Howard Lutnick, President Donald Trump's nominee for Commerce secretary, during his Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation confirmation hearing in the Russell Senate Office Building on Jan. 29, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — Billionaire businessman Howard Lutnick got a step closer to potentially serving as the next Commerce secretary after largely sailing through his confirmation hearing Wednesday before a U.S. Senate panel.

If confirmed by the Senate, which appears likely, Lutnick would lead the department responsible for promoting and serving the country’s international trade and economic growth. He would be critical to carrying out President Donald Trump’s vision for imposing big tariffs.

“We need healthy businesses — small, medium and large — to hire our great American workers to drive our economy,” Lutnick told the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation.

The New Yorker said he would dedicate himself to “making our government more responsive, working to ensure Americans have the greatest opportunity for success.”

During the lengthy hearing that featured questions from senators on both sides of the aisle regarding artificial intelligence, trade policy, manufacturing and export controls, Lutnick said he believes that the country’s farmers, ranchers and fishermen are “treated with disrespect around the world.”

‘Across the board’ tariffs

Lutnick, who prefers “across the board” tariffs, said “we need that disrespect to end, and I think tariffs are a way to create reciprocity, to be treated fairly, to be treated appropriately, and I think it will help our farmers, our ranchers, our fishermen — to flourish.”

The Commerce Department’s wide portfolio also touches on technology, science and innovation.

Some of the department’s 13 bureaus include the International Trade Administration, the U.S. Census Bureau, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

The department is also responsible for carrying out the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act, which authorizes billions of dollars in funding for the production and research of semiconductors in the United States.

Lutnick said he thinks the CHIPS and Science Act was an “excellent down payment” in U.S. semiconductor manufacturing and noted that “we need to study it.”

Lutnick also said he has a “very jaundiced view” regarding China. “I think they only care about themselves and seek to harm us, and so we need to protect ourselves — we need to drive our innovation — and we need to stop helping them.”

Vice President J.D. Vance praised Lutnick during an introduction of the nominee, dubbing him “just a good dude.” 

Vance, who served on the commerce panel while a U.S. senator representing Ohio, said Lutnick “is a person who on the world stage will say more and do more and convince businesses that America is back — that America is growing and thriving.”

Trump is promoting an “America First Trade Policy” and issued a memo last week that called for the Treasury secretary, in consultation with the Commerce and Homeland Security secretaries, to consider the establishment of an External Revenue Service.

The agency would “collect tariffs, duties, and other foreign trade-related revenues,” according to the memo. 

Trump also directed the Commerce secretary to “investigate the causes of our country’s large and persistent annual trade deficits in goods.”

Potential conflicts of interest

Lutnick, who’s taken heat over his business ties and potential conflicts of interest, vowed to sell all his business interests within 90 days, if confirmed.

“I made the decision that I made enough money in my life,” Lutnick said. “I can take care of myself, I can take care of my family. It is now my chance to serve the American people.”

He currently has or previously had a position in more than 800 organizations and businesses outside the government, according to his financial disclosure report.

Lutnick is the chairman and chief operating officer of Cantor Fitzgerald, a large financial services firm. He rebuilt the company after more than 650 employees, including his brother, died in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

He also established a multimillion-dollar fund for the families of the victims.  

Flags are draped on the North Portico of the White House, Sunday, Sept. 11, 2022, to commemorate September 11, 2001. (Official White House Photo by Adam Schultz)

WASHINGTON — The confirmations for President Donald Trump’s Cabinet picks are moving at warp speed, with U.S. Senate floor votes for some and appearances for others before Senate panels this week.

Trump’s Cabinet members will be crucial to carrying out his sweeping GOP agenda, which already started bursting out of the floodgates in wide-ranging executive orders the president began signing shortly after taking the oath of office Jan. 20. 

Last week, the U.S. Senate confirmed: Marco Rubio as secretary of State; John Ratcliffe as CIA director; Pete Hegseth as Defense secretary; and former South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem as Homeland Security secretary.

In a historic vote, Vice President J.D. Vance had to step in Friday to break a tie after Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine and Mitch McConnell of Kentucky voted against their GOP colleagues to reject Hegseth.

Hegseth, a veteran and former Fox News host, has taken heat for allegations surrounding sexual misconduct, alcohol abuse and financial mismanagement.

But things could get even more dicey this week in the narrowly GOP-controlled Senate, as multiple Cabinet picks set to testify have raised eyebrows among senators on both sides of the aisle.

Here’s a look at what to expect this week among Trump’s Cabinet picks:

Monday

The U.S. Senate voted Monday night — 68-29 — to make Scott Bessent the next Treasury secretary.  The South Carolinian and hedge fund manager sailed through his confirmation hearing earlier this month.

The Senate also voted 97-0 to advance the nomination of former Wisconsin GOP U.S. Rep. Sean Duffy to serve as Transportation secretary.

More votes may be scheduled through the rest of the week. 

Wednesday

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, will appear before the Senate Committee on Finance.

The environmental lawyer, who has amplified anti-vaccine conspiracy theories, dropped his long-shot independent presidential bid before backing Trump.

Howard Lutnick, Trump’s nominee for Commerce secretary, will appear before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. If confirmed, the billionaire businessman will be pivotal in carrying out Trump’s policies on tariffs.

Kelly Loeffler, the former U.S. senator from Georgia tapped to lead the Small Business Administration, will testify in front of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.

The Senate Committee on the Judiciary will determine whether to move Pam Bondi’s nomination to lead the Department of Justice to the full floor. Bondi is the former attorney general of Florida.

Thursday

Some of Trump’s most contentious picks are sure to take heat from senators later this week.

Kash Patel, Trump’s choice to lead the FBI, will appear Thursday before the Senate Judiciary panel. The staunch Trump loyalist and conspiracy theorist previously served in the Justice Department as a federal prosecutor.

Kennedy will also face a second panel of senators Thursday — this time in the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. The committee shares jurisdiction over the nomination with Finance.

Meanwhile, former Hawaii U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard will sit before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence as she aims to be the director of national intelligence.

Gabbard is perhaps Trump’s most vulnerable nominee. She has faced criticism for her views on foreign policy and meeting with the ousted Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad. She’s also faced accusations of amplifying Russian propaganda.

The Senate Budget panel will also vote on whether to move Russ Vought’s nomination to again lead the Office of Management and Budget to the full floor.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will also vote Thursday on whether to advance New York U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik’s bid to serve as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations to the full floor. 

President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, speaks during a Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill on Jan. 14, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — Veteran and former Fox News host Pete Hegseth will be the next secretary of defense, after he was confirmed late Friday by the U.S. Senate by the narrowest of margins.

Vice President J.D. Vance cast the deciding vote to break a 50-50 tie after three Republican senators — Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine and Mitch McConnell of Kentucky — parted ways with the rest of the GOP to vote against Hegseth.

Every Democratic and independent senator also opposed Hegseth.

It was only the second time in history that a vice president’s vote was needed to break a deadlock for a Cabinet nominee — and the first one was also nominated by President Donald Trump, in his first term. In 2017, then-Vice President Mike Pence cast the deciding vote for Betsy DeVos as education secretary.

Hegseth, 44, has been in the thick of several allegations regarding alcohol abuse, sexual misconduct and financial mismanagement. He’s also taken heat for previous comments he has made about women serving in combat roles.

On Friday night, Hegseth posted on X a copy of a letter he sent North Carolina Republican Sen. Thom Tillis in response to detailed questions Tillis raised about the allegations. Tillis, who had not earlier disclosed how he would vote,  said on X that he had done “due diligence” and would back Hegseth.

Hegseth’s confirmation followed a close procedural vote on Thursday when Murkowski and Collins alongside Democrats and independents opposed advancing his nomination.

Hegseth will now join Trump’s pool of Cabinet confirmations, which so far includes U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and CIA Director John Ratcliffe. 

From left, U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York and U.S. Sens. Patty Murray of Washington, Tim Kaine of Virginia and Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico. (Photo by Shauneen Miranda/States Newsroom)

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Democrats on Thursday blasted Russ Vought, President Donald Trump’s nominee to again lead the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, over his involvement in Project 2025 and called on their colleagues to reject his nomination.

