President Trump plans to sign an executive order Thursday calling for the shutdown of the US Education Department, according to a White House official, advancing a campaign promise to eliminate an agency that’s been a longtime target of conservatives.
Earlier in the day, it was reported that a senior official at Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency is taking a leadership role at the US Agency for International Development, giving DOGE direct authority over an agency it has worked to dismantle, according to an email obtained by The Associated Press.
Meanwhile, Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke for about an hour Wednesday morning a day after Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The Trump administration also suspended approximately $175 million in federal funding for the University of Pennsylvania over a transgender swimmer who last competed for the school in 2022, the White House said Wednesday.
Here’s how Wednesday unfolded.
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Social Security numbers and other private information unmasked in JFK files — 9:40 p.m.
By the Washington Post
The Social Security numbers and other private information of more than 200 former congressional staffers and others were made public Tuesday in the unredacted files related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, according to a review by The Washington Post.
More than 60,000 pages related to the 1963 assassination were released this week by the Trump administration. Many of the pages had been previously disclosed, but with redactions. Many, but not all, redactions have been removed. The records have been posted to the National Archives webpage under the headline “JFK Assassination Records - 2025 Documents Release.”
The Post, in its review of the previously redacted material, discovered the Social Security numbers, birthplaces and birth dates of more than 100 staff members of the Senate Church Committee, established in 1975 to investigate abuses by America’s intelligence agencies and government. The Post also discovered more than 100 Social Security numbers of staff members of the House Select Committee on Assassinations, which investigated the killing of Kennedy. Many of the individuals are still alive.
The Department of Justice had no comment Wednesday evening. The National Archives did not respond to a request for comment.
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Trump meets with oil executives at White House — 7:34 p.m.
By the Associated Press
The meeting, which included Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Energy Secretary Chris Wright, was part of Trump’s agenda to boost domestic energy production and restore what he calls energy dominance.
Executives in attendance included ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods, Chevron CEO Mike Wirth and Ryan Lance from ConocoPhillips.
While oil companies have expressed concerns over Trump’s tariffs on trade partners, including Canada and Mexico, the White House said tariffs were not discussed. Trump “reaffirmed his commitment to restore America’s energy dominance and drill, baby, drill,” spokesperson Taylor Rogers said.
Mike Sommers, president and CEO of the American Petroleum Institute, an industry lobbying group, said the executives appreciated the opportunity to meet with Trump and key Cabinet members to discuss “common-sense energy solutions Americans voted for,” including permitting reform, increased offshore oil production and lower subsidies for electric vehicles.
Republican representative calls public blowup between Trump and Zelensky ‘extremely unfortunate’ — 7:30 p.m.
By the Associated Press
Republican US Rep. Mike Lawler says he isn’t happy about the public Oval Office flare up between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Lawler, a Republican, told constituents during a tele-town hall on Wednesday that he thought the blowup between the two leaders late last month was “extremely unfortunate.”
“Sometimes as you are negotiating foreign policy, there are strong disagreements and tensions and it was unfortunate that it flared up in public view. Most of the time that happens behind closed doors,.” Lawler said in response to a question about Trump’s positions on Russia.
Musk donates to GOP members of Congress who support impeaching judges — 7:19 p.m.
By the New York Times
Elon Musk has made the maximum allowable donation to Republican members of Congress who support impeaching federal judges who are impeding actions taken by President Trump, according to five people with knowledge of the matter.
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Musk has given the maximum hard-dollar donations he could to the campaigns of seven Republicans who have either endorsed judicial impeachments or called for some form of “action” in response to recent rulings against the Trump administration, including a weekend decision by Judge James E. Boasberg of US District Court in Washington. The combined federal limit for primary and general elections is $6,600.
On Saturday, Boasberg ordered the administration to turn around planes carrying alleged Venezuelan gang members to El Salvador and return them to the United States. The administration did not comply with that order, prompting concerns about a constitutional showdown.
