Tracking Trump: Education Dept. demise as key agenda items get blocked in court
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President Trump followed through on his promise to gut the Education Department while judges issued rulings to block key parts of his agenda, including overhauling the federal government and carrying out deportations.
Here's our recap of major developments.
Trump moves to dismantle Education Department
Making good on a campaign promise, Trump on Thursday signed an executive order to dismantle the Education Department, vowing to return "education authority to the States."
- Such a closure requires congressional action, though it comes after Trump already halved the department's workforce. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) said he'd propose a bill to support the closure "as soon as possible."
On Friday, Trump said he'd move the management of special needs and nutrition programs to the Department of Health and Human Services. The Small Business Administration will take over student loans.
Zoom out: The Education Department — created by President Carter in 1979 — distributes financial aid and grants for schools across the country. The department is designed to ensure equitable access to quality education nationwide and enforces protections for students with disabilities,
- Its dismantling could be more costly for Trump-voting states than blue states, Axios' April Rubin has reported.
Go deeper: What to know about Education Secretary Linda McMahon
Musk visits Pentagon after bombshell reports
Elon Musk met with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Friday after President Trump and other officials denied a New York Times report that the Tesla CEO was originally scheduled to receive a top-secret briefing on the military's plan if there were a war with China.
Why it matters: Some lawmakers and ethics experts have raised conflict-of-interest concerns about Musk's role as senior adviser to the president while his companies hold substantial government contracts — in particular SpaceX, which has deals with the Pentagon and NASA.
- Musk was seen leaving the Pentagon Friday, and multiple outlets reported he had only sat for an unclassified meeting. Trump told reporters Friday that Musk wouldn't receive China briefings and was there for his role with DOGE.
- Read on.
Trump escalates attacks on judge who blocked Venezuelans' deportation
In a rare reprimand, Supreme Court Justice John Roberts rebuked Trump's push to impeach a federal judge who ruled against his deportation of hundreds of Venezuelans.
- "For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision," Roberts said on Tuesday.
The Trump administration says it ignored a Saturday court order to turn around two planeloads of alleged Venezuelan gang members because the flights were over international water and therefore the ruling didn't apply, two senior officials told Axios' Marc Caputo.
- Though he didn't name the judge, Trump's calls to impeach were about District Judge James Boasberg, who was appointed to the federal bench in 2011 by then-President Obama.
- In response, GOP lawmakers rushed to draft long-shot impeachment articles on Tuesday aimed at Boasberg.
Zoom out: Throughout the week, reports emerged of foreign nationals, including a French scientist, a Georgetown University researcher and a Welsh artist, being detained or arrested by ICE officials. We're tracking high-profile cases here.
- The U.K. and Germany beefed up their travel advisories for people visiting the U.S. after residents from both countries were targeted in aggressive immigration enforcement.
Trump agenda sees string of losses in court
The obstacles mounted for the Trump administration this week, with several judges ruling that some moves were definitely or probably illegal. For instance, DOGE likely violated the Constitution "in multiple ways" with its dismantling of USAID. Go deeper.
Judges blocked:
- The ban on transgender people serving in the military. Go deeper.
- Trump cuts of $14 billion in grants to climate groups.
- Elon Musk and DOGE employees from accessing Americans' personal information in Social Security Administration systems. Go deeper.
On the federal workforce front, the White House is appealing orders from two federal judges forcing agencies to rehire thousands of probationary workers the Trump administration fired in its plan to reduce spending.
- While workers may get their jobs back, the drama isn't over, Axios' Emily Peck reports.
Trump admin explains lifting segregated facilities ban
The Trump administration defended its decision to lift an explicit ban on segregated facilities for federal contractors on Wednesday after an earlier public memo, Axios' Russell Contreras reported.
- A General Services Administration spokesperson said Wednesday the "Civil Rights Act of 1964 must still be followed" but having "duplicative regulations" in the Federal Acquisition Regulation "places unnecessary burden on American companies."
The memo, which the GSA published last month and NPR picked up this week, removes language prohibiting segregated restaurants, waiting rooms and drinking fountains.
Go deeper: Defense Department strikes Jackie Robinson webpage in anti-DEI purge
Negotiations over ceasefires continue or stall
Trump signed an executive order on Thursday to increase production of rare earths and other minerals in the U.S., while maintaining that an agreement to secure access to minerals in Ukraine will happen "very shortly."
- Trump has been using minerals in Ukraine as leverage for U.S. aid in its war against Russia.
Zoom out: Trump has also been in talks with Russian President Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to work out a partial 30-day ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia.
- The U.S. and Israel are set to hold high-level Iran consultations next week after Trump gave Tehran a two-month window to negotiate a new nuclear deal.
Go deeper: U.S. and Israel to hold high-level Iran consultations next week
Trump presides at Kennedy Center board meeting
Trump led a Kennedy Center board meeting on Monday after replacing its board and being elected chairman last month.
- "I've been so busy, I haven't been able to be here for a long time," he said at the meeting the Washington Post covered.
- He told reporters before the meeting the center is "in tremendous disrepair, as is a lot of the rest of our country. Most of it, because of bad management."
More JFK docs released — with complications
The Trump administration publicly released thousands of pages of files Tuesday on the assassination of former President John F. Kennedy, Axios' Ivana Saric writes.
- The approximate 80,000 pages of previously classified documents were published without redactions, Tulsi Gabbard, director of national intelligence, said in a statement.
Go deeper: Trump releases JFK assassination files
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