Prosecutors this week decided not to pursue an assault charge against a man whom Rep. Nancy Mace accused of having “physically accosted” her at the U.S. Capitol in December.
According to a filing yesterday in D.C. Superior Court, prosecutors dropped the lone charge against James McIntyre, a foster care advocate. Mace, R-S.C., had accused McIntyre of “aggressively” shaking her arm up and down at a Dec. 10 event celebrating 25 years of the Foster Care Independence Act. He had pleaded not guilty, court filings showed.
The D.C. District Attorney’s Office, which was prosecuting the case, did not respond to a request for comment on why it decided to drop the charge of assaulting a government official.
Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., appeared to struggle in an interview today when he was asked to describe the work of a former Health and Human Services employee who he said “probably deserved” to be fired.
CNN host Jake Tapper asked Banks about an exchange with Mack Schroeder, who approached him yesterday as a group of federal workers asked lawmakers in the Capitol about the slashed workforce.
“My comments were directed at this fellow, again, who can’t even explain what his job was. It was a woke job that wasted taxpayer dollars, and I’m thankful that President Trump eliminated that job to save tax dollars at a time when we have a $37 trillion national debt,” Banks said.
Pressed to explain the nature of Schroeder’s job, Banks said: “I — He can’t explain it. I’ve read online what he had to say about his job. It doesn’t make sense.”
Banks derided Schroeder yesterday, telling him he “probably deserved” to be terminated because he seemed like a “clown.”
The Trump administration this week laid off workers across the Department of Health and Human Services in its effort to terminate around 10,000 full-time jobs from its agencies.
Reporting from Washington
A pivotal group of Senate Republicans delivered a rebuke to Trump’s tariffs on Canadian products as he escalated his broader trade war today.
The Senate voted 51-48 to pass a Democratic resolution to block Trump’s Canadian tariffs from taking effect. Four Republicans — Susan Collins of Maine; Rand Paul and Mitch McConnell of Kentucky; and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska — joined all 47 Democrats in supporting the measure.
The resolution, authored by Tim Kaine, D-Va., is not expected to go anywhere in the House. But it was notable that several Republicans broke with Trump the day he announced a new set of sweeping tariffs, which the White House billed as “Liberation Day.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson this evening swore in Reps. Jimmy Patronis and Randy Fine of Florida after the two Republicans won their elections yesterday, expanding the GOP majority in the chamber.
The new additions mean the balance of power in the House now stands at 220 Republicans to 213 Democrats.
With full attendance, Republicans can afford to lose three votes on bills or resolutions on the floor.
“The margin is a little more comfortable,” said Johnson, R-La. “Now we can lose what, three votes now, or something? We’re going to build consensus around this; we’re excited.”
Trump has favored tariffs for years. His expanding trade war is sure to ripple through the global economy for a long while, too.
That’s because ramping up tariffs on foreign governments frequently draws retaliation — a likelihood that even industries Trump aims to support are already bracing for. While he has been rolling out an ever-shifting series of import taxes for months, the sweeping “reciprocal” tariffs he announced Wednesday are opening salvos in what could become drawn-out tit-for-tats with potentially dozens of governments.
Unlike the narrower, targeted tariffs Trump imposed on certain countries and products in his first term, his latest duties are set to rewrite the rules of global trade on a far broader level — and in an environment in which inflation is running hotter.
“This is a game changer, not only for the U.S. economy but for the global economy,” Olu Sonola, head of U.S. economic research at Fitch Ratings, said in a note tonight.
Sen. Cory Booker said tonight that he launched his historic filibuster this week in part to unify the Democratic caucus.
Booker, D-N.J., said the party was divided and demoralized after Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., urged Democrats to support a Republican funding bill despite widespread party opposition to the measure.
“Now, you know, we had a terrible fight in the Senate. And I love my 46 Democratic colleagues, but it was if you were in those caucus meetings when we were debating over what to do with the continuing resolution, everybody who stood up actually had principled, strong feelings, but we were divided against each other on what to do,” Booker said. “That was a time that it really came together for me that enough is enough.”
