A 30-year-old community service program that sends young adults to work on projects across the U.S. was the latest target of the campaign by President Donald Trump’s administration to slash government spending
The Latest: DOGE targets AmeriCorps in latest cost-cutting effortBy The Associated PressThe Associated Press
A 30-year-old community service program that sends young adults to work on projects across the U.S. was the latest target of the campaign by President Donald Trump’s administration to slash government spending.
AmeriCorps’ National Civilian Community Corps informed volunteers Tuesday that they would exit the program early “due to programmatic circumstances beyond your control,” according to an email obtained by The Associated Press.
Here’s the latest:
Trump’s schedule for Thursday
At 12 p.m. ET, the president will greet Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, according to the White House schedule for Thursday. The pair are scheduled to participate in a bilateral lunch followed by a meeting in the oval office, where they may speak to the White House Press Pool.
Meloni is the first European leader to have a face-to-face with Trump since he announced, and then suspended, 20% tariffs on European exports. Meloni secured the meeting at a critical juncture in the trade war as Italy’s leader, but she also has, in a sense, been “knighted” to represent the European Union. She’s been in close contact with EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen ahead of the trip, and “the outreach is … closely coordinated,” a commission spokesperson said this week.
At 4:00 p.m. ET, Trump is scheduled to sign Executive Orders.
Federal judge will hear arguments as groups try to block Trump’s executive order on elections
The judge will hear arguments Thursday in three cases from national Democrats and voting rights groups that are challenging President Trump’s recent executive order on elections, which, among other changes, would require proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections.
The Democratic National Committee, the League of United Latin American Citizens, the League of Women Voters Education Fund and others are seeking to block Trump’s sweeping overhaul of federal election processes, alleging the changes he wants are unconstitutional.
The Republican president’s executive order says the U.S. has failed “to enforce basic and necessary election protections” and calls on states to work with federal agencies to share voter lists and prosecute election crimes. It threatens to pull federal funding from states where election officials don’t comply.
▶ Read more about Trump’s executive order on elections
Trump says Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell ‘termination cannot come fast enough’
Trump hinted at moving to fire Powell, whose term doesn’t expire until next year, as he reiterated his frustration that the Fed hasn’t aggressively cut interest rates.
The president’s broadside comes a day after Powell said in a speech that Trump’s broad-based tariffs have left the Federal Reserve seeking “greater clarity” on the impact of policy changes in areas such as immigration, taxation, regulation, and tariffs before making potential cuts.
“Oil prices are down, groceries (even eggs!) are down, and the USA is getting RICH ON TARIFFS,” Trump said in a social media post. He added that Powell “should have lowered Interest Rates, like the ECB, long ago, but he should certainly lower them now. Powell’s termination cannot come fast enough!”
Powell was initially nominated by Trump in 2017, and appointed to another four-year term by President Joe Biden in 2022. At a November new conference, Powell indicated he would not step down if Trump asked him to resign. He has also said the removal or demotion of top Fed officials was “not permitted under the law.”
Trump administration issues order to stop construction on New York offshore wind project
The Trump administration issued an order Wednesday to stop construction on a major offshore wind project to power more than 500,000 New York homes, the latest in a series of moves targeting the industry.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum directed the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to halt construction on Empire Wind, a fully-permitted project. He said it needs further review because it appears the Biden administration rushed the approval.
Trump has been hostile to renewable energy, particularly offshore wind. His first day in office, Trump signed an executive order temporarily halting offshore wind lease sales in federal waters and pausing the issuance of approvals, permits and loans for all wind projects. Last month, the administration revoked the Clean Air Permit for an offshore wind project off the coast of New Jersey, Atlantic Shores. Construction on that wind farm had not yet begun.
▶ Read more about Trump’s pause on the project
Trump joins tariff talks with Japan as US seeks deals amid trade wars
Trump on Wednesday inserted himself directly into trade talks with Japanese officials, a sign of the high stakes for the United States after its tariffs rattled the economy and caused the administration to assure the public that it would quickly reach deals.
The Republican president attended the meeting alongside Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, top economic advisers with a central role in his trade and tariff policies.
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba told reporters Thursday in Tokyo that his chief trade negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, told him from Washington that the talks were “very candid and constructive.”
Ishiba said he will closely watch how ministerial talks go and plans to visit Washington to meet with Trump at an appropriate time.
Trump’s choice to get directly involved in negotiations points to his desire to quickly finalize a slew of trade deals as China is pursuing its own set of agreements.
▶ Read more about trade talks with Japan
Judge says labor unions’ lawsuit over DOGE access to Labor Department systems can move forward
A federal judge says he won’t dismiss a lawsuit from labor unions seeking to block Elon Musk’s team from accessing systems at the Labor Department.
The labor unions say that allowing Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency to access the systems violates the federal Privacy Act because they contain medical and financial records of millions of Americans. They also contend DOGE doesn’t have the legal authority to direct the actions of congressionally created agencies like the Department of Labor.
In a ruling Wednesday, U.S. District Judge John Bates said those claims could move forward in court. But some other, more specific arguments made by the unions — including that the U.S. Health and Human Services Department violated health care privacy laws by allowing DOGE access — were dismissed by the judge.
The federal Privacy Act generally prohibits an agency from disclosing records about a person to another agency, unless the person has first given written permission.
▶ Read more about the ruling
DOGE targets a community service program in its latest cost-cutting effort
A 30-year-old community service program that sends young adults to work on projects across the U.S. was the latest target of the Trump administration ’s campaign to slash government spending.
AmeriCorps’ National Civilian Community Corps informed volunteers Tuesday that they would exit the program early “due to programmatic circumstances beyond your control,” according to an email obtained by The Associated Press.
The unsigned memo to corps members said NCCC’s “ability to sustain program operations” was impacted by the Trump administration’s priorities and Trump’s executive order creating the Department of Government Efficiency. Members would be officially dismissed April 30.
More than 2,000 people ages 18 to 26 serve for nearly a year, according to the program’s website, and get assigned to projects with nonprofits and community organizations or the Federal Emergency Management Agency. It celebrated its 30th year last year.
The organization said on social media last month that teams have served 8 million service hours on nearly 3,400 disaster projects since 1999.
▶ Read more about DOGE cuts to AmeriCorps
