What to know today
- President Donald Trump is granting certain automakers a one-month exemption from tariffs on Canada and Mexico that went into effect this week. Trump spoke to the Big Three automakers and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
- Trump met with conservative House members at the White House, while Elon Musk is talking to House Republicans tonight about the Department of Government Efficiency's efforts to reduce the size of government. Meanwhile, Vice President JD Vance is visiting the southern border in Texas.
- White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that the U.S. is talking directly to Hamas about the release of hostages after a six-month ceasefire ended over the weekend. Trump later threatened to have Hamas leaders and Gazans killed if hostages are not immediately released.
- In a blow to Trump, the Supreme Court backed a lower-court ruling ordering the administration to pay $2 billion to contractors from the U.S. Agency for International Development.
USDA ordered to temporarily reinstate thousands of fired employees
The firings of over 5,000 probationary employees at the Agriculture Department may have been unlawful, and the workers should be reinstated for at least the next 45 days, a federal civil service board ruled today.
U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board Chair Cathy Harris issued the order after the Office of Special Counsel alleged that the Agriculture Department had “engaged in prohibited personnel practices” to carry out the mass firings.
The ruling affects only Agriculture Department workers, but numerous government agencies have carried out similar mass firings of probationary employees, meaning Wednesday’s action could prove damaging to Trump’s efforts to slash the federal workforce.
Hundreds of diplomats formally protest Trump's dismantling of USAID in letter to Rubio
Hundreds of officials the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development have signed on to a dissent memo to Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressing their profound opposition to the dismantling of USAID, according to three people familiar with the document.
The foreign service officers and civil servants wrote that the freezing of foreign aid undermines U.S. global leadership, puts American lives at risk and cedes critical influence to China and Russia.
“The United States has long been a beacon of hope and a defender of democratic values,” the text of the memo said, according to a copy seen by NBC News. It was not immediately clear if the cable was in its final draft.
“By abdicating our commitment to foreign assistance, we abandon vulnerable populations to the whims of authoritarian regimes. The world is watching, and our credibility as a force for good is at stake,” the memo said.
The diplomats and civil servants urged a course correction “before irreparable damage is done to U.S. leadership, security, and moral authority in the world.”
Since taking office, Trump has paused all U.S. foreign aid pending a 90-day review. He has also gutted USAID, the federal government agency responsible for operating and overseeing U.S. foreign assistance programs, largely upending the global humanitarian system.
The moves followed targeted criticism against USAID by senior administration officials, including tech mogul Elon Musk who called the agency “a criminal organization,” saying it was “time for it to die.”
In their dissent, the U.S. officials said in the memo that the “smear campaign” unjustly vilifies the dedicated diplomats and patriots at USAID “who have faithfully implemented the policies of administrations regardless of party.”
“We dissent not out of opposition to the administration, but because we have dedicated our lives to making America safer, stronger, and more prosperous,” the memo said.
The dissent channel, created during the Vietnam War, allows U.S. foreign service officers and civil servants to directly communicate dissenting foreign policy views to senior officials in the State Department without fear of penalty, reprisal or recrimination. The director of policy planning must provide a substantive reply to the dissent cable within 60 working days, according to the State Department Foreign Affairs Manual.
As part of their opposition the U.S. diplomats warned of both immediate and long-term security risks to the Trump administration’s decisions, including the endangering of American personnel, diplomats and military forces overseas.
“Development assistance mitigates instability, reducing the conditions that breed extremism and anti-American sentiment,” the memo said.
Beyond the strategic and humanitarian consequences of the abrupt halt to foreign assistance, the foreign service officers and civil servants pointed to the severe economic consequences of the failure to pay $1.5 billion in overdue obligations to contractors and implementing partners, many of whom are American businesses.
The Supreme Court today backed a federal judge’s power to order the Trump administration to pay $2 billion to USAID contractors but did not require immediate payment.
“These unpaid debts disrupt supply chains, force layoffs, and place an undue financial burden on firms that have already fulfilled their contractual obligations in good faith,” the State Department memo said. “The resulting financial strain not only undermines confidence in the U.S. government as a reliable partner, it also weakens domestic economic growth at a time of mounting global competition.”
More than 36 million people watched Trump's joint address to Congress
Roughly 36.6 million people watched Trump's address to a joint session of Congress last night, according to Nielsen.
