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read moreA penny for your thoughts: what’s next for the one-cent coin?
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump proposed removing the penny from U.S. circulation in February.
The one cent coin costs the U.S. Mint about 3.7 cents to make. Will discontinuing the coin contribute to higher costs and inflation or save the government millions of dollars?
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Artists wary of Trump’s unprecedented takeover of the Kennedy Center
WASHINGTON — Heather Dune Macadam still remembers one thought that bubbled inside her as she stepped onto the stage decades ago at the Kennedy Center for a dance competition: “Wow, I made it.”
Then, just last month, when she heard about President Donald Trump’s appointment as chairman of the Kennedy Center and the replacement of its board, she thought back to a parallel experience she had during the Reagan administration.
It was May 1981 when the then-21-year-old dancer had her first professional dance gig at the Kennedy Center. That same night, the Reagan administration cut funding for the National Endowment for the Arts, as she recalled. The day after their competition, without the pay they had expected to receive, the Wayne State dance team put their pennies together to buy enough gas to get back to Detroit.
Macadam said the funding cut wasn’t only a hit to their pocketbooks and felt like a betrayal of hope and the arts. In the years since, Macadam became a dancer with the Martha Graham Dance Company and later a Holocaust biographer and documentary filmmaker of “999: The Forgotten Girls.”
Now Macadam, like many other performing artists and creative people, viewed President Donald Trump’s appointment as chairman of the Kennedy Center and the replacement of its board with trepidation about the consequences for artistic freedom.
“I think his move to the Kennedy Center is just a shot across our bows,” Macadam said. “It’s a threat, and it’s letting us know where he’s headed.”
Macadam said getting artistic funding is already extraordinarily difficult in the United States compared to other countries, and she worried the changes at the Kennedy Center were moves to limit the very people capable of thinking outside the box.
“I fear for my country,” Macadam said. “I fear for my country’s moral and ethical conscience, which I think the arts hold us accountable to. And without that moral compass, where will we go?”
The recent upheaval at the Kennedy Center started with a Feb. 7 Truth Social post from Trump, in which he announced the immediate termination of multiple individuals from the Board of Trustees who “do not share our Vision for a Golden Age in Arts and Culture.” To some artists, it marked a startlingly authoritarian approach to the arts that started when he abolished the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities hours after his second inauguration.
Several hours after his initial announcement, Trump posted what clearly was an AI-generated image of himself conducting a performance. He had his back to the musicians he was supposedly conducting. Concert lights illuminated his unusually stubby fingers while his hands were awkwardly poised. The caption? “Welcome to the new Kennedy Center!”
One entrance hall of the Kennedy Center displays flags from all 50 states and Washington D.C. (Valerie Chu/MNS)
The Kennedy Center was established under the Eisenhower administration by the National Cultural Center Act in 1958 and later renamed in another law to serve as a “living memorial” to President John F. Kennedy.
A Kennedy Center statement captured by archive on Feb. 8 but no longer available said the center was “aware of the post made recently by POTUS (Trump) on social media” but had received no official communications from the White House regarding changes to their board of trustees.
“There is nothing in the Center’s statute that would prevent a new administration from replacing board members; however, this would be the first time such action has been taken with the Kennedy Center’s board,” the statement said.
Neither the Kennedy Center nor White House responded to multiple requests for comment.
In less than a week, multiple Biden appointees were purged from the Kennedy Center. The new board then elected Trump as its chairman. No previous president had ever assumed that role. Ric Grenell, the former U.S. ambassador to Germany and Trump’s former acting national intelligence director, was made interim executive director of the Kennedy Center. Deborah F. Rutter, who served as president of the Kennedy Center since 2014, had planned to step down at the end of 2025, but departed abruptly in early February.
“Core to our American experience is also artistic expression,” Rutter wrote in a statement released upon her departure. “Artists showcase the range of life’s emotions – the loftiest heights of joy and the depths of grievous despair. They hold a mirror up to the world – reflecting who we are and echoing our stories. The work of artists doesn’t always make us feel comfortable, but it sheds light on the truth.”
Changes to the Kennedy Center’s programming have already started. On March 6, “Hamilton” creator Lin-Manuel Miranda and lead producer Jeffrey Seller told the New York Times that the musical about the birth of American democracy would not be performed next year at the Kennedy Center. It was originally supposed to be part of the center’s celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. In a statement posted on X, Seller said the Kennedy Center’s neutrality has been destroyed and been replaced by a new spirit of partisanship, forcing it to betray its mission to foster the free expression of art in the United States.
“The recent purge by the Trump Administration of both professional staff and performing arts events at or originally produced by the Kennedy Center flies in the face of everything this national cultural center represents,” Seller wrote in the statement. “Given these recent actions, our show simply cannot, in good conscience, participate and be a part of this new culture that is being imposed on the Kennedy Center.”
On Feb. 18, the Kennedy Center canceled a pride concert planned for May 21 that would have featured the Gay Men’s Choir. And on Feb. 14, actress, comedian and television producer Issa Rae canceled her sold-out show, “An Evening With Issa Rae.”
Marshall Coid, a musician who has performed at the Kennedy Center multiple times, said that the Kennedy Center should not be turned into a sanitized place that caters to “undeveloped and narrow-minded tastes.” He raised concerns that the new board would villainize art forms such as drag performance, whose elements and history extend far beyond what most people initially picture drag to be.
“The Kennedy Center, to me, represents the nation,” Coid said. “And that’s everyone’s art. There’s room for it all.”
Coid studied violin at Juilliard and has performed at the Kennedy Center as a countertenor and violinist, including as a soloist in Tom O’Horgan staging of Leonard Bernstein’s “Mass” for the Center’s 10th Anniversary Celebration. He has also performed as an onstage violin soloist with Jinkx Monsoon while she played Matron “Mama” Morton in CHICAGO on Broadway, and acted in several roles himself that included cross-dressing.
Coid said he was worried the Kennedy Center’s new leadership would interfere with programming, including by banning drag. In Trump’s Truth Social post, he said: “Just last year, the Kennedy Center featured Drag Shows specifically targeting our youth — THIS WILL STOP.”
Coid described drag performance as a theatrical tradition with centuries of history. Drag was prevalent in early medieval church dramas, Shakespeare plays, contemporary opera and various forms of art at the highest level. To Coid, drag is just one type of performing art that is “something totally beyond the comprehension of most of these people that are condemning it.”
Coid described the Trump administration’s move to control the Kennedy Center as something that left him and other performers he knows “heartsick, appalled and horrified.”
“We may not have so consciously been carrying around a sense of what it meant to us, but when it’s taken away, we realize,” Coid said. “I think we took it for granted and never thought that it was vulnerable. And now it has been clearly demonstrated to be vulnerable, and as far as I’m concerned, under attack and being grotesquely diminished by this intrusion, by people that have no business having anything to do with it and should be nowhere near it.”
Singer, songwriter and performer Gwen Levey said stories would go untold. She predicted that social justice, which the Kennedy Center showcased previously, would no longer be promoted, and the variety of music would be reduced. She pointed to the diverse board of people appointed by previous presidents who resigned in the wake of Trump’s takeover, such as “Grey’s Anatomy” creator Shonda Rhimes, soprano Renée Fleming and singer-songwriter Ben Folds.
“The diversity is basically being sucked out of the Kennedy Center,” Levey said. “And I wouldn’t be surprised if, like most things with this administration, it becomes very whitewashed.”
Levey predicted that in the future, government censorship of the arts would increase. After her song that protested abortion bans, “Barefoot & Pregnant,” went viral in 2023, Levey said Meta censored the song and her content by shadowbanning her, a word for describing when a social media company limits who can see a creator’s content, often without the creator’s knowledge, causing their engagement to abruptly drop. Now, Levey thinks that since many social media platforms are “in Trump’s pocket,” those platforms may follow the Kennedy Center in censoring the arts.
Trump’s decision to replace Biden-appointed board members and install himself as chairman of the Kennedy Center was not his first clash with the performing arts center. In August 2017, white supremacists rallied in Charlottesville, Va., where a bystander and two law enforcement officers were killed. In response, Trump said there were “very fine people on both sides.” In protest, three of five recipients of the annual Kennedy Center Honors said they would refuse to attend its White House reception. Trump canceled the reception and did not attend the Kennedy Center Honors annual awards ceremony all four years of his first term.
Still, despite its uncertain future, in the weeks after Trump named himself chairman, music continued to fill the Kennedy Center’s halls like normal.
