Civicslog

The order directs federal agencies to eliminate the use of disparate-impact liability to the maximum extent possible. The Attorney General is tasked with initiating action to repeal or amend regulations that contemplate disparate-impact liability, particularly in relation to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Additionally, all agencies are directed to deprioritize enforcement of statutes and regulations that include disparate-impact liability. The order also revokes certain Presidential approvals of regulations related to disparate-impact liability under 42 U.S.C. 2000d-1.

The order directs federal agencies to enforce transparency regarding foreign funding to American universities. The Secretary of Education, in collaboration with the Attorney General and other executive departments, is instructed to ensure complete and timely disclosure of foreign funding by higher education institutions. This includes reversing previous actions that allowed secrecy about foreign funding, requiring more specific disclosure about such funding, and providing the public with greater access to this information. The order also mandates compliance with these disclosure requirements for the receipt of federal grant funds.

The order directs federal agencies to establish the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), which will be housed in the Executive Office of the President. The Initiative will work with various stakeholders, including executive departments, agencies, private-sector employers, and philanthropic organizations, to enhance the capacity of HBCUs to provide high-quality education. The Initiative will also focus on strengthening HBCUs through improved institutional planning, fiscal stability, financial management, and infrastructure upgrades, as well as fostering private-sector initiatives, partnerships, and academic research at HBCUs. Additionally, a President’s Board of Advisors on HBCUs will be established within the Department of Education to advise on these matters.

Eight more immigration judges have been fired, joining scores of other judges, aides, and staff let go previously. According to the report:

“The Executive Office for Immigration Review, or EOIR, which runs the immigration court system, fired at least two dozen more immigration judges and supervising judges in February, including five from California courts, according to the judge’s union. The administration also eliminated five leadership positions at the EOIR and removed nine Board of Immigration Appeals judges appointed under Biden. An additional 85 professional court staff — including 19 judges, interpreters, legal assistants, and IT specialists — took buyouts after receiving a ‘Fork in the Road’ email offering federal workers ‘deferred resignations.’”

The Interior Department says it will fast-track approvals for minin, gas, and oil extraction on federal lands. This comes in response to the president's previous declaration of an "energy emergency."

The Department of Justice canceled 365 grants for support for police officers, support for crime victims programs, and other uses distributed by the Office of Justice Programs. It made $4.4 billion in such grants in FY 2023.

Collection effort is set to begin next month. Borrowers in default could see tax refunds, social security remittances, and federal pay checks withheld to repay debts.

The order directs Federal agencies to recognize April 19, 2025, as a day of commemoration for the 250th anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord, marking the beginning of the American Revolutionary War. This commemoration is intended to honor the sacrifices made by those who fought in these battles, and to renew commitment to the principles of independence and self-government for which they stood. The directive does not specify actions to be taken by individual agencies, but implies a general expectation of acknowledgement and commemoration.

The order directs Federal agencies to extend the hiring freeze on Federal civilian employees within the executive branch through July 15, 2025. No vacant positions may be filled nor new ones created, unless otherwise provided for in the memorandum or required by law. This freeze applies to all executive departments and agencies, except for positions related to military personnel, immigration enforcement, national security, public safety, the Executive Office of the President, and those exempted by the Office of Personnel Management. Agencies are prohibited from contracting outside the Federal Government to circumvent the freeze and are instructed to seek efficient use of existing personnel and funds. This order does not restrict the nomination and appointment of officials to positions requiring Presidential appointment or Senate confirmation, among other exceptions.

The order directs Federal agencies to address issues impacting American seafood competitiveness. The Secretary of Commerce, consulting with the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the United States fishing industry, is tasked to consider suspending, revising, or rescinding regulations that heavily burden America’s commercial fishing, aquaculture, and fish processing industries. The Secretary of Commerce is also directed to work with Regional Fishery Management Councils to reduce regulatory burdens on the most overregulated fisheries and to solicit public comments for innovative ideas to improve fisheries management and science.

The order directs Federal agencies to reassess the prohibition on commercial fishing within the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument (PRIMNM) boundaries. The National Marine Fisheries Service and the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council are identified as effective managers of regional fisheries. The order finds that appropriately managed commercial fishing would not harm the scientific and historic objects that the PRIMNM protects, and notes that the prohibition on commercial fishing has negatively impacted American fishing fleets and territories dependent on the fishing industry.

Trump II administration officials, members of ICE, and DOGE agents have sought access to Medicare databases to assist in their efforst to track down immigrants marked for deportation.

About 50,000 federal employees, and possibly many more, will lose civil service protections as the Trump II administration moves ahead with plans to re-classify them to a status that places workers in an "at-will" employment status.

The order directs Federal agencies to prioritize the procurement of commercially available products and services, including those that can be modified to meet agencies' needs, to the maximum extent possible. This includes adhering to the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1994 (Public Law 103-355, as amended). Within 60 days, each agency's approval authority must instruct the agency's contracting officers to review all open solicitations for non-commercial products or services and consolidate these into proposed applications for non-commercial purchases. These proposed applications will be assessed for compliance with the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act within 30 days of receipt, with recommendations made to advance the solicitation of commercial products or services where sufficient.

Trump II interior secretary Doug Burgum called for a halt to “all construction activities” on the Empire Wind project off Long Island. The project was designed to generate enough electricity to power about 500,000 homes. Secretary Burgum said the stoppage would allow for additional review of the project. New York's governor said she would "fight this decision every step of the way."