Viewership of the speech peaked about halfway through the speech, with nearly 38 million people tuning in from 9:45 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET. Trump's presidential address to Congress was the longest in U.S. history.
President Joe Biden's final State of the Union address garnered an audience of about 32.2 million — about 13% below Trump's figures from last night.
Trump, however, failed to match his first-term viewership peaks. In 2019, nearly 47 million people tuned into his State of the Union address, and nearly 48 million people watched his 2017 speech to Congress.
VA secretary on job cuts: 'Government does not exist to employ people'
Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins shared a four-minute video posted today on X confirming the agency's plans to reduce its workforce by 15%. Collins in the video attributes the cuts to "President Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency Workforce Optimization Initiative."
Collins said the Department of Veterans Affairs plans to cut its workforce from approximately 470,000 employees to roughly 398,000 employees, a figure that he said would match the agency's 2019 employment numbers and represent a 15% cut.
“Now, we regret anyone who loses their job and it’s extraordinarily difficult for me especially as a VA leader and your secretary to make these types of decisions,” Collins said in the video. “But the federal government does not exist to employ people. It exists to serve people.”
Collins said he would aim to be transparent about the process but ended the video with a warning: “We’ll be making major changes, so get used to it.”
Retired Justice Anthony Kennedy appeared to thank Trump for "teaching young people to love America"
After wrapping his joint address last night to Congress, Trump made his way down to where the Supreme Court justices were sitting.
As the president got to retired Justice Anthony Kennedy first. Trump thanked him and said, “See you soon,” to which Kennedy appeared to respond, “You’re teaching young people to love America.”
Trump told Kennedy that he is "trying to.”
Trump also shook the hands of Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Brett Kavanaugh. Kavanaugh told the president, “Best to your family” as Trump shook his hand and patted it.
After Kavanaugh, Trump moved to Justice Elena Kagan before greeting with Chief Justice John Roberts. Trump appeared to tell the chief justice, “Thank you again. Won’t forget it.”
It's not clear what Trump was thanking Roberts for, but he has often expressed gratitude to the court for their decision last year to grant presidents immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts.
Only five justices attended Trump’s joint address, four current and one retired. Justices Ketanji Brown Jackson, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Sonia Sotomayor and Neil Gorsuch were not present. It’s not unusual for justices to choose not to attend. And it is also not unusual for a president to greet the justices either before or after their speech.
House Freedom Caucus members say they support Trump's use of impoundment
Members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus told reporters upon leaving a White House meeting with Trump this afternoon they believe the president holds the power “as the chief executive to spend what he thinks is appropriate” on behalf of taxpayers despite Congress’ constitutional power to decide how public funds are spent through the appropriations process.
After noting the caucus supports Trump’s request for a continuing resolution that would keep the government funded at its current levels through the end of the fiscal year, Rep. Chip Roy, R-Tx., said “Congress appropriates, which means we put a ceiling. The president can’t spend over that number, but the President can use impoundment, use the power of the executive branch, as the chief executive to spend what he thinks is appropriate from behalf of the taxpayer.”
“We support that power. We support Russ Vought using that power. So we want to make sure that we’re giving him room to do what the American people ask him to do,” Roy said.
The Impoundment Control Act, which mandates the president must spend funds as appropriated by Congress unless given special approval to do otherwise, has been a flash point in Trump’s second administration. Trump and Russell Vought, his pick to lead the Office of Management and Budget, have long argued the act is unconstitutional and limits the power of the Executive Branch.
Vought faced grilling from Senators in his confirmation hearing over the role he played in Trump’s first impeachment in 2019, which centered on an alleged violation of the Impoundment Control Act, after the Government Accountability Office found Trump withheld congressionally appropriated funds for Ukraine in an attempt to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for political favors.
District judge blocks Trump's efforts to slash NIH research funding
U.S. District Judge Mary Kelley in Massachusetts issued a nationwide preliminary injunction halting the Trump administration’s efforts to cut the National Institutes of Health’s research funding, according to an order filed with the court.
“Considering the irreparable harm likely to befall similarly situated nonparties, the chaos that would result both for institutions and NIH from a patchwork of injunctions, the diffuse nature of the Plaintiffs, and the nature of the suit, a nationwide preliminary injunction is the appropriate and reasonable remedy,” Kelley said.
