Fannie Lou Hamer. Organizing is like economic triaging. Yes, voting is important, however, eating is really important.
UPDATE: Donald Trump Takes Office as the 47th US President
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For Trump, 3 court losses in 90 minutes
By Devan Cole
February 25, 2025
amp.cnn.com
Three different federal judges delivered legal setbacks and slap downs to President Donald Trump in the span of an hour and a half on Tuesday in a series of cases challenging controversial moves taken during the early days of his second term.
The rulings from judges in Washington, DC, and Washington state are the latest to pump the brakes on Trump’s agenda, underscoring the critical role courts have taken on for foes of Trump looking to frustrate his actions.
In DC, Judge Loren AliKhan issued a preliminary injunction that indefinitely blocks the administration from freezing federal grants and loans. The ruling expands an earlier block the appointee of former President Joe Biden issued last month shortly after the White House ordered the funding freeze.
Biden Appointed, United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, Loren AliKhan
“In the simplest terms, the freeze was ill-conceived from the beginning. Defendants either wanted to pause up to $3 trillion in federal spending practically overnight, or they expected each federal agency to review every single one of its grants, loans, and funds for compliance in less than twenty-four hours. The breadth of that command is almost unfathomable,” AliKhan wrote in her ruling.
She went on to say that the spending freeze was “irrational, imprudent, and precipitated a nationwide crisis.”
The issue of withholding federal funds has become a major flashpoint during the opening weeks of Trump’s second term, with other pending cases challenging the White House’s decision to suspend all foreign assistance.
Shortly before AliKhan issued her ruling, a separate jurist in the DC federal courthouse – Judge Amir Ali – ordered the Trump administration to pay foreign aid-related money owed to government contractors and nonprofit groups by Wednesday night, amid the legal fight over the freezing of USAID and State Department funds.
That order amounted to a legal reprimand after the plaintiffs in the cases repeatedly accused the administration of not complying with Ali’s earlier temporary restraining order that revived the funding contracts and grants that existed at the end of the Biden administration.
Ali – also a Biden appointee – rebuffed an earlier call by the challengers for the administration to be held in contempt for its alleged non-compliance. But he issued a new order requiring, in more forceful terms, that the government pay money owed to contractors and non-profits for work that had already been completed by the February 13 order.
Biden Appointed, United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia,
Meanwhile, across the country in Washington state, a federal judge in Seattle issued a preliminary injunction on Tuesday that halts Trump’s executive order suspending refugee admissions and funding.
Judge Jamal Whitehead, who was also appointed by Biden, said that Trump’s “actions amount to an effective nullification of congressional will in establishing the nation’s refugee admissions program.”
“While the president has substantial discretion to suspend refugee admissions, that authority is not limitless,” the judge said.
Trump’s executive order, signed on his first day back in office, also directed a review of the refugee program and stated that resettlement should only resume if deemed to be in the “national interest” – a move critics argue is a de facto refugee ban.
Biden Appointed, United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington, Jamal Whitehead
Cases advance to next stages
The administration is facing at least 80 cases challenging a range of actions taken during Trump’s first few weeks back in office.
The plaintiffs behind those challenges have seen some success as they’ve pressed judges to issue emergency relief during the early stages of the litigation. But the White House, too, has scored some court victories in cases brought against the administration’s efforts to shrink the federal workforce and shutter the US’ foreign aid agency.
Many of the cases are finally getting a more thorough review by judges who are mulling whether to issue preliminary injunctions to block the contested government action. Such a decision is often the final trial court-level ruling issued in cases before they’re appealed by the losing side.
As AliKhan explained her reasoning for issuing the preliminary injunction in the funding freeze case, she said the nonprofits that brought the case were likely to succeed on their claims that the freeze was unlawful.
“The scope of power (the Office of Management and Budget) seeks to claim is ‘breathtaking,’ and its ramifications are massive,” she wrote. “Because there is no clear statutory hook for this broad assertion of power, Plaintiffs are likely to succeed on the merits of this claim.”
And AliKhan noted that her earlier order temporarily halting the funding freeze was just that – temporary.
“The relief Plaintiffs now seek is a more durable version of the relief they sought then, when their members were on the brink of extinction,” she wrote. “In sum, Plaintiffs have marshalled significant evidence indicating that the funding freeze would be economically catastrophic – and in some circumstances, fatal – to their members.”
By Devan Cole
February 25, 2025
For Trump, 3 court losses in 90 minutes | CNN Politics
Three different federal judges delivered legal setbacks and slap downs to President Donald Trump in the span of an hour and a half on Tuesday in a series of cases challenging controversial moves taken during the early days of his second term.
Three different federal judges delivered legal setbacks and slap downs to President Donald Trump in the span of an hour and a half on Tuesday in a series of cases challenging controversial moves taken during the early days of his second term.
The rulings from judges in Washington, DC, and Washington state are the latest to pump the brakes on Trump’s agenda, underscoring the critical role courts have taken on for foes of Trump looking to frustrate his actions.
