Civicslog

The proclamation celebrates the 101st anniversary of the United States Border Patrol. It highlights a National Emergency declaration at the southern border, which granted the Department of Defense additional authority to support the Federal Government response to a crisis. The order also designates certain transnational organizations as foreign terrorist groups, resumes border wall construction, reinstates the Remain in Mexico policy, ends asylum for illegal border crossers, deploys soldiers to protect borders, and implements a large deportation operation. Within the first 100 days, daily border encounters reportedly dropped 95 percent, and migrant crossings reportedly declined by 99.99 percent.

President Trump issued an unconditional pardon for Virginia Sheriff Scott Jenkins, who had been convicted of bribery and fraud after he accepted $75,000 in bribes in exchange for appointing several men as auxiliary deputies in his office. He was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison. Trump said Jenkins was the victim of the overzealous Biden-era Department of Justice.

President Trump pardoned Paul Walczak, tax cheat and nursing home executive after fundraising and lobbying effort from Walczak's mother. The pardon application noted Elizabeth Fago's efforts on behalf of her son, which also included an attempt to sell a diary that belonged to former president Biden's granddaughter.

In a court filing last week Department of Homeland Security officials revealed plans for sharp cuts to staffing at internal oversight offices. The new plan would see smaller staff levels at the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman, the Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman, and the DHS Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. The CIS Ombudsman's office would shrink from 40 employees to 10; the ID ombudsman's office from 100 to 8; and the CRCL office from 140 to 22. Collectively these offices handle tens of thousands of complaint and investigatory case files at DHS.

The U.S. Department of Defense is placing new restrictions on where journalists may roam within the Pentagon, unless accompanied by an approved DOD escort. The restricted areas include the offices of the Secretary of Defense, his aides, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In the memo announcing the new restrictions, the Secretary of Defense also announced that journalists would need to undergo a new credentialing process in the coming weeks.

The National Geodetic Survey, an agency within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the oldest scientific agency in the U.S., is struggling to carry out its work due to doge-directed losses of funding and staff. The NGS maintains the government's framework of spatial information: latitudes, longitudes, elevations, etc. The agency's work is critical to the accuracy of GPS devices, infrastructure design and construction, floodplain mapping, and more. More cuts loom on the horizon: The NOAA budget proposed by the Office of Management and Budget cuts the National Geodetic Survey's parent organization's funding in half.

Peter Baker of the New York Times brings together several threads of Trump II presidential 'monetization' (the crypto fund raiser, the Trump Org real estate deals, the free luxury jet), and gets some comments from stunned ethics watchdogs. We're barely three months in; there's still plenty of time for the president and his family to pile up lots more loot.

The proclamation designates May 2025 as National Physical Fitness and Sports Month. It encourages the public to incorporate physical fitness and sports participation into their daily lives. It also highlights previous executive actions taken to expand children's participation in sports and to maintain so-called 'fair' competition in women's sports.

The order directs citizens and government officials to observe Memorial Day, May 26, 2025, as a day of prayer for permanent peace. It designates 11:00 a.m. as a time for unified prayer and 3:00 p.m. as the National Moment of Remembrance. Additionally, the order requests that flags be flown at half-staff until noon on Memorial Day on all buildings, grounds, and naval vessels throughout the United States and in all areas under its jurisdiction and control. Citizens are also requested to display the flag at half-staff from their homes for the customary forenoon period.

The proclamation designates May 18 through May 24, 2025, as World Trade Week. It emphasizes the administration's commitment to combating unfair trade practices and prioritizing the interests of American workers. It mentions actions such as enacting reciprocal tariffs and initiatives to train Americans for future jobs, along with the negotiation of new trade deals like the United States-United Kingdom trade agreement.

The Environmental Protection Agency has drafted plans to remove limits on greenhouse gases emitted by power plants, according to documents reviewed by the NY Times. The erstwhile air quality watchdog argues in the draft plan that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases from power plants do not contribute significantly to dangerous pollution, or to climate change, because they are a small and declining share of global emissions.

The president posted on his social network that he had OK'd Nippon Steel's purchase/merger/partnership with U.S. Steel. Trump wrote that the deal would bring $14 billion to the economy and 70,000 jobs. The NY Times notes that U.S. Steel presently employs 22,000 people. President Biden had blocked an earlier effort by Nippon Steel to buy the steelmaker.

The order directs federal agencies to accelerate the development and deployment of advanced nuclear reactor technologies for national security purposes. It instructs the Department of Defense (DoD), specifically the Secretary of the Army, to establish a program for the use of nuclear energy and to begin operation of a nuclear reactor at a domestic military base by September 30, 2028. The Department of Energy (DoE) is directed to provide technical advice on the design, construction, and operation of these reactors, and to initiate the process for designating AI data centers as critical defense facilities. The order also aims to enhance the export of U.S. nuclear technology to allies and commercial partners.

The order directs the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to undergo reforms aimed at promoting nuclear energy and improving efficiency. The NRC is tasked with facilitating the deployment of new nuclear reactor technologies, increasing U.S. nuclear energy capacity from 100 GW in 2024 to 400 GW by 2050, and ensuring the continued operation of the current nuclear fleet. The NRC is also instructed to reorganize its structure to expedite license applications and adopt innovative technology, including creating a team to draft new regulations.

