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

WASHINGTON — The largely partisan clash over whether to abolish the U.S. Department of Education came to the forefront at a Wednesday hearing by a U.S. House education panel, as rumors continue to circulate over President Donald Trump’s plans to dismantle the federal agency that’s just four-and-a-half decades old.

Trump campaigned heavily on a pledge to get rid of the department, which, among many responsibilities, administers funding for key programs, including for low-income school districts and special education, and also administers federal student aid.

Trump is reported to possibly issue some sort of executive order that seeks to diminish the department internally and calls on Congress to abolish the agency. He alone does not have the authority to close the department, and the effort would require congressional approval.

Lawmakers clashed at a House Committee on Education and Workforce hearing focused on “the state of American education,” particularly school choice, parental rights in education and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

The president’s sweeping plan outlined throughout his campaign to “save American education” has already burst out of the floodgates since he took office last month.

He issued a series of education-related executive orders last week focused on prioritizing school choice funding, ending what the administration sees as “radical indoctrination in K-12 schooling” and taking “additional measures to combat anti-semitism.”

Trump also signed executive orders in January that gut DEI programs and activities across the federal government.

Restoring ‘common sense’

Rep. Tim Walberg, chair of the House education panel, said he is “pleased to see that the Trump administration is taking excellent steps to restore common sense, personal responsibility and parental choice through our education system.”

“In K-12 education, there’s much work that needs to be done,” the Michigan Republican said, pointing to the latest data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress.

The report found that average math and reading scores in 2024 for pupils in fourth grade and eighth grade were lower compared to before the coronavirus pandemic, in 2019.

Nicole Neily, president and founder of Parents Defending Education, a parents’ rights group, said “American education is in crisis.”

“For far too long, U.S. schools have focused on everything but educating children, and as last week’s NAEP scores have shown, our children are bearing the brunt of these bad decisions,” she said.

‘We will fight any attempt’

Meanwhile, Democrats on the panel warned over the repercussions of dismantling the Education Department.

“The irony is not lost on me that we’re here to discuss the state of American education while the current administration is actively discussing how to dismantle the main federal agency responsible for ensuring safe, quality education for all students,” said Rep. Bobby Scott, ranking member of the panel.

“We will fight any attempt to dismantle the department, and so, we don’t know what the plan will be, but count on our opposition to any plan that will abolish the Department of Education and the programs in it,” the Virginia Democrat added.

Connecticut Democratic Rep. Jahana Hayes noted that since being created in 1979, the Education Department “has been committed to ensuring high-quality education for children across the country.”

“As (Chairman Walberg) noted, there are about 1 million children who participate in private school choice programs, but 49.6 million children participate in public school education — what about them? Who is advocating for them?” Hayes said.

Janai Nelson, president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, said Trump’s executive orders to “restrict teaching and learning in inclusive and supportive environments and his threats to dismantle the Department of Education and upend critical enforcement of federal civil rights laws will demolish the very foundation of good citizenship.”

“We must reject these proposals out of the Project 2025 playbook and approach public education with common sense and common purpose, not separatism and self-dealing,” Nelson said.

Project 2025, the nearly 900-page policy proposal from the Heritage Foundation, outlines a vast conservative blueprint that, among many education-related priorities, calls for eliminating the Education Department. 

President Donald Trump signs the “Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports" executive order in the East Room at the White House on Feb. 5, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday that prohibits transgender athletes from competing on women’s sports teams consistent with their gender identity.

Trump, who repeatedly pledged throughout his campaign to “keep men out of women’s sports,” is already following through on his broader anti-trans agenda in just the two weeks since he took office.  

Trump recently signed an executive order barring openly transgender service members from the U.S. military and another that restricts access to gender-affirming care for kids.

He also signed an executive order on his first day in office that makes it the “policy of the United States to recognize two sexes, male and female.”

Just last month, the U.S. House passed a measure that would bar transgender students from participating on women’s school sports teams consistent with their gender identity.

Speaking at the signing ceremony inside a crowded White House room, Trump said that under his administration, “we will defend the proud tradition of female athletes, and we will not allow men to beat up, injure and cheat our women and our girls.”

“From now on, women’s sports will be only for women,” he said.

Dozens of women and young girls, some wearing sports uniforms, stood behind him.