Attendees wait to be admitted to a concert at the Kennedy Center featuring Cody Fry, LANY and Sleeping At Last. (Valerie Chu/MNS)
At a concert featuring Cody Fry, LANY and Sleeping At Last, the artists made jokes, the audience whooped and clapped, and some even sang together during one song.
“Sometimes, I look out into the world and it feels like optimism is like this radical act of bravery,” singer-songwriter Cody Fry said when introducing his last song. “And I want to focus my mind on the things that are good because I truly believe that the good outnumbers the bad.”
Levey, who grew up in Alexandria, Va., performed at the Kennedy Center in a choir and as an actress in 2012 and 2013 as part of the National Capital Area Cappies program, which showcases high school artists in the Washington metro area. She said that some musicians like Trump and his recent actions. In Nashville, where she is currently based, Levey said many singers and fans of the mainstream country music genre are “very much MAGA” and more progressive artists need to speak out to enact change.
Still, Levey said art helps push culture forward, and that’s why she is hopeful more artists will use art to protest and to uplift marginalized communities.
“People are waking up,” Levey said. “The people I’ve been meeting through the Rise Above Justice Movement and through my music have been giving me so much hope. Because it’s people from all walks of life, all different backgrounds, that want to preserve democracy.”
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Latest in Education
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read moreTribal Leaders: BIE Schools Face Billion-Dollar Repair Backlog, Unsafe Conditions
WASHINGTON — Power outages regularly disrupt school in Arizona’s White Mountain Apache Tribe, leading to spoiled food, limited access to technology and cold classrooms. School administrators sometimes heat buildings with kerosene. In some cases, they must close the school when carbon monoxide levels become too high.
“Our students need and deserve better, and I hope you will help us deliver on the tremendous promise these young people possess,” White Mountain Apache Tribal Chairman Kasey Velasquez told congressional leaders at a Feb. 12 oversight hearing.
During the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations hearing, tribal education leaders told congressional members that the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) schools face crumbling infrastructure, unsafe conditions and a massive backlog of deferred maintenance, while receiving less than half the per-student funding of other federally operated schools.
The 183 schools run by BIE have collectively accumulated more than $1 billion in overdue repairs as of September 2022, according to testimony shared by Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-Ariz.) during the hearing. Many maintenance requests have remained unaddressed for years.
Government inspectors recently observed a crumbling foundation and an inoperable boiler at separate schools in the same Arizona town, despite work orders dating back to 2008. About 1,000 orders placed in 2000 remained unaddressed over two decades later, including requests for exit signs, fire alarm systems and replacements for asbestos floor tiles.
“How can we expect BIE students to excel when their classrooms are crumbling around them,” Westerman said.
The delays in addressing maintenance issues distract students from learning, members of Congress and tribal leaders agreed.
“Delays mean an inability to feed children because of spoiled food in the broken refrigerators. Delays mean students struggling to focus as rainwater leaks into their classroom,” said Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.), chair of the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.
A 2021 report from Stanford University, The Arizona Republic and ProPublica found that students in bureau-run schools score below the national average on standardized tests by more than two grade levels.
Several Indigenous leaders requested that the federal government transfer control over buildings, replacements and repairs to tribes under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975.
Jason Dropik, executive director of the National Indian Education Association, said tribal control of federal funding to run the schools themselves would help “eliminate some of that red tape.” Dropik, a member of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, asked to increase funding from the Great American Outdoors Act and implement advance appropriations to address the backlog of deferred maintenance orders.
For the 2023-24 school year, the Interior Department projected spending about $6,900 per student in BIE schools. Conversely, the Defense Department said in 2023 that it spent about $25,000 per student in the Department of Defense Education Activity, the only other federally operated school system.
Rep. Maxine Dexter (D-Ore.) noted that none of the tribes at the hearing received more money for their schools after similar congressional testimonies in the past. She criticized Senate Republicans for seeking to decrease federal funding for tribal schools.
“We can’t fix an underfunding problem by further underfunding,” Dexter said.
Since 2013, the BIE has implemented the Government Accountability Office’s recommendations for school safety and construction, including conducting annual inspections at all buildings. However, Melissa Emrey-Arras, director of GAO’s education, workforce and income security team, said the bureau still lacks clear procedures for other key issues, like training special education staff or monitoring certain financial transactions.
Roy Tracy, interim superintendent of schools at the Department of Diné Education in the Navajo Nation, said the bureau’s changes in the last decade fail to fully compensate for over a century of failed policies for Indigenous schools. He praised the tribal leaders who sat before Congress and demanded more direct financial support for their nations.
“Empower us,” he said. “Trust us. Pass that funding along.”
Sec. of Education nominee evades questions on department’s agenda
WASHINGTON – Senate Democrats pressed Secretary of Education nominee Linda McMahon on her views for President Donald Trump’s education agenda including DEI, school choice and the president’s promise to downsize the Department of Education at her confirmation hearing Thursday.
“I’m not quite certain, and I’d like to look into it further and get back to you on that,” said McMahon, offering a similar answer to multiple questions from Democrats.
McMahon’s nomination comes at a time when President Trump is seeking to abolish the Department of Education. Though he will need approval from Congress to abolish the federal agency, downsizing efforts are already underway.
McMahon said she was on board with the president’s goals and she is “ready to enact” his vision if confirmed as secretary.
“Long before there was a Department of Education, we fulfilled the programs of our educational system… I am really all for the president’s mission which is to return education to the states. I believe as he does that the best education is closest to the child,” she said.
A point of emphasis was “taking the bureaucracy out of education.” However, she clarified that states and localities will continue to receive federal funding amidst downsizing efforts.
“It is not the president’s goal to defund the programs. It is only to have it operate more efficiently,” she said.
According to Sen. Jon Husted (R-Ohio), this means “changing the way that the money gets to these students in schools,” not cutting funding for children and disabled children.
Though McMahon said she did not intend to cut funding for disabled children, she said the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) may be a better fit for a different federal agency.
“Might it be better served in a different agency, I’m not sure. It started at HEW (Health, Education and Welfare) and the concerns for disabilities and health issues with students may very well rest better within an agency that has more oversight of all of those,” she said.
McMahon said special education will continue to receive funding, but it could come from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), “where it started.”
“So I just want to be clear you’re going to put special education in the hands of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.,” Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) said.
Despite Democrat senators questioning how exactly specific programs would be cut in the process of downsizing, McMahon gave evasive answers.
“It is my goal, if I am confirmed, to get in and access these kinds of programs because I’m not sure yet what the impact of all of those programs are,” she said.
With Trump’s recent executive order on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), McMahon was also questioned on how schools will be able to determine whether they are running a DEI program and therefore at risk of cuts in federal funding.
“[DEI] is a program that’s tough. It was put in place ostensibly for more diversity, for equity and inclusion and I think what we’re seeing is that it’s having an opposite effect,” McMahon said. “We are not achieving what we wanted to achieve with inclusion.”
McMahon struggled to answer Sen. Christopher Murphy (D-Conn.) when he asked if public schools would be risking funding if they had clubs that students could belong to based on their racial or ethnic identity.
“Well I certainly today don’t want to address hypothetical situations. I would like, once I am confirmed, to get in and assess these programs,” she said.
Murphy responded that this answer was “chilling,” and McMahon said she would “like to fully know what the order is and what those clubs are doing.”
Murphy followed up asking if a class on African American history could also be a violation of this executive order on DEI.
“I’m not quite certain, and I’d like to look into it further,” McMahon said.
Protests disrupted the confirmation hearing four times, mostly by teachers.
“Can you imagine these people teaching our kids in classrooms across America and they come here and act like children with outbursts…?” Sen. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) said.
Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.) responded to Banks’s statement.
“The passionate educators who have come here today not on behalf of themselves, they’re here on behalf of our children,” she said. “They are exactly the kind of people who we want teaching our children.”
The committee is scheduled to vote on McMahon’s nomination on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025.
Health & Science
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read moreSCOTUS debates a death-row inmate’s request for DNA testing
DNA evidence — including scrapings underneath Harrison’s fingernails and a loose hair wrapped around one of her fingers — was recovered but has never been tested.
A Texas statute permits DNA testing only where favorable results would prove innocence, not ineligibility for a death sentence. On Monday, justices heard arguments over whether Gutierrez has the legal right, or standing, to request the post-conviction DNA testing.
The focus of the question was not whether Gutierrez was innocent, but whether he should face the death penalty. His execution was put on hold in 2024 — the second time the Supreme Court halted his execution — after the Court ruled in the similar case Reed v. Goertz that Rodney Reed had the legal right to sue Texas over its refusal to grant him access to post-conviction DNA testing.