The order directs the Department of Energy (DOE) to expedite the review, approval, and deployment of advanced nuclear reactors. The DOE is instructed to issue guidance on what constitutes a qualified test reactor within 60 days, and to revise its regulations, guidance, and practices to expedite the deployment of such reactors within 90 days. The aim is to have qualified test reactors operational at DOE-owned or controlled facilities within two years of a substantially complete application being submitted.

The order directs federal agencies to revitalize the U.S. nuclear energy industrial base. The Secretary of Energy, in coordination with the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Transportation, and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, is instructed to prepare a report with recommendations for supporting the management of spent nuclear fuel, developing advanced fuel cycle capabilities, and expanding domestic uranium conversion and enrichment capabilities. The order also emphasizes the need to secure civil nuclear supply chains and improve the efficiency of advanced nuclear reactors.

The order directs federal agencies to enhance the integrity and transparency of scientific research, in response to concerns about the reproducibility and credibility of scientific findings. The directive emphasizes the need for rigorous, unbiased peer review and data transparency, and the use of the most reliable and impartial scientific evidence in federal decisions. It also calls for acknowledging scientific uncertainties and ensuring accurate communication of scientific data. [Editor's note: Despite the language about 'open science' in this order, it requires researchers to seek review from agency political appointees, among other anti-science requirements. More discussion here.]

After an all night voting and negotiating session House Republicans passed their multi-trillion dollar tax break package. The bill moves on to the Senate for more votes and negotiations. The "One Big Beautiful Bill" will extend tax cuts for the rich, boost defense and anti-immigrant spending, eliminate Biden-era green economy credits, and slash government spending for the programs for the poor, and ultimately, add trillions in federal debt.

A federal judge blocked the administration's efforts to take apart the Education Department. The judge ordered the administration to rehire the hundreds of department staff it had fired previously and blocked the administration plan to move the department's loan programs to the SBA. The judge ruled the administration does not have the authority to get rid of the department without Congress's approval.

A federal judge in Florida says the president has the authority to declare emergencies and impose tariffs based on a ruling from a 1970s court case involving a Japanese zipper company.

The journal Nature has tallied up the number, and value, of federal research grants the Trump administration has cut from Harvard researchers: nearly 1,000 worth $2.4 billion. By far the largest number of deleted grants were offered by the National Institutes of Health, for bio-medical research (600 grants worth $2.2 billion over multiple years). Other federal agencies to cut grants are the Department of Defense (56 grants, $105 million), and the National Science Foundation (193 grants, $150 million).

On Friday the president order steep staffing cuts at the National Security Council. The dismissals came near the end of the workday, without notice. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was named head of the NSC after National Security Advisor Mike Waltz was removed from the job following the Signal communication app scandal. The reduced NSC is about the same size as it was near the end of the first Trump presidency.

The president hosted a dinner for 220 of the largest investors in $TRUMP, the president's memecoin. The guests invested millions in the cryptocurrency to attend; the top investor, Justin Sun, a Chinese billionaire who runs the crypto platform Tron, spent $40 million.

The proclamation marks May 22, 2025, as National Maritime Day, honoring the role of the United States Merchant Marine and the maritime industry in national defense and economic strength. It recognizes the historical significance of the S.S. Savannah's transatlantic voyage and the contributions of merchant mariners, including their service during World War II. The proclamation also notes a recent executive order aimed at restoring America's maritime dominance through investment in shipbuilding, regulatory changes, and expanding mariner training. It encourages citizens to observe this day and display the American flag.

The Supreme Court said President Trump likely has the authority to fire independent agency board members. The ruling stayed a lower court order that had reinstated a National Labor Relations Board member and one from the Merit Systems Protection Board. In its order, the Supreme Court carved out an exception for the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, saying the president did not have the authority to fire the head of that particular independent agency.

The Trump Administration rescinded Harvard University's ability to enroll international students. Thousands of currently enrolled international students will need to transfer to other schools or return home. The Department of Homeland Security said that the university had created an unsafe environment by allowing "Anti-American, pro-terrorist agitators" to assault Jewish students. The university responded with a lawsuit the following day, and the judge granted the university "a temporary restraining order."

The Senate voted Thursday to block California's plan to stop the sale of gas-powered vehicles by 2035. The president is expected to sign the bill when it reaches his desk. Two other measures that undercut the state's ability to regulate tail-pipe emissions have been approved by Congress and are also on the way to the White House. California governor Gavin Newsom said the state would sue to keep the rules in place.

In a letter, California Senator Adam Schiff urged DHS Secretary Kristi Noem to reinstate $33 million in FEMA earthquake retrofit funding. The grants were meant to retrofit a particular type of residential building known as a "soft story" apartment building, which are prone to collapse. In April FEMA announced the cancellation of the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program, calling it "wasteful and ineffective" and "more concerned with political agendas than helping Americans."

With hurricane season just a few weeks away, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has canceled its strategic plan, Wired reports. In a memo, agency leaders said the existing plan was scotched because it no longer aligned with administration goals, and a new plan would be unveiled later this summer. FEMA employees told Wired they couldn't recall a time when a strategic plan was canceled without a new one in place.

The DOJ announced a plan to drop civil rights lawsuits against police departments in Minneapolis and Louisville, Kentucky. The assistant attorney general for civil rights said the Justice Department would stop the underlying investigations and would not seek consent decrees against the departments.