“I was hoping I could do something that would unify our caucus and unify people who believe that the country is facing really disastrous waters right now,” he added.
Booker said his “role” in the caucus includes urging his Democratic colleagues to more actively engage with voters, particularly on social media, “where more and more of our voters are.”
Asked whether he’s considering a run to replace Schumer as the top Democrat in the Senate, Booker affirmed his support for Schumer.
“The Senate Democrats have a leader, and he’s going to remain there,” Booker said.
Booker, who sought the White House in 2020, deflected when he was asked whether he’s considering launching a run in 2028. He said his focus remains on New Jersey.
“New Jersey has got two big elections. We’re like Virginia. We got this November, and then I have my re-election in ’26,” he said.
On March 15, the Trump administration loaded more than 200 men onto three planes bound for El Salvador, where they were to be locked in its notorious CECOT prison. A video of the men being marched, head-down, into police vehicles and into the facility ricocheted around the world, a symbol of the United States’ position on immigrants it accuses of having gang ties.
But not seen by the camera were eight women who were also on the planes but never got off. Shortly after they landed, according to court filings, El Salvador apparently refused to take them. So they were shipped back, to be locked up again on American soil.
Republicans say they’re not panicking as they gear up for major races later this year and a fierce battle for control of Congress next year, despite getting shellacked in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race — and seeing their margins decrease notably in a pair of special House election wins in deep-red Florida districts.
Democrats have largely cast the 10-point win by the liberal candidate in Wisconsin’s Supreme Court race yesterday as a rejection by voters of Elon Musk, the billionaire White House adviser who took on a starring role in the campaign. And while the two wins by GOP candidates in Florida gave the party some breathing room with their narrow House majority, the size of their victories paled in comparison to what Republicans enjoyed in those districts five months ago.
Republicans, however, downplayed the results as expected outcomes — criticizing some of the Republican candidates, discounting the prospect of any broader fallout from the heavy-handed role Musk played in Wisconsin, and suggesting that their candidates do a better job doubling down on explaining to voters Trump’s accomplishments, including divisive ones like his Department of Government Efficiency.
After 20 hours standing on the Senate floor, delivering what would become a record-breaking speech about the need for resistance against the Trump administration, Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., said, in a weary voice: “Don’t let this be just another day in America.”
By many indications, it was not.
With 25 hours and 5 minutes in total, Booker broke the Senate speech record held by Sen. Strom Thurmond of South Carolina, who argued for 24 hours and 18 minutes against the Civil Rights Act of 1957, which established voting rights protections for Black people.
Southerners “should go down fighting” against the bill, Thurmond said nearly seven decades ago.
The Justice Department is pushing back against a Boston judge’s decision to hold an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in contempt of court after the agent detained a man who was on trial.
Boston Municipal Court Judge Mark Summerville issued the ruling against ICE agent Brian Sullivan on Monday after he took Wilson Martell-Lebron, a man alleged to be undocumented, into custody as Martell-Lebron was leaving Boston Municipal Court, where he was on trial on a charge of making false statements on his driver’s license application.
Summerville argued that by detaining Martell-Lebron, the ICE agent deprived him of his rights to due process and a fair trial.
The Justice Department filed a motion today supporting Sullivan’s effort to vacate the contempt order.
“The state court lacked authority to issue that patently unlawful and erroneous order. The Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution immunizes federal officers, such as Officer Sullivan, from state prosecution—including contempt proceedings—for actions taken in the course of their official duties,” a Justice Department attorney wrote in the motion.
The case has been moved from state to federal court at the request of the Justice Department.
Trump signed two tariff documents in the Rose Garden, including an order to apply reciprocal tariffs on other nations that he said will charge a rate formulated to “approximately half” of what other nations are charging the United States.
Trump read from a giant tariffs chart when he detailed the new tariffs, beginning with China at the top of the list, followed by the European Union.
