Trump bashes judge blocking his deportation plan
Trump again criticized Chief Judge James Boasberg of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, who temporarily blocked the administration's efforts to invoke a rarely used wartime law to justify deportation flights.
"Judge James Boasberg is doing everything in his power to usurp the Power of the Presidency," Trump wrote on Truth Social, calling Boasberg's rulings "ridiculous."
Trump has repeatedly attacked judges who have impeded his efforts, including calling for the Boasberg's impeachment. He did not call for Boasberg's impeachment in tonight's post, which came shortly after Boasberg called the Justice Department's recent responses to his questions "woefully insufficient."
In an earlier post this evening, Trump derided judges who have issued injunctions against some of his policies, claiming they "could very well lead to the destruction of our Country!" Trump also called on Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts to immediately "fix" the issue of nationwide injunctions.
Roberts this week publicly rebuked Trump for saying judges who rule against him should be impeached.
Education secretary expands on Trump's dismantling plans
Education Secretary Linda McMahon today expanded on Trump's order to dismantle the Education Department and how soon it could affect students.
In an interview with NBC News’ Garrett Haake, McMahon said implementing changes at the department will take time. She said students and families will most likely not “immediately” feel the effects of the order.
“I don’t think anything happens immediately. I’d like to snap my fingers and have education reformed, you know, throughout the country, but it’s going to take a bit, and then we’re going to work very strongly and consistently with the states,” she said.
McMahon said certain responsibilities will remain with the department, like funding for special needs students and the management of Pell grants.
"Those programs that are outward-facing to our students and individuals will continue," she said.
Haake pressed McMahon about how the administration plans to dismantle the Education Department without the involvement of Congress, which holds the power to create and shutter departments. McMahon said the administration is focusing first on what it can achieve outside of Congress.
“We are looking at what other things we might, can transfer that might not need congressional approval at this point. And we’re going through and looking at them to determine what they are,” she said.
In subsequent remarks to reporters at the White House, McMahon said the department's investigations into civil rights violations could be housed in the Justice Department.
"I mean, the Department of Justice already has a civil rights office, and I think that there is an opportunity to discuss with Attorney General [Pam] Bondi about locating some of our civil rights work there," McMahon said.
In the meantime, McMahon said, she'll work to convince lawmakers that "students are going to be better served by eliminating the bureaucracy of the Department of Education."
Sen. Bill Cassidy says he’ll introduce a bill to eliminate the Education Department
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., who chairs the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, said this afternoon that he plans to soon introduce legislation to eliminate the Education Department.
“I agree with President Trump that the Department of Education has failed its mission,” Cassidy said in a statement. “Since the Department can only be shut down with congressional approval, I will support the President’s goals by submitting legislation to accomplish this as soon as possible.”
His statement came almost immediately after Trump signed an executive order to dismantle the Education Department.
Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Wis., who chairs the Education and Workforce Committee, also offered his support for Trump's order.
“The key to improving education is empowering parents and students and reducing the role of Washington bureaucrats,” Walberg said, adding that he believes the move will “ensure our nation’s youth are put first.”
The committee's top Democrat, Rep. Bobby Scott, of Virginia, blasted the executive order in a statement, calling it “reckless” and arguing it "will exacerbate existing disparities, reduce accountability" and put "at risk" rural and low-income students, students of color and students with disabilities.
Judge rips DOJ’s ‘woefully insufficient’ response to questions on Alien Enemies Act case
A federal judge today blasted the Justice Department’s latest response to his demand for more information about deportation flights that were carried out under a wartime law known as the Alien Enemies Act, calling it “woefully insufficient.”
U.S. District Judge James Boasberg wrote in a three-page ruling that the government “again evaded its obligations” to provide information that he had been demanding for days about the timing of the flights Saturday. Trump had invoked the rarely used law to deport people the administration claimed were members of a Venezuelan gang deemed a “foreign terrorist organization.”
At an emergency hearing Saturday, Boasberg had directed that any deportation flights being carried out under the Alien Enemies Act authority immediately return to the United States. Two flights landed in Honduras and El Salvador within hours of his order.
The Justice Department submitted its response under seal, but Boasberg said it told him he could disclose the contents. It comprised “a six-paragraph declaration from the Acting Field Office Director for Enforcement and Removal Operations at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Harlingen, Texas, Field Office” that did not include any new information about the flights, Boasberg wrote.
Trump says rare earth minerals deal with Ukraine could be signed 'very shortly'
Trump said at the White House today that he will sign a rare earth minerals deal "very shortly" with Ukraine.
"We're doing very well with regard to Ukraine and Russia, and one of the things we are doing is signing a deal very shortly with respect to rare earths with Ukraine, which they have tremendous value in rare earth, and we appreciate that," Trump said.
Trump also referred to his recent conversations with the Russian and Ukrainian presidents, saying, "We spoke yesterday with, as you know, President Putin and President Zelenskyy, and we would love to see that come to an end."
"I think we're doing pretty well in that regard," Trump said. "I believe we'll get it done. We'll see what happens, but I believe we'll get it done today."