For the last 14 years, Texas courts have denied Gutierrez’s requests to seek postconviction DNA testing of the crime scene and autopsy evidence to prove that his limited culpability in the murder would render him ineligible for the death penalty. They did so on the basis that Gutierrez did not have the legal right, or standing, to challenge the constitutionality of a provision of Texas’s postconviction DNA testing statute, which permits testing affecting an inmate’s conviction but not his punishment.
Anne E. Fisher, representing the petitioner, argued that certain procedures in the Texas post-conviction statute known as Chapter 64 that blocked post-conviction DNA testing were unconstitutional and that Gutierrez should not have been denied DNA testing.
“It’s not Mr. Gutierrez who keeps switching his position,” Fisher said. “We are simply reacting to the brand new arguments that respondents have come up with late in the process as to why we don’t have standing.”
To show that Gutierrez is ineligible for the death penalty, Fisher said she would need to show that he was not in the house and that he was not a “major participant” in the death of Harrison. Obtaining DNA testing would be one component of doing so.
Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts questioned whether a “tiny thimbleful of additional evidence” would help Gutierrez and Justice Samuel Alito pointed out that “at most, it could show that other people were there.” But Justice Brett Kavanaugh seemed among several justices sympathetic to Gutierrez. He observed that even if the district attorney refused to grant Gutierrez access to post-conviction DNA testing, he would still have the legal right to sue.
“I don’t see how we can say something’s not redressable just because the prosecutor is going to say, ‘I’m not going to comply with a court order,’” Kavanaugh said. “You know, if President Nixon said, ‘I’m not going to come turn over the tapes no matter what,’ you wouldn’t say, ‘Oh, I guess we don’t have standing to hear the executive privilege case.’”
However, William F. Cole, representing the respondents, argued that Reed v. Goertz was applied correctly and Gutierrez did not have standing to challenge the constitutionality of the DNA testing statute that permits testing affecting an inmate’s conviction but not his punishment. He also argued that Gutierrez had not challenged all the procedures needed to get the remedy for his injury — the denial of access to DNA testing evidence.
“That’s binary,” Cole said about Gutierrez’s assertion of his injury. “Either you get it or you don’t.”
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson seemed particularly interested in clarifying the theory of redressability in the case, while Justice Sonia Sotomayor seemed to lean in favor of Gutierrez, pushing back on Cole’s argument.
“Don’t you want to know you’re convicting the right person for the right thing? I mean, he’s going to spend time in jail no matter what because he admits to being at least an accessory to the robbery or a part of the robbery,” Sotomayor asked. “But at what point does this legal maneuvering become counterproductive to the state? If you are sure of your conviction and your theory, why not do the testing?”
Cole responded that Gutierrez previously made a “strategic choice” not to undergo DNA testing when it was available to him and that even if the evidence were exculpatory, it would not change Gutierrez’s sentence because he is still eligible for the death penalty.
The justices appeared to be divided. The Supreme Court challenged both lawyers by posing hypothetical situations and clarifying questions over issues of redressability and standing.
But to Miriam Becker-Cohen, the case appeared straightforward. Becker-Cohen is the lead author of an amicus brief in Gutierrez v. Saenz from the Constitutional Accountability Center, an organization focused on examining the whole Constitution’s history to uphold progressive values at its core.
Becker-Cohen emphasized that the case boils down to the simple question of whether a death-row inmate has the right to go to court and say that the DNA testing statute violates their right to a fundamentally fair process under the Constitution under the due process clause.
“This case isn’t going to decide whether or not he gets the death penalty. It’s not going to decide whether or not he’s exonerated or something,” Becker-Cohen said. “It’s really just a narrow issue: it’s whether he gets into court in the first place, which seems like such a fundamental thing that he should be entitled to under our concept of federal standing law and jurisdiction.”
Parents, lawmakers and experts debate the fentanyl crisis and Trump’s tariffs
WASHINGTON – The Senate Judiciary Committee met Tuesday to tackle the fentanyl epidemic and the persistently high opioid-related U.S. death rate as the Trump administration introduced trade measures targeting illegal drug trafficking networks in Mexico, Canada and China.
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said the Trump administration framed the tariffs as an anti-fentanyl measure, not a trade policy. He said China is under pressure to curb precursor chemical exports, which often reach Mexico, where drug cartels design them into counterfeit pills.
President Donald Trump planned to impose a 25% tariff on imports from Mexico and Canada but has delayed the tariff hike by one month after negotiating with leaders of both countries on Monday.
On Tuesday, a 10% hike on Chinese imports took effect at midnight, with Trump saying the move would “protect Americans” against fentanyl production and trafficking.
The committee debated reclassifying fentanyl from a Schedule II to a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act. The change would place fentanyl in the most restrictive drug category.
“I believe that [re-scheduling] will increase penalties for trafficking and distribution. It also streamlines prosecution by removing the burden of proving whether a particular fentanyl analog is harmful. It would be illegal by default, and it would give authorities greater flexibility as well to target emerging fentanyl analogs before they flood the market,” said Jaime Puerta, President and Co-Founder of Victims of Illicit Drugs.
Overdose deaths linked to synthetic opioids, primarily illicit fentanyl, accounted for an estimated 74,702 deaths in 2023, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The committee heard testimony from parents who have lost their children to fentanyl overdoses.
“My son Daniel’s death is one of countless tragedies,” said Puerta, who lost his 16-year-old son in 2020. “His story is a call to action. He made a mistake, and the price was his life.”
Senators on both sides of the aisle said tackling the issue requires bipartisan action.
“I’m sick and tired of excuses being made, and people dying as a result, and I think it’s time for us, on a bipartisan basis, to find things we agree with,” Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said.
Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) asked Cecilia Farfán, an expert on organized crime, if Mexico is doing enough to curb fentanyl production and trafficking.
“There’s definitely more that can be done by Mexico,” she said. “I think working closer with U.S. counterparts and also having these diagnoses of the connection between … arms trafficking and drug trafficking [will] really benefit communities on both sides of the border.”
She also emphasized that addressing the fentanyl crisis requires not only targeting its supply but also scrutinizing the firearms industry in the U.S.
Lawmakers pointed out how firearms trafficking fuels cartel operations, further complicating U.S.-Mexico cooperation on fentanyl enforcement.
Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) said that Mexico has “one legal gun store” and “according to [The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives] data, up to 500,000 U.S.-sourced firearms are trafficked into Mexico every year.”
Farfán told Medill News Service that these “are challenging times in the bilateral relationship,” and she understands that not everyone shares her point of view. But she said she was there to emphasize that if “you are serious about saving lives, you need cooperation.”
“The fentanyl market is not an isolated illicit market, it’s very much linked to the firearms trafficking market,” Farfán said. “If the crime is transnational, shouldn’t the solution also be transnational?”
Latest in Environment
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read moreClimate change activist groups demand action from Biden before term ends
WASHINGTON – Around 300 people gathered to demand climate action from the Biden administration outside the Environmental Protection Agency headquarters on Sunday, according to estimates from organizers.
Protesters called on President Joe Biden to protect public lands, cancel oil and gas projects and use all unspent money from the Inflation Reduction and Bipartisan Infrastructure Acts to invest in the climate.
Protesters came from the Washington DC metro area, New York and Pennsylvania to urge Biden to take action in his final 60 days of power before President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January.
A coalition of activist groups organized the rally, drawing hundreds of protesters to the Federal Triangle metro station. (Emma Richman/MNS)
“We cannot imagine trying to sleep any night during the Trump administration if we haven’t done everything we can first,” said Saul Levin, political and campaigns director for Green New Deal Network.
2024 has been the hottest year on record with the global average temperature reaching 1.54 degrees Celsius over pre-industrial levels, according to the World Meteorological Organization. This temporarily exceeds the Paris Agreement 1.5-degree temperature rise limit.
Trump is expected to take office in January, appointing former New York Rep. Lee Zeldin to head the Environmental Protection Agency. Together, the administration is expected to roll back the more progressive climate policies under Biden.
Levin organized the rally with over 30 climate change activist groups. He said it was the launching point for a campaign over the next 60 days to demand Democrats do as much as possible for the climate before Trump takes office.
Some protesters also held signs urging Senate Democrats to confirm more judges that would uphold environmental laws to safeguard against the Trump administration.
Jason Rylander, legal director for the Center for Biological Diversity’s Climate Law Institute, said there are limits to what the Trump administration can reverse. Rylander, who attended Sunday’s rally, added that the legal system is an important wall of defense.