Musk contributed on Wednesday to Reps. Eli Crane of Arizona, Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Andy Ogles of Tennessee, Andrew Clyde of Georgia, Derrick Van Orden of Wisconsin and Brandon Gill of Texas. He also donated to Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, according to two of the people briefed on the matter.
Trump plans executive order to lay groundwork for shutting down Education Department, official says — 6:41 p.m.
By the Associated Press
The White House official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity before the announcement, said Trump plans to sign the order on Thursday.
Finalizing the elimination of the Department of Education would require an act of Congress.
But a White House fact sheet said the order would direct Education Secretary Linda McMahon “to take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure (of) the Department of Education and return education authority to the States, while continuing to ensure the effective and uninterrupted delivery of services, programs, and benefits on which Americans rely.”
Navajo Nation says White House told them AI error caused Code Talker photos to be removed — 6:07 p.m.
By the Associated Press
“White House officials reached out to my office and confirmed that removal of ‘Navajo’ from the agency websites was a result of an error caused by Artificial Intelligence (AI) automated review process associated with Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives,” Navajo Nation president Buu Nygren said in a statement. “We remain in close communication with federal officials to ensure the legacy of our cherished Navajo Code Talkers is never erased from American and Navajo history.”
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The Pentagon also acknowledged in a statement that images honoring the Code Talkers were not meant to be deleted and would be restored to Department of Defense websites. The Code Talkers used Navajo language to transmit secret messages back an forth from the Pacific theater in World War II and were critical to Allied victory.
Tens of thousands of other images that highlight contributions by women and minorities, however, remain purged. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Pentagon reviews plans to reduce troops handling migrants at Guantánamo, officials say — 5:17 p.m.
By the Associated Press
The cuts are being considered because there are no detainees there now and the program has stumbled during legal challenges, US officials told The Associated Press.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the decisions are not yet finalized.
The officials say the military’s Southern Command was asked to give Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth a plan that would outline how many troops are actually needed and what additional space may be required if more detainees are sent there.
That plan, officials say, is expected to recommend that a number of the troops be sent home — and one official said the decision could chop the 900 troops there now in half.
Pentagon says it will restore images taken down during DEI purge — 4:55 p.m.
By the Associated Press
The Pentagon has said it would restore images of legendary baseball player Jackie Robinson, the Tuskegee Airmen, Navajo Code Talkers, female fighter pilots and others swept up by a purge of diversity, equity and inclusion content.
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It comes after The Associated Press obtained and published a database with more than 26,000 images and other content that were flagged for removal.
Removed in the DEI purge was a photo of the Enola Gay, the aircraft that dropped the first atomic bomb on Japan, despite the Pentagon calling that false. As of Wednesday, an Enola Gay photo was still not restored.
Images honoring the Tuskegee Airmen also were still down, as were some images of the Navajo Code Talkers.
In a statement, the Pentagon defended the deletions but said historic photos that had been incorrectly removed would be restored.
“Everyone at the Defense Department loves Jackie Robinson, as well as the Navajo Code Talkers, the Tuskegee Airmen, the Marines at Iwo Jima and so many others — we salute them for their strong and in many cases heroic service to our country, full stop,” said Pentagon spokesperson John Ullyot.
Judge refuses to block IRS from sharing taxpayer info to assist in immigration enforcement — 4:50 p.m.
By the Associated Press
The federal judge declined to issue a temporary restraining order prohibiting the IRS from disclosing confidential tax return information to the Department of Homeland Security for immigration cases.
US District Judge Dabney Friedrich ruled that advocates for immigrants didn’t satisfy their legal burden to show that taxpayers’ sensitive information is imminently at risk of being unlawfully released.
Attorneys for two Illinois-based nonprofits who sued the IRS and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on March 7 argued that immigrants lacking permanent legal status who pay taxes are entitled to the same privacy protections as US citizens and immigrants who are legally in the country.
Government attorneys told the judge that the IRS has not provided DHS with any tax return information related to the lawsuit’s allegations.
