Transportation Department to end affirmative action in contracts
The Transportation department said in a court filing that it agreed the "program's use of race- and sex-based presumptions is unconstitutional."
The department previously defended the policy as seeking to remedy past discrimination but said it has reevaluated its position in light of factors including the Supreme Court's decision in 2023 in an affirmative action case.
U.S. District Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove in Frankfort, Kentucky, an appointee of Republican former President George W. Bush, said the federal government cannot classify people in ways that violate the principles of equal protection in the U.S. Constitution.
More: DEI explained: What is DEI and why is it so divisive? What you need to know.
He relied in part on a ruling last year by the U.S. Supreme Court that effectively prohibited affirmative action policies long used in college admissions to raise the number of Black, Hispanic and other underrepresented minority students on American campuses.
More: Two men fought for jobs in a river-town mill. 50 years later, the nation is still divided.
The program was reauthorized in 2021 through then Democratic President Joe Biden's signature Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which set aside more than $37 billion for that purpose.
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NBC News
42 minutes ago
- NBC News
Emboldened and out of government, Elon Musk breaks with Trump's agenda
WASHINGTON — Just days after he left his powerful position as one of Donald Trump's closest advisers, Elon Musk is orchestrating a pressure campaign to sink the mammoth tax and spending package that is tied to the president's policy agenda. Musk used X, his social media site, on Wednesday to implore Americans to call Congress and urge it to ' kill' the bill that Trump hails as 'big' and 'beautiful.' He also urged lawmakers to rewrite the bill from scratch, putting him squarely at odds with Trump, who had invited him into Cabinet meetings and empowered him to dismantle whole agencies and shrink the government workforce. The bill, which has already passed the House, faces an uncertain fate in the Senate, where just four Republican defections would spell defeat. It doesn't sit well with Trump world that Musk is the messenger. Trump is considering when and how to respond to Musk's gambit, a White House official said. He was 'caught off guard' but "not entirely surprised" by Musk's opposition, a senior official said. Trump had sent Musk off in style, giving him a golden key and staging a goodbye ceremony in the Oval Office that the media covered live. 'The president wanted to be a nice guy,' the senior official said. Musk's posts come a day after his surprising break with Trump over the bill's merits. On Tuesday, he called the measure a ' disgusting abomination,' warning that it would push the nation deeper into debt. Having elevated Musk and made him a prized sidekick, Trump may discover that the world's richest man is a potential nemesis beyond his control. A White House official downplayed the notion of a falling-out with Musk. 'Everyone here in a senior role understands who Elon Musk is, understands how he acts, understands how he plays,' the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. 'There's been no surprise when it comes to Elon Musk, because he's been such a friend to the administration. 'And we all know this is coming from a place of business and is not personal.' But people in Trump's orbit were angry that Musk skewered the bill. They were particularly outraged by his not-so-veiled warning that Republicans who vote for it could lose their jobs come November 2026, a person familiar with the matter said. That assertion came after Musk said late last month that he would do 'a lot less' political spending going forward. A Republican lawmaker, in a private text chain with colleagues, wrote sarcastically of Musk: 'Team Player.' Trump is normally quick to clap back at those who publicly oppose his interests. When Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., objected Tuesday on CNBC that the bill would inflate the national debt, Trump swiftly denounced him. 'The people of Kentucky can't stand him,' Trump posted on Truth Social. In the case of Musk, Trump so far has been silent. The disparate treatment may be rooted in cold political reality. Paul doesn't have a national following, while Musk, with his capacity to influence the midterm elections, is someone Trump may not wish to antagonize. Musk spent more than $250 million to boost Trump last year and is free to pour money into a midterm campaign season in which control of Congress is up for grabs. If Democrats seize the majority, they could saddle Trump with serial investigations and perhaps impeachment proceedings in the back half of his term. Republican lawmakers, too, trod carefully Wednesday when they were asked about Musk's evisceration of Trump's key legislative priority. Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana quipped: 'Well, let me say this about Elon. I wish he wouldn't sugarcoat stuff.' 'I think he's really smart,' Kennedy added. 'I think he's entitled to his opinion. He's frustrated. I think he believes, in my judgment correctly, that we're quickly becoming debt slaves.' Still, Musk's apostasy shows the inherent risks in Trump's executive style. As a centibillionaire, Musk never fit neatly in the Trump administration's chain of command. He squabbled with at least two Cabinet secretaries and found that his private interests clashed at times with Trump's policy goals. Trump's bill would curtail the electric vehicle and residential solar tax credits that are important to Musk's Tesla car and clean energy divisions. The measure would also impose a new annual $250 fee on EV drivers. Musk spoke to Trump personally about extending the electric vehicle credit, a person familiar with the matter said. He also pressed some senior lawmakers on Capitol Hill in recent weeks — before his recent X posts — including House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to keep tax credits in the bill that would incentivize electric vehicle purchases, two people familiar with the conversations said. The tax credits had been eliminated to get the most conservative House members on board as part of the delicate negotiations to ensure the bill's passage. 