In DC, Judge Loren AliKhan issued a preliminary injunction that indefinitely blocks the administration from freezing federal grants and loans. The ruling expands an earlier block the appointee of former President Joe Biden issued last month shortly after the White House ordered the funding freeze.
Biden Appointed, United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, Loren AliKhan
“In the simplest terms, the freeze was ill-conceived from the beginning. Defendants either wanted to pause up to $3 trillion in federal spending practically overnight, or they expected each federal agency to review every single one of its grants, loans, and funds for compliance in less than twenty-four hours. The breadth of that command is almost unfathomable,” AliKhan wrote in her ruling.
She went on to say that the spending freeze was “irrational, imprudent, and precipitated a nationwide crisis.”
The issue of withholding federal funds has become a major flashpoint during the opening weeks of Trump’s second term, with other pending cases challenging the White House’s decision to suspend all foreign assistance.
Shortly before AliKhan issued her ruling, a separate jurist in the DC federal courthouse – Judge Amir Ali – ordered the Trump administration to pay foreign aid-related money owed to government contractors and nonprofit groups by Wednesday night, amid the legal fight over the freezing of USAID and State Department funds.
That order amounted to a legal reprimand after the plaintiffs in the cases repeatedly accused the administration of not complying with Ali’s earlier temporary restraining order that revived the funding contracts and grants that existed at the end of the Biden administration.
Ali – also a Biden appointee – rebuffed an earlier call by the challengers for the administration to be held in contempt for its alleged non-compliance. But he issued a new order requiring, in more forceful terms, that the government pay money owed to contractors and non-profits for work that had already been completed by the February 13 order.
Biden Appointed, United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia,
Meanwhile, across the country in Washington state, a federal judge in Seattle issued a preliminary injunction on Tuesday that halts Trump’s executive order suspending refugee admissions and funding.
Judge Jamal Whitehead, who was also appointed by Biden, said that Trump’s “actions amount to an effective nullification of congressional will in establishing the nation’s refugee admissions program.”
“While the president has substantial discretion to suspend refugee admissions, that authority is not limitless,” the judge said.
Trump’s executive order, signed on his first day back in office, also directed a review of the refugee program and stated that resettlement should only resume if deemed to be in the “national interest” – a move critics argue is a de facto refugee ban.
Biden Appointed, United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington, Jamal Whitehead
Cases advance to next stages
The administration is facing at least 80 cases challenging a range of actions taken during Trump’s first few weeks back in office.
The plaintiffs behind those challenges have seen some success as they’ve pressed judges to issue emergency relief during the early stages of the litigation. But the White House, too, has scored some court victories in cases brought against the administration’s efforts to shrink the federal workforce and shutter the US’ foreign aid agency.
Many of the cases are finally getting a more thorough review by judges who are mulling whether to issue preliminary injunctions to block the contested government action. Such a decision is often the final trial court-level ruling issued in cases before they’re appealed by the losing side.
As AliKhan explained her reasoning for issuing the preliminary injunction in the funding freeze case, she said the nonprofits that brought the case were likely to succeed on their claims that the freeze was unlawful.
“The scope of power (the Office of Management and Budget) seeks to claim is ‘breathtaking,’ and its ramifications are massive,” she wrote. “Because there is no clear statutory hook for this broad assertion of power, Plaintiffs are likely to succeed on the merits of this claim.”
And AliKhan noted that her earlier order temporarily halting the funding freeze was just that – temporary.
“The relief Plaintiffs now seek is a more durable version of the relief they sought then, when their members were on the brink of extinction,” she wrote. “In sum, Plaintiffs have marshalled significant evidence indicating that the funding freeze would be economically catastrophic – and in some circumstances, fatal – to their members.”
What Could the Proposed Federal Budget Mean For Student Loan Borrowers?
Everything You Need to Know About Federal Home Loan Bank Systems
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KEY TAKEAWAYS
- As the government nears its March 14 budget deadline, a Republican budget resolution moved one step closer to being passed.
- The resolution calls for $4.5 trillion in tax cuts and a reduction of $2 trillion in federal spending. The $330 billion of that is directed to be cut by the House Education and Workforce Committee.
- A proposal to follow the directed cuts would eliminate higher education tax benefits, increase monthly loan payments, and eliminate student loan and grant programs.
As the government approaches its March 14 deadline to pass a federal budget, a Republican budget resolution, which calls for $4.5 trillion in tax cuts and $2 trillion less in federal spending, was narrowly passed late Tuesday.1 The plan includes directing the House Education and Workforce Committee to cut $330 billion in the next 10 years. The committee oversees elementary, secondary, and postsecondary programs.
"The American people have been clear that they want to end wasteful government spending. This budget resolution delivers on that promise while providing relief to working families, students, and small businesses," Tim Walberg (R-MI), Education and Workforce Committee chairman, said in a statement.
Experts said that to save that much, the House committee would likely have to cut tax benefits for students, scale back key grants and loans or rework student loan repayment and forgiveness programs.
What's On The Chopping Block?
