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US Monthly Headline News March 2025 - Page 5
Story by Matt Shuham

The chair of the powerhouse legal firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP sent an email to thousands of employees Thursday evening announcing an agreement with the Trump administration: The White House would withdraw an executive order targeting the firm, the chair said, and in return the firm would agree to a series of commitments that he said were consistent with its statement of principles.

“With this behind us, we can devote our complete focus — as we always do — to our clients, our work, our colleagues, and our Firm,” the firm’s chair, Brad Karp, wrote in an email obtained by HuffPost.

But the version of the “agreement” Karp emailed Paul Weiss employees Thursday night is substantially different from the version President Donald Trump posted online. The internal memo is different in several places, leaving out key pledges the White House claims the firm made.

The primary differences are additions in Trump’s version: After the firm commits to merit-based hiring, promotion and retention, Trump’s version adds: “and will not adopt, use, or pursue any DEI policies” — a reference to “diversity, equity and inclusion” initiatives that Trump has targeted throughout government and the private sector.

Later, Paul Weiss says it will dedicate the equivalent of $40 million for pro bono legal services on various initiatives. The firm’s internal version refers to “these initiatives,” while Trump’s version refers to “the Administration’s initiatives.” Both versions list “assisting our Nation’s veterans, fairness in our justice system, the President’s Task Force to Combat Antisemitism, and other mutually agreed projects.” (Trump’s version refers to “the Justice System.”)
Amid the move to dismantle the Department of Education, the SBA also announced big layoffs.
Jordan Weissmann

President Trump announced on Friday that he plans to move management of the federal student loan program to the Small Business Administration (SBA), a major step in his effort to dismantle and possibly shut down the Department of Education.

“We have a portfolio that is very large. Lots of loans. Tens of thousands of loans. Pretty complicated deal. And that’s coming out of the Department of Education immediately,” Trump said, vastly understating the number of outstanding loans — there are currently about 43 million Americans with student debt.

The president offered few details about how the Small Business Administration would go about assuming control of the loan program or what borrowers could expect in the weeks ahead, but suggested the process would be smooth.

“They’re all set for it. They’re waiting for it,” he said, referring to the SBA. “It will be serviced much better than it has in the past. It’s been a mess.”

The White House and Commerce Department did not return a request for comment. Education officials referred Yahoo Finance to an interview with Education Secretary Linda McMahon on Fox News on Friday, in which she said, in part, that she would work with the SBA on a strategic plan.
Story by Dan Gooding

Cubans attending immigration appointments in Florida are reportedly being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers.

At least 18 individuals have been taken into custody, the Miami Herald reported, despite previously being given somewhat special protections from removal proceedings.

"The administration is taking a take-no-prisoners approach to immigration enforcement where every person who could conceivably be deported is a priority," Mark Prada, an immigration attorney in Miami, told Newsweek Friday. "Whether you are undocumented, have a process pending for legal status, or pending an immigration court hearing, DHS has always had the authority to arrest and detain if one does not have a valid, unexpired legal status."
Story by Ted Hesson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump's administration will revoke the temporary legal status of 530,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans in the United States, according to a Federal Register notice on Friday, the latest expansion of his crackdown on immigration.

It will be effective April 24.

The move cuts short a two-year "parole" granted to the migrants under former President Joe Biden that allowed them to enter the country by air if they had U.S. sponsors.
Rebecca Falconer, Natalie Daher

Elon Musk met with the Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Friday after President Trump and other officials denied reports that he was originally scheduled to receive a top-secret briefing for a potential 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.

   The billionaire CEO has been the face of DOGE-driven federal cuts that have triggered protests and seen Tesla vehicles and dealerships targeted in attacks the FBI is investigating as domestic terrorism,
   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.

