– Secretary of State Rubio is reorganizing the department, closing 132 domestic offices (a 22% reduction) and eliminating 700 positions in Washington, DC. 15% of the domestic office staff will be eliminated. The position of Undersecretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights will be eliminated, as will the offices for Global Criminal Justice and the Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations. The offices for refugees, religious freedom, and counter-trafficking will be merged. A new position of Assistant Secretary for Emerging Threats will also be created.
– Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says at an investor meeting that he expects a de-escalation in the U.S.-China trade war to occur “very soon.” Stocks immediately rebound on the news. A few hours later, Trump says he won’t “play hardball” with China. He thinks a deal can be reached “fairly soon” where tariffs will drop “significantly,” but not to zero. – The Department of Veterans Affairs is instructing its staff to report colleagues to a newly created task force if they display “anti-Christian bias.” Secretary Collins said in an email that any informal policy, official procedure or unwritten agreement that is hostile to Christian beliefs should be reported.
– The military is introducing new gender-neutral fitness standards that will be phased in over seven months, requiring both men and women to meet the same benchmarks in 21 combat specialties, including infantry, tank and special forces.
– Trump says he has no intention of firing Fed Chairman Jerome Powell after earlier statements unsettled financial markets.
– The EPA says 280 employees in environmental justice programs will be laid off effective July 31, while 175 others will be transferred to other departments.
– The FDA is suspending its quality control program for milk and dairy products. The program is being shut down because the lab can no longer perform the necessary testing and data analysis due to layoffs.
– The EPA is removing its online tool for tracking chemical accidents, weeks after chemical lobbyists demanded it be shut down. The locations of thousands of high-risk chemical plants are now inaccessible to the public.
– Trump says he is “justified” in deporting people without trial. He claims that countries like Venezuela and Congo have emptied their prisons and “insane asylums” that have allowed “mentally disturbed” people to enter the country, and claims that this justifies deporting them without trial.
Fallout
– The International Monetary Fund lowers its global growth forecast for 2025 to 2.8% due to President Trump’s trade policies and tariffs. US growth falls to 1.8% and financial markets react negatively with sharp falls.
– Former Vice President Al Gore compares Trump’s policies to Nazi Germany and warns that the Trump administration is trying to impose its own version of reality. He calls it a dangerous power strategy reminiscent of how the truth was undermined in the Third Reich.
– A federal judge in Georgia orders the Trump administration to restore the residency status of 133 foreign students after their visas were revoked without warning or explanation by ICE and Homeland Security. The judge finds the action likely unlawful and violates the right to due process.
– Pharmaceutical giant Roche says it will invest $50 billion in the U.S. over the next five years, creating 12,000 jobs.
– The New York Times reports that Venezuelan Ricardo Prada Vásquez was taken into custody by ICE in January after he accidentally drove onto the Ambassador Bridge into Canada, a common mistake. He was eventually transported to a detention center in Ohio and reported that he had heard he was being deported just before the flights to El Salvador left. However, he then disappeared from the system. His name does not appear on the list of deportees, and his family has been unable to track down information about his destination. In response to the reports, the Department of Homeland Security reports that he is in El Salvador.
– The Miami Herald reports that a second Venezuelan man has also disappeared after being detained by ICE. Neiyerver Leon, an asylum seeker who legally entered the U.S. in June 2023, was arrested on March 13. He disappeared from the systems a few days later.
– A federal judge orders the Trump administration to reinstate Voice of America and several affiliated news services, saying the effort to shut them down likely violates the law.
– A federal judge in Georgia orders Trump to reinstate the residency status of 133 international students after their F-1 student visas were revoked by ICE. The judge rules the move is likely unlawful and violates due process rights.
– Five Democratic congressmen are traveling to Louisiana to meet with Rumeysa Ozturk and Mahmoud Khalil, who are being held for supporting Palestine. Rep. Jim McGovern calls them “political prisoners.” Four others who traveled to El Salvador are being denied access to Garcia.
– The Trump administration is considering a $5,000 “baby bonus” for new mothers to help stem the nation’s declining birthrate, The New York Times reports. The plan is part of broader efforts to increase marriage and childbirth. Birth rates in 2023 hit their lowest point since 1979.
– A group of twelve children must appear in court alone, without parents, guardians or lawyers, after the Trump administration ended the program that provided them with legal representation. During the hearing, the judge tells them that the government wants to deport them. A 7-year-old child plays with a pinwheel, a 4-year-old girl with a stuffed animal. According to data from New York, 96% of people who appear in court without a lawyer end up being deported, while less than a quarter of those with representation suffer the same fate.
– According to anonymous sources who spoke to the Washington Post, Musk is about to stop his work for the Trump administration because of attacks from the “left.” He believes that DOGE can continue its work without him.
– A few hours after the Washington Post report, Musk says that he will spend more time on Tesla starting in May. In the first quarter of 2025, the company saw a sharp 71 percent drop in profits and a 9 percent drop in revenue. Tesla shares have already fallen by more than 40 percent this year. Musk says he will continue to work for DOGE one to two days a week.
– Conservative justices on the Supreme Court appear to support religious parents in Maryland who want to keep their children out of classes where books featuring LGBTQ+ characters are read, because it would burden their beliefs. The liberal justices, on the other hand, express concerns about the broader implications of opt-outs for other topics, such as evolution or interfaith marriage. A ruling is expected in June.
– The state of Minnesota is suing the Trump administration over its executive order banning transgender athletes from girls’ high school competitions. Minnesota says this violates the Human Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex.
– Judge Xinis criticizes the Trump administration for what she sees as a deliberate, evasive and bad faith refusal to answer questions about Garcia’s wrongful deportation. She demands more details by tomorrow.
– Nearly 200 U.S. university presidents join a statement condemning the Trump administration’s interference in higher education after Harvard sued the government over frozen funding and tax threats.
– Putin proposes freezing the conflict in Ukraine along the current frontline as part of peace talks with Trump, the Financial Times reports.
– Bill Owens, the top producer of CBS News’ 60 Minutes, announces his resignation because he is no longer given the freedom to run the program independently. He writes in a memo that pressure from the Trump administration and the lawsuits against CBS are hampering his work.