Vought wrote the chapter on the executive office of the president in the Heritage Foundation’s nearly 900-page conservative blueprint, which seeks to dramatically reshape the federal government and drew much attention throughout Trump’s presidential campaign as Democrats sought to tie the document to him.

Though Trump has repeatedly disavowed Project 2025, he asked several people who were part of the conservative agenda to serve in his second administration.

Vought was the OMB director during Trump’s first administration after serving as deputy director and acting director of the office responsible for administering the federal budget and overseeing the performance of departments throughout the federal government.

During a Thursday press conference, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Vought is “at the levers of power to implement these dangerous, dangerous proposals” outlined in Project 2025, dubbing the nominee its “chief cook and bottle washer.”

The New York Democrat said that while a “good number” of Trump’s Cabinet nominees are “very, very troubling,” Vought is “probably at the very top of the list in terms of how dangerous he is to working people and to America.” 

Schumer highlighted how the OMB director “holds one of the most critical positions in the federal government,” adding that “it affects every federal agency, every local economy, every town, city, every American family — so someone in this position has to understand what working families in America need.”

Programs ‘on the chopping block’

Multiple Democrats on the Senate Committee on the Budget — including ranking member Jeff Merkley of Oregon as well as Sens. Patty Murray of Washington, Tim Kaine of Virginia and Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico — also lambasted Vought and his involvement in Project 2025.

Murray, ranking member of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, said Vought “has made very clear that as Trump’s budget director, he will put everything … on the chopping block, from programs that people rely on, to the checks and balances that our democracy is actually founded on.”

“Given his extremism and his clear disdain for the rule of law, we should not hand Vought power that he has made clear he will abuse to help billionaires get ahead at working people’s expense,” she added.

Impoundment belief

Vought sat Wednesday for a confirmation hearing in the Senate Budget Committee.

Last week, he appeared before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs to be vetted for the post.

During that hearing, Vought expressed his and Trump’s beliefs that the president has the sole authority to withhold funding Congress has approved through impoundment.

Impoundment refers to when the president withholds funds Congress has already approved. According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, the president “has no unilateral authority to impound funds.”

In a November announcement of the nomination, Trump said that during his first White House term, Vought “did an excellent job” serving as the OMB director.

He described Vought as an “aggressive cost cutter and deregulator who will help us implement our America First Agenda across all Agencies.” 

President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House on Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington, D.C.  (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — All federal employees in diversity, equity and inclusion positions are ordered to be placed on paid administrative leave by the close of business Wednesday, according to a memo from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

The move came as President Donald Trump spent the early days of his second term issuing executive orders that gut DEI programs and activities across the federal government and end affirmative action in federal contracting.

Trump’s sweeping efforts reflect a broader Republican push to repeal programs and hiring practices aimed at facilitating equitable and inclusive workplaces.

A Tuesday memo from Charles Ezell, acting director of the Office of Personnel Management, orders the leaders of federal agencies to notify employees of DEI offices that they are being placed on paid administrative leave no later than 5 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday. OPM is the federal agency in charge of human resources and employee management.

The heads of agencies are also tasked with canceling any DEI-related training, terminating DEI-related contractors and taking down “all outward facing media” of DEI offices by Wednesday evening.

By Thursday at noon Eastern, the agencies’ leaders must also report to OPM with “any agency plans to fully comply” with the executive orders and Ezell’s memo.

They must also submit a written plan “for executing a reduction-in-force action,” or layoffs, surrounding DEI office employees by Jan. 31.

In one of a barrage of wide-ranging executive orders issued this week, Trump ordered an end to all DEI “mandates, policies, programs, preferences, and activities” in the federal government.

The White House described these DEI efforts as “radical and wasteful.”

Trump also terminated all environmental justice positions and offices across the federal government. Environmental justice centers on improving the health and well-being of disadvantaged communities, who are disproportionately affected by environmental harms.

In another major move, he revoked a series of diversity and inclusion initiatives, including a decades-old executive order from then-President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965 on affirmative action in federal contracting.

He is also encouraging a push to end DEI efforts across the private sector. Some U.S. companies already have rolled back their programs in recent months.

Reactions from Congress

U.S. Rep. James Comer, who chairs the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, praised Trump’s executive orders regarding DEI and a separate, federal return-to-office mandate in a statement earlier this week, saying: “For too long, the unelected federal bureaucracy has wielded too much power over Americans’ lives and wasted hard-earned taxpayer dollars.”

“Under these executive orders, the federal workforce is expected to work in-person for the American people, the federal government must stop wasting money on woke DEI programs, and no tax dollars can be used to fund the censorship industrial complex,” the Kentucky Republican added.

Meanwhile, at a Wednesday press conference, House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar of California said “it’s unfortunate that a lot of the decisions — including this one that Donald Trump did on Day 1 — don’t do anything to address real issues that Americans are facing.”

“None of these affect lowering the prices of groceries that Donald Trump said he would do on Day 1, and they reduce our ability to hear different ideas and perspectives when we make decisions,” Aguilar said.

Aguilar also noted that the House Democratic Caucus represents “the most diverse caucus ever assembled in the history of Congress — from every corner of our country, every background — that’s who the Democratic caucus is.”

Congressional Black Caucus Chair Yvette Clarke and members of the group said Trump’s executive order to end all DEI initiatives in the federal government “is not only a broken economic promise” but also “stands in opposition to evidence which shows that diversity initiatives improve the government’s ability to better serve our communities,” per a Wednesday statement.

“Under the Biden Administration, Democrats worked to prioritize racial equity with a whole of government approach,” the New York Democrat and caucus members added. “President Trump’s executive actions undermine that progress and will only make our country less prosperous.” 

The Lyndon Baines Johnson Department of Education Building pictured on Nov. 25, 2024. (Photo by Shauneen Miranda/States Newsroom) 

WASHINGTON — Three former secretaries of the U.S. Department of Education took to a Brookings Institution panel on Tuesday to offer more perspective on President Donald Trump’s calls to dismantle the federal agency, among other education-related priorities of the new administration.

Trump — who repeatedly pledged to get rid of the department throughout his campaign — has vowed to “save American education” with a focus on parental rights, universal school choice and funding preferences for states and school districts that adhere to his sweeping education vision.

In his inaugural address on Monday, Trump said “we have an education system that teaches our children to be ashamed of themselves, in many cases, to hate our country despite the love that we try so desperately to provide to them.”

“All of this will change starting today, and it will change very quickly,” Trump said, going on to enact a barrage of executive orders later on Monday and undo some of former President Joe Biden’s most consequential efforts in protecting LGBTQ+ students.

Trump’s pick for Education secretary, Linda McMahon, could be pivotal to making more of his education vision a reality.

McMahon, who has yet to sit before a U.S. Senate panel for her confirmation hearing, is a former World Wrestling Entertainment executive, the prior head of the Small Business Administration during Trump’s first administration and a wealthy donor.

She is likely to be confirmed in the GOP-controlled Senate.

In the meantime, Trump named Denise Carter as acting secretary of Education. Prior to stepping into the post, she was the acting chief operating officer of the department’s Office of Federal Student Aid — the largest student financial aid provider in the country.

‘Kind of an old saw’

Trump’s vow to abolish the department is one that experts have viewed with skepticism over the complex logistics, the need for bipartisan congressional approval and the redirection of federal programs that would be necessary.

Margaret Spellings, who was Education secretary under then-President George W. Bush, said the push for abolishing the department is “kind of an old saw that has been around for a long time.”

“Obviously, there’s maybe more seriousness around it this time as we think about slicing and dicing and relitigating the federal role, and I think that’s an appropriate conversation, I mean, we ought to do that,” Spellings said.

Arne Duncan, Education secretary under then-President Barack Obama, compared Trump’s promise to get rid of the department to his “saying he’s going to build a wall and get Mexico to pay for it, which is stuff he says.”

“No one ever seems to hold him accountable for lies, false promises, but that’s what’s going to happen,” he said.