   "Always a great meeting," Musk said as he left. "I've been here before, you know."
Story by Gabriela León

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), co-founded by billionaire Elon Musk, has made headlines by deleting more than 3.2 million outdated records from the US Social Security Administration (SSA). These records included individuals marked as alive despite being over 120 years old, with some astonishingly listed at more than 200 years. This bold move is part of a broader effort to streamline government operations and eliminate inefficiencies.

In a statement on X, DOGE announced, "For the past two weeks, Social Security has been conducting a major cleanup of its records. Approximately 3.2 million number holders, all listed as age 120+, have now been marked as deceased. More work remains to be done." Elon Musk, known for his disruptive innovations, reposted a March 20 post, emphasizing the importance of "Cleaning up the fraud file".

As part of its ongoing mission, DOGE continues to focus on cutting government expenditure. According to government records, as of March 8, the Social Security database listed 1,357,967 people between the ages of 150 and 159 as alive. By March 17, this number had decreased by 186,415 to 1,171,552. In total, 3,261,057 individuals were reclassified as deceased, highlighting the scale of the inefficiencies being addressed.

While the existence of these records does not necessarily imply that benefits were still being paid to the deceased, the Trump administration believes that such inaccuracies could lead to systemic inefficiencies.
Story by Gustaf Kilander

Elon Musk has claimed that his AI chatbot Grok would be “truth-seeking,” yet it often contradicts the billionaire’s positions.

When he launched the new version of Grok last month, Musk said it would be “maximally truth-seeking … even if that truth is sometimes at odds with what is politically correct.”

Instead, Grok has notably challenged Musk’s version of the truth on several topics, such as diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), and immigration, The Washington Post reported. Grok last week declared that Democrats are better for the economy than Republicans.

Another point of conflict between Grok and Musk is the treatment of trans youth.

Musk has a trans daughter but has still shared his strong opposition to gender-affirming care. Last July Musk told right-wing commentator and psychologist Jordan Peterson in a conversation livestreamed on X that he doesn’t support his daughter’s gender identity.

“I lost my son, essentially,” said Musk, adding that his child was essentially “dead, killed by the woke mind virus.”

But asked for a one-sentence answer if children should receive gender-affirming care, Grok responded: “It depends on the child’s specific needs, age, and medical advice, but evidence suggests it can help some while others urge caution due to long-term unknowns.”
The acting commissioner of the SSA claims a ruling against DOGE has handcuffed his entire administration.
Josh Fiallo
Breaking News Reporter

President Donald Trump’s interim Social Security chief doubled down Friday on his threat to outright shutter the Social Security Administration in retaliation to a ruling against the Department of Government Efficiency. Acting commissioner Leland Dudek alleged to The Washington Post the SSA cannot comply with a federal ruling—meant to block DOGE’s access to sensitive data within the administration—from Thursday because it would handcuff the work of his entire staff. District Judge Ellen Lipton Hollander ruled that Social Security officials are barred from sharing Americans’ personal information with DOGE staffers and its “affiliates” for two weeks.
Is Howard Lutnick unts? They are not “fraudsters” or people “stealing” but people who worked hard and need their Social Security to live on.

Story by Brett Arends

Howard Lutnick only opens his mouth to change feet.

Donald Trump’s billionaire commerce secretary made another staggering statement on Friday when he suggested that only “fraudsters” and people “stealing” from the government would complain if they didn’t get their Social Security checks next month.

The bizarre, almost surreal comment comes just days after Lutnick, a former Wall Street tycoon, used his position to pump stock in Elon Musk’s company Tesla even though he knew that Musk stands to make a staggering $400 million in personal gain for each $1 the stock rises.

“Let’s say Social Security didn’t send out their checks this month,” Lutnick said during a YouTube interview Friday. “My mother-in-law, who’s 94, she wouldn’t call and complain. She just wouldn’t. She’d think something got messed up and she’ll get it next month.”

By contrast, he said, “a fraudster always makes the loudest noise, screaming, yelling and complaining. … Anybody who’s been in the payment system and the process system knows the easiest way to find the fraudster is to stop payments and listen. Yeah. ’Cause whoever screams is the one stealing.”