A document reportedly released by the House Ways and Means last month outlined some student loan and grant programs the committee could possibly cut to reach its savings goal.2Reporesentatives could eliminate tax benefits for higher education students and borrowers, such as the American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC), the Lifetime Learning Credit (LLC), and tax deductions of interest on student loans. In addition, one proposal would make all scholarship and fellowship income taxable.
The new budget could also repeal former President Joe Biden's Saving for a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan and eliminate other income-driven repayment (IDR) plans. Instead, borrowers would only have two repayment options: a standard repayment or a new IDR plan.
Officials at The Institute For College Access and Success (TICAS) said that reworking the income-driven repayment plans is likely going to be part of the plan to cut spending because of the high target amounts. Recently, the Department of Education closed applications for those plans.
House Republicans proposed a new IDR plan last year that would increase borrowers' monthly payments by almost $200 on average, according to The Institute For College Access and Success (TICAS) analysis.3
"Borrowers are just in a really tough spot, and we know a lot of folks are already struggling to afford monthly payments even under a more affordable plan, and so any increase in monthly payment expectation is going to be hard for a lot of folks," said Michele Zampini, senior director of college affordability at TICAS.
In addition, the proposal suggested reforming Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), "including limiting eligibility for the program."
Pell Grants could be reformed by capping grants at the median cost of attendance or expanding eligibility to short-term credential programs, which the nominee to head of the Department of Education said she would support.
The critical loan programs that allow parents to share the cost of higher education, PLUS and grad PLUS loans, could also be eliminated as part of the budget cuts.
She's funny in this one
Even this idiot isn't down with itSo now Trump has invited Andrew Tate to the US. Just when you thought it couldn't get any worst
Desantis's problem is he is not a likeable person, he is giving Republicans what they want but not even they like him, his wife is about to get schooled next election.
The online political junkie left have been in "RESIST" and "ALL HANDS ON DECK" mode when it comes to Trump for 10 years now. And honestly, if it wasn't for covid, he would be undefeated against it. But they want more performances
It's time for Dems to understand that no one outside of political junkies is paying any attention to politicians. People care about their pocketbooks and what's going to help them pay their rent and buy groceries. Period.
You have Dems talking daily 24/7 about this - hell Jasmine and AOC are constantly talking about the fascist takeover. They're preaching to the choir. Average America is not paying a lick of attention to that.
Trump right now is upside down on the economy. It seems that when people said their number one concern was the price of groceries, they meant it. Dems should be hammering that constantly and leave this other stuff alone. They're not going to scare people into not supporting Trump. That has never worked.
The fact is NO ONE in the Dem party is focused on winning. Everyone is focused on their own pet issues. In order to win, we need to stop being hysterical running around crying the sky is falling with no solutions beside RESIST.,
Why would anyone think that's a strong group of people with answers? We need calm, cool, focus and tangible answers, solutions. Everyone in middle class and poor communities should know exactly what the Dem plan is to make their lives better.
And the next Dem to mention Jan 6 should get kicked in the chest.
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I already said this same thing
If anything shows Dems predilection for being as delusional as Trump voters its this Congestion Toll here in NY thats supported only by the people that live in lower Manhattan ....
Dems ( or "progressives" ) have shown how out of touch they are by insisting a toll be paid by people to fill the coffers of the MTA which has shown itself to be a black hole for funding ...always demanding more money yet showing little for it
But in true fashion Dems are letting themselves get out maneuvered by Trump and the GOP in supporting the toll when a majority of the cities Middle class black and latino communities live outside the toll zone and will have an additional 2500 dollar bill to contend with in the wake of also living in a High COL city like NYC ....and let's not even talk about the outlying counties that are becoming more republican not just becuase of the high taxes but also becuase of the increasing view that Gov Hochul is more concerned with looking like she has to prove herself to the eliete of NYC politics rather than the voters who dont live in lower Manhattan.
You want to see what fucking up keeping a state Dem looks like look no further than NY
great post
He's in bed with the same the ppl who wanted to see him get knocked out by that Irish CAC and various Mexicans for being a successful Black boxer.
Also isn't that ninja illiterate?
Democrats might actually have a shot
Trump is going to have Hochul fighting him in court the next two years for the right to charge people higher tolls. You can't make this shit up. If she was smart, she would say "well I tried" and dump this shit. But she won't.
Who is she poking fun at though? It's her boyfriend that doesn't want the documents released.
I follow Laura Loomer, she‘s funny.
I think she is a reverse Candace Owens, where she is really
a Democrat but runs a MAGA grift for money and views.
she spent days ranting about Elon’s Baby Momz, against Pam Bondi,
and others in the Trump admin.
Should've stayed in food and beverage
Really? She seems to be dyed-in-the-wool MAGA to me. She even accused Elon, while was listening (he was using a burner account), that he wasn't real MAGA.
Wtf
So this has nothing to do with Immigration, Trump or DOGE.
Just Elon being Elon.
How do you call one of your new business partners a crime lord??
What do you think he is going to do?
Dumbass !!!
Now $29 billion poorer
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