‘Sex’ rather than ‘gender’ order

On his first day back in office, Trump also issued a slew of wide-ranging executive orders including that the federal government should only recognize “two sexes: male and female,” and that federal agencies should use the term “sex” and not “gender” in all federal policies and documents.

The order also calls for federal agencies to “end the Federal funding of gender ideology.”

He also rescinded a series of Biden-era executive orders, including certain directives regarding LGBTQ+ students.

“I think about LGBTQ students and how they might feel based on the statements from the administration so far and the executive order yesterday,” said former Education Secretary John B. King Jr., who also served under the Obama administration.

King said he worries about “low-income students, about students of color, where we still see huge opportunity gaps, and so all of us need to be asking, ‘Who’s championing the needs of those most vulnerable students?’”

King said he also thinks about “the impact on undocumented students or students from mixed-status families, of the conversation about mass deportation and the fear that that instills in them and their families.”

Trump’s deluge of executive orders signified his immigration crackdown, including a move to end birthright citizenship in the United States, which has already drawn legal challenges. 

Donald Trump at his inauguration ceremony in the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 20, 2025 in Washington, D.C. Trump took office for his second term as the 47th president of the United States. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — Donald Trump took the presidential oath of office for the second time Monday during an inauguration ceremony inside the U.S. Capitol rotunda.

The swearing-in marked the culmination of a four-year journey for Trump, whom many Republicans distanced themselves from following the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, but nonetheless supported during his third campaign for the White House. Trump’s running mate, J.D. Vance of Ohio, was sworn in as vice president.

“Many people thought it was impossible for me to stage such a historic political comeback,” Trump said during his inaugural address following the swearing-in. “But as you see today, here I am — the American people have spoken.”

Trump spent much of his speech detailing the executive orders he plans to sign later Monday addressing immigration, energy and more.

“With these actions we will begin the complete restoration of America and the revolution of common sense,” he said.

He pledged to declare a national emergency at the southern border, which drew a standing ovation from the audience in the rotunda. He said all illegal entry into the United States would be “immediately halted” and vowed to begin the process of deporting “millions and millions” of undocumented immigrants.

“As commander in chief, I have no higher responsibility than to defend our country from threats and invasions, and that is exactly what I am going to do,” Trump said.

Trump defeated the Democratic presidential nominee, former Vice President Kamala Harris, in November’s general election, after receiving 312 Electoral College votes to her 226.

He also won the popular vote with 77.3 million votes, 49.9%, compared to Harris’ 75 million, 48.4%. Harris attended the inaugural ceremony with her husband, Doug Emhoff.

The inauguration was supposed to take place outside the Capitol building on the terrace overlooking the National Mall, but Trump announced Friday he wanted it moved indoors amid polar temperatures.

It was the first time since former President Ronald Reagan’s inauguration the ceremony was held in the rotunda. Looking on along with top government officials was a trio of billionaires — Mark Zuckerberg of Meta, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and tech entrepreneur Elon Musk.

Some of the guests and supporters who couldn’t fit inside the rotunda watched on large screens inside the Capitol Visitor Center or at the Capital One Arena in downtown Washington, D.C. 

Trump later in the afternoon was expected to return to the arena, where he rallied with supporters on Sunday, for the traditional inaugural parade that was moved inside.

‘The envy of every nation’

Trump’s first speech of the day, in the Capitol rotunda, focused extensively on his vision for the country, in which he sharply criticized the current condition of the United States while former President Joe Biden listened.

“The Golden Age of America begins right now,” Trump said, vowing to “put America first” during his next four years in the White House.

“From this day forward, our country will flourish and be respected again all over the world,” he said, noting that the United States “will be the envy of every nation, and we will not allow ourselves to be taken advantage of any longer.”

The president, who said he wants to be a “peacemaker” and a “unifier,” pointed to the hostage and ceasefire deal made between Israel and Hamas last week.

Trump said he would declare a “national energy emergency” later Monday and reiterated his “drill, baby, drill” approach when it comes to oil and gas production.

He also called for an “External Revenue Service” that would collect “all tariffs, duties and revenues.”

Trump said he would sign an executive order to “immediately stop all government censorship and bring back free speech to America.”

He said he wants to create a “color-blind” and “merit-based” society and said “it will henceforth be the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders: male and female.”

He also echoed his pledge to take control of the Panama Canal, to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America” as well as to revert Alaska’s Mount Denali back to “Mount McKinley.”

Back to campaign rhetoric

Trump bid farewell to Biden and former first lady Jill Biden after the rotunda ceremony, before they departed on a helicopter. The Bidens were scheduled to travel to California as they began their life after the White House.

Trump then gave a freewheeling, 35-minute speech in the Capitol Visitor Center’s Emancipation Hall, which event organizers used as an overflow room to accommodate governors, lawmakers’ spouses, the diplomatic corps and others who couldn’t fit inside the rotunda.

“I just want to say you’re a younger, far more beautiful audience than I just spoke to and I want to keep it off the record,” he said, later adding he gave them the “A+ treatment.”

Trump’s second speech was more reminiscent of his campaign rallies than the official speech he gave during the rotunda ceremony. He reiterated false claims he’s made about his 2020 election loss to Biden and the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol that was spurred on by those false statements.

“I was going to talk about that. They said, ‘Please, don’t bring that up right now. You can bring it up tomorrow.’ I said how about now,” Trump said. “We’re giving you a little more information than we gave upstairs.”

Trump said he didn’t want to make his first speech “complicated,” he wanted to make it “beautiful and “unifying.”

“Then, when they said we have a group of people who are serious Trump fans, I said ‘This is the time to tell those stories,’” he said.

Trump also spoke at length about border security and immigration during his second speech, saying it has become a problem during Biden’s term as president.

“I think it probably was the number one issue for me back in 2015, 2016,” Trump said. “This border is much worse. We fixed the border. It was totally fixed. There was nothing to talk about.”

Flags at full staff

Trump signed several documents in the President’s Room by the U.S. Senate chamber Monday afternoon, including a proclamation that the U.S. flag be flown at full staff for this inauguration and all future inauguration days. 

Then-President Biden ordered U.S. flags to be flown at half staff until Jan. 28, the customary 30-day period, to commemorate former President Jimmy Carter, who died in December. 

Last week, U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana ordered the flags at the U.S. Capitol to be flown at full staff on Inauguration Day. Some Republican-led states followed suit.

Senate moves on Trump nominees

The Senate began confirming Trump’s Cabinet nominees later Monday, taking a 99-0 vote to make former Florida Sen. Marco Rubio the secretary of state.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said he plans to confirm other nominees as soon as possible, with a vote expected later this week on John Ratcliffe to be the next director of the Central Intelligence Agency.

“Our priority here in the Senate for the next few weeks is getting President Trump’s nominees confirmed, so that he has the team that he needs in place to deliver,” Thune said.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, supported Rubio during the floor vote after detailing how he and others in the party will approach their advice and consent responsibility for Trump’s second term.

“We will neither rubber-stamp nominees we feel are grossly unqualified nor will we reflexively oppose nominees that deserve serious consideration,” Schumer said.

The Senate began holding hearings last week on several of Trump’s picks, including hedge fund manager Scott Bessent for Treasury secretary, former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi to run the Justice Department, former North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum for Interior secretary, former Fox News commentator Pete Hegseth to run the Pentagon, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem for Homeland Security secretary, former Texas state legislator Eric Scott Turner for Department of Housing and Urban Development secretary, and former White House budget director Russ Vought to run the Office of Management and Budget once again. 

Hearings are scheduled this week for several other nominees. 

President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the overthrow and collapse of the Syrian government under Bashar al-Assad, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House. (Photo by Adam Schultz/White House official photo)

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden announced Friday that he would commute the sentences of nearly 2,500 people convicted of nonviolent drug offenses.

Biden — who has just three days left in the Oval Office — has granted a sweeping number of pardons and commutations throughout his term. With Friday’s total, he has now issued more individual pardons and commutations than any other U.S. president, according to the White House.

The commutations are aimed at people who are serving longer sentences than they would receive today under current law and practice. 

Biden said the clemency actions offer relief for people who were given “lengthy sentences based on discredited distinctions between crack and powder cocaine, as well as outdated sentencing enhancements for drug crimes,” per a Friday statement.

