President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday aimed at eliminating the U.S. Education Department.
On immigration, a federal judge ordered the administration to provide more information about flights that took deportees to El Salvado r or make a formal “state secrets“ claim. The Justice Department has resisted, accusing the judge of encroaching on the executive branch’s authority relating to national security and foreign policy. Trump’s border czar has tallied 40,000 immigration-related arrests since Trump got into office.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration has negotiated the release of an American hostage held for more than two years by the Taliban.
Here's the Latest:
Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. the oldest of the historically Black sororities and fraternities known as the “Divine Nine,” condemned President Trump’s executive order to dismantle the education department and asked state attorneys general to fight the effort.
The fraternity says in a statement the move is “part of a larger agenda to eliminate educational opportunities for marginalized and underserved students, particularly those who are poor, racially marginalized, and living with disabilities, as well as to dramatically decrease those able to afford and pursue a college education and prevent the enforcement of civil rights and educational equity.”
It called on all its chapter presidents to contact their congressional representatives and senators and said their responses would be listed in an initiative called “Voteless People is a Hopeless People.”
The Trump administration’s effort to abolish the Education Department through an executive order was quickly met by promises of legal challenges.
Skye Perryman, president of the advocacy group Democracy Forward, promised to sue.
“We will use every legal tool to ensure that the rights of students, teachers, and families are fully protected,” Perryman said.
Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, made a similar pledge even before the order was signed.
“See you in court,” Weingarten said in a statement Wednesday evening.
To fully abolish the Education Department, Trump would need Congress to act and formally vote to eliminate the cabinet-level agency. Past legislation introduced in both the House and Senate to terminate the department failed to gain much traction.
A federal judge has ordered immigration officials not to deport a detained Georgetown scholar until the court has a chance to rule.
U.S. District Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles in Alexandria, Virginia, ordered that Badar Khan Suri “shall not be removed from the United States unless and until the Court issues a contrary order.”
Suri, a postdoctoral scholar at Georgetown University and citizen of India, was arrested Monday night outside of his Virginia home by officers who identified themselves as Department of Homeland Security agents, according to a legal filing by Suri’s lawyer.
▶ Read more about the Georgetown scholar’s detainment
About 6 in 10 registered voters oppose Trump’s plan to eliminate the Department of Education, according to a Quinnipiac poll from March.
Nearly all Democratic voters and about two-thirds of independents were against the move, but only about 2 in 10 Republican voters felt the same way.
An Ipsos from February found about 6 in 10 U.S. adults overall opposed proposals to dismantle the department.
Americans have mixed views of the Department of Education, according to Pew Research Center polling. They were about evenly split between favorable and unfavorable views in a 2024 poll, with about two-thirds of Republicans having a negative view.
Sen. Bill Cassidy, who chairs the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, says he will introduce legislation to obtain congressional approval.
“I agree with President Trump that the Department of Education has failed its mission,” says the GOP senator from Louisiana.
“Since the Department can only be shut down with congressional approval, I will support the President’s goals by submitting legislation to accomplish this as soon as possible.”
Cassidy served as an academic physician in the Louisiana State University public hospital system that has always been heavily dependent on federal money.
Trump’s order largely dismantling the Department of Education will see the agency shrink dramatically but won’t affect its management of federal student loans and Pell grants.
The president signed the order surrounded by students, teachers and governors in the White House’s East Room.
He promised to return education management to individual states, saying that would cost the government less and produce better outcomes.
Trump didn’t give details on the department still overseeing loans and grants.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said before the event that those duties, and other critical responsibilities like enforcement of civil rights, will remain with the department.
Trump has signed an executive order calling for the dismantling of the U.S. Education Department, advancing a campaign promise to take apart an agency that’s been a longtime target of conservatives.
Trump has long derided the Education Department as wasteful and polluted by liberal ideology. However, completing its dismantling is most likely impossible without an act of Congress, which created the department in 1979.
The White House says the department would not close completely right now. It is to retain certain critical functions, like managing federal student loans and Pell grants.
▶ Read more about Trump’s plan to dismantle the Education Department
U.S. District Judge Jeb Boasberg demanded answers after weekend flights carrying Venezuelan immigrants landed in El Salvador after he temporarily blocked deportations under an 18th century wartime law.
Boasberg had directed the administration to return to the U.S. planes that were already in the air when he ordered the halt.
The administration has resisted the judge’s request to provide more details about the flights. It’s called his questions “grave encroachments on core aspects of absolute and unreviewable Executive Branch authority.”
▶ Read more about the deportee flights
Thursday’s trading followed signals that the economy remains solid for the moment and fresh reminders of the looming impact of Trump’s unsettling policy changes.
Wall Street has been swinging for weeks on a roller-coaster ride, as stock prices veer on uncertainty about what Trump’s trade war will do to the economy. Stocks got a boost Wednesday after the head of the Federal Reserve said interest rates should stay unchanged for now.