The room was full of prominent GOP senators, members of Congress, governors, state attorneys general and leading voices in the movement opposing trans athletes’ participation in sports that align with their gender identity.

The Human Rights Campaign, an LGBTQ+ advocacy group, has 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.”

Language of order

The order states that it is “the policy of the United States to rescind all funds from educational programs that deprive women and girls of fair athletic opportunities, which results in the endangerment, humiliation, and silencing of women and girls and deprives them of privacy.”

The order also directs all departments and agencies to “review grants to educational programs and, where appropriate, rescind funding to programs that fail to comply with the policy established in this order.”

Trump also asks the Department of Justice to offer resources to relevant agencies to “ensure expeditious enforcement of the policy established in this order.”

The order also calls on the assistant to the president for domestic policy to, within the next two months, convene state attorneys general to “identify best practices in defining and enforcing” the measure.

The executive order is sure to be met with legal challenges.

“We all want sports to be fair, students to be safe, and young people to have the opportunity to participate alongside their peers,” Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign, said in a statement ahead of the executive order.

“But an attempted blanket ban deprives kids of those things. This order could expose young people to harassment and discrimination, emboldening people to question the gender of kids who don’t fit a narrow view of how they’re supposed to dress or look,” Robinson said.

Biden rule struck down

In January, a federal judge in Kentucky struck down the Biden administration’s final rule for Title IX, part of which aimed to bolster federal protections for LGBTQ+ students.

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

The Education Department, under the Trump administration, clarified in a Dear Colleague letter last week that, following the judge’s order, the agency will enforce an earlier interpretation of Title IX from Trump’s first White House term.

“The department will return to enforcing Title IX protections on the basis of biological sex in schools and on campuses,” the agency noted. 

U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat, decries President Donald Trump's recent education initiatives and choice of Linda McMahon to lead the U.S. Department of Education during a press conference Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Shauneen Miranda/States Newsroom)

WASHINGTON — Maryland Democratic U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen, alongside advocates and labor union leaders, on Tuesday lambasted President Donald Trump’s sweeping education initiatives since he took office and his choice of Linda McMahon to lead the U.S. Education Department.

Trump’s vast campaign vision to “save American education” is already coming to fruition after he signed a series of executive orders last week focused on prioritizing school choice funding, ending what the administration sees as “radical indoctrination in K-12 schooling” and taking “additional measures to combat anti-semitism.”

The White House said its executive order regarding school choice funding “recognizes that parents, not the government, play a fundamental role in choosing and directing the upbringing and education of their children,” per a fact sheet.

Reports have also surfaced that the president could soon issue an executive order that would dismantle the Education Department — perhaps his most far-reaching campaign promise in the realm of education.

Demonstrators outside the U.S. Capitol hailed from organizations within the Alliance to Reclaim Our Schools, a national coalition focused on protecting public education.

“If you look at the first two weeks — and my God, it’s only been two weeks since President Trump was sworn in — you can see that there’s a direct attack on our goal of trying to make sure that every child, regardless of ZIP code, gets a quality education,” Van Hollen said.

Advocates also expressed their support for legislation Van Hollen reintroduced in January alongside Nevada Democratic Rep. Susie Lee that would “put Congress on a fiscally responsible path to fully fund Title I and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) on a mandatory basis.”

The Education Department administers Title I funds, which provide billions of dollars to school districts with high percentages of students who come from low-income families.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA, guarantees a free public education for children with disabilities.

Education secretary nominee

Van Hollen also criticized McMahon’s sparse education record and underscored reporting that found she claimed on a questionnaire for a Connecticut education board seat that she had a bachelor’s in education, but in fact had not earned that degree.

McMahon was on the Connecticut Board of Education for just over a year and a member of the board of trustees at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut.

McMahon is a former World Wrestling Entertainment executive, the prior head of the Small Business Administration during Trump’s first administration and a wealthy donor to the Trump campaign.

She has yet to sit before a Senate panel regarding her nomination. If confirmed, McMahon could be pivotal to carrying out Trump’s education agenda.

“I’m trying to figure out what her background has been in education, and you need to search far and wide, and I can tell you, even after you do that, you’re not going to find anything,” Van Hollen said.