The injunction was granted after several attorneys general, who represent medical schools and universities, sued in February, arguing that the cuts would have an “immediate and devastating” impact.
Previously, NIH announced that it would limit indirect funding for research projects to 15%, dramatically slashing how much funding the federal government would provide to research agencies for things like equipment, maintenance, utilities and support staff. Previously, such rates varied and were negotiated by each institution with the government.
Last month, Kelley issued a nationwide temporary restraining order blocking the Trump administration from slashing the research funding.
Elon Musk 'elated' to learn Congress can codify DOGE cuts in a rescissions package
Elon Musk met with Senate Republicans this afternoon and a new push for a rescission package, a tool Congress can use to codify the spending cuts made by DOGE, emerged from the nearly two-hour meeting.
The package would not be subject to a 60-vote threshold in the Senate and would come as a request from the White House, which Congress would then have to act on and pass within 45 days.
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., first raised the possibility of a rescission package, according to multiple senators in the room. After the Supreme Court ruled this morning to reject the Trump administration’s request to freeze billions in foreign aid, Paul said his message to Elon was to “get over the impoundment idea” and work with Congress to make DOGE’s spending cuts permanent.
Paul said he believed "a realization is going to set in that Congress has to be a part of that."
"Yes, Congress is terrible at spending. But we got to see what we can do to try to rally troops," Paul said.
Multiple senators said that Musk was surprised to learn there was a viable legislative pathway to making DOGE’s cuts permanent.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., described Musk as “so happy” when he heard the news and told reporters Musk pumped his fists and danced.
“It’s time for the White House now to go on offense. We’re losing altitude," Graham said. "And the way you can regain altitude is to take the work product, get away from the personalities and the drama, take the work product and vote on it."
Senate GOP leadership has also not weighed in yet on the rescission package.
During a meeting with White House chief of staff Susie Wiles last week, several GOP senators also raised concerns about being out of the loop on DOGE’s work. In today’s meeting, Musk provided his personal cellphone number to senators, per Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., to ensure senators get answers quickly.
Elon Musk suggests the U.S. should privatize the Postal Service and Amtrak
Trump adviser and tech mogul Elon Musk suggested Wednesday that the U.S. government should privatize “as much as possible” and named Amtrak and the U.S. Postal Service as two services ripe for privatization, according to a source in the room.
During a virtual appearance at a Morgan Stanley technology conference, Musk told attendees about his experiences riding bullet trains abroad and said, “And we come back to America, like, Amtrak is a sad situation.”
“If you’re coming from another country, please don’t use our national rail. It can leave you with a very bad impression of America,” Musk added. “So, I just, I think we should prioritize anything that can be privatized.”
Ownership structures of high speed railways abroad vary widely. Some are fully state-owned, as in China. Others, like Japan’s railways, have been largely privatized. The European system is mixed.
The Tesla and SpaceX CEO, whom President Donald Trump on Tuesday credited with running the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, said privatization would ensure “a feedback loop for improvement.”
Reps. Comer, Pressley get into shouting match at hearing
House Oversight Chair James Comer got into a shouting match with Rep. Ayanna Pressley at the hearing on sanctuary cities when she tried to read the headline of an article she was entering into the record.
Pressley, a Democrat from Massachusetts, had asked to enter, "as a survivor of sexual violence myself," an article from Quartz, which Comer, a Kentucky Republican, agreed to do before getting agitated that she wanted to read the title of the article into the record.
The headline of the article was "Data from Texas shows U.S.-born Americans commit more rape and murder than immigrants," which Pressley read.
"No, no," he yelled over her. "This trend of you all trying to get thrown out of committee so you can get on MSNBC is going to end. We’re not going to put up with it,” he said.
Pressley yelled back over him it was her "procedural right" to do what she was doing. "No, no," Comer snapped. "You are not recognized."
Trump grants one-month tariff delay for U.S. automakers
Trump continued to send mixed signals about his tariffs plan Wednesday, granting U.S. automakers a one-month reprieve on new 25% duties imposed on Canada and Mexico, while continuing to deem Canada’s efforts to tackle drug and migrant flows insufficient.
In posts on his Truth Social platform, the president said that after speaking with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, he had decided that the improvements Trudeau mentioned toward halting fentanyl and undocumented persons from entering the U.S. were “not good enough” to lift the duties.
