Federal judge overturns Trump’s efforts to take over and cripple US Institute of Peace
CNN
A federal judge ruled Monday that the Trump administration unlawfully removed the board of the US Institute of Peace earlier this year and that subsequent actions taken by officials installed by the Department of Government Efficiency to cripple the agency are therefore “null and void.”
A federal judge ruled Monday that the Trump administration unlawfully removed the board of the US Institute of Peace earlier this year and that subsequent actions taken by officials installed by the Department of Government Efficiency to cripple the agency are therefore “null and void.” The lengthy ruling from US District Judge Beryl Howell is the latest defeat for the Trump administration in its attempts to exert authority over independent agencies. USIP is not a federal agency within the executive branch. It was created by Congress as a nonpartisan, independent body in 1984 and owns and manages its headquarters. “The President second-guessed the judgment of Congress and President Reagan in creating USIP 40 years ago,” Howell, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, wrote in the 102-page ruling. In March, the Trump administration fired most of USIP’s board and acting President George Moose, and the three remaining board members — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Defense University President Peter Garvin — said they were installing Kenneth Jackson as acting USIP president. Days later, DOGE personnel, accompanied by Washington, DC, police, gained access to the headquarters after having been turned away during an earlier attempt. Some USIP officials remained in the building after DOGE’s arrival, including Moose, a retired career diplomat. He was later forced to exit the building by DC police.
A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration’s attempt to reallocate federal Homeland Security funding away from states that refuse to cooperate with certain federal immigration enforcement.
When the Justice Department released a first batch of Jeffrey Epstein files on Friday that included photographs of former President Bill Clinton, White House officials raced to amplify the importance of the new documents.
One year ago this week, Joe Biden was president. I was in Doha, Qatar, negotiating with Israel and Hamas to finalize a ceasefire and hostage release deal. The incoming Trump team worked closely with us, a rare display of nonpartisanship to free hostages and end a war. It feels like a decade ago. A lot can happen in a year, as 2025 has shown.
Two people are dead and others are missing after a fire and explosion tore into a nursing home on the outskirts of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, spurring local responders, bystanders and staff to rush the elderly population to safety, Gov. Josh Shapiro said.
Botched Epstein redactions trace back to Virgin Islands’ 2020 civil racketeering case against estate
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Some Medicare enrollees may soon be able to access super-popular drugs for obesity under a voluntary model program, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced Tuesday. Eligible beneficiaries will only have to pay $50 a month.
The Justice Department’s leadership asked career prosecutors in Florida Tuesday to volunteer over the “next several days” to help to redact the Epstein files, in the latest internal Trump administrationpush toward releasing the hundreds of thousands of photos, internal memos and other evidence around the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The US State Department on Tuesday imposed visa sanctions on a former top European Union official and employees of organizations that combat disinformation for alleged censorship – sharply ratcheting up the Trump administration’s fight against European regulations that have impacted digital platforms, far-right politicians and Trump allies, including Elon Musk.
A Delaware state trooper was killed along with the suspected gunman Tuesday during a shooting at a motor vehicle agency near Wilmington, authorities said.
Wyoming’s lone U.S. representative is running for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Cynthia Lummis, who isn’t seeking re-election.
A new lawsuit filed in Washington, DC’s federal court Monday challenges the Kennedy Center board of trustees’ move to add President Donald Trump’s name to the cultural institution.
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Some staff at the Department of Veterans Affairs are finding little to be merry about after the agency said it would eliminate tens of thousands of open, unfilled positions across the country as it looks to streamline its staffing.