Trump gives campaign-style speech at Justice Department; Senate passes bill to avert government shutdown

Trump signed an executive order today that seeks to further reduce the size of the federal government by orders the elimination of seven entities “to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law.”

He listed the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, the United States Agency for Global Media, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in the Smithsonian Institution, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, and the Minority Business Development Agency.

Trump also called for the head of each entity to submit a report to the White House Office of Management and Budget in seven days "confirming full compliance with this order and explaining which components or functions of the governmental entity, if any, are statutorily required and to what extent."

Trump said tonight that the U.S., in coordination with the Iraqi Government and the Kurdish Regional Government, killed the head of ISIS for Iraq and Syria, Abdallah Makki Muslih al-Rufay’i.

"Today the fugitive leader of ISIS in Iraq was killed. He was relentlessly hunted down by our intrepid warfighters. His miserable life was terminated, along with another member of ISIS," Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. "PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH!"

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shiaa al-Sudani called the death of the ISIS leader a remarkable victory "against the forces of darkness and terrorism."

"He was considered one of the most dangerous terrorists in Iraq and the world," Sudani wrote in a statement earlier today. "We congratulate Iraq, the Iraqi people, and all peace-loving nations on this significant security achievement."

Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., was sued for defamation today by one of the four men she accused of rape, sex trafficking and other sex crimes against her and other women in a House floor speech last month.

Mace accused her ex-fiancé Patrick Bryant and three other men of what she called “some of the most heinous crimes against women imaginable.” The men have all vehemently denied the accusations.

One of the men, Brian Musgrave, filed suit against Mace in federal court in South Carolina today, denying all of Mace’s allegations against him and seeking an unspecified amount in damages from the congresswoman, claiming Mace damaged his “good name and reputation.”

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said tonight that House Democrats will hold a "Day of Action" on Tuesday "to aggressively push back against the diabolical Republican scheme to enact the largest Medicaid cut in our nation’s history."

"We will partner with our colleagues at every level of government to protect the American people," Jeffries said in a statement that also acknowledged tension between Democratic leaders in the House and Senate, saying they “may strongly disagree” on occasion even though Democrats "remain determined to make life better for everyday Americans and stop the damage being done by Donald Trump, Elon Musk and House Republicans."

Jeffries' statement came as a number of House Democrats criticized Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., on social media after he voted to advance the Republican funding bill that all but one House Democrat opposed. Nine other Senate Democrats cast the same vote as Schumer, who later opposed the bill on final passage.

A month into his new role as health and human services secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is beginning to make his priorities for the country clear — and confirming some public health experts’ worst fears.

Since Kennedy was sworn in Feb. 13, the agencies he leads have canceled or postponed meetings about flu shots and other vaccines and announced plans to investigate already debunked links between vaccines and autism. He has downplayed the importance of vaccination in the Texas measles outbreak while endorsing unproven remedies for the highly contagious disease.

At the same time, Kennedy has begun to act on his long-standing concerns about the U.S. food system, directing the Food and Drug Administration to tighten a rule about the use of food additives and railing against seed oils in a Fox News interview.

As a whole, these actions and statements indicate that Kennedy has not abandoned some of the fringe beliefs that made him a controversial pick. His early moves on vaccines have worried health experts, who fear he is sowing confusion that could ultimately lead to the spread of preventable diseases.

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A U.S. appeals court today said the Trump administration could temporarily implement a ban on diversity, equity and inclusion programs at federal agencies and businesses with government contracts, which had been blocked by a judge.

The Richmond, Virginia-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the directives by Trump, including an order urging the Department of Justice to investigate companies with DEI policies, were likely constitutional, disagreeing with a February ruling by a federal judge in Maryland.

But two of the three judges on the 4th Circuit panel wrote separately they did not agree with the substance of Trump’s orders and that agencies that implement them may risk violating the U.S. Constitution.

“Despite the vitriol now being heaped on DEI, people of good faith who work to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion deserve praise, not opprobrium,” Circuit Judge Albert Diaz wrote.

Read the full story here.

Dr. Mehmet Oz, Trump’s pick to lead Medicare and Medicaid, sidestepped several questions today from senators about whether he supports a House budget resolution that could lead to significant cuts to Medicaid.

The budget plan, adopted by House Republicans late last month, directs the Energy and Commerce Committee to identify at least $880 billion in mandatory spending cuts over the next 10 years, the majority of which is expected to come from the health program.

Oz, a former surgeon and TV personality, pledged during his Senate confirmation hearing to be administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to fight waste, fraud and abuse in the health care system — an argument being used by some Republicans to defend the possible cuts.

However, he made no commitments to protect Medicaid funding.

Read the full story here.

Federal wildland firefighters secured a permanent pay raise today after years of waiting for Congress to answer their plea.

Included in the spending bill approved by Congress is a new pay scale and incident-response premium pay, which would apply to employees assigned to active fires.

The bill next goes to Trump to sign into law.

The new pay scale means firefighters will keep their temporary pay raises of either $20,000 annually or 50% of their base salary, enacted in 2021 under the Biden administration.

Read the full story here.

Trump today suggested that the new FBI headquarters will not be built in Maryland, despite the General Services Administration saying in 2023 it had selected a 61-acre site in Greenbelt, Maryland.

The president said during a speech at the Justice Department that his administration will build a new FBI building at its existing location in Washington, D.C.

Following Trump’s remarks, Democratic Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and Democratic members of the state’s congressional delegation said in a joint statement that they will continue to bring the agency’s headquarters to Maryland.