The comments, coming just as Musk and his DOGE team slash the number of people working at Social Security and close branch offices, are unlikely to win friends and influence people even among Republicans, let alone anyone else.
Story by Taija PerryCook

Claim:
On March 19, 2025, longtime Tesla investor Ross Gerber called for the company's CEO, Elon Musk, to step down, saying: "I think Tesla needs a new CEO."

Rating:
Correct Attribution (About this rating?)

Context:
Some posts called Gerber "top Tesla investor," which readers could interpret as meaning he has the largest number of shares in the company. This is not true. Filings from 2024 show he owned 262,000 Tesla shares, which were worth $106 million at the end of 2024. Gerber also suggested Musk should either focus on running Tesla or find someone else suitable for the role.
Story by Alex Henderson

Some voters who supported Donald Trump in the 2024 election are now expressing buyer's remorse, including government workers who were abruptly laid off because of the mass downsizing of the federal workforce being carried out by the Trump Administration with the help of the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Others are upset because they are now realizing that Trump's steep new tariffs on Canada, Mexico and other countries will hurt them financially — or because they are troubled by Musk's anti-Social Security comments.

Such voters are likely to be independents or swing voters who favored Trump in 2024 because they blamed then-President Joe Biden for inflation — even if they voted for Biden in 2020. And now, they are deciding that Trump is hurting, not helping, them economically.

But Salon's Amanda Marcotte describes a different type of 2024 Trump voter in an article published on March 21: those whose "devotion to the MAGA cult" remains strong despite the ways in which Trump is making their lives worse.
Amy Goodmanand | Democracy Now

The Social Security Administration is considering drastic new anti-fraud measures that could disrupt benefit payments to millions of Americans, according to an internal memo first obtained by the political newsletter Popular Information. The changes would force millions of customers to file claims in person at a field office rather than over the phone. An estimated 75,000 to 85,000 elderly and disabled adults per week would be diverted to field offices. This comes even as the Trump administration slashes jobs and closes offices at the agency. Officials in the Social Security Administration who spoke with reporter Judd Legum, founder of Popular Information, have told him that there is an “effort to break the organization.”

AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org. I’m Amy Goodman, with Juan González.

The Social Security Administration is considering drastic new, what they call, anti-fraud measures that could disrupt benefit payments to millions of Americans. This is according to an internal memo first obtained by the political newsletter Popular Information.

Authored last week by Acting Deputy Social Security Administration Commissioner Doris Diaz, the changes proposed in the memo would force millions of customers to file claims in person at a field office rather than over the phone. According to the memo, customers applying for retirement and disability benefits would be required for the first time to verify their identity through an online system. If their identity can’t be verified online, they would have to visit a field office in person. The memo estimates that 75,000 to 85,000 people per week would be diverted to field offices, because a large number of elderly and disabled adults do not have access to a computer or a smartphone and would be unable to complete the online identify verification requirement. The memo acknowledges the strain this would place on vulnerable populations, and lists service disruption, as well as legal challenges and congressional scrutiny, among the risks of the proposed changes.
Story by Alex Henderson

Since March 8, Mahmoud Khalil — a 30-year-old Columbia University student — has been held in a federal detention center in Louisiana for, Trump Administration officials allege, expressing sympathy to the terrorist group Hamas during protests on the campus.

Khalil, who was born in Syria to Palestinian parents, is a legal resident of the United States and is not accused of any acts of violence. And his wife is a U.S. citizen. But Khalil is at risk for deportation, and critics of the Trump Administration and U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi are arguing that his detention is an example of thought policing — not an action based on legitimate national security concerns.

Two of those critics are attorneys Thomas Anthony Durkin and Bernard Harcourt (a law professor at Columbia University in New York City).