Friedrich gave the plaintiffs two weeks to respond to the government’s request to dismiss the lawsuit.
Judge orders Trump administration to return two transgender inmates to women’s prisons — 4:10 p.m.
By the Associated Press
The two transgender women had been sent to men’s facilities in the wake of Trump’s executive order truncating protections for transgender people.
Lamberth ordered the federal Bureau of Prisons to “immediately transfer” the women back to women’s facilities and said the agency must continue to provide them with hormone therapy treatment for gender dysphoria.
The women said in court papers that they were living in constant fear of sexual assault and other violence after being moved to male prisons.
The Bureau of Prisons declined to comment.
The preliminary injunction is the latest in a series of rulings thwarting the agency’s efforts to comply with the executive order, which calls for housing transgender women in men’s prisons, and for halting gender-affirming medical care.
Supreme Court seems in no hurry to rule on Trump plea to rein in judges over birthright citizenship — 3:48 p.m.
By the Associated Press
The Supreme Court seems to be in no hurry to address an issue that has irritated Republican and Democratic administrations alike: the ability of a single judge to block a nationwide policy.
Federal judges responding to a flurry of lawsuits have stopped or slowed one Trump administration action after another, from efforts to restrict birthright citizenship to freezes on domestic and international spending.
While several justices have expressed concern about the use of so-called nationwide, or universal, injunctions, the high court has sidestepped multiple requests to do something about them.
Kentucky’s Democratic governor says Musk is trying to ‘break government, not fix it’ — 3:24 p.m.
By the Associated Press
Governor Andy Beshear said that people across the political spectrum have issues with the federal government, but that the solution is to improve its performance, not to destroy it.
“Can we do things better? Yes. Should we always strive to do things better? Yes. But the idea that we would just indiscriminately fire tens of thousands of people in areas that the American people depend on, says that you’re not really looking out for the American people,” Beshear said.
Beshear says he’s concerned about the ability of federal agencies to function after Musk’s efforts to shrink the size of the federal government.
The term-limited governor is widely seen as a potential candidate for the White House in 2028.
Maine ordered to ban transgender athletes from women’s sports or risk federal money and prosecution — 3:00 p.m.
By the Associated Press
A US Department of Education investigation concluded that Maine’s education office violated the Title IX antidiscrimination law by allowing transgender girls play on girls’ sports teams and use girls’ sports facilities.
It’s an astonishingly quick turnaround for an investigation that began Feb. 21 — the department’s civil rights inquiries often take months or years.
Maine’s Democratic governor clashed with President Trump over the issue during a Feb. 21 meeting at the White House, saying “We’ll see you in court.”
An Education Department announcement said Maine has 10 days to accept a list of demands or the case will be referred to the Justice Department for prosecution.
Relatives of Tesla crash victims send letter to DOT urging stiff oversight of Elon Musk’s company — 2:57 p.m.
By the Associated Press
The letter to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy expressed fear that auto safety oversight will weaken due to Musk’s influence in the Trump administration. The letter also urged Duffy not to go through with reported plans to revoke a Biden administration requirement that automakers report all accidents involving self-driving technology to the agency.
Tesla has sent the most number of accident reports and Musk has complained about the reporting rule.
The Tuesday letter, first reported by Politico, also urged agency investigations into Tesla continue “free from improper influence.” In Senate testimony earlier this year, Duffy vowed not to interfere in Tesla probes.
Probationary employees fired at the CDC and NOAA will keep being paid to stay home — 2:53 p.m.
By the Associated Press
The workers’ pay has been extended in the wake of court rulings that found legal problems with the Trump administration’s mass firings.
Around 550 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention employees were terminated in mid-February and told they would receive administrative leave pay through March 14. Two federal judges late last week ordered that fired workers at the CDC and other agencies be rehired.
The CDC employees haven’t been told to report back to work, but their administrative leave has been extended “until further direction is provided,” according to an internal memo seen by The Associated Press.
A similar memo went out to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration employees.