Shortly thereafter, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump had spoken with the “Big 3” American automakers — Ford, GM and Stellantis (formerly Chrysler) — and granted them a one-month exemption on paying the 25% duties on autos produced in their Canadian or Mexican facilities.
The president is set to speak with Mexico’s Claudia Sheinbaum tomorrow.
NYC Mayor Adams denies quid pro quo with Trump
New York City Mayor Eric Adams was grilled by fellow Democrats at a House hearing on sanctuary cities today about the circumstances of the Trump Justice Department recommending that criminal charges against him be dropped.
"Are you selling out New Yorkers to save yourself from prosecution?" Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., asked Adams, referring to DOJ's position that Adams would be better able to help with immigration enforcement actions if the charges against him were dropped.
"There’s no deal, no quid pro quo, and I did nothing wrong," Adams responded, saying he didn't want to say more out of deference to the judge who's weighing whether to dismiss the case.
Garcia was not swayed. "I personally agree with the majority of New Yorkers and think, Mr. Mayor, you should resign. Do the right thing and step down," he said.
Adams was then pressed on the topic by Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va.
"Were you pressured in exchange for the dropping and dismissal of criminal charges in your indictment to cooperate with the Trump administration on all fronts, with respect to immigration? Did any such conversation take place?" Connolly asked.
"I think I was extremely clear, no quid pro quo, no agreement. I did nothing wrong but serve the people of New York City," Adams replied.
Trump administration is holding talks with Hamas over the release of hostages
The Trump administration is engaging in direct talks with Hamas over the release of U.S. hostages still held in the Gaza Strip, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed this afternoon.
Trump believes the dialog is part of a “good-faith effort to do what’s right for the American people,” Leavitt said at a White House news briefing.
“There are American lives at stake,” Leavitt added, noting that Israel had been consulted.
The development comes after the six-week ceasefire between Israel and Hamas ended Saturday with no extension of peace negotiations in sight. It marks the first time the U.S. has held direct talks with the group, which it has designated a terrorist organization.
White House says Trump delaying tariffs on cars for one month
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed in the briefing room that Trump spoke to the "Big 3" automakers and granted a one-month exemption "on any autos coming through" Canada and Mexico.
"Reciprocal tariffs will still go into effect on April 2, but at the request of the companies associated with USMCA, the president is giving them an exemption for one month so they are not at an economic disadvantage."
Shelf sits empty of U.S. products in Quebec store
In a SAQ store in Quebec, a shelf is now empty of U.S. products in response to Trump's tariffs. The sign reads "États-Unis," which means "United States" in French, and has no products under its display.
SAQ released a statement today saying it is removing U.S. products from all of its stores by order of the Quebec government.
"We are removing all U.S. products from our store shelves and from the SAQ.COM website starting today, and we will stop supplying agencies, grocery stores, bars and restaurants. We will also cease importing all American products intended for the Quebec market."
Trump says he spoke to Canadian P.M. Trudeau today
In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote that he spoke with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau today about the tariffs that went into effect on goods from Canada and Mexico this week.
Trump described the call as ending in a "'somewhat' friendly manner."
"Good luck Justin!" the president added at the end of his post, after opining about the status of Canada's elections.
House GOP moves to censure Democratic Rep. Al Green for heckling Trump
Following through on his party’s promise to censure any Democrats who interrupted Trump’s joint address last night, Republican Rep. Dan Newhouse introduced a resolution to censure Democratic Rep. Al Green on the House floor this morning.
The resolution follows Green’s early removal from Trump’s joint address last night after he stood and shouted while shaking his cane at the president in what Green said was meant to protest the administration’s proposed cuts to Medicaid spending.
Newhouse in his censure resolution called Green’s behavior a “sheer disregard” for the decorum expected of members of the House, saying that “a Member’s refusal to adhere to the Speaker’s direction to cease such behavior, regardless of their party, has and will continue to be reprimanded in the people’s House.”
A censure is a formal way for members of the House to reprimand colleagues for their conduct. Republican House leadership will make a decision on whether they will bring the resolution forward by the end of the week.
Last year, Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., repeatedly stood and heckled then-President Joe Biden during his State of the Union address, though neither member faced disciplinary consequences in the House.
District judge requests schedule for unfreezing some USAID money
After the Supreme Court this morning endorsed a federal judge's power to order the Trump administration to pay $2 billion to USAID contractors, U.S. District Judge Amir Ali ordered the Trump administration to file a status report by 11 a.m. tomorrow.
