What to know today
- President Donald Trump signed an executive order this afternoon that sets in motion the dismantling of the Education Department. Officially closing the department would require an act of Congress.
- A federal judge blasted the Justice Department over its "woefully insufficient" response to his questions about deportation flights last weekend that the Trump administration ordered under a rarely used 18th century wartime law. Trump and his allies have called for impeaching the judge over his questioning of the deportations.
- Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., joined Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., out West for his "Fighting Oligarchy" tour. Their itinerary today included events in two states Trump won last year: Arizona and Nevada.
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New political spending signals Elon Musk’s huge role in the GOP is still growing
After having sunk more than a quarter-billion dollars into the 2024 election and then taken a central role in Trump’s administration, Musk is demonstrating that he’s not done with his efforts to reshape American politics.
Musk, the public face of Trump’s attempts to take a chainsaw to the federal bureaucracy, is a constant fixture on White House grounds and on his social media platform, X. Meanwhile, the super PAC he founded is the top outside spender in the April 1 election that will determine the majority on Wisconsin’s state Supreme Court, and Musk is also demonstrating his willingness to use his wallet to reward Trump loyalists in Congress — and, some fear, to punish others — as he closely watches the political landscape.
It all makes Musk a megadonor without much parallel in modern political history — someone who not only can fundamentally reshape a campaign with a single check but is also a prominent political figure in his own right, both as a business executive and as the de facto leader of Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency.
In short, Musk’s prominence, his virtually unlimited bank account and his penchant for controversy are poised to play a big role in upcoming elections — for both parties, in different ways.
Voters praise AOC and Bernie Sanders for going on offense against Trump
Several people at tonight's “Fight Oligarchy” tour stop in Tempe, Arizona, with Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., praised the two lawmakers for playing offense against Trump’s agenda and encouraged Democrats to be more aggressive in confronting Trump.
“I think just hearing them speak is going to give us a lot of hope. Just to go ahead and rally us and let us all know, like, the fight’s not over,” Samantha Petras, a resident of Phoenix, told NBC News.
Petras added that Democrats “need to come together and figure out a plan.”
“I think, unfortunately, the conservatives are playing a really good game of chess, and now it’s time for the Dems to go ahead and step up to the plate and figure out how we’re going to go ahead and take our democracy back,” she said.
Betsy Munoz, a lifelong Phoenix resident, noted the high energy among the thousands of people who attended the Tempe event and said she hopes to see the gatherings continue. She said the events with Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez could have a “trickle-down effect” and encourage local leaders to energize their followings, as well.
“What happens at the federal level affects the state side, as well,” Munoz said. “It’s really important to see that there’s people fighting for us.”
Marc Borzcon, who attended the event with his 21-year-old son, Dylan, said Democrats need to play “a little lower” against Republicans. He called Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer's support for advancing a Republican funding bill last week the wrong approach.
“We should have shut the government down,” said Borzcon, 55. “I have no doubt in my mind that that was the proper thing to do under the circumstances.”
Recent polling by NBC News found that Democratic voters want their lawmakers to resist Trump’s agenda rather than find areas of compromise.
“We just feel at this moment, like, what do we do? We want to show up, and we want to be part of fighting what’s going on right now,” Borzcon said.
Detained Georgetown University grad student never made pro-Hamas statements, attorney says
A Georgetown University graduate student from India who was taken into custody this week and targeted for deportation by the Trump administration never made any pro-Hamas or antisemitic comments, his lawyer said.
Immigration agents detained Badar Khan Suri, a postdoctoral fellow who teaches at Georgetown and has a visa, outside his home in Arlington, Virginia, on Monday night, his attorney has said. The Department of Homeland Security claimed Suri is “actively spreading Hamas propaganda and promoting antisemitism on social media.”
Suri’s lawyer, Hassan Ahmad, denied today that Suri ever made pro-Hamas or antisemitic statements.“This is still the United States of America, and we don’t punish people, we don’t whisk them away and send them 1,000 miles away from their family, based on what they may have said, what they may have posted on social media or who they are related to,” Ahmad said.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders rally Democrats, calling for a party that ‘fights harder’
At the first stop of their “Fighting Oligarchy” tour out West, two of the Democratic Party’s most unabashed progressive lawmakers had plenty to say about Trump. But they also had some strong words for their own party.
“This isn’t just about Republicans. We need a Democratic Party that fights harder for us, too,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. told the fired-up crowd gathered at the Craig Ranch Amphitheater to see her and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. “But what that means is that we as a community must choose and vote for Democrats and elected officials who know how to stand for the working class.”
While Ocasio-Cortez did not mention any Democratic leaders by name, the crowd broke out into multiple “Primary Chuck” chants — a reference to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who backed down from a funding fight with Trump last week. The move enraged the base and prompted some of Ocasio-Cortez’s House colleagues to encourage her to mount a primary challenge to Schumer, her fellow New Yorker, in 2028.
Demonstrators across the country protested the Trump administration’s plans to possibly privatize the U.S. Postal Service.
Trump withdraws executive order targeting major law firm after reaching agreement
Trump said tonight on Truth Social that he is withdrawing an executive order that targeted security clearances and federal contracts at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP following an agreement he reached with the law firm.
The agreement's terms, according to Trump's post, include the firm's rejection of polices tied to diversity, equity and inclusion. The firm also agreed to invest $40 million in pro bono legal services during Trump’s second term backing his initiatives on “assisting our Nation’s veterans, fairness in the Justice System, the President’s Task Force to Combat Antisemitism, and other mutually agreed projects.”