“This action is an important step toward righting historic wrongs, correcting sentencing disparities, and providing deserving individuals the opportunity to return to their families and communities after spending far too much time behind bars,” Biden said. 

He also said he would continue to review additional commutations and pardons.

In December, Biden commuted the sentences of 37 people on federal death row, reclassifying their sentences to life without the possibility of parole. Three men who were charged with hate-motivated mass shootings and terrorism were kept on death row.

Earlier that month, Biden commuted the sentences of roughly 1,500 people placed in home confinement during the coronavirus pandemic. He also granted pardons for 39 people who were convicted of nonviolent crimes. 

Biden faced criticism for issuing a full and unconditional pardon in December to his son, Hunter Biden, over federal gun and tax crimes. The move was a sharp reversal of his previous position on the matter.

Former North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for Interior Department secretary, waits for the beginning of a confirmation hearing before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee at Dirksen Senate Office Building on Jan. 16, 2025, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — Former North Dakota Republican Gov. Doug Burgum on Thursday got a step closer to securing his spot as secretary of the Department of the Interior following a rather breezy confirmation hearing before a U.S. Senate panel.

Burgum made it clear he’s on board with President-elect Donald Trump’s pledges to spur domestic energy and gas production. Speaking to members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, Burgum said the “American people have clearly placed their confidence in President Trump to achieve energy dominance.”

“And by energy dominance, that’s the foundation of American prosperity, affordability for American families and unrivaled national security,” he said.

Trump tapped the wealthy businessman to lead Interior, whose wide portfolio includes the protection and management of public lands and fulfilling federal trust responsibilities to tribal nations.

Climate policy and the energy transition have come to the forefront of the department, which has a roughly $18 billion budget.

If confirmed by the GOP-controlled Senate, which appears likely, Burgum would succeed Deb Haaland, who made history as the first Native American to serve as a Cabinet secretary.

Burgum, elected to two terms as North Dakota’s governor, dropped his bid for the Republican presidential nomination in 2023 before backing Trump.

‘Drill, baby, drill’

Trump will take a “drill, baby, drill” approach to oil and gas production throughout his second term.

The incoming president also vowed to reverse President Joe Biden’s decision earlier in January to prohibit future oil and gas drilling off the entire East and West coasts, the eastern Gulf of Mexico and the remaining portions of Alaska’s Northern Bering Sea.

When Trump chose Burgum as Interior secretary nominee in November, he  announced that the North Dakota Republican would also lead the new National Energy Council. Trump said the council will “consist of all Departments and Agencies involved in the permitting, production, generation, distribution, regulation, transportation, of ALL forms of American Energy.”

Burgum touted his record to the panel in leading North Dakota, noting that his “time as governor has been a valuable preparation for the opportunity and the privilege to potentially serve (in) the role as secretary of Interior, as our state and my duty, specifically as governor there, put me in contact with many of the bureaus inside the department.”

If confirmed, he would be tasked with the department’s Bureau of Indian Affairs.

“State and tribal relationships in North Dakota have sometimes been challenged, but the current partnership is historically strong because we prioritize tribal engagement through mutual respect, open communication, collaboration and a sincere willingness to listen,” he said, noting that the state shares geography with five sovereign tribal nations.

‘America’s balance sheet’

Senators from both sides of the aisle focused questions on how his efforts would affect their respective states when it comes to: housing shortages across the West where there are federal lands; staying true to conservation history; working with the administration to increase natural gas production and new export terminals; and federal disaster aid, especially in light of the devastating California wildfires.

At one point during the hearing, Burgum noted that “not every acre of federal land is a national park or a wilderness area.”

“Some of those areas we have to absolutely protect for their precious stuff, but the rest of it, this is America’s balance sheet,” he said.

“This agency, the Department of the Interior, has got close to 500 million acres of surface, 700 million acres of subsurface and over 2 billion acres of offshore — 2 billion — that’s the balance sheet of America, and if we were a company, they would look at us and say, ‘Wow, you are really restricting your balance sheet.’”

Questioned about the existence of climate change, Burgum said he believes that “climate change is a global phenomenon for sure.”

North Dakota GOP Sens. John Hoeven and Kevin Cramer praised Burgum’s record and qualifications for the post.

Cramer said “one of the things that oftentimes maybe doesn’t get talked about with (former) Gov. Burgum is: He’s not just an oil man from an oil and gas-producing state, he is — first and foremost — a conservationist.”

West Virginia GOP Sen. Jim Justice also lauded Burgum, saying: “If anybody is the pick of the litter, it’s got to be this man.”

Concern among environmental advocates

Burgum has faced scrutiny for his ties to fossil fuel companies, and environmental advocacy groups have voiced concerns over his nomination.

Jennifer Rokala, executive director of the Center for Western Priorities, said Burgum “appears eager to use America’s public lands to exacerbate the climate crisis while invoking made-up concepts like ‘clean coal’ to justify his real aim — enriching oil and mining billionaires while raising energy prices for American consumers and businesses,” per a Thursday statement.

He is also reported to have a close relationship with billionaire Harold Hamm, the founder and executive chairman of Continental Resources — a major oil and gas company.

According to reporting by the North Dakota Monitor and ProPublica, Burgum voted roughly 20 times on the North Dakota Industrial Commission regarding oil and gas companies that involve him. 

President Joe Biden delivers his farewell address to the nation from the Oval Office of the White House on Jan. 15, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Mandel Ngan/Pool/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden issued a series of warnings Wednesday night during his farewell address to the nation, while emphasizing the work still left to be done as the octogenarian soon caps off 50 years in public service.

Biden, in remarks from the Oval Office, highlighted what’s at stake regarding the threat of climate change, artificial intelligence and “a dangerous concentration of power in the hands of a very few ultra-wealthy people.”

“Today, an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power and influence that literally threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights and freedoms and a fair shot for everyone to get ahead,” Biden said.

He echoed concerns about a “tech industrial complex,” noting that “Americans are being buried under an avalanche of misinformation and disinformation, enabling the abuse of power.”

“The free press is crumbling,” Biden said.

Without ever mentioning his successor, President-elect Donald Trump, Biden called for amending the Constitution “to make clear that no president — no president — is immune from crimes that he or she commits while in office.”

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in July that a president could enjoy full immunity from criminal charges for their official “core constitutional” acts but no immunity for unofficial acts.

The decision stemmed from a federal election interference case against Trump. Those charges were dropped following his election victory.

Challenges during term

Biden, who faced a slew of global and domestic challenges during his one term in the White House, is departing the Oval Office with low approval ratings as Trump soon regains power.

Biden withdrew his reelection bid in July after a disastrous debate performance in June against Trump. The 82-year-old faced repeated scrutiny regarding his age and mental agility. He also drew criticism for not dropping out of the race sooner.

He passed the torch to Vice President Kamala Harris for the Democratic ticket. She lost against Trump in both the popular vote and Electoral College.

“I wish the incoming administration success because I want America to succeed,” Biden said.

“That’s why I upheld my duty to ensure a peaceful, orderly transition of power, to ensure we lead by the power of our example,” he said.

Biden also faced criticism in December for choosing to issue an unconditional pardon to his son, Hunter Biden, over federal gun and tax crimes — a sharp reversal of his previous position on the matter.

Hunter Biden and his wife, Melissa Cohen Biden, sat in the Oval Office during the farewell address, along with Harris, second gentleman Doug Emhoff and first lady Jill Biden. 

Taxes, hostage deal

Biden also called for revising the tax code, “not by giving the biggest tax cuts to billionaires, but by making them begin to pay their fair share.” Republicans who have taken control of Congress as well as the White House are planning to renew tax cuts enacted in Trump’s first term.

Biden called for an 18-year term limit and the strongest ethics reforms for the U.S. Supreme Court.

He pushed for a ban on lawmakers trading stock while in Congress. 

The outgoing president shed light on some of his major accomplishments while in office, including the ceasefire and hostage deal reached between Israel and Hamas earlier Wednesday, which brings an end to the 15-month brutal war in Gaza.