“We will stand up with our partners and take the Trump administration to court at every turn if they’re undoing environmental protections,” Rylander said.
Several speakers addressed the rally, telling personal stories and outlining demands. The crowd cheered and chanted for climate action. Organizers led the rally in chants saying “every day counts” and “YOLO Joe.”
Protests held signs that said “60 days,” the amount of time Biden has left in office to take action on climate change. (Emma Richman/MNS)
Some protesters held signs urging Biden to pardon environmental activists. Others advocated for Biden to stop new liquified natural gas projects. Student activists led the crowd in song, and protesters of all ages attended.
Keanu Arpels-Josiah, climate organizer and first-year student at Swarthmore College, said he’s been involved in climate change activism since high school. An organizer with Fridays for Future NYC, Arpels-Josiah came to Sunday’s rally with a group of students from Philadelphia and said around 30 others came on a bus from New York.
Arpels-Josiah gave a speech at the rally and led the crowd in song alongside fellow student organizers. He urged Biden to fulfill his promises to take progressive climate action to safeguard the Earth for future generations.
“We can’t have a transition of just resignation,” Arpels-Josiah said. “We must have a transition of action and setting the groundwork to protect our democracy, protect our future, protect our rights, protect climate action.”
Congress presses Coast Guard on Arctic icebreaker shortfalls amid growing international competition
WASHINGTON — Transportation committee ranking member Richard Larsen (D-Wash.), questioned Coast Guard leadership on the U.S. ability to ice break in the Arctic Circle compared to competitors Russia and China after the Government Accountability Office released a scathing report about the operations.
The U.S. Coast Guard is tasked with managing American responsibilities in the Arctic through its presence in Alaska. This team’s primary aim is icebreaking recapitalization, which involves regulating the quantity of and patrolling ice in the Arctic Circle.
Despite this, the American fleet has only two ships capable of breaking heavy ice in the Arctic. Russia has 55 vessels and China, which does not have an Arctic coast, has four.
Rep. John Garamendi (D-Calif.), appeared frustrated about the timeline for new ships still being many years away. He asked the panel whether the U.S. is threatened by our lack of ships.
“We have a national security threat now,” Coast Guard Vice Admiral Peter Gautier said. “We need eight to nine ships as soon as possible, but it’s going to take a long time to build them.”
In recent years, this task has become more difficult, with longer and colder winters affecting much of the northern hemisphere. Alaska and, by extension, the Arctic Circle are valuable to United States national security, serving as the closest domestic military port to Russia.
Chairman Daniel Webster said the U.S. needs to catch up in our need for more icebreaking ships.
“It is well beyond time to carry out our mission with new ships,” Webster said. “Nearly a year has passed [since Congress first inquired] and we don’t have a plan.”
Vice Admiral Thomas Allan Jr. emphasized that the Coast Guard must receive support from the Navy in this process, as these new ships will be the Coast Guard’s first icebreakers in more than fifty years.
“We do not have enough to complete ship one,” Allan said. “The Coast Guard is a capital intensive operation, and we fall further and further behind the Department of Defense each year.”
Larsen, whose district features the third largest domestic port with significant shipbuilding facilities, echoed this sentiment and insisted that “our presence in the Arctic equals our sovereignty.”
Heather MacLeod, who authored the GAO report and directs the Homeland Security and Justice team, testified before the subcommittee.
“The Coast Guard has done a good job at assessing risk in the region,” MacLeod said. “But its reliance on an aging fleet has hindered the service’s ability.”
MacLeod said the program to build new ships has experienced design challenges as it does not have its own facility. The Coast Guard leases its hangar space in Alaska.
Gautier, who has served in the Coast Guard for 37 years, said the committee must consider providing more funds to Arctic operations to see successful reinvestment rather than just focusing on vessels.
“The Coast Guard is more valuable today than ever before,” Gautier said. “We promote a peaceful, stable and cooperative Arctic in this unique and challenging maritime environment.”
Allan said the first of these ships will be approved to begin production before the end of the year.
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read moreSupreme Court considers how strict a judgment’s finality is in ‘extraordinary circumstances’
WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court heard oral arguments Monday for BLOM Bank SAL v. Honickman, which focused on how high the bar should be to reopen a case after a ruling had been made.
The case before the court will act as a guidepost for deciding when to consider undoing a final judgment. The high court heard arguments about what would count as extraordinary circumstances and warrant overturning a verdict.
In 2019, Honickman, who represents victims of Hamas terrorist attacks between 2001 and 2003, sued BLOM Bank for allegedly aiding and abetting terrorism by providing financial services to Hamas affiliates. This allegedly would have violated the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act. A U.S. District Court dismissed Honickman’s case because Honickman failed to provide sufficient evidence that the bank was “generally aware” of their role in illegal activities.
While the district court offered Honickman the option to revise the complaint, their lawyers declined and appealed the decision instead, stating that the court required an incorrect, unmeetable amount of evidence to prove the bank’s involvement in terrorism. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the district court’s dismissal that there was insufficient evidence to prove BLOM Bank was aware of the customers’ connections to Hamas. However, the 2nd Circuit said the district court applied an incorrect legal standard for determining aiding and abetting.
Upon return to the district court, Honickman’s attempt to bring forth a revised complaint was denied. The district court stated there were no “extraordinary circumstances” at play that would warrant a new judgment. Honickman appealed the district court’s decision once more. Overturning the lower court’s decision, the appeals court sided with Honickman. The appeals court decided that the district court had been too strict and Honickman should be allowed to amend their complaint when “justice so requires.”
During oral arguments at the Supreme Court, Michael McGinly, the lawyer for BLOM Bank, argued that reconsidering the decided verdict on the case “diluted the stringent standard” used when determining whether to overturn a decided judgment. Additionally, McGinly asserted Honickman already had multiple opportunities to rework their claim but decided not to.
“What we’re doing is saying the party doesn’t get an opportunity at a dress rehearsal,” McGinly said.
However, Justice Kentanji Brown Jackson expressed concern about the bank’s argument that Honickman had other chances to revise their complaint. She worried this line of reasoning would punish those who appeal the court’s decision instead of first amending their claim to fit within the lower court’s legal standards.
“I think that burdens the right to appeal in a way that is not exactly how these rules should be read,” she said.
Other justices focused on the 2nd Circuit’s assertion that two principles, the strong requirement for overturning final decisions and the allowance of amendments when justice requires it, needed to be considered hand in hand by the district court.
Justices Neil Gorsuch and Elena Kagan questioned McGinly about the necessity of the 2nd Circuit’s balancing act. The justices asked whether only considering the preference to uphold final judgments alone would be enough to allow for amendments in necessary situations.
McGinly said “extraordinary circumstances” would permit revisions in certain cases, and this standard alone should dictate which cases get reopened after a final decision.
Michael Radine, the lawyer for Honickman, chose not to strongly advocate in favor of the 2nd Circuit’s ruling about balancing a judgment as final with the need for amendments to guarantee justice. Instead, Radine focused on how this case fell within the “extraordinary circumstances” required for voiding a judgment.
“It’s fundamentally unfair to lay the consequences of confusion (of the applicable legal standards) at the plaintiff’s doorstep,” Radine said.
Justices questioned Radine about his assertion that this case qualified as “extraordinary circumstances.” They asked if the rule that freely allowed amendments could then be ignored.
Radine reaffirmed that Honickman’s right to amend their complaint and reopen the case was justified by “extraordinary circumstances” alone. He asserted that the preference for judgments to remain final already took into account the need for justice to be served.
The high court’s ruling could impact the future of counter-terrorism litigation. Therefore, the court’s decision could determine how much flexibility terrorism victims would have to appeal those standards while preserving their future right to revise their complaints when the correct legal standard was determined.
“After the October 7 attacks, American victims of the Hamas massacres will be returning to courts. Terrorism cases are unique and challenging cases, and the law should enable them to make their cases as best they can, not slam the courtroom door shut before they’ve had that chance,” Radine wrote to Medill News Service prior to the hearing.
The court is expected to release a decision on the case later this year.
Analysis: Macron, Starmer flatter but fail to extract commitments from Trump
WASHINGTON – Blair House, the residence used to accommodate foreign dignitaries, was busy this week as French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer both paid visits to the White House, the first European leaders to do so since President Donald Trump’s January inauguration.
The visits served as a window into Trump’s intentions regarding Europe over the next four years as Macron and Starmer tried to adapt to the new state of transatlantic relations.