White House says federal judges are acting ‘erroneously’ in ruling against Trump — 2:51 p.m.
By the Associated Press
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt asserted during her press briefing that judges are acting as “partisan activists” from the bench and are trying “to clearly slow walk this administration’s agenda.”
She said rulings setting back Trump’s sweeping agenda on deportations and other issues are “unacceptable” but that the administration will comply with the court orders while continuing to fight them in court.
“But it’s incredibly apparent that there is a concerted effort by the far left to judge shop,” Leavitt alleged.
Trump and his sweeping agenda suffered a string of legal setbacks Tuesday that included blocking enforcement of his executive order banning transgender people from military service.
Fed keeps interest rate unchanged, sees slower growth, slightly higher inflation ahead — 2:19 p.m.
By the Associated Press
The Federal Reserve kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged Wednesday and signaled it still expects to cut rates twice this year, though more policymakers forecast fewer cuts.
The Fed also now expects the economy to grow more slowly this year and next than it did three months ago, according to a set of quarterly economic projections also released Wednesday. It also expects the unemployment rate to tick higher, to 4.4 percent.
Policymakers also expect inflation will pick up slightly by the end of this year, to 2.7 percent from its current level of 2.5 percent. Bother are above the central bank’s 2 percent target.
“Uncertainty around the economic outlook has increased,” the Fed said in a statement released after its two-day meeting.
Trump-Putin phone call gave the Kremlin leader a chance to pivot away from the war in Ukraine — 2:18 p.m.
By the Associated Press
They talked about the fighting in Ukraine, of course. But the US and Russian presidents also chatted about improving relations between Washington and Moscow, peace in the Middle East, global security and even hockey games.
During the more than two-hour chat — the longest such call between the countries’ leaders in years — Trump and Putin covered a range of topics. And importantly for Putin, the conversation gave him a chance to pivot away from the war in Ukraine and engage more broadly about global issues, drawing a line under Washington’s past efforts to cast him as an international pariah.
Tuesday’s phone call appeared to reflect both leaders’ interest in mending the US-Russian ties that have plummeted to their lowest point since the Cold War amid the 3-year-old confict in Ukraine. The Kremlin and the state-controlled Russian media praised it as a long-sought launch of an equal dialogue between the two nuclear superpowers.
Trump suggests to Zelensky that US should take ownership of Ukrainian power plants for security — 2:03 p.m.
By the Associated Press
Trump made the suggestion during Wednesday’s call with Zelensky.
Trump told Zelensky the US could be “very helpful in running those plants with its electricity and utility expertise,” according to a White House statement from Secretary of State Marco Rubio and national security adviser Mike Waltz.
Trump added that “American ownership of those plants could be the best protection for that infrastructure.”
Trump administration suspends $175m in federal funding to UPenn — 1:45 p.m.
By the Associated Press
The Trump administration has suspended approximately $175 million in federal funding for the University of Pennsylvania over the participation of a transgender athlete in its swimming program, the White House said.
The Ivy League school has been facing an Education Department investigation focusing on in its swimming program. That inquiry was announced last month immediately after Trump signed an executive order intended to ban transgender athletes from competing in girls and women’s sports.
EU wants to break its security dependency on the US and buy more European weapons — 1:25 p.m.
By the Associated Press
The European Union’s executive branch unveiled its “Readiness 2030” security strategy with the threat of Russian aggression at the forefront of concerns. NATO intelligence estimates suggest Russia could be capable of launching an attack in Europe again in three to five years.
Last month, the Trump administration signaled that US security priorities lay elsewhere — on its own borders and in Asia — and that Europeans would have to fend for themselves and Ukraine in the future. That was as Europe’s biggest land war in decades entered its fourth year.
Under the strategy, member countries will be urged to buy much of their military equipment in Europe, working mostly with European suppliers — in some cases with EU help to cut prices and speed up orders. They should only purchase equipment from abroad when costs, performance or supply delays make it preferable.