After Trump order, DOGE descends upon the Institute of Museum and Library Services
A visit from DOGE staffers this afternoon at the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the bedrock of federal support for the nation's museums and libraries, has ignited fears among union leaders that the agency's staff could be next on the chopping block.
DOGE staffers appeared at the agency's office in Washington's L'Enfant Plaza on the heels of Trump’s ordering that the independent government agency be downsized to only what is statutorily required, a move museum advocates worry could cost the country its cultural and public institutions as the agency all but shuts down.
"IMLS is one of the biggest funders for museums, specifically small, rural museums," a Washington museum professional who showed up at the office in support of the agency after the DOGE visit told NBC News. "It is like the main funder for libraries both in universities and your public library. And if you think of all the services your public library provides, those are going to get gutted."
Keith Sonderling, Trump’s deputy labor secretary, was sworn in as acting director of the institute this morning in the building's lobby. Sonderling was surrounded by a security team and a handful of DOGE staff members who met with institute leaders after the ceremony.
Sonderling, upon concluding the meeting, wrote an email announcement emphasizing his commitment to “revitalize IMLS and restore focus on patriotism, ensuring we preserve our country’s core values, promote American exceptionalism and cultivate love of country in future generations.”
A union representing employees of the institute said it expects most employees will be placed on administrative leave over the weekend or Monday amid the Trump takeover.
"It remains unclear whether funding for existing grantees will continue, and whether new grants will be available in the future," the union, AFGE Local 3403, said in a statement.
The union also noted its commitment to working with Sonderling in good faith to continue the institute’s mission with "efficiency and innovation."
"This whole idea of trying to rewrite American history, in some ways museums are going to be a bulwark against that, because we are going to be a space that preserves and shares the truth," the Washington museum professional told NBC News outside the IMLS office. "And again, if we lose money, we can’t do that.”
Education Dept. layoffs gut statistics agency that issues Nation’s Report Card
The layoffs at the Education Department have gutted a statistical agency — the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) — that is responsible for compiling the Nation’s Report Card and measuring the academic performance of students nationwide, according to union officials.
NCES is a federal statistical agency tasked with data collection, analysis and reporting on U.S. education with the goal of boosting academic outcomes, according to its website.
Policymakers and the public have used NCES data to measure student performance in the classroom, the productivity of teachers, school safety and other topics.
ABC News reported earlier on the impact of the layoffs on the NCES.
Trump signs executive order to dismantle the Education Department
Trump signed an executive order today directing Education Secretary Linda McMahon to start dismantling the Education Department.
“It sounds strange, doesn’t it? Department of Education. We’re going to eliminate it,” Trump said in the East Room of the White House at a ceremony where he was flanked by children seated at school desks.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that the department would not be completely eliminated, saying its “critical functions” would continue, including enforcing civil rights laws and overseeing student loans and Pell grants.
Trump urges Democrats to back his effort to dismantle Education Department
Trump said at the White House today as he prepared to sign an executive order to dismantle the Education Department that the matter is likely to come before Congress and encouraged Democrats to vote for it. Fully abolishing the department would require a vote from Congress.
"Everybody knows it’s right, and the Democrats know it’s right, and I hope they’re going to be voting for it, because ultimately it may come before them," Trump said, adding that the United States hasn't performed well globally in education "for a long time."
'Hitting a fly with a sledgehammer': Federal judge blasts DOGE and blocks access to Social Security records
A federal judge in Maryland blocked DOGE from accessing Social Security Administration records. In a blistering ruling, U.S. District Judge Ellen Hollander said DOGE is “essentially engaged in a fishing expedition" at the agency "in search of a fraud epidemic, based on little more than suspicion.”
Hollander said: “The American public may well applaud and support the Trump Administration’s mission to root out fraud, waste, and bloat from federal agencies, including SSA, to the extent it exists. But, by what means and methods?” She added that DOGE has launched a search for “the proverbial needle in the haystack, without any concrete knowledge that the needle is actually in the haystack.”
“To facilitate the expedition, SSA provided members of the SSA DOGE Team with unbridled access to the personal and private data of millions of Americans, including but not limited to Social Security numbers, medical records, mental health records, hospitalization records, drivers’ license numbers, bank and credit card information, tax information, income history, work history, birth and marriage certificates, and home and work addresses,” she added.
Hollander said the “defendants, with so called experts on the DOGE Team,” never identify or articulate a reason DOGE needs “unlimited access to SSA’s entire record systems, thereby exposing personal, confidential, sensitive, and private information that millions of Americans entrusted to their government.”
She also said the administration has not “attempted to explain why a more tailored, measured, titrated approach is not suitable to the task. Instead, the government simply repeats its incantation of a need to modernize the system and uncover fraud. Its method of doing so is tantamount to hitting a fly with a sledgehammer.”
“In my view, plaintiffs are likely to succeed on their claim that such action is arbitrary and capricious, and in violation of the Privacy Act and the APA,” she added.