And more data Thursday bolstered that view: Slightly fewer U.S. workers filed for unemployment benefits last week than economists expected, and both sales of previously occupied homes and regional manufacturing growth came in stronger than expected.
But Accenture fell sharply amid concerns about cuts in federal spending, which accounted for 17% of the consulting firm’s North American revenue last fiscal year.
▶ Read more about Thursday’s market action
Thursday’s decision from Judge Ellen Hollander in Maryland also requires Elon Musk ’s Department of Government Efficiency team to delete any personally identifiable Social Security data it may have.
Labor unions and retirees asked for the emergency order, saying DOGE’s “nearly unlimited” access violates privacy laws and presents massive information security risks.
The Trump administration says seven people on the 10-member DOGE team inside the Social Security Administration have been granted read-only access to agency systems or personally identifiable information.
▶ Read more about the challenge to DOGE’s access to Social Security data
Democratic U.S. Rep. Don Beyer represents the Virginia district where Badar Khan Suri was arrested by masked immigration agents, told his visa had been revoked and flown to a detention facility in Louisiana pending deportation.
Suri, who is married to a U.S. citizen, was accused of “spreading Hamas propaganda and promoting antisemitism on social media,” a Homeland Security official tweeted.
“The ’justification’ given for these violations of Mr. Suri’s right to due process is another violation of the Constitution: a blatant attack on the First Amendment,” Beyer said in a statement.
A filing by Suri’s lawyer says federal authorities provided no evidence he’s committed any crimes.
“The Trump Administration has openly expressed its intention to weaponize immigration law to punish noncitizens whose views are deemed critical of U.S. policy as it relates to Israel,” attorney Hassan Ahmad wrote.
▶ Read more on the Georgetown scholar’s case
Some of the accused Venezuelan gang members suddenly deported last weekend and sent to a notorious El Salvadoran prison after Trump invoked a sweeping wartime law were targeted because of everyday tattoos, defense lawyers say in legal filings.
Among those tattoos: A crown over a soccer ball; an eyeball that the lawyers say “looked cool”; flowers.
U.S. officials have said agents did not rely on “tattoos alone” to identify gang members. But lawyers say tattoos were repeatedly used to argue the men belonged to the gang Tren de Aragua.
While tattoos are central to membership in some Central American gangs, experts say they’re not required by the Tren.
Sensitive personal information including Social Security numbers was unveiled in the newly unredacted John F. Kennedy assassination documents released this week.
White House officials say the administration will offer credit monitoring to those whose information was disclosed and will screen the records to identify all the Social Security numbers that were released. Officials also say new Social Security numbers will be issued to those affected.
The White House did not respond to questions about why the personal information was unredacted.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt says “the National Archives and the Social Security Administration immediately put together an action plan to proactively help” those affected.
▶ Read more about personal information released in JFK files
William Lai Ching-te told the American Chamber of Commerce on Thursday that to face the rising threat from China, his self-governing island will buy more U.S. equipment and expand its military by offering higher pay and lengthening compulsory national service from four months to one year.
U.S. and Taiwanese critics have said Taiwan is not spending enough on its own defense. Taiwan currently spends about 2.45% of its GDP on its military, and relies on the U.S. for much of its cutting-edge weaponry.
Trump has demanded that Taiwan increase defense spending as high as 10% of GDP, a proportion well above what the U.S. spends, to deter China.
▶ Read more about the Taiwanese president’s speech.
Nowhere has the president’s spontaneity complicated his legal positions more than in challenges of Elon Musk’s efforts to downsize and overhaul the federal government.
The latest example came when a federal judge ruled that Musk likely violated the Constitution by dismantling USAID. Justice Department lawyers and White House officials insist that the billionaire is merely a presidential adviser, not DOGE’s actual leader.
But Trump has said otherwise — in speeches, interviews and public remarks — and Judge Theodore Chuang Chuang quoted him extensively in his decision.
▶ Read more on how Trump’s own words complicate his legal defenses
Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner is leaving his post at the nation’s passenger railroad.
The leadership change appeared to come down to Amtrak maintaining support from Trump. Gardner’s statement Wednesday said he’s stepping down “to ensure that Amtrak continues to enjoy the full faith and confidence of this administration.”
Billionaire Elon Musk floated the idea of privatizing Amtrak at a tech conference earlier this month. And, citing sources familiar with the matter, Reuters reported Wednesday that Gardner was asked to step down at Trump’s request.
The railroad declined to comment further when reached by the AP Thursday.
▶ Read more on the Amtrak CEO’s abrupt resignation
Stablecoins are an increasingly popular type of cryptocurrency because their value is tied to other assets such as traditional currencies or gold to reduce volatility.
Trump said in a virtual address to a blockchain forum on Thursday that “with the dollar-backed stablecoins, you’ll help expand the dominance of the U.S. dollar.”
“It’ll be at the top” for many, many years to come, the president added. “And that’s where we want to keep it.”