"As part of its commitment, it will engage experts, to be mutually agreed upon within 14 days, to conduct a comprehensive audit of all of its employment practices," the agreement says.
Brad Karp, the firm's chairman, said in a statement released by the White House: “We are gratified that the President has agreed to withdraw the Executive Order concerning Paul, Weiss. We look forward to an engaged and constructive relationship with the President and his Administration.”
A spokesperson for the firm did not immediately respond to a request for additional comment.
Trump issued an executive order last week to suspend any security clearances for Paul, Weiss employees, terminate government contracts with the firm, block its employees from entering government buildings and bar government employees "from acting in their official capacity from engaging with Paul Weiss employees to ensure consistency with the national security and other interests of the United States."
Trump had issued an executive order similarly restricting employees at the law firm Perkins Coie. A federal judge blocked the order in part.
Elon Musk received court summons in SEC suit over failure to properly disclose Twitter stake
Elon Musk received a court summons last week in connection with the Securities and Exchange Commission's lawsuit over allegations he failure to properly disclose purchases of Twitter stock in 2022 before he placed a bid to buy the company, according to a filing today.
A process server delivered the civil summons to Musk on March 14 at the headquarters of SpaceX in Brownsville, Texas, the filing said. The server noted that upon his arrival at the SpaceX facility, three different security guards refused to accept the documents and one told him he was trespassing. He “placed the documents on the ground” and left while the guards photographed him and his car.
The summons pertains to a case concerning Musk’s eventual purchase of Twitter, now known as X, for $44 billion in 2022. Before the acquisition, Musk built up a position in the company of greater than 5%, which would have required disclosing his holdings to the public within 10 calendar days of reaching that threshold.
According to the SEC’s civil complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., in January, Musk was more than 10 days late in reporting that material information, “allowing him to underpay by at least $150 million for shares he purchased after his financial beneficial ownership report was due.”
Chuck Schumer says a ‘lawless’ Trump has caused a constitutional crisis
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Trump’s escalating attacks on the judiciary have resulted in a constitutional crisis.
In an interview with NBC News’ “Meet the Press,” Schumer assailed Trump’s recent calls to impeach a judge who ruled against him in a case involving his efforts to deport Venezuelan immigrants. Judges and plaintiffs in some cases have accused Trump of violating or sidestepping court orders as he faces a litany of legal challenges to his executive actions.
Asked whether he agrees with scholars who say the United States is in a constitutional crisis, Schumer responded, “Yes, I do.”
“And democracy is at risk. Look, Donald Trump is a lawless, angry man. He thinks he should be king. He thinks he should do whatever he wants, regardless of the law, and he thinks judges should just listen to him,” Schumer told moderator Kristen Welker. The full interview will air on “Meet the Press” on Sunday.
Wisconsin Republican opts for virtual town hall over in-person event
Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Wis., opted to skip a town hall this afternoon organized by his constituents and local Democratic groups at a library in Eau Claire.
Van Orden was invited to participate but never confirmed his attendance. Instead, he chose to host a virtual town hall on Facebook, where he answered submitted questions read aloud by a staffer.
House Republican leaders have advised their members against town hall events amid backlash to the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency.
Republican lawmakers, including Van Orden, have argued that people protesting Trump's agenda at town halls are paid protesters. He repeated the claim during today's virtual event.
“That is just disrespectful to you, and I’m not going to allow those folks to do that,” he said in his opening remarks.
Van Orden's absence was noted at the Eau Claire event. At the front of the library venue, organizers left an empty chair for him with a sign that read “Reserved for Congressman Van Orden.”
In addition, several members of the primarily Democratic audience directed their questions at him, with one attendee responding specifically to his claim that paid agitators are showing up to town halls for Republican lawmakers.
“I’m hear of my own volition. Congressman Van Orden would like you to believe that anyone is critical of him is paid by dark, mysterious forces,” said John Sterling, a veteran and Eau Claire resident.
“Congressman Van Orden, why aren’t you doing in-person, town hall meetings here in Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District? Are you afraid to answer some tough questions?” he continued.
Another attendee, Lynne Wagner, said she's still waiting to get an answer from Van Orden about DOGE’s cutting her son’s project at the U.S. Agency for International Development. Wagner said that Van Orden's staff assured her that he would respond but that he hasn't done so yet.
“So, my question for Mr. Van Orden is: Where are you, and how can your constituents reach you?” she said to the audience.
What to know about how Trump’s executive order will affect American education
Trump signed an executive order today in an effort to “begin eliminating the federal Department of Education.” With the stroke of his pen, he officially set in motion a plan to shutter the 46-year-old agency, as he said, “once and for all.”
But the order stops short of immediately closing the department, which cannot be done without congressional approval. Rather, according to the text of the order released by the White House, it directs Education Secretary Linda McMahon to “take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return authority over education to the States and local communities while ensuring the effective and uninterrupted delivery of services, programs, and benefits on which Americans rely.”
At the signing, Trump said federal Pell grants (a common type of federal undergraduate financial aid), Title I funding and resources and funding for children with disabilities would be “preserved in full and redistributed to various other agencies and departments.”
“But beyond these core necessities, my administration will take all lawful steps to shut down the department,” he said, adding that he would do so “as quickly as possible.”