In an op-ed published by The Guardian on March 21, Durkin and Harcourt argue that the movement to deport students for saying controversial things recalls the late Sen. Joseph McCarthy's (R-Wisconsin) witch hunt of the 1950s.
Story by Erik De La Garza

President Donald Trump is once again raising eyebrows with his claim on Friday that he didn’t sign a proclamation invoking the arcane wartime law, which his administration leaned on to carry out last weekend’s deportation of alleged Venezuelan gang members, CNN reported.

The stunning denial came as Trump took questions from reporters before boarding Marine One, including one surrounding the fury U.S. District Judge James Boasberg unleashed on DOJ attorneys at a hearing Friday as he pressed them on why the proclamtion invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 was "signed in the dark.”

“And I don’t know when it was signed because I didn’t sign it,” Trump told reporter. “Other people handled it. But Marco Rubio’s done a great job, and he wanted them out. And we go along with that. We want to get criminals out of our country.”
David Edwards

President Donald Trump said he was imposing "emergency" tariffs and other measures on Colombia after the country turned away at least two deportation flights.

In an angry social media post on Sunday, Trump revealed that the flights "were not allowed to land in Colombia." He accused Colombian President President Gustavo Petro of jeopardizing "the National Security and Public Safety of the United States."
Jake Johnson, Common Dreams

Top Trump administration officials—including the president, vice president, attorney general, and secretary of state—openly celebrated the deportation of hundreds of Venezuelan immigrants over the weekend in defiance of a federal judge's order to halt the removals, which were carried out under a 1798 law that plainly states it is only operative in the context of a declared war.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance wrote late Sunday that "there were violent criminals and rapists in our country" and "President [Donald] Trump deported them." There was no due process for the more than 200 Venezuelans whom the Trump administration claims are gang members.

Vance's social media post, which came in response to reporting about the White House's acknowledgment that it ignored the court order blocking the deportations, was met with disgust and alarm.
Story by Danielle Shockey

In a stunning move Friday, President Donald J. Trump issued a sweeping memorandum ordering the revocation of security clearances and access to classified information for more than a dozen high-profile individuals, including President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and a number of former intelligence and law enforcement officials.

The directive, sent to all executive departments and agency heads, cites national interest concerns and directs officials to take “all additional action as necessary” to ensure that the named individuals no longer have access to classified materials or secure U.S. government facilities.

The individuals named in the memorandum include:

・President Joseph R. Biden Jr.

・Vice President Kamala Harris

・Secretary of State Antony Blinken

・National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan

・Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco

・New York Attorney General Letitia James

・Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg

・Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

・Former Rep. Liz Cheney

・Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger
...more
Story by Phil Helsel

George Foreman, world heavyweight boxing champion, Olympic gold medalist and later preacher, died Friday at the age of 76, his family said.
Story by Isabel van Brugen

The Trump administration has threatened to shut down the Social Security Administration (SSA) over a court ruling that blocks Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from accessing the personal data of millions of Americans.

President Donald Trump’s interim Social Security chief, Lee Dudek—who has been working closely with DOGE—warned that the SSA could be forced to cease operations if Musk’s team continues to be denied access to the information.

“My anti-fraud team would be DOGE affiliates. My IT staff would be DOGE affiliates,” Dudek said in remarks published by Bloomberg. “As it stands, I will follow [the judge’s order] exactly and terminate access by all SSA employees to our IT systems.”

He said that he planned to request an immediate clarification from the judge.

“Really, I want to turn it off and let the courts figure out how they want to run a federal agency,” he added.
Rep. Harriet Hageman was loudly booed after claiming that "DOGE is not dismantling social security"
Story by Grist.org

The Trump administration’s freeze on funding from the Inflation Reduction Act, the landmark climate law from the Biden era, has left farmers and rural businesses across the country on the hook for costly energy efficiency upgrades and renewable energy installations.

The grants are part of the Rural Energy for America Program, or REAP, originally created in the 2008 farm bill and supercharged by funding from the IRA. It provides farmers and other businesses in rural areas with relatively small grants and loans to help lower their energy bills by investing, say, in more energy-efficient farming equipment or installing small solar arrays.