The report must include a schedule detailing how the administration plans to come into compliance with Ali's previous order, where he ordered the government to unfreeze funds that President Donald Trump put on hold with an executive order.
Sen. John Kennedy accuses a congressional witness of being on ketamine
Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., appeared to jokingly accuse a witness of being on ketamine during a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee today about antisemitism in America.
"I think that you need to stop dipping into your ketamine stash," Kennedy told witness Kevin Rachlin, a fellow at the Alliance for Peacebuilding, after engaging with Rachlin on a series of questions about antisemitism on college campuses like Columbia University.
"Into what? Excuse me," Rachlin answered.
CMS was 'not aware' its buildings were listed for potential sale
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services “was not aware” that several of its offices would be targeted for sale on an extensive list that was published — and then unpublished — by the General Services Administration, according to an email obtained by NBC News on Wednesday.
The GSA list, published Tuesday, identified 443 buildings owned by the federal government as “non-core assets” that could be sold. It included major office spaces in cities across the country as well as a number of agency headquarters in Washington, D.C.
“As you may be aware, the General Services Administration (GSA) issued a press release yesterday which included a list of buildings identified as 'non-core assets,' targeted for disposition (sale),” the email, shared by a current employee at the Department of Health and Human Services, began. “The list included several CMS buildings, including our headquarters campus in Woodlawn, MD, the Humphrey Building in D.C., and several regional offices.”
“CMS was not aware this was happening, and we didn’t submit or approve any of our current office locations being on this list,” the email, sent to all CMS employees, continued. “The list has been removed from GSA’s website and we are in active discussions with HHS to ensure we have the facilities we need to fully return to the office in-person and continue performing our critical mission. We apologize for the additional and unnecessary stress and anxiety this may have caused.”
The GSA pulled the list from the internet Wednesday morning after it had garnered attention. The webpage now says a complete list of buildings that could be sold is “coming soon.”
A CMS employee told NBC News they discussed the GSA list with their team ahead of the emailed announcement amid the confusion.
“The general sense is that we as federal employees are being kept in the dark, so we need to look for this kind of information on our own time,” this person said.
The list was published as Trump’s U.S. DOGE Service, guided by billionaire ally Elon Musk, has sought to dramatically slash costs and has targeted federal leases as an area that could prove fruitful to the cost-cutting venture. But that effort comes as DOGE has called for virtually all federal employees to return to offices full time. As is, the vast majority of federal employees work far from the Beltway, and many federal buildings in cities outside the nation’s Capitol were included among those that were being considered for sale.
A GSA official who served under both Trump and former President Joe Biden told NBC News that both administrations contributed to the “non-core” properties list. This person said GSA is looking to consolidate the workforce into fewer, higher-quality buildings.
Veterans Affairs to lay off tens of thousands of workers by August
The Department of Veterans Affairs is preparing to cut as many as 80,000 employees by August in what the department’s chief of staff called an effort to "resize and tailor the workforce to the mission" in a memo released this week.
The mass layoffs will be aimed at returning the department's workforce to 2019 levels, or to just under 400,000 employees. The move would gut most of the additional staff hired under the Biden administration, which added more than 60,000 employees following the passage of legislation in 2022 that expanded benefits for veterans exposed to toxic substances, including burn pits and Agent Orange.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., the ranking member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, called the move an "all-out assault undermining" the legislation and an attack on "the VA workforce and the veterans it serves."
Blumenthal accused the administration of "starving VA’s ability to meet increased demand in order to justify privatizing VA."
DOJ dismisses case surrounding emergency abortions
The Justice Department has moved to dismiss U.S. v. Idaho, a case centering on emergency abortions. The move had been widely expected, as the initial lawsuit was filed by the Biden administration.
The Supreme Court last year dismissed an appeal of a case about whether Idaho's abortion law conflicted with federal laws requiring stabilizing care for emergency room patients.
NEA and ACLU sue Department of Education over anti-DEI policies
The American Civil Liberties Union and National Education Association are filing a lawsuit in a federal court in New Hampshire today challenging a Department of Education letter warning schools and colleges they could lose federal funding if they continue to pursue diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
The complaint said the guidance outlined in the Feb. 14 letter "radically resets" the department's "longstanding positions on civil rights laws that guarantee equality and inclusion and impermissibly infringes on the authority of states and school districts over public education as well as the First Amendment rights of educators and students."