As Trump signed the documents, he didn’t respond to a shouted question from NBC News about what message he has for American families who are worried they’ll pay more as a result.
After the unveiling of a series of “reciprocal tariffs” on countries around the world, Trump’s “Liberation Day” event at the White House took a more political tone.
Trump bashed former President Joe Biden’s immigration and economic policies and expressed disdain for the federal judge who has blocked his effort to quickly detain and deport undocumented immigrants his administration has labeled gang members.
“We have problems with judges that don’t want them to go out,” Trump said. “We put them out, and we have judges now — radical left judges — that want to, they don’t want him to go out. They want them to even be brought back.”
Last month, Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act to fast-track the deportations of immigrants he characterized as gang members. U.S. District Judge James S. Boasberg soon afterward blocked Trump from continuing any deportations under the wartime law, making him a target of Trump’s ire and sparking calls from Trump and his allies to impeach him.
Reporting from Washington
A pivotal group of Senate Republicans is set to deliver a symbolic rebuke today to Trump’s tariffs on Canadian products as he escalated his broader trade war.
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, today became the latest Republican to support a Democratic resolution to block Trump’s Canadian tariffs. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., has also backed the measure, and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, is expected to, as well. And the lead author of the resolution, Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., said Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., told him he would vote for it, as well.
Support from those four Republicans would give the proposal enough votes to pass in the Senate if all 47 Democrats also vote in favor.
Trump announced plans to impose an across-the-board 10% tariff on all U.S. trading partners — as well as higher duties for dozens of other countries — as he pledged to embark on the biggest reorganization of global trade relations since World War II.
Speaking from the White House Rose Garden this afternoon, Trump slammed what he said were “much higher” import taxes on goods from the United States compared to what the United States has charged other countries for its exports.
America has been “looted, pillaged, raped and plundered,” Trump said in announcing the latest iteration of his tariff regime set to begin this week. He said it will be the day American industry “will be reborn,” touting a new “golden age of America.”
In addition to the 10% baseline tariff, the Trump administration will also impose reciprocal duties on other countries the White House has deemed the “worst offenders” when it comes to trade imbalances. Those duties will be equal to half the rates those countries charge on American exports.
Trump is raising money on Meta platforms (Facebook and Instagram) for the first time since he took office in January, asking donors to “chip in” to enter to win a free round of golf at one of his golf courses.
His last Meta ad was on Jan. 12, when his inaugural committee advertised to get people to attend his pre-inauguration rally. And Trump hadn’t raised funds on the platform before that since Election Day.
Reporting from New York, NY
A group of Columbia University students chained themselves to campus gates, demanding more information about the arrest of graduate student Mahmoud Khalil.
Students who spoke with NBC News accused members of the university’s Board of Trustees of sharing information with authorities to facilitate Khalil’s detention.
“We want accountability from the trustees who are making decisions on behalf of this entire university community that go against the wishes of the students, against the wishes of the faculty,” said Sarah Boris, an undergraduate student. “And they have continued to do that, even when students like Mahmoud are put in danger.”
After campus security officers cut the student protesters’ chains, the students sat with their arms linked in front of the gates. No one appears to have been arrested today.
A spokesperson for the university confirmed the incident in a statement and said the students violated its conduct rules.
“Our focus is on preserving our core mission to teach, create, and advance knowledge while ensuring a safe campus for our community,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
The Columbia student group Jewish Voice for Peace claimed responsibility for the demonstration on Instagram.
“We demand to know the names of the Columbia trustees who facilitated the abduction of our beloved friend by collaborating with the Trump administration,” the post read. “We will not leave until our demand is met.”
More than 4,300 lawyers sent a letter this afternoon urging Attorney General Pam Bondi to defend the American legal system as it faces mounting attacks from the Trump administration.
