May 2, 3, and 4, 2025
– The Trump administration is putting diplomatic pressure on Germany and other European countries to increase their defense budgets, and is threatening to let Trump skip the NATO summit in The Hague.
– The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is reinstating recently fired employees responsible for Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests after missing multiple court deadlines to hand over documents.
– Trump calls Greenland essential to international security and refuses to rule out military intervention: “I don’t rule it out.”
– The Justice Department is suing Colorado and Denver for interfering with federal immigration laws, accusing them of passing “sanctuary laws” that violate the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
– Trump announces a 100 percent tariff on foreign-produced films, calling them a “threat to national security” and “propaganda.”
– Trump orders the Federal Bureau of Prisons to reopen Alcatraz and house “violent criminals” there.
– Trump cuts dozens of arts grants, hours after proposing to eliminate the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).
– The Pentagon prepares for a massive military parade to mark the 250th anniversary of the military. The parade will take place on Trump’s 79th birthday on June 14 and will feature 6,600 troops, 150 vehicles and 50 helicopters, despite previous government denials.
– The Trump administration asks the Supreme Court to grant DOGE team access to Social Security systems after a Maryland judge restricted their access under federal privacy laws.
– The Trump administration decides to fire 1,200 CIA and intelligence officials.
– The Trump administration backs away from a proposal to cut funding for the Head Start program, according to the latest budget plan, which does not include any changes to the program.
– The State Department approves a $310 million package for training and support of F-16s for Ukraine. The F-16 will be the backbone of the Ukrainian air force for years to come.
– MAGA Inc hosts a “private dinner” with JD Vance. Admission is $1 million.
– The USDA drops its lawsuit against Maine over its policy on transgender student sports, prompting Governor Janet Mills to say, “I said I would see Trump in court. Well, we saw him in court, and we won.”
– Trump wants to revoke Harvard University’s tax exemption, alleging political bias.
– Trump proposes a $892.6 billion defense budget for fiscal year 2026, equal to last year’s. Inflation means a real decrease. The budget emphasizes military reconstruction and national security.
– The non-defense budget is being cut by $163 billion.
– Trump and White House accounts are posting a photoshopped image of Trump as pope on social media.
– A conservative legal group founded by White House adviser Stephen Miller is suing Supreme Court Justice John Roberts, arguing that two key judicial bodies should be brought under executive control.
– The Justice Department is removing from its website the list of sex discrimination cases it has filed or argued in recent years.
Fallout
– Trump is considering relaxing export restrictions on AI chips to the United Arab Emirates, multiple sources tell Bloomberg.
– The United Arab Emirates is investing $2 billion in Trump-linked cryptocurrencies.
– Nike, Adidas, Skechers and other footwear brands are asking Trump for an exemption from his reciprocal import tariffs, citing potential harm to their industries and consumers.
– A court ruling allows 1,400 Global Media and Voice of America employees to return to work, with Voice of America set to resume broadcasting next week.
– A New York judge dismisses Trump’s lawsuit over a 2018 article and orders him to pay nearly $400,000 in legal fees to The New York Times and three journalists.
– A federal judge declares Trump’s executive order against law firm Perkins Coie unconstitutional. The judge compares Trump to Richard III, who says in Shakespeare’s work, “Kill all the lawyers,” to increase his power.
– Marco Rubio criticizes Germany for labeling the AfD a “confirmed right-wing extremist group,” writing on Twitter: “Germany has given its intelligence service new powers to spy on the opposition. That’s not democracy, that’s tyranny in disguise.” Germany responds by emphasizing: “We have learned from our history that right-wing extremism must be stopped.”
– A Guatemalan woman gives birth to a baby in Tucson. She is then arrested by border agents seeking expedited deportation, despite the risk to her and her baby’s health. DHS agents stand outside her hospital room and refuse to allow her to speak to a lawyer, Tucson.com reports.
– Investor Warren Buffett announces his resignation as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, immediately after Trump’s tariffs are slammed as an “act of war” against allies. “The time has come for Greg to lead the company at the end of the year,” he says of Vice Chairman Greg Abel.
– Mexican President Sheinbaum confirms that Trump secretly called her to pressure her to let U.S. troops into the country. She told Trump no, telling him, “Mexico’s sovereignty is sacrosanct and not for sale.” “We will never accept a U.S. military presence on our soil.”
– An international freight logistics company, Freight Technologies Inc., is buying $20 million worth of Trump’s cryptocurrency to influence the administration’s trade policy. CEO Javier Selgas says buying Trump Coin is “an effective way to advocate for fair, balanced, and free trade between Mexico and the U.S.”
– The Washington Post reports that an investigation found that at least two of the men deported to El Salvador were actually designated as refugees by the State Department. Four men even had protection from deportation. Others had fled Venezuela because they were active members of the opposition and had pending asylum applications.
– Trump is considering appointing his deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller as national security adviser and expects to name a successor to Mike Waltz within six months.
– At least 15,000 USDA employees are accepting voluntary redundancies.
– Employers have added 177,000 jobs to the labor market, a sign of the labor market’s resilience despite Trump’s trade wars.
– Prominent Washington attorney Abbe Lowell is opening his own practice and will focus on defending victims of Trump’s retaliation. He represents Letitia James, Miles Taylor and Mark Zaid, among others.
– Trump expresses doubts about the need to follow the Constitution in deportation cases. In an interview, he said he was relying on Attorney General Pam Bondi and his lawyers for advice on how to implement a Supreme Court ruling, but added that he was unsure whether he would have to follow the Constitution.
– Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese won re-election in Saturday’s election, a victory that appeared to be driven by voters’ desire for stability amid the disruptions caused by Trump.
– Residents of a small South Texas town where Musk’s SpaceX is based voted to incorporate the area into a new city, called Starbase.
– Many international students are postponing travel, even within the U.S., for fear of the consequences of the Trump administration’s heightened enforcement. More than 4,700 students have lost their visas or legal status since late March, and schools are warning against non-essential travel due to the increased risk of deportation.
– Reopening Alcatraz is far too expensive, critics warn. The prison was closed in the 1960s because it was three times more expensive than other prisons.
– The Qatar Economic Forum is hosting a public session on monetizing MAGA, called “Monetizing MAGA.”
