Treasury Secretary Bessent says the American dream is not about ‘access to cheap goods’ … Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Thursday offered a full-throated defense of the White House's position on tariffs, insisting that trade policy has to be about more than just getting low-priced items from other countries.

Trump puts new limits on Elon Musk  —  The president convened his secretaries, with Musk, to clarify power.  —  President Donald Trump convened his Cabinet in person on Thursday to deliver a message: You're in charge of your departments, not Elon Musk.  —  According to two administration officials …

Exclusive: Trump plans to revoke legal status of Ukrainians who fled to US, sources say  —  U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is planning to revoke temporary legal status for some 240,000 Ukrainians who fled the conflict with Russia, a senior Trump official and three sources familiar …

DOGE is driving Social Security cuts and will make mistakes, acting head says privately  —  The Social Security Administration's acting commissioner said members of Elon Musk's cost-cutting team are outsiders who are unfamiliar with the nuances of the agency's programs.  —  Just now

Scoop: Dems privately confront Trump speech disruptors  —  House Democratic leadership is privately confronting members who disrupted President Trump's speech to Congress, Axios has learned.  —  Why it matters: Many progressives defied House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries' (D-N.Y.) request to avoid making themselves the story.

Gavin Newsom breaks with Democrats on trans athletes in sports  —  The Democratic California governor made the stunning remarks in his debut podcast with conservative guest Charlie Kirk.  —  California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a pioneer for LGBTQ+ rights who decades ago upset leaders in his own party …

DOGE targets child support database full of income data  —  Associates of Elon Musk's group provoked yet another clash with career civil servants over sensitive government records  —  Just now  —  Representatives of the U.S. DOGE Service have sought access to a powerful database of nearly …

Trump wants to dismantle the Education Department.  Here's what it does  —  President Donald Trump has said he wants his new education chief, Linda McMahon, to “put herself out of a job” and close the Education Department.  McMahon was confirmed by the Senate on Monday …

Trump's US destroying world order, says Ukraine's UK ambassador  —  LONDON — Ukraine's ambassador to the United Kingdom on Thursday accused the United States under Donald Trump of “destroying” the world order, as he attacked U.S. handling of the war in Ukraine.

US employers cut more jobs last month than any February since 2009  —  The Trump administration's massive federal cuts and swelling feelings of economic uncertainty helped fuel a recession-level spike in layoffs last month, new data showed Thursday.  —  US-based employers last month announced plans …

‘People Are Going Silent’: Fearing Retribution, Trump Critics Muzzle Themselves … More than six weeks into the second Trump administration, there is a chill spreading over political debate in Washington and beyond.By Kenny Holston/The New York Times  —  The silence grows louder every day.

As Trump pivots to Russia, allies weigh sharing less intel with U.S.  —  Members of the so-called Five Eyes spy alliance, as well as Israeli and Saudi officials, fear the identities of foreign assets could inadvertently be shared with Moscow.  —  Some U.S. allies are considering scaling …

Trump considering major NATO policy shift  —  The president has discussed possibly favoring members of the alliance that spend a set percentage of their GDP on defense, sources told NBC News.  —  WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is considering a major change to the U.S.' participation …

Inside the Trump White House's relentless strategy to dominate the news  —  The Trump administration has transformed its traditional press shop into a rapid-response influencer operation, and “they're all offense, all the time.”  —  When actress Selena Gomez posted an Instagram video …

Trump may have already planted the seeds of his political collapse  —  Over the last six weeks, President Trump has been spending political capital like a drunk at a casino who insists he's got “a system.”  If history is any predictor, his second term trajectory may already be set — right off a cliff, pedal to the floor.

FEMA's top lawyer placed on leave after less than one week in role  —  The Handbasket is 100% subscriber-funded.  If you want to support independent media during these dark times for democracy, become a paid subscriber today.  —  Video  —  Joshua Stanton had served as Acting Chief Counsel …

Pentagon Cuts Threaten Programs That Secure Loose Nukes and Weapons of Mass Destruction  —  Documents obtained by WIRED show the US Department of Defense is considering cutting up to 75 percent of workers who stop the spread of chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons.

Why Elon Musk and Ben Shapiro want Trump to pardon George Floyd's murderer  —  The video depicting Floyd's murder hasn't changed in five years.  But the Republican Party has.  —  Shortly after the video of George Floyd's death went viral in May 2020, a popular conservative pundit released …

D.C. U.S. attorney tells Georgetown he won't hire from any school with ‘DEI’  —  Trump appointee Ed Martin made the claim in a letter to the Georgetown University law school dean.  Martin has called the school a “locus” of anti-Trump activity.  —  Interim D.C. U.S. Attorney Ed Martin demanded …

He's About to Co-Lead the FBI—But First, a Word From His MAGA Show Sponsors  —  Dan Bongino is hawking prepper products and paranoia en route to the FBI.  —  On Tuesday, Dan Bongino, the newly named deputy director of the FBI continued to hold forth on his eponymous daily podcast …