The order directs Federal agencies to address vulnerabilities and distortions in the global supply chain related to processed critical minerals and their derivative products, which are essential for economic security, resilience, and national defense. The dependence on a small number of foreign suppliers has led to significant U.S. import dependencies, posing potential risks to national security, defense readiness, price stability, and economic prosperity. The aim is to ensure a secure, affordable, resilient, and sustainable supply of these minerals, reducing the risk of supply chain shocks and supporting key industries, technological innovation, and critical infrastructure.

The order directs Federal agencies to implement measures aimed at reducing prescription drug prices and increasing access to affordable medicines for American patients. The Secretary of Health and Human Services is instructed to propose and seek comment on guidance for the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program for initial price applicability year 2028 and manufacturer effectuation of maximum fair price under such program in 2026, 2027, and 2028. The order also calls for optimization of Federal health care programs, intellectual property protections, and safety regulations to facilitate lower prescription drug costs.

The order directs Federal agencies to prevent ineligible aliens from receiving Social Security Act benefits. The Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and the Commissioner of Social Security, in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security, are to take measures to ensure ineligible aliens are not receiving funds from Social Security Act programs. The Attorney General and the Commissioner of Social Security are directed to expand the Social Security Administration’s full-time fraud prosecutor program, while the Attorney General and the Secretary of Health and Human Services are to establish a similar program for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The Commissioner of Social Security is also ordered to implement recommendations from the Inspector General of the Social Security Administration's audit report to prevent and detect fraud and improper payments.

The order directs Federal agencies to revoke Executive Orders 12072 and 13006, which previously prioritized central business districts and historic properties for federal facilities. The Administrator of General Services is instructed to amend regulations at title 41, parts 102-79 and 102-83, Code of Federal Regulations, and take steps to align Federal office space management policy with this new directive. Agencies that acquire or use federally owned or leased space must conform to the provisions of this order, subject to applicable law.

The order directs Federal agencies to revise the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), which currently governs acquisitions across executive departments and agencies. The Administrator of the Office of Federal Public Procurement Policy, in coordination with the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council and agency heads, is to amend the FAR within 180 days to include only provisions required by statute or necessary for simplicity, usability, procurement efficacy, or the protection of economic or national security interests. Additionally, each agency with procurement authority under the FAR must designate a senior acquisition or procurement official within 15 days to work with the Administrator and the Council to align agency regulations with the FAR reform.

The order directs Federal agencies to maximize the use of technology in environmental review and permitting processes for infrastructure projects. The aim is to eliminate paper-based processes, accelerate processing time, reduce duplicative data submissions, improve transparency, and streamline the overall environmental review process. Within 45 days, the Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) is to issue a Permitting Technology Action Plan for modernizing the technology used for Federal permitting and environmental review processes, and within 90 days of the issuance of this plan, certain officials are to adopt and begin implementing the new standards and requirements in their environmental review and permitting systems.

The FDA is planning to hire contractors to cover tasks formerly carried out by laid off staff. In early April the agency let go about 60 employees who coordinated travel and logistics for inspectors and others. The agency is now seeking contractors to fill those roles.

During an Oval Office meeting, El Salvador's leader said it would not release a man United States immigration officials wrongly sent to the Central American nation's notorious high security prison. The United States Supreme Court ordered that the Trump Administration must "facilitate" the man's return.

Nearly two dozen tribes across the country have said that projects totaling $350 million have been halted due to funding suspensions. Projects include home renovations for energy efficiency, community center construction, flood control, and other climate-related improvements.

The federal government says it is freezing $2.2 billion in grants and another $60 million in contracts to Harvard after the university refused to accept the government's demands for changes to university governance.

U.S. Customs and Border Patrol published a notice that the goods would be exempted from Trump's "reciprocal" 10% tariffs globally, and the 125% tariff targetting China. The shift leaves in place an earlier 20% tariff on goods from China.

The order directs Federal agencies including the Secretaries of State, Treasury, Commerce, Homeland Security, the United States Trade Representative, the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy, the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, the Senior Counselor to the President for Trade and Manufacturing, and the Chair of the United States International Trade Commission to clarify exceptions under a previous order that regulates imports and imposes additional duties on certain goods contributing to US trade deficits. The clarification specifies that "semiconductors", identified by certain codes in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), are exempted from these duties. Any duties collected on these exempted imports after a specified date and time should be refunded.

The order directs Federal agencies, specifically the Department of Defense, the Department of the Interior, the Department of Agriculture, and the Department of Homeland Security, to take appropriate actions to secure the southern border of the United States. This includes providing for the use and jurisdiction by the Department of Defense over necessary Federal lands for military activities, such as border-barrier construction and the emplacement of detection and monitoring equipment. The Secretary of the Interior is also directed to allow the Department of Defense to use portions of the Roosevelt Reservation and may make withdrawals, reservations, and restrictions of public lands to enable the Department of Defense to address the emergency at the southern border.

The five law firms are said to have signed the deals in order to remove the possibility they might be sanctioned by the administration. In addition to the provision of pro bono legal work, the firms agreed to eliminate DEI in hiring and other practices.

The Education Department announced Friday that it would cut off all federal funding to K-12 schools in Maine unless the state complied with the president's executive order banning transgender athletes from girls' sports teams. The agency also said it had asked the Department of Justice to begin an enforcement action.