'Abruptly ending the energy tax credits would threaten America's energy independence and the reliability of our grid — we urge the senate to enact legislation with a sensible wind down' of the credits, Tesla Energy posted on X on May 28, the day Musk officially left his government role. In opposing the bill, Musk has amplified a point that the more fiscally conservative Republicans also find troubling: The measure would greatly add to America's whopping debt. A new analysis from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office holds that the House-passed version of the bill would inflate the debt by $2.4 trillion over the next decade. Paul, the senator from Kentucky, wrote Tuesday that he wants trillions in new debt 'removed' from the measure and that four of his colleagues 'feel this way.' An open question is the degree to which Americans care what Musk thinks. His public approval rating was underwater amid his association with the Department of Government Efficiency and the drastic cuts that left many government workers suddenly unemployed. An NBC News poll in March found that 51% of registered voters held negative views of Musk, with only 39% viewing him positively. Lawmakers seeking campaign donations may be solicitous of Musk and the news media may treat him with outsize interest because of the role Trump gave him, but can he shape public opinion on controversial legislation? Newt Gingrich, the Republican former House speaker, suggested the answer is no. 'I haven't seen any' public constituency for Musk, Gingrich told NBC News. 'If you can find one, call me.' 'I'm a big admirer of his as an entrepreneur, but he never understood the political business, and he doesn't now,' he added. That having been said, 'I'm sure no one on the Trump team thinks it's helpful,' Gingrich added. Democrats are delighted by Musk's dissent and the rift it exposes inside GOP ranks.
Economist
an hour ago
- Economist
Can AI predict Supreme Court rulings?
This June may be the most harried for the Supreme Court's justices in some time. On top of 30-odd rulings due by Independence Day, the court faces a steady stream of emergency pleas. Over 16 years, George W. Bush and Barack Obama filed a total of eight emergency applications in the Supreme Court (SCOTUS). In the past 20 weeks, as many of his executive orders have been blocked by lower courts, Donald Trump has filed 18.
NBC News
an hour ago
- NBC News
Trump administration cuts 'Safety' from AI Safety Institute
The Trump administration says it's reforming a Biden-era artificial intelligence safety institute, renaming and reformulating one of the only federal government departments dedicated to oversight of the burgeoning technology. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said in a news release Tuesday that the Trump administration would transform the former U.S. AI Safety Institute — which former President Joe Biden established in November 2023 — into the Center for AI Standards and Innovation. The reframing away from 'safety' is in line with the Trump administration's statements and actions signaling its belief that oversight efforts for AI companies could unnecessarily dull the United States' competitive edge in the space. 'For far too long, censorship and regulations have been used under the guise of national security. Innovators will no longer be limited by these standards,' Lutnick said in the release. 'CAISI will evaluate and enhance U.S. innovation of these rapidly developing commercial AI systems while ensuring they remain secure to our national security standards.' The U.S. AI Safety Institute was created to evaluate and test AI models and create standards for safety and security. It also formed a consortium on AI safety, which was made up of over 200 members, including OpenAI, Meta and Anthropic. Although it's unclear whether the transformation will mean any major changes to the institute's operations, the move appears to reflect the Trump administration's 'pro-innovation' approach to deregulating AI technology. Unlike Biden's executive order on AI and the former institute, the reformed center is set to focus on additional aspects like evaluating 'potential security vulnerabilities and malign foreign influence arising from use of adversaries' AI systems, including the possibility of backdoors and other covert, malicious behavior,' as well as 'guard against burdensome and unnecessary regulation of American technologies by foreign governments.' In January, the Chinese-created AI app DeepSeek heightened national security concerns around AI with its latest release, which made waves with its advancements. President Donald Trump said the app 'should be a wake-up call' about the prospect of international competition for American tech companies. Lawmakers introduced a bill to ban DeepSeek from government devices, and the Navy advised its members not to use it 'in any capacity.' The move to reform the institute appears to have been in development for a while. Reuters reported this year that no one from the U.S. AI Safety Institute's staff would attend an AI summit in Paris in February alongside Vice President JD Vance. The institute's inaugural director, Elizabeth Kelly, also announced she would step down that month. In his speech at the summit, Vance echoed Lutnick's sentiments, saying, 'We need international regulatory regimes that fosters the creation of AI technology rather than strangles it.' He also spoke about how he believes AI should be free from 'ideological bias.' Since he returned to office, Trump has made it clear that his administration wants to embrace the expansion of AI. Within his first week, Trump announced the creation of the $500 billion Stargate initiative in collaboration with OpenAI, Oracle and SoftBank, which aims to make the United States a world leader in AI. Trump also signed an executive order on AI in his first week in office that focuses on easing regulations on AI technology and revoking 'existing AI policies and directives that act as barriers to American AI innovation.' Biden's executive order on AI, which focused on safety and privacy standards for the technology, has been scrapped from the White House's website.