“The president made it very clear to Hamas that if they did not release all of the hostages there would be all hell to pay,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt said. “And unfortunately Hamas chose to play games in the media with lives.”
“This situation, let’s not forget, is completely the fault of Hamas. When they launched that brutal attack on Israel on October 7th. And the president has made it very clear that he wants all of those hostages to come home. And he fully supports Israel and the IDF and the actions that they’ve taken in recent days.”
Israel resumed heavy bombardment of Gaza on Tuesday, shattering the ceasefire. Overnight airstrikes struck several homes and killed at least 85 Palestinians, according to local health officials.
▶ Read more on the latest Israeli bombardment across Gaza
The man in charge of President Trump’s border policies says they’ve made about 40,000 immigration-related arrests since Trump got into office.
Tom Homan said the vast majority were “public safety threats and national security threats.”
Homan said Trump’s decision to invoke the Alien Enemies Act was the “right thing to do” even if his administration has been sued over it. He vowed that immigration arrests would continue.
The Treasury Department accused the China-based oil refinery Luqing Petrochemical and its CEO Wang Xueqing of buying from ships linked to the militant Houthi group and Iran’s military and refining hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of Iranian crude.
Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control imposed the sanctions on a total of 19 firms and ships that transport millions of barrels of Iranian oil.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S. is committed to denying revenue that enables “Tehran’s continued financing of terrorism and development of its nuclear program.”
The Trump administration has promised maximum pressure to drive Iran’s oil exports, including to China, to zero.
The secretary of state’s statement says Glezmann is returning to the U.S. to be reunited with his wife, Aleksandra.
“George’s release is a positive and constructive step,” Rubio said. “President Trump will continue his tireless work to free ALL Americans unjustly detained around the world.”
President Joe Biden had contemplated a proposal involving the release of Glezmann and other Americans for Muhammad Rahim, a detainee at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, but told families during a call in January that the Taliban would have to release Afghan-American businessman Mahmood Habibi.
U.S. officials believe the Taliban is holding Habibi, but the Taliban has denied it.
A fact sheet says Trump’s executive order also directs Secretary Linda McMahon to “ensure the effective and uninterrupted delivery of services, programs, and benefits on which Americans rely” while facilitating the closure.
The department manages $1.6 trillion in federal student loans and billions of dollars in programs for colleges and school districts, from school meals to support for homeless students to civil rights enforcement.
It adds up to roughly 14% of public school budgets, often for supplemental programs for vulnerable students, across school systems that advocates say remain fundamentally unequal.
“This isn’t fixing education. It’s making sure millions of children never get a fair shot. And we’re not about to let that happen without a fight,” the National Parents Union said in a statement.
George Glezmann was abducted more than two years ago while traveling through Afghanistan as a tourist.
His release was brokered by U.S. and Qatari negotiators, the State Department said Thursday.
The airline mechanic from Atlanta is the third American detainee to be released by the Taliban since January. He was seized by the Taliban’s intelligence services in December 2022.
He was being accompanied back to the U.S., through Qatar’s capital, Doha, by Adam Boehler, who has been handling hostage issues for President Donald Trump’s administration.
Most countries don’t recognize the Taliban’s rule. Glezmann’s release is part of what the Taliban has described as the “normalization” of ties following the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.
▶ Read more on the American hostage released by the Taliban
The equity goal of the Education Department, which was created by Congress in 1979, emerged partly from the anti-poverty and civil rights movements of the 1960s and 1970s.
But as the Trump administration moves to dismantle it, officials have suggested other agencies could take over its major responsibilities: civil rights enforcement to the Justice Department, perhaps; student loans to Treasury or Commerce; oversight of student disability rights to Health and Human Services.
Advocates are worried about what could happen with a more lofty part of the department’s mission — promoting equal access for students in an American education system that is fundamentally unequal. Without the department, they’re concerned that the federal government would not look out in the same way for poor students, those still learning English, disabled students and racial and ethnic minorities.
▶ Read more about the impact of this dismantling of the Education Department
Badar Khan Suri was determined to be deportable for “spreading Hamas propaganda and promoting antisemitism on social media,” Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said late Wednesday on X.
A Georgetown statement says the Indian national was “duly granted a visa to enter the United States to continue his doctoral research on peacebuilding in Iraq and Afghanistan” while studying at the university’s center for Muslim-Christian Understanding.
“We are not aware of him engaging in any illegal activity, and we have not received a reason for his detention,” the school said. “We support our community members’ rights to free and open inquiry, deliberation and debate, even if the underlying ideas may be difficult, controversial or objectionable. We expect the legal system to adjudicate this case fairly.”
▶ Read more on the Georgetown scholar’s detention
People gather to protest against Israel and President Donald Trump in front of a Trump-branded building Wednesday, March 19, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Deputy White House chief of staff Stephen Miller speaks to reporters at the White House in Washington, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
People rally at the University of California, Berkeley campus to protest the Trump administration Wednesday, March 19, 2025, in Berkeley, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks during the daily briefing at the White House in Washington, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