Macron’s visit built on an existing history with Trump dating back to the president’s first term. On Monday, Trump repeatedly praised Macron for the speedy restoration of the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris, which reopened late last year in record time after a catastrophic fire in 2019.
Yet even the smiles and friendly words could not hide the tension between the two leaders as they disagreed over several issues, and the visit did not yield the commitments on Ukraine or trade that Europeans had hoped for from the American president.
Neither did Starmer’s visit. Upon his arrival on Thursday, the British leader presented Trump with a formal invitation from King Charles III, a move evidently calculated to appeal to Trump’s fondness of the monarchy.
“The president has this romantic sense of Britain and he loves the royalty,” said Daniel Hamilton, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution’s Center on the United States and Europe, “so he treats the UK in a somewhat different way than the Europeans.”
Starmer sought to make a good impression and avoided most points of contention with Trump.
Ukraine and European Security
The flurry of diplomatic activity came as the Trump administration unexpectedly reopened diplomatic channels with Russia in early February, an action that has left European allies scrambling to adjust, with Macron calling an emergency meeting of European leaders in response.
“The Europeans have not been included in the direct discussions,” Hamilton said, “and so I think they want to hear from Trump himself what’s going on here.”
France and the U.K. have both been very clear that a peace deal in Ukraine cannot be negotiated without Ukraine at the table. Trump, in contrast, has shown a willingness to re-engage Russia without either European or Ukrainian involvement.
The contrast in priorities was on stark display at Monday’s joint press conference.
Speaking in French, Macron repeatedly referenced “la guerre d’agression russe,” “the war of Russian aggression.” Yet just that same morning, the U.S. had joined Russia, North Korea, and other Russia-friendly nations in voting to oppose a U.N. resolution condemning Russia as the aggressor in the war.
Both France and the U.K. have expressed willingness to send peacekeeping troops to Ukraine should an agreement be reached, but have indicated they want a U.S. “backstop,” an assurance that the U.S. would provide some kind of support, still unspecified, if necessary. Trump has consistently avoided making such a commitment, repeatedly insisting a deal first be reached before discussing the details of any U.S. role, much to the frustration of European allies.
Divergence on Russia was a symptom of broader disagreements over the role the U.S. should play in European security.
“The new U.S. administration has kind of thrown grenades at the foundations of postwar European security,” said Anand Menon, a professor of European politics and foreign affairs at King’s College London. “European leaders are desperately worried not only that the U.S. is on the point of selling out Ukraine, but that … more broadly, the U.S. has basically decided that it’s up to Europeans to defend themselves.”
The words and actions of both leaders reflected a recognition that the U.S. is no longer a reliable defense partner.
Starmer arrived in Washington with his government’s recent pledge to increase defense spending, announced the day before his visit. And after his Oval Office meeting with Trump, Macron, speaking for the EU, said it must do more for its own security. “Europe is very clear-eyed about this,” he said.
Trade and Tariffs
Trump “doesn’t think the EU is a good deal for America,” Hamilton said, “which contravenes 80 years of U.S. policy.”
During a meeting with his cabinet on Wednesday, between the Macron and Starmer visits, Trump told reporters that “the European Union was formed in order to screw the United States,” and said he will soon be announcing 25% tariffs on the EU.
Trump has frequently claimed that the U.S. is treated unfairly by enemies and allies alike, and the EU, in particular, has long been a target.
“He only focuses on the trade deficit in goods with the European Union,” Hamilton said. “But the U.S. has a trade surplus in services with the EU, which he never mentions.” The mischaracterization is political, he said, and designed to appeal to his base.
With the EU already vowing to respond to new tariffs in kind, the chances of a trade war appear to be increasing.
“The EU could punish the United States very badly if it wanted to,” Hamilton said, adding that as America’s most important trading partner, the EU wields considerable leverage.
Léonie Allard, a visiting fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Europe Center, pointed out the irony of Trump’s provocation.
“You cannot engage in a trade war and these measures and tariffs that weaken the European economy if you want them to spend more on defense,” she said.
Trump’s displeasure with the EU means Brexit will likely prove a boon to U.S.-U.K. relations during this administration. Meeting with Trump in the Oval Office on Thursday, Starmer tried to differentiate Britain from continental Europe.
“Our trade, obviously, is fair and balanced,” Starmer said. “And in fact, you’ve got a bit of a surplus. So we’re in a different position there.”
But with the U.S. and the EU ever more at odds, balancing relations with both leaves the U.K. walking a very fine line.
“If we’re seen to be cozying up to the US,” Menon said, “I think some people in the European Union will say, ‘well, if you’re taking the side of the United States, don’t expect any friendly treatment from us.’”
For now, it seems, the visits did little to move the needle, neither on trade nor on Ukraine. But perhaps that was not the intent.
“This visit, I think, was not about deliverables,” Allard said. “It was about delivering a message from the Europeans saying, ‘we’re ready.’”
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read morePhoto Essay: New Orleans spirit comes to Washington at eighth annual Mardi Gras celebration
WASHINGTON – Mardi Gras celebrations filled Wharf Street Saturday as attendees packed the street with food, laughter, music and dancing.
The celebration kicked off with an hour-long parade down Wharf Street. Over 40 organizations participated in the parade, including community partners like the Eastern High School Marching Band and Command Force of the Washington Commanders.
Golf carts embellished in purple, green and gold, the Mardi Gras king and queen and jugglers were just a few of the parade’s highlights. The New Orleans spirit could be felt in Washington as crowds cheered and reached for the beads, toys and candy that were tossed their way.
The parade was followed by live music by local bands at different outdoor stages along Wharf Street. Families and friends came together to enjoy food and drinks while dancing to the music. The celebrations came to a close with fireworks that decorated the sky.
Mardi Gras flags lined Wharf Street as Batalá Washington, an all-women Afro-Brazilian music band, announced the start of the parade with the sound of drums. (Jiah Choe/MNS)
Addie, Asia and Jodie showed their Mardi Gras spirit from head to toe. Jodie is from New Orleans, and Addie and Asia are Washington residents. “It’s a big deal, bring the party home,” Asia said. (Jiah Choe/MNS)
Rachelle, Kathleen, Margie, Jennifer, Lynn and Melissa are long-time friends and residents of D.C. and Virginia. Kathleen has been to every single one of the eight Mardi Gras celebrations at The Wharf. “We love it. It gets us out of the house,” Rachelle said. (Jiah Choe/MNS)
Beads and candies weren’t the only things being tossed to the audience. Children and adults alike reached for the bubbles flowing out of the bubble machines while some took photos. (Jiah Choe/MNS)
The Wharf invited local businesses to decorate golf carts as an alternative to the floats traditionally used in New Orleans. The family friendly event had several young participants, some even playing a role in the parade and tossing beaded necklaces to attendees. (Jiah Choe/MNS)
Some attendees chose to enjoy the parade with an aerial view from restaurant balconies and rooftops. Parade participants made sure everyone was included in the celebration, as they tossed beads as high as they could to reach the attendees watching from above. (Jiah Choe/MNS)
Humans weren’t the only ones celebrating Mardi Gras at The Wharf. Local residents “Percy and his human servants” also joined the celebrations in colorful Mardi Gras costumes. (Jiah Choe/MNS)
Performers, jugglers and stilt walkers filled the parade with entertainment and excitement. (Jiah Choe/MNS)
Bella, Manny and Prince are from New Orleans. They came to Washington for their catering business, Mardi Gras Munchies (@mardigrasmunchies on Instagram). They are “an authentic Cajun Creole New Orleans cuisine” with pop-ups every week. Their son, Prince, is six months old. This was his first Mardi Gras. (Jiah Choe/MNS)
Attendees lined up to take photos with Mardi Gras performers at a photo station set up near the outdoor stages. (Jiah Choe/MNS)
Attendees gathered around outdoor stages along Wharf Street after the parade to listen and dance to live music performed by local bands. (Jiah Choe/MNS)
The Experience Band & Show was one of the local bands that performed live music at The Wharf. They performed on the Transit Pier Floating Stage. (Jiah Choe/MNS)
Watch: The Great American Water Taste Test brings friendly competition to Capitol Hill
WASHINGTON — The National Rural Water Association held its 26th annual Great American Water Taste Test on Wednesday. The Bear River Water Conservancy District of Utah took home the championship.
Samples are judged on three categories: clarity, bouquet and overall taste.
This competition is a part of the NRWA’s annual rally. Members of the organization travel to the nation’s capital to lobby their representatives about issues facing the rural water industry.