By November 2024, the IRA had awarded more than $1 billion for nearly 7,000 REAP projects, which help rural businesses in low-income communities reduce the up-front costs of clean energy and save thousands on utility costs each year.

But now, that funding is in limbo. Under the current freeze, some farmers have already spent tens of thousands of dollars on projects and are waiting for the promised reimbursement. Others have had to delay work they were counting on to support their businesses, unsure when their funding will come through — or if it will.

REAP is administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Secretary Brooke Rollins said the agency is “coming to the tail end of the review process” of evaluating grants awarded under the Biden administration.

“If our farmers and ranchers especially have already spent money under a commitment that was made, the goal is to make sure they are made whole,” Rollins told reporters in Atlanta last week.
Story by Filip Timotija

President Trump instructed the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Friday to sanction attorneys and law firms if they engage in “frivolous, unreasonable and vexatious” litigation against the U.S. government.

“Lawyers and law firms that engage in actions that violate the laws of the United States or rules governing attorney conduct must be efficiently and effectively held accountable,” Trump said in a memo released by the White House. “Accountability is especially important when misconduct by lawyers and law firms threatens our national security, homeland security, public safety, or election integrity.”

In the directive, labeled “Preventing Abuses of the Legal System and the Federal Court,” the president targeted immigration lawyers specifically. He argued that they “frequently coach clients to conceal their past or lie about their circumstances when asserting their asylum claims, all in an attempt to circumvent immigration policies enacted to protect our national security and deceive the immigration authorities and courts into granting them undeserved relief.”

The president then ordered Bondi to review the “conduct” of lawyers and law firms that have brought litigation against the federal government in the last eight years.
Promise was central plank to space agency’s Artemis program, which is scheduled to return humans to the lunar surface in 2027
Richard Luscombe in Miami

Nasa has dropped its longstanding public commitment to land the first woman and person of color on the moon, in response to Donald Trump’s directives to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices at federal agencies.

The promise was a central plank of the space agency’s Artemis program, which is scheduled to return humans to the lunar surface in 2027 for the first time since the final Apollo mission in December 1972.

The Artemis landing page of Nasa’s website previously included the words: “Nasa will land the first woman, first person of color, and first international partner astronaut on the Moon using innovative technologies to explore more of the lunar surface than ever before.”

The version of the page live on the website on Friday, however, appears with the phrase removed.
Elon Musk's DOGE program promised to save taxpayers billions through aggressive cost-cutting measures. New investigations reveal many of these claims are based on miscalculations.
Tagtik

In recent weeks, acts of vandalism against Tesla have multiplied. Recently, on March 18th, several vehicles of the brand were engulfed in flames outside a repair centre in Las Vegas.

Since the return of Donald Trump to power, Tesla sales have plummeted (not to mention the collapse of the stock market). The recent political positions of his right-hand man, Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, are not unanimous, prompting some progressive movements to target the brand.

A new attack by fire
It seems that Musk's Nazi salute during Trump's inauguration is at the root of this new attack: according to the authorities, witnesses claim to have seen an individual dressed in black setting the cars on fire with a Molotov cocktail, the media outlet L’Indépendant reports. The word "resist" was also painted on one of the building's walls. The message is rather clear.
Story by Arezki AMIRI

The Social Security Administration (SSA) is set to close dozens of offices across the United States this year as part of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)’s efforts to cut the size of the federal government and eliminate waste. This decision has raised concerns regarding its potential impact on the efficiency of the SSA and the timely delivery of benefits to the millions of Americans who rely on them.

What’s at Stake: Impact on Millions of Beneficiaries
The SSA provides Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits to more than 72.5 million Americans, including some of the most vulnerable populations in the U.S.

These individuals, including the elderly and disabled, depend on monthly checks to cover their living expenses. The closure of SSA offices, many of which serve as important locations for in-person services, has sparked worries that beneficiaries might face delays or disruptions in receiving their benefits.