Major labor unions speak out

Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association, the country’s largest labor union, said none of the administration’s “vicious and vengeful and villainous attacks has the power to sway us from our vision and our values, despite the damage and the chaos” created since he took office.

Pringle added that “our students must never pay the price for tax cuts to billionaires who funded this president’s campaign, the billionaires who are positioned to take Cabinet posts they are supremely unqualified for.”

Fedrick Ingram, secretary-treasurer of the American Federation of Teachers, one of the nation’s largest teachers unions, described Trump as a “bully.”

“We would not teach this to our children — if we did this in schools, we would be fired,” he said.

“What we are coming to you to say is, Mr. Trump, we need help in our schools. We don’t need you to dismantle our schools. We don’t need you to strike fear in our schools. We don’t need you to take the money away from our schools.”

“We need you to pour into those teachers who give their life, blood and soul to those kids every single day.” 

Former Hawaii U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, President Donald Trump's pick to serve as director of national intelligence, appears before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Screenshot from committee webcast)

WASHINGTON — Former Hawaii U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard got a step further on Tuesday in her bid to serve as the next director of national intelligence after a U.S. Senate panel propelled her nomination to the Senate floor.

Gabbard — who has stood among President Donald Trump’s most controversial Cabinet nominees — managed to secure enough votes in the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence to advance her nomination, 9-8, along party lines, the panel confirmed to States Newsroom.

The lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve faced serious concerns from lawmakers of both parties regarding her nomination following a series of controversies, including over her foreign policy views and meetings she took part in with then-Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad.

But Gabbard provided further clarity to some of her past statements and actions last week in front of the Senate intelligence panel and described her vision on working “to end the politicization of the intelligence community,” if confirmed.

Tuesday’s committee vote by no means guaranteed Gabbard’s confirmation, but the outcome brought her closer to potentially securing the post responsible for overseeing the vast intelligence community.

That community, made up of 18 agencies and organizations, has a budget of more than $100 billion.

Gabbard, who is now a Republican but ran an unsuccessful 2020 Democratic presidential campaign, managed to win the support of senators on the panel who voiced skepticism surrounding her nomination, including GOP Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Todd Young of Indiana.

Collins said Monday that Gabbard addressed her concerns regarding the nominee’s views on Edward Snowden — a former contractor at the National Security Agency who leaked classified information regarding surveillance efforts.

During last week’s confirmation hearing, Gabbard took heat for refusing to call Snowden a traitor.

However, Collins managed to get Gabbard to say that she would not support a pardon for Snowden, if confirmed.

Gabbard also garnered the support of Young, who in a Tuesday post on social media backed the nominee while sharing a letter she wrote to the Indiana Republican outlining multiple commitments she will make, if confirmed. 

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters in the Oval Office of the White House on Feb. 3, 2025, in Washington, D.C.  (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Monday punted for one month his plans to impose sweeping tariffs against Mexico and Canada after both countries agreed to act on his demands to curb drug trafficking and illegal immigration into the United States.

The pauses came as Trump signed a trio of executive orders over the weekend that would kick-start a 25% tariff on Mexico, a 25% tariff on most goods from Canada and a 10% tariff on imports from China, beginning early Tuesday. The tariff against China remained in place Monday night.

Many economists have warned about the negative effects such broad tariffs could have on consumers.

Trump imposed the tariffs — a tax on goods that come into the country — in an effort to hold the three countries “accountable to their promises of halting illegal immigration and stopping poisonous fentanyl and other drugs from flowing into our country,” according to a White House fact sheet.

Mexico, Canada and China are the United States’ top trading partners. The three countries had responded to Trump’s plans with their own retaliatory measures.

Two calls with Trudeau

In a post on social media, Trump said “Canada has agreed to ensure we have a secure Northern Border, and to finally end the deadly scourge of drugs like Fentanyl that have been pouring into our Country, killing hundreds of thousands of Americans, while destroying their families and communities all across our Country.”

Trump held two calls Monday with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

After his second call with Trump, Trudeau said in a social media post that “Canada is implementing our $1.3 billion border plan — reinforcing the border with new choppers, technology and personnel, enhanced coordination with our American partners, and increased resources to stop the flow of fentanyl.”

He said nearly “10,000 frontline personnel are and will be working on protecting the border” and that the country would make new commitments to appoint a “Fentanyl Czar.”