Watch the video report here:
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read moreStrategic bitcoin reserve signals Trump administration’s increased loyalty to cryptocurrency industry
On the campaign trail, President Donald Trump made a promise to the cryptocurrency entrepreneurs that they have not forgotten: a pledge to be the first “crypto president.”
Last week, Trump took his latest in a string of actions to align himself with the digital asset industry by establishing a strategic bitcoin reserve in an executive order.
“I promised to make America the bitcoin superpower of the world and the crypto capital of the planet,” Trump said at the White House cryptocurrency summit. “We’re taking historic action to deliver on that promise.”
A strategic bitcoin reserve would consist of bitcoin that the federal government seized, according to the executive order. Under the order, the U.S. government would not purchase any more cryptocurrency. To further expand the reserve, the Trump administration authorized the Department of Treasury and Commerce to find other ways to acquire additional bitcoin where no tax dollars would be spent, instead of direct market purchases.
The reserve’s creation signaled a shift in U.S. policy toward bitcoin. Previously, the Treasury sold seized bitcoin rather than holding onto it. By choosing to keep the digital asset, the U.S. government increased its current stake in cryptocurrency and cemented the administration’s allegiance to the industry.
While Trump’s bitcoin policy was in line with what the industry previously advocated for, not all pro-cryptocurrency lawmakers were overjoyed about the reserve.
Early last week, Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) and Majority Leader Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) launched a bipartisan Congressional Crypto Caucus, intending to boost U.S. leadership in cryptocurrency innovation. But despite Torres’ pro-cryptocurrency stance, he said he was “skeptical” about the federal government creating a cryptocurrency reserve.
“I do see blockchain as an emerging technology that has the potential to transform our society for good, but there are two visions of blockchain,” Torres said to Medill News Service. “There’s blockchain as a computer, and then there’s blockchain as a casino. I’m skeptical about blockchain as a casino, and I feel like Donald Trump is promoting speculation that’s going to do more harm than good.”
However, Congressional advocates for the reserve saw it as serving a significant economic purpose and predicted that it would serve as a hedge against inflation.
Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio), a former blockchain entrepreneur, expressed he was not concerned about bitcoin’s volatility, and instead, worried about the dollar’s devaluation with inflation.
“I’m concerned about the dollar’s volatility,” Moreno told Medill News Service. “A dollar is worth a lot less today than it was five years ago, and bitcoin is worth a lot more today than it was five years ago.”
The claim that bitcoin can act as a hedge against inflation faced scrutiny, however. The cryptocurrency’s value is based solely on speculation, making it a volatile asset.
Other supporters of the government holding onto bitcoin argued the reserve could help reduce the national debt. However, the order specified that the U.S. will not sell the bitcoin within the reserve.
George Selgin, a senior fellow at the libertarian Cato Institute, said any future attempt by the U.S. government to sell the bitcoin would face strong opposition from the industry. This is because a mass cryptocurrency sell off by the government would tank bitcoin’s value.
Selgin voiced concerns about a strategic reserve’s fate because of the U.S. government’s reluctance to sell in the future. He said the reserve may end like the U.S. gold reserve, which Selgin argued did not serve any economic purpose since former President Richard Nixon effectively eliminated the gold standard.
“The bitcoin people are also comparing the reserve to the gold reserve, but they’re trying to make a positive comparison,” Selgin said. “There’s a more valuable negative comparison because the gold reserve no longer serves any economic purpose either.”
Sec. of Labor nominee backtracks on former pro-union stance
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s pick for Secretary of Labor backpedaled her previous support for repealing right-to-work laws. Senators pressed nominee Lori Chavez-DeRemer, a former GOP congresswoman, about a pro-union bill she co-sponsored during her time in the House.
More than half of states have right-to-work laws, which prohibit private companies from requiring employees to enter a union as a condition of hiring. The 2021 Protecting the Right to Organize Act would have repealed 28 states’ right-to-work laws, much to the dismay of some GOP senators.
Now poised to head the U.S. Department of Labor, Chavez-DeRemer backpedaled her pro-union stances during the hearing. In response to several senator’s questioning, Chavez-DeRemer stated she no longer supports the section of the PRO Act that would have repealed right-to-work laws on the state level.
“I believe our labor laws need to be updated and modernized to reflect today’s workforce and the business environment. As a member of Congress, the PRO Act was the bill to have those conversations.”
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who represents a right-to-work state, has been lobbying behind the scenes to deny her nomination due to her previous co-sponsorship of the PRO Act. The bill passed the House in 2021 but failed to gain GOP support in the Senate.
“The PRO Act wasn’t just about organizing or enabling unions to organize, which they already have the right to do, the PRO Act was about overturning right-to-work laws in 26 states, half the country,” he said.
The bill would also ban corporations from union-busting practices such as compelling workers to view anti-union materials.
Samantha Sanders, the Director of Government Affairs and Advocacy at the Economic Policy Institute, said, “I was I guess kind of disappointed but not that surprised to hear that coming out of the hearing, especially because Congresswoman Lori Chavez-DeRemer does have a record of, at least in the past, having supported some pretty bold legislation that would be good for unions and would boost workers’ wages.”
Members of the Teamster Union attended Lori Chavez-DeRemer’s nomination hearing on Feb. 19, 2025. (Josh Sukoff/MNS)
The daughter of a lifelong Teamsters member, the Oregon congresswoman is also a small-business owner and former mayor of a fast-growing suburb in the Portland metropolitan area. Now in President Trump’s orbit, Chavez-DeRemer is distancing herself from her past pro-union stance.
“In my district, unions aren’t the enemy of small businesses, they’re a partner. Small businesses benefit from the presence of unions. As a small business owner, I know this better than most,” Chavez-DeRemer said in a 2024 reelection ad.
Chavez-DeRemer recognized she was no longer an Oregon representative. If confirmed, she said she will commit to allowing Congress to write and enforce the laws as Labor Secretary.
“I will not be that lawmaker anymore,” she said in response to Sen. Cassidy.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont, implored the nominee to support working-class Americans.
“You will have to make a choice,” Sen. Sanders said. “Will you be a rubber stamp for the anti-worker agenda of Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and other multi-billionaires…or will you stand with working families all over the country?”
Several Democratic senators expressed concerns over handing over sensitive labor data to billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency allies. A federal judge on Tuesday denied a request by over a dozen states to block Musk allies from accessing information systems at the Labor Department and other federal agencies needed to fire federal workers.
As Sen. Andy Kim (D-N.J.) left the hearing, he said, “As of now, I haven’t been supportive of Trump’s cabinet nominees as long as this lawlessness effort that we’ve seen underway continues on.”
When pressed by Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) about whether she would follow a Trump directive to violate labor laws, Chavez-DeRemer said, “I do not believe that the President is going to ask me to break the law.”
President Trump last week suggested that his administration could not be held liable for breaking any laws if they move in the country’s interests.
“He who saves his Country does not violate any Law,” he wrote in a now archived post on Truth Social and Musk’s X.
As he left the hearing, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) reaffirmed his support for the nominee.
“And as I just reminded my Republican colleagues, she is the president’s choice to lead the labor department.”
SOTU: Health Care
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Congress should approve his plan to replace Obamacare with a new health care program that would provide “affordable alternative” insurance options and criticized Democrats for trying to impose “a socialist takeover of our health care system.”
“A good life for American families requires the most affordable, innovative and high-quality health care system on earth,” Trump said in his third State of the Union address.
Trump said he has proposed health care plans that would be up to 60% cheaper than the Affordable Care Act plans. Both the White House and the Department of Health and Human Services did not respond when asked if a specific replacement plan has existed or ever will.
The president blamed Democrats for not providing the American people with the health care reforms he has promised.
“As we work to improve Americans’ health care, there are those who want to take away your health care, take away your doctor, and abolish private insurance entirely,” said Trump, referring to the Democrats.
Democrats stood up at this comment, pointed their fingers at Trump and shouted “YOU.”
Trump said 130 Democrats endorse legislation to impose a “socialist takeover” of the health care system by “taking away the private health insurance plans of 180 million.”
Democratic presidential candidates Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., are pushing for a “Medicare for All” plan that would end private health insurance while other candidates like former Vice President Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., are pushing to expand on Obamacare.
“We will never let socialism destroy American health care,” Trump said.
Trump emphasized the administration’s efforts to protect patients with pre-existing conditions, to which Democrats threw up their hands and shook their heads in disagreement. Led by House Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Senate and House Democrats brought more than 80 patients, doctors and health care advocates from across the country as guests to the speech.