Defense Department webpage on Jackie Robinson’s military service suddenly missing amid DEI purge — 12:50 p.m.
By the Associated Press
Wednesday’s development comes after pages honoring a Black Medal of Honor winner and Japanese American service members were taken down — the Pentagon said that was a mistake — amid the department’s campaign to strip out content singling out the contributions by women and minority groups, which the Trump administration considers “DEI.”
According to Internet Archive, the page on Robinson previously included biographical information about his Army service during World War II, which occurred prior to his famously breaking baseball’s color barrier in 1947 with the Brooklyn Dodgers. When that page’s address was entered Wednesday, a message showed up saying it “might have been moved, renamed, or may be temporarily unavailable.” The letters “dei” were also automatically added to the URL.
The page included an anecdote about Robinson refusing to move to the back of an Army bus in 1944, prompting the driver to call military police. Robinson was court martialed but acquitted.
DOGE official is taking a leadership role at USAID, an email obtained by the AP says — 12:46 p.m.
By the Associated Press
A senior official at Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency is taking a leadership role at the US Agency for International Development, giving DOGE direct authority over an agency it has worked to dismantle, according to an email obtained by The Associated Press.
Pete Marocco, a Trump administration political appointee who was serving as deputy head of USAID, disclosed the change in the email to State Department staff. It comes after Marocco and DOGE oversaw the gutting of 83% of USAID contracts, shifting the remaining programs under the State Department.
Marocco said in his email that he’ll serve as the State Department’s head of foreign assistance.
Marocco wrote that Secretary of State Marco Rubio will “effective immediately” designate Jeremy Lewin as deputy administrator for policy and programs at USAID and as chief operating officer. Lewin is a DOGE official who has worked with Musk’s efforts at USAID and other federal agencies.
Trump’s deportation efforts find support among South Florida Latinos — 12:23 p.m.
By the Associated Press
In Hialeah, Florida, a city that’s 95 percent Hispanic, only three residents showed up at a recent city council meeting to speak against a partnership with the federal government to enforce immigration laws.
The police departments in Hialeah, where three out of four people were born abroad, and Coral Gables, with a majority of Hispanics mostly of Cuban descent, have entered into agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement with very little visible pushback.
Trump’s doubling of immigration arrests and ramping up of deportations could have a disproportionate effect on South Florida, home to some of the nation’s largest communities of Cubans, Venezuelans and other Latin Americans. But reaction here to Trump’s crackdown has been far more muted than during his first term, reflecting both the rightward shift of Latino voters and a belief among some that restrictive border measures are necessary.
Trump says he and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke for about an hour — 12:01 p.m.
By the Associated Press
In a social media post, Trump said the call was to “align both Russia and Ukraine in terms of their requests and needs” as he seeks to bring about a ceasefire between the two countries.
“We are very much on track,” Trump added, saying he asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Advisor Michael Waltz to provide more details on the conversation in a forthcoming statement.
House Democrats write to SSA Acting Commissioner over decision to end phone service — 11:29 a.m.
By the Associated Press
A group of 62 House Democrats wrote to the Social Security Administration’s Acting Commissioner Leland Dudek on Wednesday to express concern about the agency’s plan to end identify verification services over the phone to new applicants and existing recipients.
The agency announced Tuesday that beginning March 31, those who cannot properly verify their identity over the agency’s “my Social Security” online service, will be required to visit an agency field office in person to complete the verification process.
“Requiring beneficiaries to seek assistance exclusively online, through artificial intelligence, or in person at SSA field offices would create additional barriers, particularly for those who live far from an office,” the letter reads. “We strongly urge you to consider the individuals who may be harmed.”
Legal showdown as Justice Department resists judge’s demand for more details on deportation flights — 11:11 a.m.
By the Associated Press
In response to the federal judge’s demand for more information about flights that took deportees to to El Salvador, the Justice Department argued Wednesday that the court should end its “continued intrusions” into the authority of the executive branch.