Biden said the plan was developed and negotiated by his team and will largely be implemented by the next administration.

He also pointed to his massive infrastructure, climate and clean energy initiatives, which have defined much of his presidency.

“Together, we’ve launched a new era of American possibilities, one of the greatest modernizations of infrastructure in our entire history, from new roads, bridges, clean water, affordable, high-speed internet for every American,” Biden said.

He also highlighted the nearly 17 million new jobs created during his administration and signing into law the most comprehensive federal gun safety legislation in nearly 30 years.

The White House published a fact sheet Wednesday, along with a letter from Biden, that outlines his administration’s record in detail. 

U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana speaks at a press conference Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025, after the U.S. House passed a bill that would prohibit transgender students from competing on women's school sports teams consistent with their gender identity. (Photo by Shauneen Miranda/States Newsroom)

WASHINGTON — A measure that would bar transgender students from participating on women’s school sports teams consistent with their gender identity passed the U.S. House on Tuesday.

The legislation — which advanced 218-206 — came as an increasing number of states have passed laws banning trans athletes from participating in sports in K-12 schools and colleges that align with their gender identity and amid a wider GOP-led push to enact anti-trans legislation.

President-elect Donald Trump, set to be sworn in Jan. 20, repeatedly pledged on the campaign trail that he would ban transgender youth from participating in school sports that align with their gender identity.

Almost all U.S. House Democrats opposed the measure, but two Texans — U.S. Reps. Henry Cuellar and Vicente Gonzalez — voted for it. North Carolina Democratic Rep. Don Davis voted “present.”

Florida GOP Rep. Greg Steube introduced the legislation, a version of which passed the House in the previous session of Congress but had no chance of success back when Democrats controlled the Senate. 

U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson said “this is a great day for women in America” during a press conference following the vote.

The Louisiana Republican said the “House voted to uphold common sense again.”

Riley Gaines, a former NCAA swimmer at the University of Kentucky who was at the press conference, said that with the House’s passage, “we are one step closer as a nation to making sure that not one more male athlete is able to take a trophy, a roster spot, playing time, resources or an opportunity to compete, from a woman.”

Gaines is a leading voice in opposing transgender athletes’ participation in sports that align with their gender identity.

The Human Rights Campaign, an LGBTQ+ advocacy group, noted that there has been “considerable disinformation and misinformation about what the inclusion of transgender youth in sports entails” and that trans students’ sports participation “has been a non-issue.”

What the bill would do

The measure would amend Title IX so that “sex shall be recognized based solely on a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth.”

The bill does not specify how exactly the ban would be enforced — a point House Democrats in opposition to the measure were quick to point out.

Title IX is a landmark federal civil rights law that bars schools that receive federal funding from practicing sex-based discrimination.

In April 2024, the Biden administration released updated regulations to Title IX, part of which sought to bolster federal protections for LGBTQ+ students.

But last week, a federal judge in Kentucky scrapped the administration’s final rule nationwide — ending enforcement of the updated regulations that had drawn strong GOP opposition and a slew of legal challenges and created a policy patchwork across the country.

With Republicans now leading both chambers of Congress and Trump’s imminent return to the White House, the GOP stands in a more robust position to enact such a ban.

Alabama GOP Sen. Tommy Tuberville reintroduced a similar measure in the U.S. Senate last week. That effort, which already has the support of 35 Senate Republicans, would likely need the backing of at least 60 senators to advance past the filibuster.

There are 45 Democratic senators in Congress, though independent Sens. Angus King of Maine and Bernie Sanders of Vermont caucus with the Democrats.

The U.S. Department of Education did not immediately respond to States Newsroom’s request for comment Tuesday on the House bill.

Democrats, civil rights groups object

The measure drew strong opposition from House Democrats, who spoke during the floor debate in front of a backdrop that read: “The GOP Child Predator Empowerment Act.”

The bill is titled by Republicans as the “Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2025.”

U.S. Rep Suzanne Bonamici, part of the U.S. House Committee on Education and Workforce, fiercely opposed the measure, which she said would “empower child predators — putting students across the country at increased risk.”

Bonamici voiced concerns over privacy violations and harassment regarding how the bill would be enforced. 

“This is a ‘one size fits all’ bill that would apply equally to every sport, from K-12 schools to colleges,” the Oregon Democrat said during floor debate.

Meanwhile, the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, along with more than 400 civil rights groups, called on members of Congress to reject the measure Monday, writing in a letter that “this discriminatory proposal seeks to exclude transgender, nonbinary, and intersex people from athletics programs in schools.”

“Instead of providing for equal facilities, equipment, and travel, or any other strategy that women athletes have been pushing for for decades, the bill cynically veils an attack on transgender people as a question of athletics policy,” the groups wrote.

The late President Jimmy Carter’s casket is pictured leaving the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 9, 2025, before it was transported to Washington National Cathedral. (Photo by U.S. Army Spc. David A. Carvajal/Department of Defense)

WASHINGTON — On a wintry Thursday morning, mourners and dignitaries gathered at Washington National Cathedral to honor the life of former President Jimmy Carter.

Speakers at Carter’s state funeral, including President Joe Biden and the sons of Carter’s political contemporaries delivering eulogies written by their fathers, described the Georgia native and U.S. Navy veteran as a man committed to civil and human rights who led a courageous life of faith and service.

In his eulogy, Biden said Carter, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002, established “a model post-presidency,” depicting the Georgian as a man of “character” who held a “deep Christian faith in God.” 

“Jimmy Carter’s friendship taught me, and through his life, taught me, that strength of character is more than title or the power we hold — it’s the strength to understand that everyone should be treated with dignity, respect — that everyone, and I mean everyone, deserves an even shot,” he said.

Carter died at 100 in his hometown of Plains, Georgia, on Dec. 29. Thursday’s funeral marked his final memorial in Washington after his body arrived in the nation’s capital Jan. 7.

The former Peach State governor lived the longest of any U.S. president. Despite serving just one White House term from 1977 to 1981, his presidency featured key diplomatic deals and energy policy initiatives, among other achievements.

After leaving the White House, he established the Carter Center in Atlanta. He authored books and spent a great deal of time volunteering for Habitat for Humanity, a nonprofit that works to build affordable homes.

The many state funeral attendees also included the four living former U.S. presidents: Donald Trump, Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton.

A life of service

Biden said his fellow Democratic president’s life was “the story of a man who never let the tides of politics divert him from his mission to serve and shape the world.”

Steven Ford delivered a eulogy written by his late father, former President Gerald Ford.

“Honesty and truth telling were synonymous with the name Jimmy Carter,”  Gerald Ford wrote. “Those traits were instilled in him by his loving parents, Lillian and Earl Carter, and the strength of his honesty was reinforced by his upbringing in the rural South poised on the brink of social transformation.”

Carter won the presidency against Gerald Ford, the Republican incumbent, in 1976. The two were dear friends, Steven Ford said. 

Andrew Young, who was U.S. ambassador to the United Nations during the Carter administration, offered the homily.

“I don’t mean this with any disrespect, but it’s still hard for me to understand how you could get to be president from Plains, Georgia,” Young jokingly remarked as he paid tribute to Carter.

“I’ve known President Carter for more than half of my life, and I never ceased to be surprised, I never ceased to be enlightened, I never ceased to be inspired by the little deeds of love and mercy that he shared with us every day of his life,” said Young, who also served as mayor of Atlanta and represented Georgia in Congress.

“It was President James Earl Carter that, for me, symbolized the greatness of the United States of America.”

Ted Mondale, son of Carter’s vice president, Walter Mondale, read the eulogy written by his late father.

Though he and Carter only had four years in the Oval Office, Carter “achieved so much in that time —  it stood as a marker for Americans dedicated to justice and decency,” Walter Mondale wrote.

Three of Carter’s grandsons — Josh, James and Jason — honored their late grandfather during the service.

Josh Carter said his late grandfather spent the entire time he knew him helping people in need.

“He built houses for people who needed homes, he eliminated diseases in forgotten places, he waged peace anywhere in the world, wherever he saw a chance,” Josh Carter said.

“He loved people, and whenever he told these stories in Sunday school, he always said he did it for one simple reason: He worshiped the Prince of Peace, and he commanded it.”