“We write to you, as the nation’s highest ranking legal official, out of deep concern regarding a number of actions that the President of the United States and his administration have taken and a number of statements targeting lawyers and the legal profession,” said the letter, which was signed by former judges, members of Congress, senior political appointees from both Republican and Democratic administrations and attorneys at private law firms and legal organizations.
The letter named seven executive orders and memorandums signed by Trump that have sought to reprimand top law firms, including Perkins Coie, Covington & Burling LLP and Paul Weiss, for representing clients or doing legal work the administration does not align with. It also warned against Trump’s targeting of federal judges, some of whom he has claimed without evidence should be impeached for “corruption.”
“Attacking legal advocates based on the positions they take in good faith litigation or based on who their clients are or have been is inconsistent with our nation’s values and with the Constitution’s contemplation of the functioning of the judicial branch,” the letter said.
Trump’s stripping of security clearances for lawyers who did legal work to assist with criminal investigations into his actions during and after his first term, including the Jan. 6 insurrection case brought by special counsel Jack Smith, was another point in the letter.
“It is incumbent on you to use all of the tools available to you to preserve and protect the independence and integrity of the legal profession, including opposing the use of the federal government to attack lawyers, law firms, and legal organizations for engaging in good faith representation of their clients,” the legal professionals wrote.
Amazon has made a late bid to purchase TikTok, a person familiar with the ongoing White House-led discussions to identify a non-Chinese buyer for the social media app told NBC News.
The bid, first reported by The New York Times, arrived this week via a letter to Vice President JD Vance and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. Given the last-minute timing, days before the Saturday deadline to stave off a ban of the app in the United States, the bid is not being treated as serious, said the source, who was granted anonymity to share details of private negotiations.
Trump announced on Truth Social that he has made a deal with the law firm Milbank, which he said will perform at least $100 million in pro bono services during his administration on initiatives supported by him and the firm.
A news release in the post said some of the initiatives the firm could work on include: “Assisting Veterans and other Public Servants, including members of the Military, Law Enforcement, and First Responders; Ensuring fairness in our Justice System; and Combatting Antisemitism.”
“Our pro bono Committee will include Partners at the Firm with diverse political ideologies to ensure that pro bono matters are consistent with the objectives of the Firm, and that our pro bono practices represent the full political spectrum, including Conservative ideals,” it said.
The release also said Milbank will “not engage in illegal DEI discrimination and preferences.”
Milbank didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. It wasn’t among the law firms Trump has already targeted through executive orders.
Trump has already announced deals with other law firms he either already took aim at in executive orders, including Paul Weiss, or planned to target, like Willkie Farr & Gallagher, which employs Doug Emhoff, former Vice President Kamala Harris’ husband.
Hunter Biden has offered to give up his law license in Washington, D.C., after submitting an affidavit to the D.C. Bar’s Board on Professional Responsibility declaring his “consent to disbarment.”
According to a filing made public yesterday, the Board on Professional Responsibility is recommending the District of Columbia Court of Appeals enter an order disbarring Hunter Biden, as a result of his affidavit. The District of Columbia Court of Appeals is responsible for adjudicating disciplinary issues related to members of the D.C. Bar.
This outcome avoids what could have been a drawn-out legal battle over the status of the license, which was in “temporary disciplinary suspension,” after Hunter Biden was found guilty of three felonies in Delaware and pleaded guilty to felony tax offenses in California in 2024.
Former President Joe Biden issued a “full and unconditional pardon” for any offenses Hunter Biden “committed or may have committed or taken part in during the period from January 1, 2014 through December 1, 2024.”
A spokesperson for Hunter Biden did not immediately respond to NBC News’ request for comment.
Reporting from Washington
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee called upon Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, to hold a hearing on the nomination of Trump loyalist Ed Martin to permanently head the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
The letter from Durbin and nine other members came the day after Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif, announced he was placing a hold on Martin, who is now serving in an interim capacity, with Schiff writing that confirming Martin “to serve permanently in the role he has already abused in his interim capacity would cross the prosecutorial Rubicon that every single Senator would come to regret and that would threaten the rights of Americans from all walks of life.” Placing a hold on Martin could delay his confirmation hearing.