The letter said the department "will no longer tolerate the overt and covert racial discrimination that has become widespread in this Nation’s educational institutions."
"The law is clear: treating students differently on the basis of race to achieve nebulous goals such as diversity, racial balancing, social justice, or equity is illegal under controlling Supreme Court precedent," the letter said.
The ACLU lawsuit says the guidance was "impermissibly vague and violates the Fifth Amendment due process rights of Plaintiffs. All of its prohibitions are unclear and undefined, broad in scope, and turn on subjective judgement."
The complaint also argued that the outlined policy "unconstitutionally penalizes the protected speech of Plaintiffs’ members by threatening to withhold federal funding from any educational institution that provides a 'DEI program.'"
The groups asked the court in their complaint to declare the Department of Education policy "contrary to constitutional rights" and block the department from enforcing it.
They also ask the judge to put an end to the Trump administration's "End DEI" portal and declare it unlawful. That portal urges students, parents and faculty to report any sex- or race-based discrimination in public schools.
Texas is beefing with New York over a steak cut name
Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said the state Senate is filing a resolution to change the name of a cut of steak long called New York strip to Texas strip.
“We ask restaurants to change the name of this strip of meat the next time they reprint their menus, and grocery stores to do the same. We want this to catch on across the country and around the globe,” Patrick said in a post on X.
The cut of beef became known as New York strip after it was popularized at a New York City steakhouse called Delmonico's back in the 1800s.
"Just because a New York restaurant named Texas beef a New York Strip in the 19th century doesn’t mean we need to keep doing that," Patrick wrote. "Liberal New York shouldn’t get the credit for our hard-working ranchers," he added, saying the effort would be good branding for the state.
Dennis Turcinovic, managing partner of Delmonico’s Hospitality Group, told NBC New York the plan is "ridiculous." "It's the New York strip," he said. "Good luck trying to change that."
Asked for comment, a spokesperson for New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said she "is laser focused on affordability and lowering the cost of living — and we’re not going to waste a single second thinking about this inane political stunt."
Musk to join private lunch with GOP senators
Elon Musk will attend the closed-door Senate GOP lunch today, a source familiar with the meeting told NBC News.
The Wednesday lunch is run by Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., who serves as the chairman of the Republican Steering Committee.
Scott has invited Trump administration members to his lunch to take questions from Republicans. Last week’s lunch featured Susie Wiles.
Musk will meet with House Republicans tonight to discuss the Department of Government Efficiency.
U.S. embassies end air pollution monitoring that spurred China and others to action
Reporting from Hong Kong
U.S. embassies and consulates have stopped monitoring air quality abroad, ending a program that had provided essential public health data for more than a decade.
The State Department said its collection of air pollution data at more than 60 U.S. embassies and consulates around the world had been suspended as of Tuesday due to “budget constraints.”
“The current budget climate requires us to make difficult cuts,” a spokesperson said. “Unfortunately, we cannot continue to publish this data.”
The announcement follows the Trump administration’s mass layoffs of federal workers offering environment-related services last week.
Texas Rep. Sylvester Turner dies
Rep. Sylvester Turner, D-Texas, died last night, according to two Democratic lawmakers who were informed about his death.
At a whip’s meeting, House Minority Whip Katherine Clark, D-Mass., announced that he died last night and that his family has been notified. It appeared he had a medical emergency in the Cannon tunnel yesterday afternoon.
Turner was elected to Congress in November and was formerly a mayor of Houston.
Georgia Rep. Lucy McBath is exploring a bid for governor
The Democratic congresswoman, a vocal advocate for increased gun measures who won a high-profile congressional bid in 2018 after her son was killed in 2012, filed paperwork with the state today to explore a bid for governor.
Paperwork filed with Georgia's ethics and campaign finance commission show the creation of an exploratory committee for a gubernatorial bid in 2026. McBath confirmed the filing in a statement to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, saying “Georgians deserve a governor who understands what’s at stake, because they’ve lived it."
Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican, is term-limited, and the race to replace him could be crowded on both sides of the aisle.
Federal workers who were recently fired voice disappointment with Trump's speech to Congress
Several recently fired federal workers expressed disappointment and frustration with Trump's speech to Congress last night during a roundtable appearance on MSNBC.