What We Know About the Closures
According to the SSA, there are about 1,200 field offices across the country. On its website, DOGE, which is led by Elon Musk, lists 47 SSA offices across 18 states that are set to be closed. These closures are primarily concentrated in the South and Southeast regions.

The closures are part of a larger initiative to reduce federal spending, but according to an SSA spokesperson, most of the offices slated for closure are used primarily for in-person hearings, which are being phased out in favor of virtual hearings.
Story by Greg McKenna

Tesla is making big bets on AI, but investors might have a reason to question where the money is going. If left unexplained, a $1.4 billion discrepancy between the firm’s capital expenditures and the valuation of the assets that cash was spent on, first reported by the Financial Times, could spark concerns about internal controls at Elon Musk’s electric vehicle giant.

Several accounting experts, however, say there are plausible justifications for the variance that might not show up on Tesla’s financial statements. You would expect the relevant numbers to add up for a domestic company with no big asset sales or impairments, said Tim Morrison, an accounting professor at Notre Dame and former audit partner at Ernst & Young. Tesla, of course, sells cars around the world and has factories on three continents. PwC has audited Tesla’s financial statements since 2005.

“If they had the numbers incorrect, then that would be a red flag related to controls,” said Morrison, who worked primarily with multinational manufacturing companies and led internal inspections to assess audit quality at EY.

This isn’t the first time Tesla’s accounting practices have been questioned, noted Garrett Nelson, a vice president and senior equity analyst at CFRA Research.
Opinion by EJ Montini, Arizona Republic

Elon Musk gave the maximum campaign contributions allowed to seven Republican members of Congress trying to impeach judges who are bold and brave enough to honor their oaths to the Constitution instead of sheepishly ignoring the law and giving President Donald Trump whatever he wants.

When I see a news article that starts out like that I immediately say to myself, “There must be someone from Arizona on that list.”

Yep.

Arizona’s own Republican Rep. Eli Crane received a nice fat check from our South African American co-president for having filed articles of impeachment on U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer, who prevented “DOGE” bros from accessing the financial records of ordinary Americans like us.

The judge's decision is something for which Crane should have been thanking him, rather than trying to impeach him.

Republicans staging useless stunts to impress Trump and Musk
But, no.

With Arizona’s GOP members of Congress, their loyalty – fealty, actually – is only to Trump. Not to those who put them in office. Not to their constitutional oaths.

The Defense Department has removed or plans to delete thousands of websites to comply with US President Donald Trump’s order eliminating diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. The deleted content includes pages on the Holocaust and 9/11. One article was about Holocaust survivor Kitty Saks and an Air Force Academy cadet’s visit to concentration camps. Another deleted page highlighted Holocaust Remembrance Week and the importance of religious diversity. Despite these removals, Trump has stressed his commitment to fighting antisemitism. The president has previously threatened to cut Columbia University’s federal funding unless it adopts the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition. The takedowns extend beyond DEI-related content. Pages on veterans’ suicide prevention, sexual assault prevention and 9/11 have also been removed.
"Moscow Agent Governing America"

Story by Kyle O'Sullivan

Donald Trump made a disturbing slip up during Monday's cabinet meeting, where he confessed he was "activated last week".

Trump was humiliated by Putin after being kept waiting ahead of their phone call, but he has continued to attack Ukraine and firmly take Russia's side in the war.

A former Soviet intelligence officer claimed Trump was recruited by the KGB in 1987 and given the codename 'Krasnov' - and his unusual choice of the word 'activation' has led to fears there may be some substance there.

Trump, who has a unique bond with Vladimir Putin, was giving a sickly testimonial to Elon Musk when he oddly used the phrase, which is heavily associated with undercover Russian spies.

After praising Musk for his contributions to his administration, Trump explained that Musk has "never asked for anything."

"He has never asked me for a thing. He could have. I always say, 'I wonder if he is ever going to ask me for something?'."

