memeorandum: House education committee Republicans release plans for GOP megabill (Mackenzie Wilkes/Politico)

9:40 PM ET, April 28, 2025

Top Items:

CNN:

US Navy loses $60 million jet at sea after it fell overboard from aircraft carrier — A US Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet has been “lost” at sea after it fell overboard from the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier while it was being towed on board, the Navy said in a statement on Monday.

Reuters:
F-18 falls overboard from U.S. aircraft carrier in Red Sea

Discussion: New York Post

Washington Post:

Civil rights lawyers leave en masse as Justice Dept. mission shifts — Civil rights director Harmeet K. Dhillon redirected her staff to focus on combating antisemitism, anti-Christian bias and what she calls “woke ideology.” — The new head of the Justice Department's civil rights division …

Devlin Barrett / New York Times:

Trump Recasts Mission of Justice Dept.'s Civil Rights Office, Prompting ‘Exodus’ — Hundreds of lawyers and other staff members are fleeing the arm of the agency that defends constitutional rights, which appointees intend to reshape to enact President Trump's agenda.

Discussion: Daily Caller News Foundation

Sam Levine / The Guardian:

Trump's justice department appointees remove leadership of voting unit — Donald Trump's appointees at the Department of Justice have removed all of the senior civil servants working as managers in the department's voting section and directed attorneys to dismiss all active cases …

Discussion: The Atlantic, Raw Story, The Hill, Talking Points Memo, New Republic and Rolling Stone

NPR:

DOGE employees gain accounts on classified networks holding nuclear secrets — Two members of Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency have been given accounts on classified networks that hold highly guarded details about America's nuclear weapons, two independent sources tell NPR.

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money, Raw Story and The Gateway Pundit

President Donald J. Trump / The White House:

Strengthening and Unleashing America's Law Enforcement to Pursue Criminals and Protect Innocent Citizens — By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered: — Section 1. Purpose and Policy.

President Donald J. Trump / The White House:

Protecting American Communities from Criminal Aliens — By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered: — Section 1. Purpose and Policy. Federal supremacy with respect to immigration, national security, and foreign policy is axiomatic.

Discussion: Axios, Daily Caller News Foundation and Tampa Free Press

The Atlantic:

‘I Run the Country and the World’ … b — efore we begin, a primer on the science of arranging an interview with a sitting American president: — In ordinary times, reporters seeking an on-the-record encounter with the commander in chief first write an elaborate proposal.

Jeffrey Goldberg / The Atlantic:
Read The Atlantic's Interview With Donald Trump

Discussion: The Post Millennial, Mediaite, The Wrap and Rolling Stone

Politico:
‘Tale of 2 Petes’: Fired adviser describes Pentagon chief consumed by image

Discussion: Axios, New York Post, The Hill, Raw Story and New Republic

Corbin Bolies / The Daily Beast:

Karl Rove Guts Donald Trump in Scathing Fox News Interview: ‘In Very Bad Shape’ — RAPID FAIL — The former adviser to former Vice President Dick Cheney said Americans no longer trust the president on the economy. — Fox News analyst Karl Rove tore into President Donald Trump …

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Mediaite, The Hill and The Independent

Ariel Edwards-Levy / CNN:
CNN Poll: A growing majority says Trump has made the economy worse, with most skeptical of his tariff plans

Discussion: Raw Story, CBS News, The Independent and Semafor

Richard Rubin / Wall Street Journal:

Trump Floats Improbable Income-Tax Cut Tied to Tariffs — President suggests eliminating income taxes on most households, but math doesn't add up — WASHINGTON—President Trump keeps suggesting that tariffs can replace income taxes for most Americans. One big problem: The math doesn't work.

Discussion: Tax Foundation, Fox News, Townhall, Breitbart, The Hill, Bloomberg and Washington Examiner

Jessica Riedl / Politico:
I'm a Conservative Economist. Here Are 6 Reasons Trump's Plans Won't Work.

Discussion: New York Post

Politico:

Connolly to step down as top Dem on Oversight, paving the way for generational change — Rep. Gerry Connolly, the top Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, will step down from his leadership post on the panel and not run for reelection.

