GOP Rep. Mike Lawler demands the Social Security Administration explain a planned office closure in a critical location
Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., demanded that the Social Security Administration explain why its acting commissioner, Leland Dudek, plans to close an agency hearing office in White Plains, New York.
According to Lawler's office, SSA's lease of the space in White Plains, in Westchester County, expires at the end of May and Dudek has rejected calls from both Republican and Democratic lawmakers to maintain the office — the only one in the Hudson Valley.
“This office handles over 2,000 backlogged cases and conducts hundreds of in-person hearings every year," Lawler said in a statement voicing anger at the Trump administration. "Telling my constituents that they now have to travel hours to Lower Manhattan, New Haven, the Bronx, or Goshen is completely unacceptable.”
Other officials who have argued in favor of keeping the White Plains office open have also pointed to the travel time to other offices as a major reason not to close it.
“Westchester County offered a solution, and instead of working to find an alternative location, the SSA is turning its back on thousands of people who need these services. Concerns about mold don’t justify abandoning folks in the Lower Hudson Valley,” Lawler added.
The SSA didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.
Lawler wrote in a letter this month with Rep. George Latimer, D-N.Y., that the SSA's regional public affairs office in New York said the White Plains location was closing because the landlord is not interested in renewing the lease.
The Trump administration has taken steps to downsize the SSA's workforce, with the agency announcing in February that it planned to slash 7,000 people out of 57,000.
U.S. Forest Service ordered removal of DEI materials from bulletin boards
A memo early last month to staffers at the U.S. Forest Service, which is part of the Agriculture Department, ordered that any materials relating to diversity, equity and inclusion efforts be removed from bulletin boards.
The email, which was sent by Lois Lawson, the Forest Service's deputy director of civil rights, said employee resource groups for workers of certain ethnicities or affinity groups would be disbanded and told staffers to suspend plans to celebrate or observe “Special Emphasis Program[s].” That was in line with the guidance other agencies have also given employees after Trump signed an executive order seeking to eliminate DEI programs and celebrations from the federal government.
“Please be advised that identity-based Employee Resource Groups and Special Emphasis Programs which involve Diversity Equity Inclusion (DEI), should be disbanded. Additionally, all Special Emphasis Program observances should be held in abeyance, which includes any statements and written communication. Additionally, any information posted on bulletin boards or other areas, should be immediately removed,” Lawson wrote in the email, dated Feb. 3.
Later in the month, thousands of Forest Service employees were laid off, joining thousands at other federal agencies who were laid because of Musk and DOGE's push to reduce the federal workforce by firing workers who were still in their early probationary periods.
The Forest Service, which oversees national forests and grasslands, employs thousands of firefighters who help combat forest fires and assist in other emergencies.
Sen. Warren calls Trump's expected Education Department executive order a 'code red'
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., slammed Trump's attempt to dismantle the Education Department, saying in a statement that it's "a code red for every public school student, parent, and teacher in this country."
"Trump is telling public school kids in America that their futures don’t matter. Billionaires like Trump and Musk won’t feel the difference when after school programs are slashed, class sizes go up, and help for families to pay for school gets cut," she said in a statement first to NBC News. "But working families, students, and teachers will pay a heavy price."
Trump is expected to sign an executive order later today attempting to close the Education Department. However, a department cannot be shut unilaterally; it would require congressional action.
McConnell says Trump's dismantling of Education Department will land in court before Congress
Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., the former Republican leader, dodged questions today about whether he would vote to shut down the Education Department should the measure reach Congress as Trump prepares to sign an executive order to dismantle, and eventually shutter, it this afternoon.
McConnell, responding to questions from a reporter at a news conference in Kentucky who pointed out that Trump cannot shut down the department without congressional approval, said “it’s a good idea to reduce government spending” but declined to elaborate on whether he supports dismantling the Education Department.
“The way to look at all of these reorganization efforts by the administration is what’s legal and what isn’t, and they’ll be defined in the courts,” McConnell said. “This is a different approach, and the courts will ultimately decide whether the president has the authority to take these various steps. Some may have different outcomes.”
He added that while he is “not a fan” of Trump’s aggressive tariffs on longtime U.S. trade partners — noting their negative impact on Kentucky’s key industries, like agriculture and bourbon — only skyrocketing prices, not legislative action, can stop the president.
“In terms of who has the authority to do it, the president has, unlike the earlier question on this, the president does have a lot of latitude. So there’s no particular legislative act that we could take to stop it,” McConnell said. "I think it’ll be determined by whether the prices start going up, which is what typically happens.”