Martin, a longtime conservative activist and “stop the steal” organizer who was on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 attack and then spread conspiracy theories about the day, has taken a highly political approach to his position, including sending letters to sitting members of Congress that shattered Justice Department protocols meant to protect against politicization.
“Mr. Martin has regularly threatened to prosecute various government employees, members of Congress, and press outlets in an apparent attempt to chill their lawful speech,” the letter states. “This troubling pattern of behavior reflects a willingness to ignore basic legal standards in order to pursue politically motivated investigations and threaten the Administration’s perceived political opponents.
Read the full letter:
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is at the White House today for at least the second time in the past few weeks, the company confirmed.
“Mark’s continuing the meetings he’s been holding with the administration on American technology leadership,” Meta spokesperson Andy Stone said in a statement. The visit was earlier reported by CNN.
Stone said the meeting is not related to negotiations about the future of TikTok, which is also on the White House agenda today, but he declined to disclose the specific topic of the meeting or whether Zuckerberg was meeting with Trump.
Zuckerberg was also at the White House last month, and he attended Trump’s inauguration at the Capitol in January.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, has various corporate interests pending before the Trump administration. They include artificial intelligence policy and a Federal Trade Commission antitrust trial scheduled to begin April 14.
Trump told members of his Cabinet that Elon Musk will leave his government role in the administration in the coming months, a senior White House official confirmed to NBC News.
Trump discussed Musk transitioning back to the private sector during his March 24 Cabinet meeting behind closed doors, the official said.
Politico first reported the discussion.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt downplayed the news in a post on X, saying that Politico’s “‘scoop’ was garbage.”
“Elon Musk and President Trump have both *publicly* stated that Elon will depart from public service as a special government employee when his incredible work at DOGE is complete,” she said.
On Monday, Trump said that Musk has been “amazing” but that he has a “big company to run, and so at some point, he’s going to be going back.” Musk, who has been overseeing the Department of Government Efficiency, owns several ventures, including SpaceX and Tesla.
During an interview on Fox News last week, Musk was asked if he would stay on after his 130-day status as a special government employee ends.
“I think we will have accomplished most of the work required to reduce the deficit by $1 trillion within that time frame,” Musk replied.
Members of a family taking photos amid the cherry blossoms on D.C.’s Tidal Basin spotted a famous figure in the background of their shots: former President Barack Obama.
To their delight, the 44th president made a cameo in their family photos early Monday.
“It was perfect,” mom Portia Moore said.
Christine Grady, head of the boethics division at the National Institutes of Health and wife of Dr. Anthony Fauci, was one of several department leaders who were dismissed from their senior positions yesterday as the Trump administration makes sweeping workforce and funding cuts across federal health agencies.
Grady reportedly received a notice yesterday informing her she would be put on administrative leave immediately unless she accepts a different position in Alaska as an official at the Indian Health Service.
Other top NIH officials, including Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo, who replaced Fauci as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and Dr. Clifford Lane, Fauci’s long-time deputy, received identical notices.
The notices came on the heels of Dr. Jay Bhattacharya being sworn in as the new head of the NIH yesterday morning. Bhattacharya sent a letter to staff about the impending layoffs yesterday, saying they would help restructure the NIH. Health officials across the country have warned against the drastic cuts, arguing they will decimate the nation’s public health research and preparedness.
Trump stripped Fauci, who played a key role in the country’s response to the Covid pandemic during his first term, of his security detail earlier this year. Fauci has since hired private security for himself and his family, citing ongoing threats.
Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., said this morning that Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., plans to support a Democratic-sponsored resolution that would eliminate Trump’s imposed tariffs on Canada.
Kaine told reporters on Capitol Hill that he approached McConnell on the Senate floor yesterday evening. “I said, ‘I want to talk to you about my Canadian tariffs bill.’ And, you know, I didn’t even get to the question, and he said, ‘I’m with you.'”