It’s the latest development in a showdown between the Trump administration and the judge who temporarily blocked deportations under an 18th century wartime declaration. President Trump has called for the judge’s impeachment as the Republican escalates his conflict with a judiciary after a series of court setbacks over his executive actions.
US District Judge Jeb Boasberg, who was nominated to the federal bench by Democratic President Barack Obama, had ordered the Trump administration to answer several questions under seal, where the information would not be publicly exposed. There were questions about the planes’ takeoff and landing times, and the number of people deported under Trump’s proclamation.
Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky have begun their call — 10:45 a.m.
By the Associated Press
White House deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino said in a post on X that Trump was conducting the call from the Oval Office.
Happening Now—President Trump is currently in the Oval Office speaking with President Vladimir Putin of Russia since 10:00amEDT. The call is going well, and still in progress.
— Dan Scavino (@Scavino47) March 18, 2025
White House says US and Russian technical teams to hold talks soon in Saudi Arabia — 10:26 a.m.
By the Associated Press
White House national security adviser Mike Waltz said in a social media post that he spoke with his Russian counterpart, Yuri Ushakov. and the two have agreed that their “technical teams would meet in Riyadh in the coming days to focus on implementing and expanding the partial ceasefire President Trump secured from Russia.”
It wasn’t immediately clear who was part of the delegations or if Ukrainian officials were also invited to take part in the coming talks.
Trump and Putin spoke by phone Tuesday and agreed to a pause in attacks on energy infrastructure in Russia’s war on Ukraine, but Putin did not agree to Trump’s proposal for a broader 30-day ceasefire.
Trump was scheduled to speak by phone Wednesday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky/
US Institute of Peace and many of its board members have sued the Trump administration — 10:13 a.m.
By the Associated Press
They’re seeking to prevent their removal and stop Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency from taking over and accessing the building and systems of the independent nonprofit.
The lawsuit filed late Tuesday in US District Court in Washington describes the lengths institute staff resorted to, including calling the police, in an effort to prevent DOGE representatives from accessing its Washington headquarters.
An executive order last month from Trump targeted the institute and three other agencies for large-scale reductions.
The lawsuit accused the White House of illegally firing members of the board by email and said the remaining board members also ousted USIP President George Moose.
Stocks drift higher as Wall Street awaits Fed announcement on where interest rates may be heading — 10:06 a.m.
By the Associated Press
The S&P 500 was up 0.3 percent in early trading Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 129 points, or 0.3 percent, as of 9:35 a.m., and the Nasdaq composite was 0.5 percent higher.
The modest moves are a respite following weeks of sharp and scary swings for the US stock market. Uncertainty is high about how much pain President Trump will allow the economy to endure in order to remake the system as he wants. He’s said he wants manufacturing jobs back in the United States and far fewer people working for the federal government.
Trump’s barrage of announcements on tariffs and other policies have created so much uncertainty that economists worry US businesses and households may freeze and cut back on their spending.
Greenland’s election took place with no signs of foreign influence, Denmark’s intelligence services say — 9:50 a.m.
By the Associated Press
The March 11 race attracted international attention following controversial remarks made by President Trump about the strategic importance to the US of the Arctic island, which is a self-governing region of Denmark.
The pro-business Demokraatit party, which favors a slow path to independence from Denmark, won a surprise victory in the parliamentary election, outpacing the two left-leaning parties that formed the last government.
The Danish Defence Intelligence Service and the Danish Police Intelligence Service said in a news release published Tuesday that their monitoring of the election did not show any evidence of a foreign government or foreign intelligence service attempting to influence the results through systematic and coordinated campaigns.
Jens-Frederik Nielsen, the likely new prime minister, has rejected Trump’s effort to take control of the island, saying Greenlanders must be allowed to decide their own future as it moves toward independence.
Democrats are searching for a way out of their party’s identity crisis — 9:26 a.m.
By the Associated Press
They’ve been sniping at each other in public since Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer helped pass a Republican spending bill that prevented a government shutdown. But the divisions in their party hardly began there.
