Trump tries to intestine authorities as federal funding freeze blocked – stay updates

Potential appointees to Donald Trump’s new administration are reportedly being requested to show their previous loyalty to the president, together with by sharing the second of their conversion to the Make America Nice Once more motion.

Trump officers, reportedly mocked by some in authorities as Soviet-style “MAGA commissars” are reportedly fanning out throughout federal businesses and asking employees about their political positions and whether or not they beforehand backed Trump or supported his campaigns.

Candidates have additionally been requested to show their “enthusiasm” for the Trump agenda and share the second of their “MAGA revelation,” the Related Press reported.

Not even barely cultish… 😒

Right here’s Josh Marcus’s report:

Donald Trump has tasked SpaceX proprietor Elon Musk to “go get” two astronauts stranded on the Worldwide Area Station for greater than half a 12 months.

Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore have been caught in house for the previous seven months after issues with the Boeing Starliner involved NASA, leaving them caught on the ISS. The journey of the 2 astronauts was initially meant to be round eight to 10 days.

The SpaceX Crew-9 Dragon was initially deliberate to retrieve the astronauts in February, however it was moved to not less than late March.

Late on Tuesday, Donald Trump publicly requested Musk to return Williams and Wilmore to Earth.

“I’ve simply requested Elon Musk and @SpaceX to ‘go get’ the two courageous astronauts who’ve been nearly deserted in house by the Biden Administration,” he wrote on Fact Social. “They’ve been ready for a lot of months on @Area Station. Elon will quickly be on his manner. Hopefully, all can be secure. Good luck Elon!!!”

Hours earlier than Trump’s message, Musk preemptively accepted the problem, tweeting: “The @POTUS has requested @SpaceX to deliver house the two astronauts stranded on the @Space_Station as quickly as attainable. We’ll accomplish that. Horrible that the Biden administration left them there so lengthy.”

A federal decide has briefly blocked Donald Trump’s administration from freezing federal grant funding throughout authorities businesses, dealing a setback to the White Home’s plan to pause federal packages that don’t align with the brand new president’s political ideology.

US District Choose Loren AliKhan issued the two-day short-term restraining order after a short listening to in Washington on Tuesday.

The order, which is supposed to protect the established order whereas authorized proceedings proceed, follows a lawsuit from a coalition of nonprofit organizations and small companies that warned in court docket paperwork that the order “could have a devastating impression on a whole lot of hundreds of grant recipients” who rely upon the regular circulate of grant cash that they’ve already been awarded and “deprive individuals and communities of their life-saving companies,” together with well being care companies, LGBT+ neighborhood assist and companies to assist small companies.

The White Home didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark from The Unbiased.

Andrew Feinberg and Alex Woodward report.

Justin Baragona has the main points.

“I’ve recognized Bobby my complete life; we grew up collectively,” Kennedy, a former U.S. ambassador to Australia and Japan, stated in a letter and accompanying video assertion. “It’s no shock that he retains birds of prey as pets as a result of he himself is a predator.”

Josh Marcus has the total story.

Eric Garcia stories on how Democrats, having provided little pushback to Trump since he received, at the moment are getting ready for battle.

Lord Peter Mandelson would be the subsequent British ambassador to the US after Donald Trump agreed to just accept his credentials, ending a weeks-long standoff with the brand new US administration over the Labour grandee’s appointment to interchange Dame Karen Piece because the UK’s high diplomat in Washington.

David Maddox and Andrew Feinberg report.