Canada will also “list cartels as terrorists, ensure 24/7 eyes on the border” and “launch a Canada- U.S. Joint Strike Force to combat organized crime, fentanyl and money laundering,” Trudeau said.

“I have also signed a new intelligence directive on organized crime and fentanyl and we will be backing it with $200 million,” he said. 

Negotiations with Mexico

In a social media post on Monday, Trump said he had a “very friendly conversation” with Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum and that the two agreed to “immediately pause the anticipated tariffs for a one month period.”

Negotiations led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary nominee Howard Lutnick and “high-level” Mexico representatives would take place during that time, Trump said.

Sheinbaum also agreed to “immediately supply” 10,000 troops to the U.S.-Mexico border in an effort to curb illegal immigration to the United States, in addition to fentanyl smuggling.

Senate Dems on tariff impacts

Meanwhile, Senate Democrats — including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York; Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota; Ron Wyden of Oregon; Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire; and Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland — underscored how Trump’s tariff plans could hit Americans’ pocketbooks.

“Trump is yet again rigging the same game for his billionaire friends while doing nothing to lower costs for American families,” Schumer said.

“These nonsense tariffs equate to a tax increase on the American people, and the president isn’t just randomly slapping on tariffs — he’s slapping consumers right where it hurts: their wallets,” he added.

Asked about any legislation the Senate Democrats were contemplating, Wyden said “everything is on the table at this point.”

“No president has ever used this particular statute to impose a tariff, and we’ve already got legislation from several Democrats to make sure that it can’t be used as a blank check for the president,” the Oregon Democrat said.

The senators also brought in Ernie Tedeschi, director of economics at the Budget Lab at Yale, which has conducted its own analysis on the economic and fiscal effects of Trump’s tariff plans regarding Mexico, Canada and China.

“We found that the average price increase was the equivalent of about $1,250 per household in America,” Tedeschi said.

“Now bear in mind that that’s just an average — tariffs are not an equitable tax — they pinch the middle class more than they pinch upper-income households.”

Former Hawaii U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, President Donald Trump's pick to serve as director of national intelligence, appears before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Screenshot from committee webcast)

WASHINGTON — As Tulsi Gabbard bids to be the next director of national intelligence, the former Hawaii congresswoman took heat from U.S. senators Thursday over her past statements and actions.

Gabbard, seen as President Donald Trump’s most vulnerable Cabinet nominee, has been in the thick of controversy over her views on foreign policy, her meetings with the former Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad and accusations of promoting Russian propaganda.

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have voiced serious concerns about Gabbard’s nomination.

If confirmed, Gabbard would take on a massive role in overseeing 18 agencies and organizations in the intelligence community.

She would also be responsible for a budget of more than $100 billion.

Gabbard, a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve, ran an unsuccessful 2020 Democratic presidential campaign and later joined the Republican Party.

She echoed Trump’s claims of “weaponization” in the federal government, particularly in the intelligence community, while appearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee in a highly anticipated confirmation hearing.

Gabbard said she would “work to end the politicization of the intelligence community,” if confirmed.

Cotton, Ernst, Burr offer support

Sen. Tom Cotton, chair of the Senate Intelligence panel, threw his support behind Gabbard ahead of Thursday’s hearing.

The Arkansas Republican took to Gabbard’s defense in his opening remarks, saying he’s “dismayed by the attacks” on “Gabbard’s patriotism and her loyalty to our country.”

Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst and former North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr also praised Gabbard during their introductions of the nominee, highlighting her military service and congressional record.

Burr, a Republican who previously chaired the Senate Intelligence panel, said Gabbard “fought in war, and yes — she’s tried to stop wars.”

“At the ripe age of 43, Tulsi has the life experiences that match or exceed most members of Congress,” he said.

Meanwhile, Sen. Mark Warner, ranking member of the Senate panel, said he continues to have “significant concerns” regarding Gabbard’s “judgment” and “qualifications to meet the standard set by law.”

“It appears to me, you have repeatedly excused our adversaries’ worst actions — instead, you often blame them on the United States and those very allies,” the Virginia Democrat said.

Bennet presses on Edward Snowden as ‘traitor’

Throughout the tense hearing, Gabbard refused to call Edward Snowden — a former National Security Agency contractor who leaked classified information regarding surveillance efforts — a traitor.