For months, Democrats have been struggling to coalesce behind a political strategy as they confront President Trump and the Republican majorities in the House and the Senate. Behind closed doors at party retreats, think tank meetings and strategy sessions, Democrats have been having tense and searching conversations about ideology, policy and messaging as they urgently try to address what went wrong in last year’s election.
“I think we’re in a place internally where we’re having these family discussions and figuring out what the path forward is,” said Rep. Maxwell Frost, a Florida Democrat and, at age 28, the youngest member of Congress.
Violent attacks on Tesla dealerships spike as Musk takes prominent role in Trump White House — 9:21 a.m.
By the Associated Press
Cybertrucks set ablaze. Bullets and Molotov cocktails aimed at Tesla showrooms.
Attacks on property carrying the logo of Elon Musk’s electric-car company are cropping up across the US and overseas. While no injuries have been reported, Tesla showrooms, vehicle lots, charging stations and privately owned cars have been targeted.
There’s been a clear uptick since President Trump took office and empowered Musk to oversee a new Department of Government Efficiency that’s slashing government spending. Experts on domestic extremism say it’s impossible to know yet if the spate of incidents will balloon into a long-term pattern.
The White House has thrown its weight behind Musk. Trump has said Tesla vandalism amounts to “domestic terror” and has threatened retribution, warning that those who target the company are “going to go through hell.”
Transportation secretary says NYC subway could lose federal funding unless it cleans up dirt and crime — 9:11 a.m.
By the Associated Press
“If you can’t keep your subway safe ... we’re going to pull your money,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said, adding that it’s not just New York City that’s at risk.
Subway systems in Chicago and Washington could lose the federal dollars they depend on to stay afloat if they also don’t clean up, he said.
Duffy, in the “Fox & Friends” interview, said, “just good government would dictate we have good, clean subways.”
President Trump recently talked about crime in the subways of New York City, where he lived for most of his life.
Details on an upgraded air traffic control system coming soon, transportation secretary says — 8:30 a.m.
By the Associated Press
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said an announcement about upgrades to the decades-old system could come in the “next couple days.”
Duffy said the system is safe “but we’re seeing the cracks of age.”
Interviewed Wednesday on Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends,” Duffy said speed is “the key” and that “Congress has to give us all the money upfront.”
He didn’t provide a cost estimate but said he’d discuss the issue soon with Trump, share details with Congress and “hope we get the money quick.”
Air travelers have been spooked by a deadly mid-air collision over the Potomac River in Washington, other plane crashes and near-misses on airport runways.
Trump’s schedule today — 8:28 a.m.
By the Associated Press
According to the White House press office, President Trump will receive an intelligence briefing at 11 a.m.
Later this afternoon, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt will hold a press briefing at 1 p.m.
A look at the judge who blocked Trump’s deportations and is now facing calls for impeachment — 8:24 a.m.
By the Associated Press
The federal judge who ruled against President Trump’s deportation plans and is now facing calls for his impeachment is no stranger to politically fraught cases — including ones involving the president.
In his 14 years on the federal bench, James “Jeb” Boasberg has resolved secret grand jury disputes that arose during the special counsel investigations into Trump, oversaw improvements after the Trump-Russia investigation in how the Justice Department conducts national security surveillance and handled his share of sentencings for rioters who stormed the US Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
A former homicide prosecutor in the nation’s capital who played basketball at Yale University, where he also earned his law degree, Boasberg has cultivated a reputation among colleagues as a principled jurist with bipartisan respect — he was appointed to the federal bench in 2011 by President Barack Obama but was named a decade earlier to a seat on the D.C. Superior Court by President George W. Bush.
Federal judge blocks Trump administration from banning transgender people from military service — 8:20 a.m.
By the Associated Press
A federal judge blocked enforcement of President Trump’s executive order banning transgender people from military service on Tuesday, the latest in a string of legal setbacks for his sweeping agenda.