McConnell’s support for the resolution could be the key vote for it to pass. Three other Republican senators — Rand Paul of Kentucky, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska — are also expected to support it. The resolution needs a simple majority to pass, so if all 47 Democrats vote yes, they need four Republicans to reach the 51-vote threshold.
McConnell’s office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The former GOP leader has recently made clear that he opposes Trump’s tariffs policy, arguing that the costs are passed onto the consumers, who can’t afford the higher prices.
Trump called out the four possible Republican defections in a late-night post on Truth Social. “They have been extremely difficult to deal with and, unbelievably disloyal to hardworking Majority Leader John Thune, and the Republican Party itself.”
The resolution, sponsored by Kaine and Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Mark Warner, D-Va., would terminate the Feb. 1 emergency declaration that Trump used to issue tariffs on Canada, thus eliminating the tariffs on Canadian imports into the U.S.
Senate aides say they expect the upper chamber will vote on the resolution later today.
If the Senate approves the joint resolution, the House would need to pass it as well and it’s unlikely the GOP-controlled House would do so. A joint resolution is just like a bill as it requires approval by both chambers and needs the signature of the president to become law.
Trump is expected to roll out the largest set of new trade barriers in generations today. Dubbing it “Liberation Day,” Trump already announced his intention to impose duties on imported autos and auto parts, and he suggested the fresh duties would be both reciprocal with other nations and include duties on specific sectors such as pharmaceuticals or computer chips.
Though Trump was elected because of his perceived ability to jolt the economy, he also spent much of his election campaign promising to impose tariffs.
A judge today permanently dismissed federal corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
The Justice Department moved to dismiss the charges in February, saying that continuing them interfered with the mayor’s ability to govern, thereby threatening “federal immigration initiatives and policies.” The department asked that the charges be “dismissed without prejudice,” allowing for the case to be potentially carried out at a later date.
Demonstrators gathered in front of the Supreme Court ahead of arguments in a dispute arising from an effort by South Carolina Republicans to prevent Planned Parenthood from receiving Medicaid funds.
Al Drago / Bloomberg via Getty Images file
Lawrence Hurley / NBC News
The Supreme Court today handed a win to the Food and Drug Administration over its refusal to approve flavored e-cigarettes.
The court threw out an appeals court ruling that found the agency unlawfully changed the rules in the middle of proceedings when it was deciding whether to approve various products.
With e-cigarettes, or vapes, more popular than ever, the case put the FDA’s role in the approval process under scrutiny. Despite the agency’s refusal to approve many products, flavored vapes have remained widely available.
Writing for a unanimous court, conservative Justice Samuel Alito stopped short of ruling definitively that the FDA had acted unlawfully on one particular aspect of the case: whether the agency should have considered the companies’ marketing plans as part of the approval process.
That issue will now be decided by the lower court.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, advocacy groups and local school leaders have expressed shock and alarm over the detention of three children and their mother as Trump’s administration continues efforts to deport hundreds of noncitizens without any court proceedings or criminal charges.
The New York Immigration Coalition, a nonprofit that campaigns for immigrant rights, confirmed that the unidentified family — which included a third grader — was detained by ICE at a dairy farm in Sackets Harbor, New York. The family was then taken to the Karnes County Detention Facility in Texas, some 1,800 miles away, the nonprofit said.
As Democrats celebrate a battleground-state win in the most expensive judicial campaign in U.S. history, Trump and the GOP are confronting a worrying early sign about what the intense spotlight on Elon Musk’s influence means for the party.
Musk, the billionaire White House adviser, played a starring role in the race, using personal funds and allied outside groups to put more than $15 million behind former Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel, the Trump-endorsed candidate who ran against Madison County Circuit Judge Susan Crawford. Crawford and her allies responded in kind, using Musk as a foil and scoring a decisive win.
Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., during a town hall in Scottsdale, Ariz., on March 17.Michael Chow / Arizona Republic via USA Today Network file
Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego announced yesterday he will block the confirmation of top leaders at the Department of Veterans Affairs, raising the stakes in Democrats’ bid to get the Trump administration to back off plans to cut jobs from the sprawling agency that serves millions of military veterans.
Gallego, a Democrat and Marine Corps veteran, made the announcement just hours before the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs was scheduled to hear testimony from three nominees for the VA who are military veterans themselves.
The Trump administration argued in a legal brief overnight that its use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport alleged Venezuelan members of the Tren de Aragua gang to El Salvador was legal.
The brief said that the law gives the president the discretion to issue a proclamation “directing the apprehension, restraint, and removal of alien enemies when two conditions are found by the President to be met.” It said first there has to be a “declared war,” invasion, “predatory incursion,” or threat against the U.S. and it also has to be a hostile action by a foreign nation or government.
“The Proclamation signed by the President satisfies both conditions,” the administration said.
The administration also argued that it’s not up to District Judge James Boasberg to say whether it can use the Alien Enemies Act to deport people.
“The Constitution simply provides no basis for a court to determine when this AEA trigger has been met, and thus there is no basis for second-guessing the policy judgment by the Executive that such an ‘invasion’ or ‘predatory incursion’ is occurring,” the filing said.
Plaintiffs in the case have argued that there’s no evidence that the people the administration deported to El Salvador were affiliated with Tren de Aragua and have also said that the administration doesn’t have the authority to flout court orders in the case.
Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., wanted to do something extraordinary. He knew Democratic voters were desperate for it.
So he took to the Senate floor with little fanfare and went on to deliver a marathon speech — excoriating the Trump administration for lawlessness and undermining American values and in the process breaking the record for longest Senate speech ever, yielding yesterday after 25 hours and 5 minutes.
Yesterday’s elections in Wisconsin and Florida were kind to the favorites but not to billionaire White House adviser Elon Musk. And that result could stick around long after the votes are counted.
State Circuit Judge Susan Crawford won a pivotal election to maintain liberal control of Wisconsin’s Supreme Court despite a big push from Musk and his millions, while two Republican candidates in Florida won special House elections in deep-red districts. But even though their candidates won just one of the three contests on the ballot, it was a good night for Democrats.
Tech billionaire Elon Musk downplayed the electoral loss of a Wisconsin conservative judge to the state Supreme Court after sinking millions of dollars into the race, saying in a post on X that he “expected to lose.”
“I expected to lose, but there is value to losing a piece for a positional gain,” said Musk, who is spearheading the Trump administration’s efforts to slash the size of the federal government.
Susan Crawford was elected to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, marking a win for liberals.
Musk also celebrated the adoption of a state ballot initiative to add an existing voter identification law to the state Constitution.
“This was the most important thing,” he said on X.
The Supreme Court today will hear a dispute arising from an effort by anti-abortion Republican officials in South Carolina to prevent reproductive health care provider Planned Parenthood from receiving Medicaid funds.
Although the divisive issue of abortion lurks in the background, the case focuses on a technical legal question of whether those eligible to use Medicaid, a program for low-income people administered by states, can sue in order to pick their preferred health care provider.
Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow is jumping into the race to replace retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters, planting her flag in what’s expected to become one of the highest-profile Senate races of the 2026 midterms.
McMorrow, a Democrat, made the announcement this morning in a direct-to-camera video that evokes the breakneck pace of news out of the Trump administration, telling supporters that “there are moments that will break you. This is not that moment.”
Trump is set to announce a sweeping plan today to place tariffs on potentially trillions of dollars’ worth of goods imported into the United States.
While it’s still unclear how much the tariffs will be and how many countries and products will be affected, Trump has dubbed the move “Liberation Day” and claimed his expansive use of tariffs will revamp the U.S. economy by increasing domestic manufacturing and generating trillions of dollars in revenue for the federal government.