“President Trump will speak to an audience filled with Americans who are suffering because of his broken promises on prescription drug costs and his all-out assault on Americans with preexisting conditions,” Pelosi said in a press release Tuesday morning.
The president also called upon Congress to pass legislation to lower prescription drug prices.
“Get a bill to my desk, and I will sign it into law without delay,” the president said.
Democrats responded to this by booing and holding up three fingers to represent H.R. 3, legislation proposed by the late Rep. Elijah E. Cummings that would require the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to negotiate certain drug prices. The bill has been on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s desk for over a month after being passed in the House.
Generic prescription drug prices dropped 1% in 2018, the first price drop in 45 years, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. Trump said it was the first time in 51 years. Brand-name drug prices, however, are still increasing.
Trump said the administration will continue to make health care more transparent by requiring hospitals to make their prices negotiated with insurers public and easily accessible online. He also pointed to the passage of administration-backed legislation called “Right to Try,” which allows terminally ill patients access to drugs not fully approved by the Food and Drug Administration if they feel they have tried all other options.
He also said he has launched new initiatives to improve care for Americans with kidney disease, Alzheimer’s and those struggling with mental health challenges, in addition to pursuing new cures for childhood cancer and AIDS.
The House Ways and Means Committee will hold a hearing Wednesday afternoon to further discuss Trump’s health care policies and overcoming pharmaceutical barriers in particular.
Trump Sticks By Wall in State of the Union Address
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump’s call for a wall to secure America’s southern border in his State of the Union address Tuesday night was no surprise to opponents.
Jennifer Johnson, the policy director at the Southern Border Communities Coalition, said Trump continually characterizes the southern border as a violent area.
“More of a reality check, these are families and children seeking protection, fleeing spiraling violence and poverty,” she said.
Chris Montoya, who served as a Customs and Border Protection agent for 21 years, said that “crime rates are pretty low in border cities. Being a border patrol agent is one of the safest law enforcement jobs. All those things together means a safe border.”
Rep. Adriano Espaillat, D-N.Y., invited as his guest a mother who had been separated from her children at the border.
Other Democrats brought undocumented immigrants as their guests, including Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., Rep. Jimmy Gomez, D-Calif., and Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-N.J.
Rep. Sheila Jackson, D-Texas, was enthusiastic about their attendance at the address. “Their presence here today is representative of the big tent that America is,” she said.
In his address, Trump attributed what he called at crisis at the border to America’s “reduced jobs, lower wages, overburdened schools, and hospitals that are so crowded you can’t get in.” He referenced San Diego and El Paso as being cities that were once violent, and now safe with the addition of physical barriers.
Trump also mentioned the prevalence of MS-13 within the country. “They almost all come through our Southern border,” he said.
Montoya said MS-13 members do enter through the southern border on rare occasions, but it is uncommon for CBP agents to make an arrest.
Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin is the ranking member on the Senate Subcommittee for Border Security and Immigration. He said nothing changed in Trump’s rhetoric. “If we’re waiting on him, we’re not going to get this solved,” he said.
Washingtonians alternately protest, celebrate the State of the Union
WASHINGTON – DC-area residents had very different reactions to President Donald Trump’s second State of the Union address Tuesday night. But whether they celebrated or denounced the event, emotions were strong.
Around 40-50 people gathered at each of two intersections near the Capitol ahead of the address — far fewer than the 400 people who protested last year, according to Resist DC, the community action group that organized both years’ protests.
People lined the sidewalks along the streets that President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and other Trump cabinet members’ motorcades were expected pass by. They held homemade signs lit with string lights so they would be visible to government officials in their cars and chanted anti-Trump messages to music and drums.
Eileen Minarick, 70, said she was protesting simply “because the state of our union is terrible.”
Elsewhere in the city, local bar patrons gathered to drink beer, compete in presidential bingo and watch the State of the Union.
Grassroots activist group CODEPINK hosted a number of guest speakers, including actor Danny Glover, for a lively discussion before the main event. Topics ranged from the Bolivarian revolution to ending domestic violence.
Anita Jenkins, spokeswoman for Stand Up for Democracy, riled the crowd with a call to establish the District of Columbia the 51st state in the United States.
“The people of D.C. have no representation… We have nobody to speak for us,” she said. Modifying the words of America’s early founders, she said, “Taxation without representation is a rip-off.”
As President Trump appeared on the projector, shouts of disapproval rose from the bar patrons. The State of the Union 2019 had begun and the energy was energetic in its moroseness.
Across town, the atmosphere was also charged. Members of DC Young Republicans and Arlington Falls Church Young Republicans filled a restaurant for a celebratory viewing party.
“In the past, most of the people in this room voted for a wall… but the proper wall never got built,” said Donald Trump. He paused and then said, “I’ll get it built.” Hoots and hollers erupted in the bar and two girls were seen smiling and hugging each other.
Though Trump stressed unity in his national address, DC-area residents remained divided in their reactions.
2020 Candidates Alternate Cheers, Hisses to Trump Wall, Immigration Proposals during State of Union
WASHINGTON – Several Democratic 2020 presidential candidates expressed their displeasure with many of President Donald Trump’s policies during the State of the Union address Tuesday.
Sens. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., could be seen shaking their heads when Trump mentioned controversial topics such as his commitment to building a border wall and the dangers of migrant caravans heading to the U.S. southern border.
Harris, who announced her candidacy on Jan. 21, shook her head and visibly mouthed, “They’re not,” as Trump said, “Large, organized caravans are on the march to the United States.”
In a Facebook Live address before the State of the Union, Harris told viewers, “It’s a moment for a president to rise above politics and unite the country with a vision that includes all Americans, not just the ones who may have voted for them. It’s a moment to bring us together.”
Early in the address, Harris was often reluctant to give Trump a standing ovation, asking her colleagues, “Really?” as they cheered the president’s comments about space exploration.
The candidates and their Democratic colleagues booed and hissed as Trump labeled the numerous investigations into his campaign finance and relationship with Russia “ridiculous partisan investigations.”
“If there is going to be peace and legislation, there cannot be war and investigation,” he said. “It just doesn’t work that way!”
Democrats cheered later as Trump mentioned that women have filled 58 percent of new jobs in the past year. New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who has formed a presidential exploratory committee, pointed at the newly elected House Democrats, who stood up and chanted, “USA, USA.”
“I think he didn’t realize that all the female jobs he created were for [congresswomen],” Gillibrand said after the speech.
The Democratic candidates stood and applauded with everyone in the chamber when Trump recognized World War II veterans, a SWAT team member and a childhood cancer survivor.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., sat stoically as Trump denounced socialism. Sanders, who calls himself a democratic socialist, is widely considered likely e to enter the presidential race. Unlike Sanders, Gillibrand and Harris stood and applauded as Trump said, “America will never be a socialist country.”
TRUMP STRIKES CHORD WITH WOMEN, FALLS FLAT ON BIPARTISAN BORDER WALL PITCH
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump got one of his biggest rounds of applause during his State of the Union address Tuesday night when he noted that Congress now has a record-high number of elected women, but it wasn’t lost on the crowd that when the women rose to cheer they were mostly on the Democratic side of the aisle.
“Americans can be proud that we have more women in the workforce than ever before,” Trump said as the women lawmakers rose to clap and celebrate. He then advised them “Don’t sit. You’re going to like this.”
“Exactly one century after the Congress passed the constitutional amendment giving women the right to vote, we also have more women serving in the Congress than at any time before,” he said. There were 117 women elected to Congress in 2018.
Bipartisan chants of “USA! USA!” filled the chamber as both the Democrats and Republicans broke into uproarious applause. Many of the Democratic women wore white and donned pins that read “ERA YES,” in a nod to the women of the suffragette movement.
Trump called his list of priorities “the agenda of the American people” in his second State of the Union address Tuesday, which was delayed a week because of the 35-day government shutdown, which didn’t end until the previous Friday. The address was the first the president has delivered before the new Democratic majority in the House.
The president remained on-script for the duration of the 84-minute speech and touted his administration’s achievements from the past two years. He also laid out several legislative priorities going forward, including a “smart, strategic, see-through steel barrier,” an infrastructure bill and the eradication of HIV and AIDS.
Rep. French Hill, R-Ark., was glad that health care was a topic in the speech, while Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., described the speech as “terrific.”
“We haven’t gotten that right when it comes to protection our citizens with pre-existing conditions, correcting all the problems and costs associated with the ACA,” French said. “I like that he kept an emphasis on that while also tackling the prescription drug process.”
For Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., laying out these broad initiatives wasn’t enough.
“I wrote down a number of initiatives — defense spending, cancer research, transportation, infrastructure — and never heard anything of how we’re going to pay for them,” he said.
The president also pushed his plan to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria and to reduce drastically the number of troops in Afghanistan.
Among Democrats, reactions were mixed as Trump highlighted his achievements. When Trump lauded the U.S. increase in gas and oil production, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., who has championed a Green New Deal to address accelerating climate change, remained seated.
Many Democrats applauded Trump’s push for a new infrastructure bill and decision to withdraw troops from Syria and Afghanistan.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who sat behind Trump with Vice President Mike Pence, was clearly following a printed version of the speech. She applauded when Trump mentioned criminal justice reform and bipartisan efforts on lowering drug costs and furthering women’s rights.
After praising a recent bipartisan effort to secure criminal justice reform, Trump shifted to a project he said would require the same bipartisan effort: a southern border wall.
“Simply put, walls work and walls save lives,” he said. “So let’s work together, compromise and reach a deal that will truly make America safe.”
However, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, was not encouraged by the president’s attempt to strike a bipartisan tone.
“I just don’t think he is to be trusted,” she said. “This is not a president who is working for the middle class of this country.”
Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., said that while parts of Trump’s speech were good, he was too combative at times.
“There should have been more emphasis on the fact that the government was shut down and we all need to work together to bring it back,” he said. “Blaming the Democrats is not going to keep the government open.”
Freshmen members of Congress excited, disappointed at their first State of the Union address
WASHINGTON — Before attending his first State of the Union address, Rep. Jefferson Van Drew, D-N.J., felt a sense of excitement and joy, but also feared the president might once again fan partisan flames by rehashing controversial issues.
“I hope that right now, he doesn’t talk about closing the government again. I hope he doesn’t talk right now about declaring a national emergency. I would so much rather see that we try to work together and get something done. That requires flexibility on Democrats side as well. Both sides have to do this,” said Van Drew.
Partisanship is the reason the approval rating for Congress is so low, but issues like border security, and infrastructure deserve cooperation between the two parties, said Van Drew.
“Rather than just argue and disagree and investigative and be hurtful on both sides, maybe we can actually get something get done.”
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Chris Pappas, D-N.H.
Although having been full-fledged members of Congress for a little over a month, the freshmen class of senators and representatives still retains a “sense of awe” about the State of the Union address, said Rep. Chris Pappas, D-N.H. Pappas said he hoped Trump would strike a conciliatory tone with Democrats, allowing lawmakers to avoid a second government shutdown.
Pappas brought a transgender military veteran from his home state to hear the president as a symbol of his hope that Trump’s transgender military service ban will be lifted.
“That doesn’t make us any safer and in fact plays politics with the military,” he said.
In addition to passing social justice reform, Pappas said he would like Trump to speak about the opioid crisis, prescription drug costs and infrastructure — and Trump did.
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Rep. Sean Casten, D-Ill.
In Illinois Rep. Sean Casten’s dreams, Trump’s State of the Union address would make climate change a priority, but said his expectations were low. Trump did not in fact mention the environment.
“Truth is what I hope he doesn’t say is what I fear he will say,” Casten said, “which is that he’s going to threaten to shut down the government again if he doesn’t get a wall.”
Casten’s guest was Julie Caribeaux, the executive director of Family Shelter Service, which receives federal aid and provides support for victims of domestic abuse. He said domestic violence victims are some of the “primary victims” of Trump’s rhetoric.
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Anthony Brindisi, D-N.Y.
Rep. Anthony Brindisi, D-NY, was hoping for a message of bipartisanship and unity, things that “the American people are calling for.” Trump did call on Congress to act together on many issues.
Brindisi’s top priorities this year are trying to find common ground with the Republicans on immigration reform, infrastructure and lowering prescription drug costs. On infrastructure, he said he specifically wanted to hear Trump’s ideas on investing in job training programs. Trump mentioned all the issues, but with little specificity except that he wants a border wall and enforcement to stop what he called “caravans of migrants” heading to the southern border.
“Those are things that I talked about during the campaign that many people back in upstate New York are calling for and those are things I hope he does say,” Brindisi said.
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Rep. Susie Lee, D-Nev.
Rep. Susie Lee, D-Nev., said she gets excited every time she walks onto the House floor, and Tuesday was no exception. Although there were parts of the speech she did not agree with, namely Trump’s insistence on a border wall, Lee said she appreciated the call for bipartisanship.
Lowering prescription drug prices, investing in infrastructure and a comprehensive border control strategy — these are all components of his speech Lee said she could agree with.
“These are all ideas I can get behind and they work together to produce some results for American families,” she said.
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Rep. Deb Halaand, D-N.M.
Rep. Deb Haaland, D-N.M., said she was dismayed about Trump’s urgency regarding funding for a border wall.
“I wasn’t surprised. Let’s put it that way about the president’s speech. I mean, of course, we don’t want a wall,” said Halland. “He instilled fear and everybody about the danger, you know, the danger that’s coming across the border.”
Haaland hopes to focus on promoting awareness about climate change and wished the President would be more receptive to the diverse issues and people around the country.
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Rep. Chuy Garcia, D-Ill., said he enjoyed his first State of the Union in a historical sense, but wanted President Trump to address issues he feels are important, including raising the minimum wage and healthcare.
Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, D-Ill.
He said while the president did mention lowering prescription drug costs, there was another area of healthcare that was not noted, such as the millions who do not have healthcare at all.
“He wrapped himself around a lot of patriotism and recognition of your courageous battles and victories and but in the end, I think he failed to address important things more,” Garcia said.
Post-SOTU Interviews with Illinois Democratic Reps. Jan Schakowski and Cheri Bustos
Our Alex Lederman sat down with Illinois Democratic Reps. Jan Schakowski and Cheri Bustos after the State of the Union to hear their thoughts on President Obama’s address.
Schakowski — Evanston’s congresswoman since 1999 — said “(Obama)’s vision of what makes our country strong was so human and so true.”
Bustos said Obama is focused on the future — our children and grandchildren — and working together to solve the nation’s problems.
Medill’s State of the Union night on social media
Medill on the Hill produces live State of the Union broadcast
WASHINGTON — It was the third day of reporting for the 21 students in Medill on the Hill. It also happened to be the day the president would deliver his final State of the Union address.
Months ago, buoyed by the excitement of the possibilities and the folly of youth, some of us came up with the idea of taking Medill on the Hill to a new level — producing live TV while also finding new ways of storytelling for the website and social media.
On State of the Union night, Jan. 12, the Washington web team led by Alex Duner and Celena Chong managed the flow of copy and constant web updates streaming in from reporters around Capitol Hill and elsewhere in D.C. There also was a constant stream of @medillonthehill tweets and snapchats as well as several Periscopes.
Tyler Kendall, Allyson Chiu and Shane McKeon were responsible for the main story, and Chiu said the experience was, “the highlight” of her journalism career.
“It was hectic, crazy and we were definitely all running on adrenaline by the end of the night,” she said.
Other reporters were assigned to stories on specific issues the president mentioned, or how local college students reacted to the speech. One even tweeted the speech in Spanish.
My task was to produce the Washington end of a live television broadcast.
Nine months ago Jesse Kirsch came back from 2015 Medill on the Hill with an idea for Carlin McCarthy, another producer with the Northwestern News Network, and me.
He said, with the optimism of a television anchor, that for the 2016 State of the Union we should produce a live broadcast with analysts at our home studio in Evanston and reporters in our D.C. bureau and on Capitol Hill. I said, with the skepticism of a television producer, that I thought he was crazy.
It took long nights, patience and a lot of support from the Medill faculty and staff, but we pulled it off.
Jesse opened the show in Evanston and before we knew it Isabella Gutierrez was doing a live hit from the Washington bureau. Then we were live in Statuary Hall with Noah Fromson, followed by a live report from graduate student Ryan Holmes on what to watch for just minutes before we streamed the live feed of President Barack Obama addressing a joint session of Congress for his final State of the Union.
We did a live interviews with Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin, wrote scripts while we counted down the seconds until they were read and gathered quotes from senators and members of Congress. Alex Lederman also provided quick-turn video interviews with two congresswomen.
Associate Producer Geordan Tilley, who interviewed Durbin, was nervous before the show, but she said she is proud of the Medill effort.
“I thought the show was some of our best work, Tilley said. “Especially considering how many firsts were involved, not the least of which was our first time going live.”
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Medill Today | March 4, 2025
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