Pointing out that he got rid of the electric vehicle mandate, Trump thanked Musk for standing by him even though Tesla dealerships are being attacked.

"I did get activated last week when I saw what they were doing," said Trump. "I said he makes an incredible product and we're going to go out and tell people you can't do that stuff."
Story by DAVID KLEPPER and ERIC TUCKER

WASHINGTON (AP) — As President Donald Trump and his adviser Elon Musk work to overhaul the federal government, they’re forcing out thousands of workers with insider knowledge and connections who now need a job.

For Russia, China and other adversaries, the upheaval in Washington as Musk's Department of Government Efficiency guts government agencies presents an unprecedented opportunity to recruit informants, national security and intelligence experts say.

Every former federal worker with knowledge of or access to sensitive information or systems could be a target. When thousands of them leave their jobs at the same time, that creates a lot of targets, as well as a counterespionage challenge for the United States.

“This information is highly valuable, and it shouldn’t be surprising that Russia and China and other organizations — criminal syndicates for instance — would be aggressively recruiting government employees,” said Theresa Payton, a former White House chief information officer under President George W. Bush, who now runs her own cybersecurity firm.

Many agencies oversee crucial data
Each year an average of more than 100,000 federal workers leave their jobs. Some retire; others move to the private sector. This year, in three months, the number is already many times higher.

It's not just intelligence officers who present potential security risks. Many departments and agencies oversee vast amounts of data that include personal information on Americans as well as sensitive information about national security and government operations. Exiting employees could also give away helpful security secrets that would allow someone to penetrate government databases or physical offices.
Story by Brian Stelter, CNN

The revelation that President Trump’s aides endangered national security by chatting about a military strike in a Signal chat that included a journalist is embarrassing for everyone involved – which is why it’s a big test of MAGA media’s power to deny, dismiss and deflect.

The president’s favorite media outlets are mostly downplaying the story and deriding the reporter who was invited to the group chat, The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg. On X, Elon Musk and his acolytes are cracking jokes about the scandal. And some pro-Trump outlets are trying to ignore it altogether.

It’s all reminiscent of Trump’s first term, when real news stories were rejected by right-wing opinion outlets time and time again. And as we learned back then, the president’s media consumption has a huge impact on the personnel and policy decisions he makes.

So far, the advice he’s getting from his Fox News friends is to weather the current storm.

Many pro-Trump media figures are taking their cues from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who sounded like he reverted to his former role as Fox host when he blasted Goldberg as a “discredited so-called journalist who’s made a profession of peddling hoaxes.”

Hegseth likely used the word “hoax” strategically since it viscerally appeals to Trump. The president has a long history of trying to disarm damaging stories by claiming they are “hoaxes,” regardless of reality. The word has become a signal to Trump fans to tune out distressing stories.
An interview with national security lawyer Bradley Moss, who explains why the stunning exposure of highly sensitive war-planning texts might have been unlawful—and reveals Trump as a disastrously failed leader.

By now you may have heard that President Trump’s most senior officials discussed war plans on Signal, and that the group chat actually included Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic. Goldberg published his findings, and it caused an explosion in Washington with many Democrats calling for an investigation, and even the occasional Republican slamming this as an unacceptable security breach. President Trump was asked about this, and shockingly he claimed not to know anything about it. What struck us though is what Trump didn’t say. He failed to say that he’s going to get to the bottom of this mess, and that it should have never happened. Today, we’re trying to dig through all this with the perfect guest, veteran national security lawyer Bradley Moss. Brad, thanks for coming on, man.

Bradley Moss: Absolutely, any time.

Sargent: National security adviser Mike Waltz, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, Vice President JD Vance, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and some others were talking on Signal about their upcoming plans to bomb Yemen’s Houthis to open up shipping in the Red Sea. Somehow, The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg got included. The top officials argued a bit about the plans, and then soon after Hegseth openly shares operational details about the move itself, about the operation itself. Can you lay out what happened here, Brad?
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