Senate moves ahead on shutdown votes  —  Democrats agreed to speed up consideration of the bill to allow a vote on Friday in exchange for votes on four amendments.  —  Senate leaders struck a deal on Friday to pave the way for passage of the House GOP's seven-month stopgap spending bill and avoid a government shutdown.

Trump Demands Major Changes in Columbia Discipline and Admissions Rules  —  A letter outlining “immediate next steps” arrived less than a week after the administration said it was canceling $400 million in grants and contracts.  —  The Trump administration on Thursday demanded …

Trump calls his opponents ‘scum’ and lawbreakers in bellicose speech at Justice Department  —  For more than an hour, he delivered an insult-laden speech that shattered the traditional notion of DOJ independence.  —  President Donald Trump on Friday walked into the Department of Justice …

The right dominates the online media ecosystem, seeping into sports, comedy, and other supposedly nonpolitical spaces  —  A new Media Matters analysis found 9 out of the 10 top online shows assessed are right-leaning … The 2024 presidential election has been dubbed the “podcast election” …

USPS signs agreement with DOGE, agrees to cut 10,000 workers: ‘Broken business model’  —  The service plans to cut 10,000 employees in the next 30 days through a voluntary early-retirement program  —  U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy informed members of Congress on Thursday he has signed …

After JD Vance is booed, Kennedy Center head urges ‘diversity and inclusion’  —  In a staff email, interim president Richard Grenell, a Trump ally, condemned a chorus of boos directed at the vice president and his wife at a concert Thursday night.  —  When Vice President JD Vance took …

Fear and Loathing in the West Wing  —  Inside the revolt against Elon Musk...  Welcome back to The Red Letter.  —  The tolerance for Elon Musk inside of the White House is wearing thin, as they deal with the fallout of his calamitous interview with Larry Kudlow when he touched the third rail - entitlements.

A Close Elon Musk Friend Joins His Effort on Social Security  —  The involvement of Antonio Gracias, an investor who has known Elon Musk for two decades, suggests that Mr. Musk has made overhauling the Social Security Administration a priority.  —  A private equity investor …

Kevin Drum, Influential Early Political Blogger, Dies at 66  —  Writing on his own and for Washington Monthly and Mother Jones, he earned a reputation as a serious policy thinker.  He also invented Friday cat blogging.  —  Kevin Drum, who gave up his day job in software marketing to write online …

Canada is so furious at the US right now  —  The US and Canada are meant to be the best of friends, but they're in the midst of a pretty ugly fight.  —  It began with President Donald Trump's ascent to the White House, when he began referring to his outgoing Canadian counterpart as …

Office for Civil Rights Initiates Title VI Investigations into Institutions of Higher Education  —  WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) opened investigations into 45 universities under Title VI following OCR's February 14 Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) …

Trump Admin Nixed Contract Helping Kidnapped Ukrainian Children  —  Even as President Donald Trump and government-demolition czar Elon Musk appear to actively favor Russia's interests amid discussions of how to end the Russia-Ukraine war, Secretary of State Marco Rubio has struck a studiously neutral posture.

Senators Grill Oz on Medicaid Cuts and Medicare Changes  —  Dr. Mehmet Oz, the TV celebrity, dodged queries about Republican plans to cut health insurance for the poor, and emerged unscathed on his ties to major industries.  —  In a hearing on Friday, senators pressed Dr. Mehmet Oz …

Focus group: Trump swing voters in Michigan have buyers' remorse  —  Most Michigan swing voters in our latest Engagious/Sago focus groups said that although they voted for President Trump in November, they have objections, frustrations and fears about his behavior since he returned to power.

Fiasco for Musk as He Craters in New Polls and DOGE Cuts Lose in Court  —  Elon Musk is suddenly facing lots of bad news.  A judge just ordered the Trump administration to reinstate thousands of fired federal workers, a blow to Musk's so-called Department of Government Efficiency.

Mace sued for defamation by man she accused of abuse in floor speech  —  The legal action seeks to carve out an exception from the speech or debate clause of the Constitution.  —  Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) is facing a defamation lawsuit filed by one of the four men she has publicly accused …

Trump moves to close facility that helps track planet-warming pollution  —  The lab is connected to the Mauna Loa Observatory, where scientists gather data to produce the Keeling Curve, a chart on the daily status of atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations.

Washington, DC, Region Braces for ‘Devastating’ Cuts from Congress  —  Local leaders across the DC metro area are raising alarms about a stopgap measure in Congress that would trigger a $1 billion budget shortfall for the city.  —  A decision before Congress to strip $1.1 billion …

Musk Immediately Calls for Judges to Be Impeached After DOGE Rulings  —  Elon Musk threw a tantrum after his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) was dealt a series of legal setbacks, immediately calling for the impeachment of federal judges.  “Without judicial reform …

David French: Trump Admits He's Violating the Constitution  —  Trump & company aren't even attempting to create a pretext for why they're punishing the free speech of political opponents.  They are basically confessing in writing to violating the First Amendment.

US court allows Trump to enforce ban on DEI programs, for now  —  A U.S. appeals court on Friday temporarily paused a judge's ruling that had blocked the administration of President Donald Trump from implementing bans on diversity, equity and inclusion programs at federal agencies and businesses …