"I think the demonization of immigrants in this speech today was as disappointing as it was frightening and the thing that bothered me is it’s a multifaceted approach that we need to attack the immigration problem, and it’s been an issue over multiple presidents," said Nagela Nukuna, who worked for the U.S. Digital Service, which was transformed into DOGE.
Nukuna was working on technology to help reduce the backlog of people waiting in the U.S. immigration system. "It’s really unclear why the Department of Government of so-called Efficiency would try and get rid of a group that is moving forward efficient practices and really seeing the savings of their work," she said ahead of the speech.
Jesus Murillo was a presidential management fellow at the Department of Housing and Urban Development. He said that he is passionate about public service and it was a "slap in the face" to get fired.
Alex Taylor, who worked for the U.S. Geological Survey, suggested he was discouraged by Trump's speech because the president spoke about wanting rare earth minerals in Ukraine when his job in the federal government was addressing exactly that issue in the U.S.
"I supported active research projects on identifying sources of critical minerals in the U.S.," he said. "It bothers me that he’s more interested in engaging in Neo-Colonialism to get minerals from other countries, rather than supporting the scientists and the researchers who are aiding the minerals industry here in America."
House Freedom Caucus plans to introduce censure resolution against Texas Democrat who interrupted Trump
The House Freedom Caucus, the most conservative voting bloc in the chamber, plans to introduce a censure resolution against Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, who interrupted Trump's joint address to Congress last night.
The group of conservative Republican members announced its plans in a post on X. The caucus had previously warned that anyone who disrupted the speech would be censured.
Green, a vociferous critic of Trump who has called for his impeachment, stood and shook his cane toward in the opening minutes of the president’s remarks. Green could be heard shouting that Trump does not have a mandate from voters, as the president claimed.
The uproar promoted House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to read aloud from the House rules directing members to “uphold and maintain decorum.” Then, when Green refused to sit and allow Trump to go on with his speech, Johnson had the Texas Democrat removed by the House sergeant at arms.
CIA Director says U.S. has temporarily paused intelligence sharing with Ukraine
CIA Director John Ratcliffe said in an interview on Fox Business today that the Trump administration had paused both “military and intelligence” assistance to Ukraine but he expected it to be a temporary suspension that would lay the ground for future peace talks between Ukraine and Russia.
"I think [the pause] will go away and I think we’ll work shoulder-to-shoulder with Ukraine as we have to push back on the aggression that’s there," he said.
‘Wrong, wrong, wrong’: Trump’s far-right allies in Europe fault his Ukraine stance
LONDON — Trump is used to shocking critics with his approach to foreign policy. But his hard-line Ukraine tactics have this week unnerved some of his political allies on the far right, too.
Dutch anti-Islam populist Geert Wilders — often referred to as the “Dutch Trump” because of his flamboyant blond hair and anti-immigration politics — said Saturday that he stood by Ukraine “with conviction.” He reacted to Trump’s Oval Office clash with Zelenskyy by posting on X that it was “fascinating TV, but not necessarily the best way to end the war, gentlemen.”
Supreme Court rejects Trump administration’s bid to avoid paying USAID contractors
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court today backed a federal judge’s power to order the Trump administration to pay $2 billion to U.S. Agency for International Development contractors but did not require immediate payment.
In doing so, the court on a 5-4 vote rejected an emergency application filed by the Justice Department after U.S. District Judge Amir Ali issued a series of rulings demanding the government unfreeze funds that Trump put on hold with an executive order.
The court delayed acting on the case for a week. In the meantime, the contractors have not been paid.
Trump says U.S. is ‘reclaiming’ Panama Canal, citing planned sale of Chinese-backed ports
Reporting from Hong Kong
A Hong Kong-based conglomerate has agreed to sell its stake in two Panama Canal ports to U.S. and Swiss investors amid pressure from the Trump administration over the ports’ ties to China.
CK Hutchison, a conglomerate founded by Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing, has agreed in principle to sell its controlling stake in a unit that operates the two ports to a consortium that includes the U.S. asset manager BlackRock, the companies said yesterday.
Trump had argued that the Chinese-backed ports, one each at the canal’s Pacific and Atlantic entrances, posed a national security threat because they gave the Chinese military potential control of the strategically vital canal.
Though CK Hutchison said the proposed sale was unrelated to politics, Trump touted it as a victory in his address last night to a joint session of Congress.