Country stars Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood, who are among Habitat for Humanity’s most recognizable volunteers, sang John Lennon’s “Imagine.” 

Back to Plains

Carter, who was a peanut farmer, and his late wife, Rosalynn Carter, hailed from the small southwest Georgia town of Plains, where they returned after living in the White House.

Rosalynn Carter died in November 2023 at the age of 96. She and Jimmy Carter were married for 77 years.

The state funeral followed Carter’s body lying in state at the U.S. Capitol throughout this week. Mourners paid their respects to the former president in a public viewing that began Tuesday night and ended Thursday morning. Biden declared Jan. 9 a national day of mourning to honor the former president.

Carter’s body will make its way to Georgia on Thursday, where he will have a private funeral service and interment in Plains.

Michael Fanone, a former Metropolitan Police Department officer who defended the U.S. Capitol and suffered injuries on Jan. 6, 2021, is pictured at the attack’s second anniversary. Fanone on Wednesday denounced President-elect Donald Trump’s plans to pardon people charged in connection with the attack. (Photo by Ariana Figueroa/States Newsroom)

WASHINGTON — Tennessee Democratic U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen and two former police officers who protected the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, on Wednesday condemned President-elect Donald Trump’s pledge to pardon those charged in connection with the insurrection.

Cohen, former U.S. Capitol Police Sgt. Aquilino Gonell and former D.C. police officer Michael Fanone said on a call organized by the Not Above the Law coalition, a collection of pro-democracy groups often critical of Trump, that pardons for those who took part in the 2021 attack would be a blow to the rule of law.

Trump has said he would issue pardons for those prosecuted for charges stemming from the deadly riot four years ago in which a mob of his supporters stormed the Capitol in an effort to block Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory.

Cohen, a member of the House Judiciary Committee who has sought to limit the presidential pardon power, said Trump should be held accountable for the attack.

The Tennessee Democrat said that in pardoning those charged with crimes on Jan. 6, Trump would be “absolving himself” and argued that the president-elect bears the responsibility for the riot.

“If it weren’t for Donald Trump, this would not have occurred, and this is a way for him to absolve to some extent, I guess — assuming he has a conscience — to absolve his conscience by pardoning these people that are in jail because of him and, of course, he should be there as well, in my opinion,” Cohen said.

Gonell, who defended the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, said it was “devastating” to listen to what Trump has said about pardons. Gonell also testified in 2021 in front of the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol.

“History is going to remember those officers who died as a result of the insurrection — not the ‘victims’ or ‘warriors,’ as (Trump) claimed to be saying about the insurrectionists,” he said Wednesday.

He invoked the names of the five police officers who died in connection with the attack.

“Officers like Brian Sicknick, Howard Liebengood, Jeffrey Smith, Gunther Hashida and Kyle DeFreytag — those are the names that people need to remember and not allow Donald Trump and his acolytes to erase history, to rewrite it, because at the end of the day, some of these officers who defended the Capitol against the mob on Jan. 6, 2021, are also going to be there for his swearing in in a couple of weeks.”

Fanone was also one of the police officers who defended the Capitol on Jan. 6 and testified in front of the House committee.

“I was beaten and repeatedly tased, I suffered a heart attack and was left with a severe concussion,” Fanone said, noting that he “came face-to-face with the hatred and violence that MAGA extremism represents.”

Trump on pardons

More than 1,500 people were charged in connection with the 2021 attack on the Capitol.

Trump, who has described the Capitol rioters as “political prisoners” and “hostages,” did not specify during a Tuesday press conference whether he would pardon those charged with violent offenses, including attacking a police officer, but did say he would issue at least some pardons.

“We’ll be looking at the whole thing, but I’ll be making major pardons,” Trump said at Mar-a-Lago when asked about the violent offenses. Questioned about pardoning those who were charged with assaulting a police officer, Trump went into a rant filled with falsehoods, including saying Ashli Babbitt was the only person killed in the riot.

Three other people part of the crowd at the Capitol also died. 

President-elect Donald Trump speaks to members of the media during a press conference at the Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida, on Jan. 7, 2025. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump said during a wide-ranging press conference at Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday he wanted to see the country’s debt limit addressed while cutting spending and would not rule out military force to expand U.S. territory. 

Trump, who will take office Jan. 20 after lawmakers breezily certified the election results Monday, continued to place blame on outgoing Democratic President Joe Biden for what he will be left with in his second term as he dives into an ambitious GOP agenda.

“We are inheriting a difficult situation from the outgoing administration, and they’re trying everything they can to make it more difficult,” Trump said. “Inflation is continuing to rage and interest rates are far too high, and I’ve been disappointed to see the Biden administration’s attempt to block the reforms of the American people and that they voted for.”

Reconciliation

As Republicans look to use a complicated legislative process known as budget reconciliation to pass significant immigration, border security and tax policy changes, as well as address the country’s debt limit, Trump said Tuesday that he wanted to avoid defaulting on the nation’s debt.

“I just don’t want to see a default. That’s all I want,” he said. “Nobody knows what would happen if there was a default — it could be 1929, and it could be nothing.”

He added that raising or suspending the debt limit had no effect on his goal to lower federal spending.

Though Trump said he is OK if Republicans pass their policy goals through one reconciliation package, he noted that “if two is more certain, it does go a little bit quicker because you can do the immigration stuff early.”

Jan. 6 pardons

Meanwhile, the day after the fourth anniversary of the Jan. 6 insurrection on the U.S. Capitol, Trump echoed his campaign pledge that he would pardon those charged in connection with the Jan. 6 riot.

However, he did not specify whether he would pardon those who were charged with violent offenses, saying: “We’ll be looking at the whole thing, but I’ll be making major pardons.”

Foreign affairs

Trump also did not rule out using military force to take control of the Panama Canal and Greenland — two locations with critical implications for the transport of global commerce.

The Panamanian government was given full control of the canal in 1999. Denmark has sovereignty over Greenland, an autonomous territory. Greenland’s access to natural resources and implications to national security are increasingly important for the long-term interests of the United States. 

“No, I can’t assure you on either of those two,” Trump said when asked if he could assure the world that he would not use military or economic coercion to take over both locations.

“But I can say this: We need them for economic security,” Trump said. “I’m not going to commit to that — it might be that you’ll have to do something.” 

He also said “all hell will break out in the Middle East” if the hostages taken by Hamas are not released by the time he is back in the Oval Office.

Trump also announced that a Dubai-based company, DAMAC Properties, would be investing at least $20 billion in the United States to support “massive new data centers across the Midwest, the Sun Belt area and also to keep America on the cutting edge of technology and artificial intelligence.”

The president-elect said the first phase of the investment would be in Arizona, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma and Texas.

He added that the Gulf of Mexico should be renamed the Gulf of America.

Offshore drilling

Trump slammed Biden’s decision earlier this week to prohibit future oil and gas drilling off the entire East and West coasts, the eastern Gulf of Mexico and the remaining portions of Alaska’s Northern Bering Sea, saying he would “reverse it immediately.”

It appears unlikely Trump can unilaterally reverse the protections. In the early months of his first term, he tried to undo protections placed by then-President Barack Obama, but a federal judge ruled that was beyond his authority.

“We will drill, baby, drill,” Trump said. “We’re going to be drilling in a lot of other locations, and the energy costs are going to come way down — they’ll be brought down to a very low level, and that’s going to bring everything else down.”

Trump also said he would end a “mandate” for electric vehicles. There is no federal electric vehicle mandate, but Trump has said he wants to end the $7,500 consumer tax incentive, and Republicans have sometimes characterized the Biden administration’s regulations tightening automotive emissions as an EV mandate.

Trump added that he wanted to move away from wind energy.

“We’re going to try and have a policy where no windmills are being built,” he said.

Jimmy Carter accepts the presidential nomination of his party at the Democratic National Convention on Aug. 14, 1980. (Photo credit: Jimmy Carter Library)

WASHINGTON — Former President Jimmy Carter will lie in state at the U.S. Capitol rotunda in Washington, D.C., beginning Tuesday at 7 p.m. Eastern.

