronto. “You don’t stab the back of your friend.”
Mayor of Hamtramck, which had the country's first all-Muslim city council, is Trump's pick for ambassador to Kuwait
Trump announced several new ambassador picks this evening, including Amer Ghalib, the mayor of Hamtramck, Michigan, to serve as U.S. ambassador to Kuwait.
Ghalib is the first Arab American and first Muslim elected to lead Hamtramck. He endorsed Trump in September, when former Vice President Kamala Harris was hammered over policy stances some Arab American voters felt did not adequately address the devastation in Gaza.
Ghalib in his endorsement at the time said, "Trump and I may not agree on everything, but I know he is a man of principles." He later appeared, and spoke, at Trump campaign events.
In a Truth Social post announcing his appointment, Trump said Ghalib "worked hard to help us secure a Historic Victory in Michigan."
The post requires Senate confirmation.
Trump this evening also announced diplomat Duke Buchan III as his pick for ambassador to Morocco, businessman Michel Issa ambassador to Lebanon and diplomat Lynda Blanchard as ambassador to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in Rome.
Tulsi Gabbard denies allies may withhold intel to U.S.
Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, says there is no sign that American allies may withhold intelligence from the U.S. due to Washington’s approach to Moscow.
“The answer to your question is, no,” Gabbard told Fox News’ Laura Ingraham yesterday. “I can tell you, just today alone, I met with two different senior intelligence leaders from Europe who came here to visit to introduce themselves and to say, ‘Hey, we really look forward to continuing to work with you.’”
Gabbard said she “met with other European leaders earlier this week” who are “letting us know how much they rely on us for our support, the intelligence that we share.”
Her comments came after NBC News reported that some U.S. allies are considering scaling back the intelligence they share in response to the Trump administration’s emerging policy on Russia.
Responding to criticism of Trump’s conciliatory moves toward Russia, Gabbard said Trump was a “peace president” who was simply trying to end the war in Ukraine. She went on to argue that “war mongers” and “the military industrial complex” are trying to paint the president and others in his administration as “puppets of” Russian President Vladimir Putin because they don’t have an answer to peace efforts.
“So instead, they throw out these smears and lies and accusations that I think the American people are seeing right through,” Gabbard said.
Trump signs executive order limiting federal loan forgiveness program, citing national security concerns
Trump today signed an executive order that limits eligibility for a public service loan forgiveness program. He cited national security concerns.
The government program enables many nonprofit and government employees to have their federal student loans forgiven after 10 years of payments. Trump's order narrows the definition of "public service" to exclude organizations that he says have a "substantial illegal purpose."
"Instead of alleviating worker shortages in necessary occupations, the PSLF Program has misdirected tax dollars into activist organizations that not only fail to serve the public interest, but actually harm our national security and American values, sometimes through criminal means," the order read.
"Accordingly, it is the policy of my Administration that individuals employed by organizations whose activities have a substantial illegal purpose shall not be eligible for public service loan forgiveness."
Examples of a “substantial illegal purpose” provided by Trump in the order include “supporting terrorism,” aiding in the “trafficking” of children to “transgender sanctuary states” and abetting “illegal discrimination.”
In the Oval Office earlier this afternoon, White House aide Will Scharf told Trump that the loan forgiveness program is being exploited.
“A lot of these people work for NGO organizations, for nonprofit organizations that engage in illegal or what we would consider to be improper activities supporting, for example, illegal immigration or foreign terrorist organizations or otherwise law-breaking activities,” Scharf said.
Scharf did not point to specific evidence to back up his claims nor did he name any organizations.
Trump announces Fox hosts will join Kennedy Center board
Fox News host Laura Ingraham and Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo will join the Kennedy Center's board, Trump said in a post on Truth Social tonight.
"This completes our selection. We look forward to restoring the Center to Greatness, and ushering in America’s Golden Age," Trump wrote. "Together, we will Make the Arts Great Again!"
The announcement follows Trump's effort to overhaul the arts organization’s Board of Trustees after appointing himself as chairman last month. A variety of performances have been canceled or dropped out in the wake of the leadership changes.
Ingraham and Bartiromo are the latest in a string of Fox hosts who have become a part of the Trump administration in some capacity.
DOJ attorney who was critical of Biden's pardons says Todd Blanche fired her
U.S. pardon attorney Liz Oyer today posted to her LinkedIn page a termination notice from Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who previously worked as Trump's defense lawyer.
The letter did not attribute Oyer's firing to a specific reason but comes as the Trump administration purges dozens of immigration judges, federal prosecutors and career layers from the Justice Department, zeroing in on people involved in prosecutions of Trump.
As pardon attorney, Oyer oversaw the process in which people applied for and received clemency. Though she operated as a nonpartisan advocate, she was critical of former President Joe Biden's decision to commute the sentences of 2,500 nonviolent drug offenders in a bid to "equalize" sentencing disparities.
Oyer told The Wall Street Journal in a statement earlier this year that the commutations were "not what we had hopes and advocated for," and called some of the clemency grants "upsetting."
Trump late last month appointed former federal inmate Alice Marie Johnson as "pardon czar," a decision that Oyer praised.
Bill Nye rallies with Democrats in protesting Trump's science cuts
Bill Nye, "the Science Guy," criticized the Trump administration at a rally in D.C. this afternoon and called for safeguards to protect against "political interference" in scientific research.
"Science is in the national interest, censoring science is not. I encourage those on the other side to break ranks, become leaders, remove the suppression of science," Nye said at the Stand Up for Science rally held in front of the Lincoln Memorial.
"As we stand here today, certain elements in our own government have suppressed references to climate change, have advocated against lifesaving vaccines and have ordered an automatic review of papers for the purpose of censorship," he added.
The rally brought together scientific researchers, lawmakers and climate activist to speak out against the Trump administration’s efforts to slash research funding and personnel at agencies like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Institutes of Health.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., referred to the cuts as "illegal and reckless attacks on science by Elon Musk and the Trump administration."
"Make no mistake, this has nothing to do with government efficiency," said Van Hollen, whose state is home to the NIH headquarters.
Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, D-Texas, a member of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, blasted efforts to terminate scientists whose job it is to keep Americans safe.
"They’re trying to fire scientists, innovators all across every single agency. They don’t know what they’re doing. They don’t know the cost of what they’re doing. We have to stop it," Subramanyam added.
Transgender inmates file class action suit against the Trump administration
Three transgender inmates in federal custody filed a class action lawsuit today against the Trump administration and the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP).
The inmates are challenging Trump’s executive order prohibiting gender-affirming care for transgender people in federal prisons and immigration detention centers, and the BOP’s implementation of the executive order, according to the suit.
The lawsuit was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and other advocacy groups in D.C. federal court on behalf of 2,000 transgender people incarcerated in federal prisons across the country.
The three transgender inmates named in the suit include two transgender men and one transgender woman in facilities in New Jersey, Minnesota and Florida. The three individuals were previously diagnosed with gender dysphoria by BOP medical providers who prescribed them hormone therapy, the suit said. The plaintiffs, according to court documents, have either had their treatments suspended or the treatment will be suspended soon.
“Plaintiffs have already had their hormone therapy and/or access to accommodations discontinued, causing anxiety, thoughts of suicide and self-harm, sleeplessness, lethargy, and mood swings,” the suit said. “Defendants’ withdrawal and denial of gender-affirming health care to treat Plaintiffs’ serious medical needs, based on a blanket ban and without any individualized medical determination, violates the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.”
The plaintiffs said the policy also violates the right to equal protection guaranteed by the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution, the Administrative Procedure Act and the Rehabilitation Act.