Fact-checking Trump’s speech to Congress
Trump delivered his first speech to Congress of his second term last night, celebrating the big spending cuts, crackdown on migration and economic vision from the opening weeks of his administration.
In his remarks, Trump bent the facts on issues including Social Security, immigration, fentanyl and the Russia-Ukraine war.
Here’s what Trump got right — and wrong — during his 100-minute address.
Lawyer submits 'new evidence' in case against DOGE, using Trump's own words
Lawyers working on a case against the Department of Government Efficiency found new ammunition late last night in the form of Trump’s own words during his joint address to Congress.
“I have created the brand new Department of Government Efficiency, DOGE. Perhaps you’ve heard of it. Perhaps. Which is headed by Elon Musk, who is in the gallery tonight,” Trump said during his speech.
The quote was quickly picked up by Kelly B. McClanahan, a lawyer in a case that centers on the legality of DOGE. McClanahan, who represents parties suing DOGE, entered a new court filing shortly after the president’s remark highlighting the quote as “new evidence,” emphasizing that Trump had affirmed Musk was heading DOGE.
See key moments from Trump’s 2025 joint address to Congress
Trump made his first joint address to Congress since taking office after winning a second term, touting his agenda, taking aim at his political rivals and leaning in on culture war issues, including diversity and transgender rights. NBC’s Peter Alexander reports and Hallie Jackson and "Meet the Press" moderator Kristen Welker provide analysis for "TODAY."
Trump admin rethinking Guantánamo immigrant detention plan amid cost issues and power struggles
Trump’s plan to use the U.S. naval base at Guantánamo Bay to detain 30,000 immigrants has been hitting major legal, logistical and financial hurdles ever since he surprised many in his own administration by announcing it. Now, as agencies spar over responsibility for operations there, and over blame for what has gone wrong, there is a growing recognition within the administration that this was a political decision that is just not working.
Among the major issues, especially as the Trump administration works to slash spending throughout the government, is the cost. Bringing detained immigrants to Guantánamo means flying them there, and the administration has sometimes chosen to use military planes that are expensive to operate in order to do so.
Trump to stay put in Washington while Vance hits the road to sell administration policies
A go-to move for presidents who’ve just delivered a prime-time speech before a joint session of Congress is to quickly leave town.
Whether they fly to the heartland or a swing state, the idea is to head outside the Beltway and start selling the glut of proposals they’ve laid out before the biggest televised audience they might attract all year.
Trump did just that as a new president eight years ago but, this time, he appears to be staying put. Coming off his address last night, the president had no post-speech travel in the offing, a senior administration official said. Instead, he is scheduled to remain at the White House today, where he’ll meet with members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus to discuss government funding.
His vice president, JD Vance, will be the one boarding a plane: Vance is scheduled to visit the U.S.-Mexico border at Eagle Pass, Texas, to talk about security, a spokesperson told NBC News.
China warns U.S. it will 'fight till the end' after Trump imposes tariffs
Reporting from Hong Kong
China warned the U.S. it will “fight till the end” amid escalating trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies.
“If war is what the U.S. wants, be it a tariff war, a trade war or any other type of war, we’re ready to fight till the end,” the Chinese Embassy in Washington said late last night in a post on X.
The comments echoed those the Chinese Foreign Ministry made earlier in the day after Beijing announced new tariffs of up to 15% on some U.S. goods in response to the Trump administration doubling its 10% tariff on Chinese imports to 20%.
China, which has been working with the U.S. to stem the international flow of fentanyl and other illicit drugs, has accused the U.S. of using its deadly opioid crisis as an excuse to start a trade war.
“If the U.S. truly wants to solve the fentanyl issue, then the right thing to do is to consult with China by treating each other as equals,” the embassy said.
‘We are just getting started’: Trump touts his agenda to rehape America
President Donald Trump assessed his presidency as a ringing success yesterday in his first address to a joint session of Congress since he reclaimed the White House in January.
“America is back,” an ebullient Trump said. “We have accomplished more in 43 days than most administrations accomplished in four years or eight years, and we are just getting started.”
The address, a mix of culture war red meat, grievance settling, name calling and outright falsehoods, was the first time the full complement of lawmakers heard directly from Trump since he embarked on a mission to expand the powers of his office at the expense of congressional prerogatives.