Carter, who died Dec. 29 at 100 in his hometown of Plains, Georgia, lived the longest of any U.S. president in history. The tradition of lying in state allows for people to pay their respects to a late government official or military officer through a public viewing at the Capitol.

Visitors can get in a line to the Capitol Visitor Center starting at 6 p.m. on Second and East Capitol streets, U.S. Capitol Police said in a news release.

The rotunda will be open until midnight Tuesday and reopen Wednesday at 7 a.m., according to USCP. Public viewing will end Thursday at 7 a.m.

USCP advised visitors to prepare for cold weather conditions while waiting in a line that will flow out of the Capitol Visitor Center.

Visitors are not allowed to bring “flowers, sealed envelopes, or other offerings” and must turn off cell phones and electronic devices, USCP said.

Visitors are also prohibited from taking photos and videos when in the rotunda and encouraged to use public transportation as there will be no public parking on the Capitol grounds. 

U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson speaks as former President Donald Trump looks on at a press conference at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club on April 12, 2024, in Palm Beach, Florida. Trump, who won November’s presidential election, endorsed Johnson to remain speaker Monday. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — As U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson vies to keep his gavel, President-elect Donald Trump on Monday gave the Louisiana Republican a major boost with his “Complete & Total Endorsement.”

Trump’s coveted backing — just days ahead of Friday’s House vote to elect a speaker — came as Johnson sat in the hot seat over a government shutdown quarrel earlier this month that exacerbated public dissatisfaction from several of his GOP colleagues over his leadership.

The spending fight also put a spotlight on his vulnerabilities in securing the votes to win the speakership again.

“The American people need IMMEDIATE relief from all of the destructive policies of the last Administration,” Trump said in a Monday post on Truth Social.

The soon-to-be president described Johnson as a “good, hard working, religious man,” noting that “he will do the right thing, and we will continue to WIN.”

In a post on X shortly after the endorsement, Johnson said he was “honored and humbled” by Trump’s support. “Together, we will quickly deliver on your America First agenda and usher in the new golden age of America,” he added.

Tensions flare

But Johnson has failed to secure the backing of every House GOP colleague — which will be critical in a chamber Republicans will hold by a razor-thin margin. His opponents include Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, who said he would not be voting for the incumbent.

In a post on X, Massie said: “I respect and support President Trump, but his endorsement of Mike Johnson is going to work out about as well as his endorsement of Speaker Paul Ryan.”

“We’ve seen Johnson partner with the democrats to send money to Ukraine, authorize spying on Americans, and blow the budget,” he added.

In an earlier Monday post on X, Massie noted he was the only Republican to not vote for former U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan’s reelection to the speakership in 2017.

“Mike Johnson is the next Paul Ryan,” Massie said. He urged his colleagues to join him in voting against the Louisiana Republican “because history will not give America another ‘do-over.’”

Massie has not said whom he would prefer for the position.

In another post on X, Massie said he thinks no one will run for speaker until “Johnson concedes that he can’t be Speaker” and “Trump weighs in.”

“To step up before then, or to nominate someone before then, is to doom that candidacy,” he said.

Indiana GOP Rep. Victoria Spartz has also been vocal in her dissatisfaction of Johnson’s leadership and so far has refused to commit to voting for his reelection. 

On Monday, Spartz laid out several demands for whoever becomes the next leader, saying: “Our next speaker must show courageous leadership to get our country back on track before this ‘Titanic’ strikes an iceberg at any moment.”

“We must have a vision and a concrete PLAN to deliver on President Trump’s agenda for the American people, which I have not seen from our current speaker despite countless discussions and public promises,” she added, comparing federal spending to the iceberg that caused the infamous nautical disaster.

Spokespeople for House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York did not immediately respond Monday to a message seeking comment.

President-elect Donald Trump will face significant hurdles to enacting his campaign pledge to ban transgender youth from participating in school sports that align with their gender identity. (Photo by Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump repeatedly said during the campaign that, if elected back to the White House, he would pursue a ban on transgender youth participating in school sports that align with their gender identity.

As he prepares to take office in January, experts and LGBTQ+ advocates told States Newsroom the effort would face significant delays and challenges as legal pushback from LGBTQ+ advocacy groups can be expected every step of the way.

Trump’s repeated vow to “keep men out of women’s sports” reflects his broader anti-trans agenda. Administration efforts would come as an increasing number of states have passed laws banning trans students from participating in sports that align with their gender identity.

The Trump-Vance transition team did not offer any concrete details when asked about specifics but shared a statement from spokesperson Karoline Leavitt.

“The American people re-elected President Trump by a resounding margin giving him a mandate to implement the promises he made on the campaign trail,” Leavitt wrote. “He will deliver.”

Reversing the final rule for Title IX

The U.S. Education Department, under President Joe Biden, released updated regulations to Title IX in April that strengthen federal protections for LGBTQ+ students. The final rule does not explicitly reference trans athletes’ sports participation — a separate decision the administration put on hold.

The Education Department said Dec. 20 it was withdrawing a proposed rule that would have allowed schools to block some transgender athletes from competing on sports teams that match their gender identities while also preventing across-the-board bans.

Title IX is a landmark federal civil rights law that bars schools that receive federal funding from sex-based discrimination.

The president-elect has pledged, while speaking about trans students’ sports participation, to reverse the Biden administration’s final rule for Title IX on his first day back in office.

The Biden administration’s final rule was met with forceful pushback from GOP attorneys general. A series of legal challenges in states across the country have created a policy patchwork of the final rule and weakened the Biden administration’s vision for enforcement. 

But if Trump were to try to reverse the final rule, experts say the effort would take an extended period and require adherence to the rulemaking process outlined in the Administrative Procedure Act, or APA.

The APA rules how federal agencies propose and roll out regulations. That process can take months, creating a barrier for a president seeking to undo a prior administration’s rule.

Cathryn Oakley, senior director of legal policy at the Human Rights Campaign, an LGBTQ+ advocacy group, said that while a subsequent administration can undo the current Title IX regulations, it would take “a tremendous amount of work because a regulation has the force of law … so long as the administration has complied with the APA.”

For the Trump administration to undo those regulations, it would need to start at the beginning, propose its own rules and go through the entire process.

“I think it seems fairly likely that that’s something that they’re going to pursue, but that’s not something that the president has the capability to do on day one,” she said.

Oakley noted that the updated regulations also have the force of law because they interpret a law that already exists — Title IX.

The Trump administration is “bound by Title IX, which in fact has these protections related to gender identity,” she said.

Preparing to push back

But any action from the Trump administration regarding trans athletes’ sports participation is sure to be met with legal challenges from LGBTQ+ advocacy groups.

Oakley said though “we have many real reasons to be concerned” about what the Trump administration would do when it comes to Title IX protections and in general for LGBTQ+ people, “we also need to be cautious that we do not concede anything either.”

“We need to be trying to ground ourselves in the actual legal reality that the president-elect will be facing when he comes into office and be able to fight with the tools that we have and not concede anything in advance.”

Biden rule does not address athletics

The U.S. Education Department under Biden never decided on a separate rule establishing new criteria regarding trans athletes.

Shiwali Patel, a Title IX lawyer and senior director of safe and inclusive schools at the National Women’s Law Center, said “we could see some sort of announcement about changing the Title IX rule to address athletics” under the Trump administration. 

“Given the rhetoric that has come out of the Trump administration and this continued focus on trans athletes, I think we very well should and could expect to see something from the Trump administration on this, which is very harmful,” Patel told States Newsroom.

The Trump administration could also try to pursue a national ban via legislation in Congress.

The U.S. House approved a bill last year that would prohibit trans athletes from competing in sports that align with their gender identity. And in July, the chamber passed a measure that would reverse Biden’s final rule for Title IX.

But Patel said she could not see how any measure in Congress could get through the U.S. Senate’s filibuster, which requires at least 60 votes to pass most legislation. There will be 45 Democratic senators in the incoming Congress, though independent Sens. Angus King of Maine and Bernie Sanders of Vermont caucus with the Democrats.

