Live updates: Court throws up latest roadblock to Trump's policy agenda
A ruling Wednesday that most of President Donald Trump's tariffs are illegal was the latest roadblock courts have placed in the way of a sweeping second-term agenda that has been fueled largely by executive actions. Judges have also halted, at least temporarily, efforts by Trump to deport migrants without due process and to dismantle some government agencies, including the Education Department, as well as to punish law firms and Harvard University. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt is certain to field questions on the tariffs ruling at a news briefing Thursday afternoon.
A top House Democrat on Wednesday night opened a probe into the private dinner that President Donald Trump hosted for top investors in his meme coin, seeking to highlight the ethical and legal concerns raised by the president's willingness to profit while in office.
Rep. Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, demanded that Trump turn over the names of the guests who attended last week's gala after pouring millions of dollars into the president's crypto venture.
Elon Musk, a key adviser to President Donald Trump who oversaw the U.S. DOGE Service, said Wednesday that he is leaving the administration after leading a contentious effort to reshape the federal bureaucracy and slash government spending.
A specialized federal court in New York on Wednesday ruled that most of President Donald Trump's tariffs — including those on Chinese goods — are illegal, upending negotiations with more than a dozen nations and creating fresh uncertainty for countless American businesses that depend upon foreign suppliers.
President Donald Trump on Wednesday pardoned a former Army officer who was found guilty in 2022 by a military judge of violating coronavirus prevention protocols, a White House official who was not authorized to speak publicly confirmed to The Washington Post.
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Annual snapshot of CO kids shows decrease in suicides, increase in homelessness
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Trump's education secretary threatens to pull funding from NY over its Native American mascot ban
MASSAPEQUA, N.Y. (AP) — New York is discriminating against a school district that refuses to get rid of its Native American chief mascot and could face a Justice Department investigation or risk losing federal funding, President Donald Trump's top education official said Friday. U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon, on a visit to Massapequa High School on Long Island, said an investigation by her agency has determined that state education officials violated Title VI of the federal civil rights law by banning the use of Native American mascots and logos statewide. The department's civil rights office found the state ban is discriminatory because names and mascots derived from other racial or ethnic groups, such as the 'Dutchmen' and the 'Huguenots,' are still permitted. McMahon described Massapequa's chiefs mascot as an 'incredible' representation of Native American leadership as she made the announcement backed by dozens of students and local officials in the high school gymnasium. 'The Trump Administration will not stand idly by as state leaders attempt to eliminate the history and culture of Native American tribes,' the former longtime CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment said. McMahon said her department will give the state ten days to sign an agreement rescinding its Native American mascot ban and apologizing to Native Americans for having discriminated against them and attempted to 'erase' their history. JP O'Hare, a spokesperson for the New York education department, dismissed McMahon's visit as 'political theater' and said the school district was doing a 'grave disservice' to its students by refusing to consult with local tribes about their concerns. 'These representatives will tell them, as they have told us, that certain Native American names and images perpetuate negative stereotypes and are demonstrably harmful to children,' he said in a statement. Representatives from the Native American Guardians Association, who voiced support for keeping the chief mascot at Friday's event, also don't speak on behalf of local Indigenous residents, despite claims from school officials, said Adam Drexler, a Massapequa resident and member of the Chickasaw Nation. 'They're Native Americans for hire,' he said, noting the group is based in North Dakota. 'They have no tribal authority.' Meanwhile the National Congress of American Indians, considered the country's oldest and largest Native American advocacy group, reaffirmed its long-standing opposition to the use of unsanctioned Native American imagery. 'These depictions are not tributes — they are rooted in racism, cultural appropriation, and intentional ignorance,' the organization said in a statement ahead of McMahon's appearance. Trump ordered the federal education department to launch an inquiry into the Massapequa mascot dispute last month, making the coastal suburb an unlikely flashpoint in the enduring debate over the place of Indigenous imagery in American sports. Located about 40 miles (64 kilometers) east of Manhattan, the town has for years fought a state mandate to retire Native American sports names and mascots. But its lawsuit challenging the state's 2023 ban on constitutional grounds was dismissed by a federal judge earlier this year. State education officials gave districts until the end of this school year to commit to replacing them or risk losing education funding. Schools could be exempt from the mandate if they gained approval from a local Native American tribe, but Massapequa never sought such permission, state officials have said. Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, a Trump ally who joined McMahon on the visit, echoed the sentiments of residents who support keeping the mascot. The Massapequa chief, he said, is meant to 'honor' the town's Native American heritage, not 'denigrate' it. 'They're trying to change our culture, and we're not having it,' Blakeman said. The town is named after the Massapequa, who were part of the broader Lenape, or Delaware, people who inhabited the woodlands of the Northeastern U.S. and Canada for thousands of years before being decimated by European colonization. But indigenous residents on Long Island have called Massapequa's mascot problematic as it depicts a Native American man wearing a headdress that was typically worn by tribes in the American Midwest, but not in the Northeast. The cheery mascot also obscures Massapequa's legacy of violence against Native Americans, which includes the site of a Native American massacre in the 1600s, Native American activists have said. Massapequa, which is roughly 90% white, has long been a conservative bastion popular with New York City police and firefighters. Trump visited the town last year to attend the wake of a New York City police officer and has made frequent visits to Long Island as it has shifted Republican. Comedian Jerry Seinfeld, Hollywood's Baldwin brothers and the Long Island's alleged Gilgo Beach serial killer are also among Massapequa High's notable alums. ___ This story has been corrected to remove a reference to the event taking place Thursday. It took place Friday. ___ Follow Philip Marcelo at Philip Marcelo, The Associated Press
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Elon Musk leaves the Trump administration, capping his run as federal government slasher
WASHINGTON − Elon Musk has officially left the Trump administration, capping the billionaire tech entrepreneur's turbulent four-month run leading a contentious effort to slash the federal government. Musk, who had already scaled back his role with the Department of Government Efficiency, announced his departure in a May 28 post on X. It comes as his designation as a "special government employee" ‒ which allowed him to stay on the job for 130 calendar days a year ‒ has ended. "As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end, I would like to thank President @realDonaldTrump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending," Musk said. "The @DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government." A White House official confirmed Musk's exit, telling USA TODAY, "The offboarding process has begun." More: Elon Musk bemoans DOGE becoming Trump administration's 'whipping boy' As the head of DOGE and a senior White House adviser, Musk led the effort to gut the government of what he called "waste and fraud" and reduce the federal workforce. DOGE, which is staffed by more than 100 government employees, is set to continue operating without Musk in charge. But it was unclear how much power the group will maintain without its famous leader. Musk already had shifted his attention back to his business empire. Tesla, his electric car company, suffered financial losses after he became a polarizing figure as President Donald Trump's chief sidekick. This week, Musk took part in a blitz of media interviews from the headquarters of his company SpaceX in South Texas, coinciding with the latest test flight of his Starship spacecraft. The day before his departure, Musk broke with Trump by criticizing his massive tax and spending bill that the president has dubbed the "big, beautiful bill." The bill, which includes Trump's domestic agenda on items ranging from border security to tax cuts, passed the House along party lines. It now heads to the Senate. "I was disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the budget deficit, not just decreases it, and undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing," Musk said in an interview May 27 on "CBS Sunday Morning." The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated the bill would add $3.8 trillion to the national debt over the next 10 years. 'I think a bill can be big or it can be beautiful, but I don't know if it can be both. My personal opinion,' Musk said in the interview. Musk, the richest man in the world and a Republican megadonor who helped bankroll Trump's 2024 campaign, last week said he intends to substantially cut back his political spending in future elections as he focuses more time on his businesses. "I think in terms of political spending, I'm going to do a lot less in the future," Musk said May 20 at the Bloomberg News Qatar Economic Forum. "I think I've done enough." DOGE has boasted of saving the federal government more than $175 billion through cuts ‒ though the group's declared savings have often been exaggerated or misleading. The office has dismantled entire federal agencies, axed government contracts and led the firings of tens of thousands of federal workers. Musk downplayed the effect his absence could have on DOGE's survival during an interview with USA TODAY and other media outlets earlier in May. "Is Buddha needed for Buddhism?" Musk asked. "DOGE is a way of life."Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Elon Musk leaves the Trump White House after turbulent run in power
