Poli Alert Politics & Civics

President Donald Trump said Tuesday he has “no intention” of firing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, despite a barrage of recent social media attacks that stoked speculation about the central bank leader’s job security and triggered volatility in financial markets. “This is a perfect time to lower interest rates,” Trump …

Elon Musk said Tuesday he will significantly reduce his time working with the Trump administration starting in May and redirect his focus back to Tesla, following intense investor pressure and a dismal first-quarter earnings report. Musk’s remarks came during Tesla’s earnings call, where the company reported a 71% plunge in …

A federal judge in Denver on Tuesday granted a motion for a temporary restraining order blocking the removal of detainees held in Colorado under the 1798 law that President Donald Trump’s administration has invoked to send hundreds of people to a brutal maximum-security prison in El Salvador. U.S. District Court …

Harvard University filed a federal lawsuit Monday against the Trump administration after the government froze $2.2 billion in federal research grants, escalating a tense standoff over academic freedom, First Amendment protections, and what Harvard calls “unprecedented and improper” federal overreach. “The consequences of the government’s overreach will be severe and …

President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump hosted the annual White House Easter Egg Roll on Monday, just hours after the world learned of Pope Francis’ death at the age of 88. The president paid tribute to the late pontiff, calling him “a good man” and ordering flags flown …

The U.S. Department of Education said Monday that it will resume collections May 5 for defaulted federal student loans. After pausing during the early weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic, the agency has not collected on defaulted loans in over five years. More than 5 million borrowers sit in default on their federal …

Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) declared Sunday that the United States is in the midst of a constitutional crisis, accusing President Donald Trump and his administration of willfully defying court orders in the controversial deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man mistakenly deported to El Salvador. “Yes, we are …

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is facing intense scrutiny following revelations that he shared sensitive details of U.S. military operations in Yemen via his personal phone in a 13-person Signal group chat — a chat that included his wife, brother, and close advisers but no other Cabinet-level officials. Two sources confirmed …

When Desoto Regional Health System took out $36 million in loans last year to renovate a rural hospital that opened in 1952, officials were banking on its main funding source remaining stable: Medicaid, the joint federal-state health program for low-income people and the disabled. But those dollars are now in …

President Donald Trump’s foreign policy agenda encountered two significant setbacks this week, as the U.S. Supreme Court temporarily halted the mass deportation of Venezuelan migrants and diplomatic efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war showed signs of unraveling. On Friday, the Supreme Court issued a late-night emergency order pausing the administration’s …

Kentucky Supreme Court Justice Pamela Goodwine — the first Black woman elected to the high court — was officially sworn into office Friday to cheering and clapping in the packed Frankfort chambers and the two overflow rooms. Goodwine reflected on her life of overcoming obstacles when speaking Friday, and promised …

In a late-night order released at 1 a.m. Saturday, the Supreme Court blocked the Trump administration from carrying out a second wave of deportations targeting Venezuelan immigrants under the Alien Enemies Act, a wartime statute last widely used during World War II. The court’s emergency action came amid frenzied legal …

A sweeping effort by the Trump administration to fire more than 1,500 employees at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has been paused by U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson, who expressed “deep concern” over the legality of the move and the administration’s apparent defiance of earlier court rulings. The …

International travelers are turning away from the United States in increasing numbers as President Donald Trump’s trade policies and rhetoric spark boycotts and economic backlash. The effects are being felt most sharply from traditional U.S. allies like Canada, the United Kingdom, and Germany, where travel numbers have seen steep declines. …

In a high-profile diplomatic moment, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) confirmed Thursday night that he met with Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident who was wrongfully deported to El Salvador by the Trump administration in March despite a 2019 court order barring his removal. Van Hollen said the meeting, which …