Despite Washington soon entering a GOP trifecta in the U.S. House, Senate and White House, narrow margins could hinder any potential anti-trans legislation from the Trump administration. 

Broader anti-trans legislation

Across the country, 25 states have enacted a law that bans trans students from participating in sports that align with their gender identity, according to the Movement Advancement Project, or MAP, an independent think tank.

Logan Casey, director of policy research at MAP, said proponents of these sports bans are using them as a starting point to enact a broader anti-trans agenda.

“In many cases, these sports bans have been one of the first anti-trans laws enacted in recent years in many states, but then states that enact one of these sports bans then go on to enact additional anti-trans or anti-LGBTQ laws,” Casey told States Newsroom.

Casey described any controversy around trans people playing sports as “entirely manufactured.”

“In just five years, we’ve gone from zero states to more than half the country having one of these bans on the books, and that’s really, really fast in the policy world,” he said.

In March 2020, Idaho became the first state to enact this type of ban. 

Michigan Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib, left, speaks at a press conference hosted by immigrant youth, allies and advocates outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (Photo by Shauneen Miranda/States Newsroom)

WASHINGTON — In the crucial last month before President Joe Biden leaves office, immigrants and allies on Tuesday urged the president to offer protections for immigrant communities before Donald Trump is inaugurated.

The president-elect has promised the largest deportation in U.S. history, stoking fear and uncertainty among undocumented immigrants and immigration advocates over a sweeping platform that marked the core of Trump’s GOP presidential campaign.

Speaking near the U.S. Capitol, the “Home is Here” campaign featured immigrant youth, allies and advocates demanding Biden take executive action.

The national coalition, which fights to protect immigrant communities, also urged Congress not to boost funding for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection during the lame-duck session in a way that would aid Trump in carrying out mass deportations. Members of Congress are expected to vote this week on a stopgap spending bill that would fund the government through mid-March.

Immigrant youth, allies and advocates traveled to Washington, D.C., from across the country, including states such as Arizona, California, Idaho, Nevada, New York and Utah, to rally and meet with members of Congress about their demands.

Claudia Quiñonez, organizing director of United We Dream, the nation’s largest immigrant youth-led network, said “before the keys to the White House are handed over to Trump, before a new Congress takes office, this lame-duck period is (a) critical window for our members in Congress and President Biden to leave it all on the field.”

Quiñonez, who is also a co-chair of the Home is Here campaign, said there is “no underestimating the length Trump is willing to go to fulfill his pledges for mass deportation in raiding our schools, our workplaces, our hospitals and our churches.”

U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib also voiced her concerns Tuesday over the president-elect’s immigration plans.

“We cannot underestimate, as you all know, what will unfold the moment Trump takes office in January, and we need as many people as possible working to resist this hateful agenda,” the Michigan Democrat said.

Tlaib noted that Biden “still has power to take immediate executive action to protect our immigrant communities.”

She also said “we must continue to work incredibly hard, not only to outwork the hate, but to really promote love and justice within our communities.”

Among its priorities, the Home is Here campaign aims to protect Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program recipients. A federal court will determine the program’s legal fate.

The Obama-era program was created in 2012 and designed to protect children who were brought into the country illegally from deportation.

Trump tried ending DACA during his first term.

During an NBC News interview earlier this month, Trump did not give specifics on what he intends to do about the program but said that he “will work with the Democrats on a plan.”

Immigration groups on Tuesday also expressed worry over the uncertainty of Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, which allows migrants in countries with unsafe conditions to legally reside and work in the United States.

Trump sought to end TPS for multiple countries throughout his first administration. 

The U.S. Capitol pictured on Nov. 26, 2024, in Washington, D.C. (Shauneen Miranda/States Newsroom)

WASHINGTON — House Republicans have finalized their committee chairs for 2025, with most lawmakers returning to their posts.

The committee chairs will play a pivotal role in helping advance President-elect Donald Trump’s ambitious legislative agenda amid a GOP trifecta in the House, Senate and White House.

There are several new incoming committee leaders. The list of new and returning chairs, released Thursday, does not include any women.

Michigan Rep. Tim Walberg will serve as chair of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, following Rep. Virginia Foxx of North Carolina.

Kentucky Rep. Brett Guthrie will serve as chair of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, succeeding Washington Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers.

Arkansas Rep. French Hill will chair the House Committee on Financial Services, taking over the post from North Carolina Rep. Patrick McHenry.

Florida Rep. Brian Mast is set to lead the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, succeeding Texas Rep. Michael McCaul.

Texas Rep. Brian Babin will chair the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, replacing Oklahoma Rep. Frank Lucas.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said that given the imminent GOP trifecta, “it is imperative we are in position to move President Trump’s agenda efficiently and thoughtfully so we can quickly restore our nation to greatness,” per a statement Thursday. 

“From securing our southern border, to unleashing American energy, to fighting to lower Bidenflation, and making our communities safe again, our Committee Chairs are ready to get to work fulfilling the American people’s mandate and enacting President Trump’s America-First agenda,” the Louisiana Republican added.

Committee chairs continuing their leadership roles include:

Agriculture: Rep. Glenn Thompson of Pennsylvania

Appropriations: Rep. Tom Cole of Oklahoma

Armed Services: Rep. Mike Rogers of Alabama

Budget: Rep. Jodey Arrington of Texas

Homeland Security: Rep. Mark Green of Tennessee

Judiciary: Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio

Natural Resources: Rep. Bruce Westerman of Arkansas

Oversight and Accountability: Rep. James Comer of Kentucky

Small Business: Rep. Roger Williams of Texas

Transportation and Infrastructure: Rep. Sam Graves of Missouri

Veterans’ Affairs: Rep. Mike Bost of Illinois

Ways and Means: Rep. Jason Smith of Missouri 

The form to apply for federal financial student aid now must roll out by Oct. 1 annually under a bill signed into law by President Joe Biden on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024. (Photo by Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — The form to apply for federal financial student aid must roll out by Oct. 1 annually after President Joe Biden signed a bill into law Wednesday that ensures an earlier processing cycle.

Though the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, typically launches in October each year, the U.S. Department of Education legally had until Jan. 1 to make the form available.

The new law came as the department has taken heat over its botched rollout of the 2024-25 form, when users faced a series of glitches and errors. The form did not officially launch until January.

Adding fuel to the fire, the agency announced earlier this year that it would take a staggered approach to the 2025-26 form so it could address problems that might pop up before opening applications to everyone — again making the form available later than usual.

After testing stages that began Oct. 1, the department fully debuted the 2025-26 form in late November — 10 days ahead of its Dec. 1 official launch.

A spokesperson for the department said it is “committed to enforcing all laws duly passed by Congress” when asked about Biden signing the FAFSA bill into law.

Meanwhile, the department said Thursday it had received over 1.5 million 2025-26 FAFSA submissions and has delivered more than 7 million student records to states and schools.

U.S. Under Secretary of Education James Kvaal said that even with these developments, the department’s work “is not done.”

“We will continue to fix bugs and improve the user experience to make it easier for students and families to get the financial aid they need,” Kvaal said on a call with reporters Thursday regarding updates on the 2025-26 form.

FAFSA deadline bill breezed through Congress

The bill was met with sweeping bipartisan support and swiftly passed both the House and Senate in November. Indiana GOP Rep. Erin Houchin, a member of the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce, introduced the legislation in July.

Sen. Bill Cassidy, ranking member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, put forth the Senate version of the bill. The Louisiana Republican is in line to chair the panel next year.

Rep. Bobby Scott, ranking member of the House education panel, celebrated the bill becoming law on Wednesday.

“As college costs continue to rise, federal financial aid, including Pell Grants, is essential to making higher education more affordable and accessible,” the Virginia Democrat said in a statement.

Scott said that by standardizing the deadline, the measure “gives students and families more time to complete their applications and secure the financial support they need to attend college without unnecessary delays.”

The 2024-25 application got a makeover after Congress passed the FAFSA Simplification Act in late 2020 but was met with several issues that prompted processing delays and gaps in submissions.

The department’s staff worked to fix these errors and close the gap in submissions from the previous processing cycle, and officials said they reflected on how to make improvements for the 2025-26 form and beyond.