Administration reiterates Trump will return education to the states
The Trump administration released a statement today on the president's plan for education ahead of his expected signing of an executive order aimed at dismantling the Education Department.
"Instead of maintaining the status quo that is failing American students, the Trump Administration’s bold plan will return education where it belongs — with individual states, which are best positioned to administer effective programs and services that benefit their own unique populations and needs," the administration said.
The press release did not explicitly mention the expected executive order.
"Instead of a bloated federal system that burdens schools with regulations and paperwork, the Trump Administration believes states should be empowered to expand educational freedom and opportunity for all families," it said. "Why would we keep doing the same thing over and over again and expect a different result?"
Trump cannot unilaterally shutter a department. Instead, closing a department would require an act of Congress.
Republican lawmaker booed during rowdy town hall after complaining crowd is ‘obsessed’ with the government
Republican Rep. Harriet Hageman faced a torrent of heckles and boos during a town hall in deep-red Wyoming as she repeatedly tried to downplay constituents’ concerns about the Trump administration’s actions.
Hundreds of people attended the town hall for the state's sole House member, jeering Hageman on issues including cuts to the federal government spearheaded by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.
“It’s so bizarre to me how obsessed you are with federal government,” Hageman told attendees, prompting more outbursts from the crowd.
“You guys are going to have a heart attack if you don’t calm down,” she added. “I’m sorry, your hysteria is just really over the top.”
Government misses deadline to provide answers in Alien Enemies Act deportations case
Judge James Boasberg had ordered the government to provide, by noon today, "the information discussed in the Minute Order of March 18, 2025, or to invoke the state-secrets doctrine and explain the basis for such invocation.”
As of 1 p.m. ET, the government had not posted to the docket the information requested in five questions, nor had they posted to the docket invoking the state-secrets doctrine.
White House press secretary says loans and grants will remain at Education Department
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said today that “critical functions” of the Department of Education — specifically student loans and Pell grants — will remain under the department’s purview and will be “much smaller,” but stopped short of saying they will be eliminated.
This contradicts what Trump said earlier this month in the Oval Office when he suggested that student loans and federal grants would be moved to a different department.
"That would be brought into either Treasury or Small Business Administration or Commerce, and we've actually had that discussion today," Trump said to reporters then. "I don't think that Education should be handling the loans. That's not their business. I think it'll be brought into Small Business, maybe."
Leavitt on Thursday said, "The Department of Education will be much smaller than it is today. ... When it comes to student loans and Pell grants, those will still be run out of the Department of Education."
Her remarks come as Trump is set to sign an executive order later today that would aim to close the federal Department of Education, though formally eliminating the department would require an act of Congress.
NAACP president says Trump's attempt to dismantle the Education Department marks 'a dark day'
NAACP President Derrick Johnson criticized Trump's plans to try to dismantle the Department of Education, saying in a statement that Trump is "deliberately dismantling the basic functions of our democracy, one piece at a time."
"This is a dark day for the millions of American children who depend on federal funding for a quality education, including those in poor and rural communities with parents who voted for Trump," Johnson said ahead of Trump signing the executive order. "Don’t be fooled, Trump doesn’t have your back — he only cares about the billionaire class who will profit from the privatization of essential services, including education."
Trump does not have the power to unilaterally abolish a department. Congress would need to act.
American who was detained by Taliban is freed
American George Glezmann was freed Thursday from Afghanistan after being held for more than two years in Taliban captivity, Secretary of State Rubio said Thursday in a statement. The release was brokered by Qatar.
Glezmann, who was a Delta Airlines mechanic, has left Kabul and is now on his way to be reunited with his wife, Aleksandra, Rubio said. U.S. officials traveled to Kabul to bring Glezmann home, a U.S. official said.
Trump administration officials were engaged with representatives of the Taliban to secure Glezmann’s release, according to a U.S. official with direct knowledge of the discussions, but he was not freed as part of a larger prisoner exchange.
A spokesperson for Afghanistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs released photos on social media Thursday of Trump Senior Adviser Adam Boehler and former U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad meeting with the Taliban.
The Trump administration did not read out any of the meetings or offer further details on the discussions.
Earlier this year, two other Americans were released from Afghanistan, Ryan Corbett and William McKenty, in a deal struck during the final days of the Biden administration, in exchange for a member of the Taliban being held in U.S. custody.
The Trump administration continues to call for the release of Afghan-American businessman Mahmoud Habibi and for all Americans detained in Afghanistan to be set free.
“George’s release is a positive and constructive step,” Rubio said. “It is also a reminder that other Americans are still detained in Afghanistan.”