Politico:
Stephen Lynch will pursue Democrats' top House Oversight post

Discussion: Axios, NOTUS, Washington Examiner, The Daily Wire and ABC News

U.S. Congressman Shri Thanedar:

Congressman Shri Thanedar Introduces Articles of Impeachment Against President Donald J. Trump for High Crimes and Misdemeanors — Washington, DC - Today, Congressman Shri Thanedar (MI-13) introduced articles of impeachment against Donald J. Trump, President of the United States …

Discussion: Axios, The Daily Wire, The Hill, Detroit Free Press, Raw Story, Breitbart, RedState, PoliticusUSA, The Daily Caller, Louder With Crowder, Twitchy, The Gateway Pundit, Scripps News, Blaze Media and Washington Examiner

Malcolm Ferguson / New Republic:

Karoline Leavitt Refuses to Rule Out Arrest of Supreme Court Judges … The Trump administration is open to arresting Supreme Court judges, as White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told it on Monday morning. — “You guys arrested a Milwaukee County Circuit judge …

Rory Carroll / The Guardian:

Irish woman living in US for decades detained by immigration officials — Cliona Ward, who had returned from trip to Ireland, held over criminal record from almost 20 years ago — An Irish woman who has lived legally in the US for four decades has been detained by immigration officials …

Discussion: Global News and The Irish Times

New York Times:

National Climate Assessment Authors Are Dismissed by Trump Administration — The Trump administration told researchers it was “releasing” them from their roles. It puts the future of the assessment, which is required by Congress, in doubt. — The Trump administration has dismissed …

Discussion: Reuters

CNN:

‘A great friend’: Audio undercuts Trump US attorney nominee's disavowal of alleged Nazi sympathizer — Ed Martin, the Trump-appointed interim US Attorney for the District of Columbia and nominee to serve in the role permanently, says he now regrets praising a Capitol rioter …

Lisa Needham / Public Notice:

Arresting judges is a 5-alarm escalation — 🏛️ ⚖️ 👩‍⚖️ With corporate outlets obeying in advance, supporting independent political media is more important right now than ever. … 🏛️ ⚖️ 👩‍⚖️

Discussion: NPR, The Daily Caller, Blaze Media, The Post Millennial, Daily Caller News Foundation, New York Post, Newsbusters, Tangle, WisPolitics, The Daily Wire, Urban Milwaukee and Raw Story

Jay Kuo / The Status Kuo:
Coming for the Judges — On Friday, federal agents arrested Judge Hannah Dugan of the Milwaukee County Circuit Court.

Discussion: Breitbart

Wall Street Journal:

Trump to Soften Blow of Automotive Tariffs — Companies paying Trump's car tariffs won't also be charged for other levies — WASHINGTON—President Trump is expected to soften the impact of his automotive tariffs, preventing duties on foreign-made cars from stacking on top of other tariffs …

Discussion: Bloomberg, Raw Story and New York Times

U.S. Department of Education:

U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights Finds the University of Pennsylvania Has Violated Title IX — Today, the U.S. Department of Education's (ED) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced its finding that the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) violated Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.

Discussion: The Washington Free Beacon, Axios, The Hill, Tampa Free Press, RedState, The Daily Caller, Fox News and The Post Millennial

Robert Frank / CNBC:

Donald Trump Jr. co-founds new private members club, Executive Branch, with a $500,000 fee … WATCH NOW — A new private membership club in Washington, D.C., co-founded by Donald Trump Jr., is charging a $500,000 membership fee — and there's already a waiting list.

Discussion: Mediaite and Axios

Jennifer Bendery / HuffPost:

Dem Says ICE Took Florida Mom From Baby, Unlawfully Deported Her To Cuba — “The separation of mother and daughter was so sudden and traumatic that their infant daughter was taken to the hospital,” Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Fla.) told Trump. — WASHINGTON - Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Fla.) …

Discussion: Hartford Courant

Mike Masnick / Techdirt:

Government Actually Threatens Wikipedia's Editorial Freedom; Self-Proclaimed Free Speech Warriors Suddenly Have Other Plans — When Trump officials want to censor speech, they don't quite say “we want to censor speech” (after all, they pretend to be the party that “brought free speech back.")