US District Judge Ana Reyes in Washington, D.C., ruled that Trump’s order to exclude transgender troops from military service likely violates their constitutional rights. She was the second judge of the day to rule against the administration, and both rulings came within hours of an extraordinary conflict as Trump called for impeaching a third judge who temporarily blocked deportation flights, drawing a rare rebuke from Chief Justice John Roberts.
Reyes, who was nominated by President Biden, delayed her order until Friday morning to give the administration time to appeal.
Trump’s deputy chief of staff, Stephen Miller, posted about the ruling on social media, writing, “District court judges have now decided they are in command of the Armed Forces…is there no end to this madness?”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says he plans to speak with President Trump today — 6:20 a.m.
By the Associated Press
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that he would speak with US President Donald Trump later in the day and expected to hear more about the American leader’s phone call with Russian president Vladimir Putin about a ceasefire and to discuss the next steps to be taken.
“Even last night, after Putin’s conversation with ... Trump, when Putin said that he was allegedly giving orders to stop strikes on Ukrainian energy, there were 150 drones launched overnight, including on energy facilities,” Zelenskyy said at a news conference in Helsinki with Finnish President Alexander Stubb.
The strikes, which hit civilian areas and damaged a hospital, followed Putin’s refusal to back a full 30-day ceasefire during discussions with Trump.
The White House described the call between Trump and Putin as the first step in a “movement to peace” that Washington hopes will include a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea and eventually a full and lasting end to the fighting.
Agent Orange cleanup and other efforts critical to ties with Vietnam jeopardized by USAID cuts — 5:43 a.m.
By the Associated Press
At a former American air base in southern Vietnam, work abruptly stopped last month on efforts to clean up tons of soil contaminated with deadly dioxin from the military’s Agent Orange defoliant.
The Trump administration’s broad cuts to USAID also halted efforts to clear unexploded American munitions and landmines, a rehabilitation program for war victims, and work on a museum exhibit detailing US efforts to remediate the damage of the Vietnam War.
In addition to exposing thousands of people to health hazards, the cuts risk jeopardizing hard-won diplomatic gains with Vietnam, which is strategically increasingly important as the US looks for support in its efforts to counter a growingly aggressive China.
Europe and Canada are eyeing alternatives to American-made fighter jets. Here’s why. — 2:27 a.m.
By the Associated Press
Questions are mounting in Canada and in Europe over whether big-ticket purchases of high-end US weaponry, such as the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, are still a wise strategic choice for Western countries worried about their investment in US defense technology.
In less than two months, US President Trump has upended decades of US foreign policy. He has left NATO members questioning whether the US will honor the alliance’s commitment to defend each other if other European countries are attacked by Russia. He’s also made repeat overtures to Russia and suspended most US foreign aid.
Fishermen say Trump’s DOGE budget cuts are preventing them from adopting climate-friendly technology — 1:48 a.m.
By the Associated Press
Commercial fishermen and seafood processors and distributors looking to switch to new, lower-carbon emission systems say the federal funding they relied on for this work is either frozen or unavailable due to significant budget cuts promoted by President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency.
The changes are designed to replace old diesel-burning engines and outdated at-sea cooling systems and are touted by environmentalists as a way to reduce seafood’s carbon footprint. Salmon harvesters in Washington state, scallop distributors in Maine and halibut fishermen in Alaska are among those who told The Associated Press their federal commitments for projects like new boat engines and refrigeration systems have been rescinded or are under review.
Trump administration ends tracking of kidnapped Ukrainian children in Russia — 12:20 a.m.
By The New York Times
The State Department has ended funding for the tracking of thousands of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia, and American officials or contractors might have deleted a database with information on them, according to a letter that US lawmakers plan to send to Secretary of State Rubio on Wednesday.
The work on the abducted children by the Yale School of Public Health Humanitarian Research Lab was frozen when President Trump signed an executive order in late January halting almost all foreign aid spending. Since then, Rubio and an official under him, Pete Marocco, have ended the vast majority of foreign aid contracts, including the one to the Yale lab.