“Is Edward Snowden a traitor to the United States of America? That is not a hard question to answer when the stakes are this high,” said Colorado Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet, who asked her the question several times.

While serving in the House, Gabbard introduced a resolution in 2020 alongside then-Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida “expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the Federal Government should drop all charges against Edward Snowden.”

Gabbard repeatedly said Snowden “broke the law” and expressed disagreement with “how he chose to release information and the extent of the information intelligence that he released.”

“It’s my focus on the future, and I think we can all agree that we do not want to have another Snowden-type leak, and I’ve laid out specific actions if confirmed as (director of national intelligence) to do that,” Gabbard said.

But when pressed by Maine GOP Sen. Susan Collins on whether she would recommend any kind of clemency for Snowden, Gabbard said she would not support a pardon, if confirmed.

FISA Section 702

Senators also called out Gabbard’s previous views against Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act — a program that authorizes the federal government to conduct surveillance on foreigners outside of the country.

Gabbard introduced a bill in 2020 with Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky that sought to repeal the program.

However, she reversed course and is now in support of Section 702, which she said “provides a unique security tool and capability that is essential for our national security.”

Meeting with ousted Syrian dictator, views on Russia

Gabbard also expanded on her controversial meetings with then-Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad in 2017.

“I have no love for Assad or Gaddafi or any dictator,” Gabbard said in her opening remarks. “I just hate al-Qaida.”

Gabbard said that when she met with Assad, she “asked him tough questions about his own regime’s actions, the use of chemical weapons and the brutal tactics that were being used against his own people.”

She also said Russian President Vladimir Putin “started the war in Ukraine.”

Gabbard previously made comments appearing to blame the United States and NATO for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“This war and suffering could have easily been avoided if Biden Admin/NATO had simply acknowledged Russia’s legitimate security concerns regarding Ukraine’s becoming a member of NATO, which would mean US/NATO forces right on Russia’s border,” she wrote in a post on social media in February 2022. 

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

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump signed executive orders Wednesday that prioritize school choice funding and seek to end what the administration sees as “radical indoctrination in K-12 schooling.”

Trump is carrying through on education-related campaign promises he made as part of his sweeping vision to “save American education.” These efforts mark the latest in a deluge of wide-ranging executive orders the president began signing since he took office last week.

One executive order directs the U.S. Education Department secretary “to issue guidance regarding how States can use Federal formula funds” to support K-12 school choice initiatives within the next two months.

Linda McMahon, Trump’s pick for Education secretary, has yet to sit before a Senate panel for a confirmation hearing.

McMahon — a former World Wrestling Entertainment executive, the prior head of the Small Business Administration during Trump’s first administration and a wealthy donor — could be pivotal to carrying out Trump’s sweeping education agenda.

The order also directs the Education secretary to “include education freedom as a priority in discretionary grant programs, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law.”

Trump is also tasking the Department of Health and Human Services with issuing guidance on how states receiving block grants “can use them to expand educational choice and support families who choose educational alternatives to governmental entities, including private and faith-based options.”

He is also requiring Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to review how any “military-connected families” could use Department of Defense funds to attend a school of their choice and must submit a plan to describe these mechanisms and the steps to implement them.

Trump is asking the same for the Department of the Interior — requiring that the agency’s next leader review how anyone eligible to attend a school within the Bureau of Indian Education can use federal funds to attend a school of their choosing.

Former North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, Trump’s pick to lead the department, appears to be on a smooth path to becoming the next Interior secretary.

‘Radical indoctrination’ in K-12 schools

Meanwhile, Trump signed a sweeping executive order that aims to bar federal funding for schools that teach “discriminatory equity ideology,” which the administration describes as “an ideology that treats individuals as members of preferred or disfavored groups, rather than as individuals, and minimizes agency, merit, and capability in favor of immoral generalizations.”

The order also requires the respective secretaries of Education; Defense; and Health and Human Services; to provide Trump with an “ending indoctrination strategy” in the next 90 days.

The plan would include recommendations for “eliminating Federal funding or support for illegal and discriminatory treatment and indoctrination in K-12 schools.”

Trump also signed another executive order Wednesday that takes additional measures to try to combat antisemitism on college campuses. 

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.