Discussion: Above the Law, Breitbart, The Post Millennial and Blaze Media

Mackenzie Wilkes / Politico:

House education committee Republicans release plans for GOP megabill — House Education and Workforce Committee Republicans have released their plans for wide-ranging higher education reform as part of their portion of the GOP's party-line package to enact President Donald Trump's sprawling legislative agenda …

Discussion: The Hill

Nate Raymond / Reuters:

Judge questions US Defense Department role in Venezuelans' deportations — A federal judge ordered the Trump administration on Monday to turn over the names of any migrants flown recently from the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay to El Salvador so he could determine whether they were deported in violation of a court order he issued.

Discussion: Raw Story

David Shepardson / Reuters:

FCC chair says 'all options" open in CBS ‘60 Minutes’ news distortion review — The chair of the Federal Communications Commission said Monday “all options remain on the table” in the agency's ongoing investigation into a “60 Minutes” interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris.

Discussion: Vox, New York Post, Deadline, Blaze Media, Los Angeles Times and New York Times, more at Mediagazer »

Lori Ann LaRocco / CNBC:

Agriculture isn't nearing trade war tariffs crisis, ‘it is full blown crisis already’ farmers say … The clock is ticking on trade deals that the U.S. will need to strike with many nations, most notably China, to avoid what Trump's Treasury Secretary has described as an “unsustainable” tariffs war.

Discussion: New York Post, Daily Kos and Axios

Matt Stoller / BIG:

House GOP Proposes Eliminating Key Antitrust Law — News just broke that House Republican Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan, who has always disliked antitrust law, is proposing to use the budget process to roll back a key law in this area. The specific provision at issue is Section 5 of the FTC Act …

Discussion: Reuters

Ben Makuch / The Guardian:

Far-right fight groups endorse ‘youth clubs’ targeting US young men and boys — Using fitness and sports as an entry points to their neo-Nazi ideologies, ‘youth club’ chapters are proliferating across US — A national network of American neofascist fight clubs is endorsing youth-oriented offshoots aimed …

Avery Lotz / Axios:

Trump lashes out against “fake polls” as his approval ratings sink — President Trump, in an early morning Truth Social post Monday, slammed “FAKE POLLS FROM FAKE NEWS ORGANIZATIONS” that he said should be “investigated for ELECTION FRAUD.” — The big picture: As Trump nears the first 100 days …

Discussion: Washington Examiner, The Dean's Report, Rolling Stone, al.com, USA Today, Fox News, The Dispatch, masslive.com, NBC News, New York Post, The Hill, New Republic, Raw Story and Vanity Fair, more at Mediagazer »

Ben Leonard / Politico:

House Republicans still debating how to pull back on Medicaid expansion — House Energy and Commerce Chair Brett Guthrie said Monday he still wants to mark up of his panel's portion of the GOP megabill next week, but major disagreements remain unresolved surrounding how deeply to slash Medicaid.

Discussion: NBC News, Raw Story, Center For Children … and The Hill

New York Times:

Pritzker Thunders Against ‘Do Nothing’ Democrats as He Stokes 2028 Talk — In a fiery speech in New Hampshire, the Illinois governor railed against both President Trump and what he called the “simpering timidity” among some Democrats. — Gov. JB Pritzker of Illinois strode into a ballroom filled …

Oriana González / NOTUS:

FDA Leaves the Door Open to Reimposing Restrictions on Abortion Pills — “If the data suggests something or tells us that there's a real signal, we can't promise we're not going to act on that data,” Marty Makary, the FDA's commissioner, said recently. — Copy

Discussion: Breitbart, Fox News, Twitchy, Townhall, Daily Caller News Foundation, Ethics & Public Policy Center, Washington Examiner, The Federalist and National Review

The Guardian:

Ice seeking out unaccompanied immigrant children to deport or prosecute — Moves sparking fears of a crackdown on such children and prompting alarm about ‘backdoor family separation’ — Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) officials are seeking out unaccompanied immigrant children …

Discussion: Axios

Erich Wagner / GovExec.com:

Republicans tee up federal worker benefit cuts to pay for tax cuts — Federal workers hired in 2029 would contribute nearly 10% of their basic pay toward a less generous pension if they wish to retain their civil service protections under House lawmakers' budget reconciliation proposal.

Jack Jenkins / RNS:

Rev. William Barber arrested in Capitol Rotunda after praying against Republican-led budget — (RNS) — While arrests of protesters at the Capitol is not unusual, the response to Barber's prayer was unusually dramatic: After issuing verbal warnings, dozens of officers expelled everyone in the Rotunda — including credentialed press.

Discussion: The Independent