President Donald Trump Getting Rid of Power of Education Department

The biggest political news of the week came on Thursday when President Donald Trump confirmed the rumors that he is dismantling the Department of Education through the use of an executive order. Here is a look at the leading headlines over the last few days in Washington, D.C.

Previously Classified Information About JFK Assassination Released

Over 80,000 pages of information detailing the assassination of President John F. Kennedy was released on Tuesday. President Donald Trump ordered the release of the previously classified information to add to the documents surrounding the event that had already been released by President Joe Biden.

Trump also ordered that information regarding the assassinations of Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr be released to the public. The new documents are now published on the website of the National Archives. However, it is difficult to parse through the information as it is only identified by record numbers.

Trump Follows Up Phone Call with Putin with Conversation with Zelensky

Just one day after speaking with Russian President Vladimir Putin, President Donald Trump spoke on the phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. According to the official readout of the phone call, Trump confirmed that he would help Zelensky secure more Patriot missile systems.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the U.S. and Ukraine will share intelligence information between their respective defense agencies. Trump also spoke with Zeleknsky about the details of his prior conversation with Putin. The call between Trump and Zelensky lasted longer than expected due to the extent of the topics surrounding the ongoing war.

Federal Reserve Leaves Interest Rates Unchanged

The Federal Reserve decided to hold interest rates steady at its monthly meeting. The nation's central bank made the decision to not cut rates during its Wednesday meeting. Fed chair Jerome Powell spoke to the media after the meeting, detailing that his agency believes that the economy will be weaker than expected this year. Powell also noted that his team predicts that inflation will increase slightly in the months ahead.

Investors have been growing increasingly worried as President Trump continues to stoke the fires of an international trade war. The sudden slashing of the federal workforce is also creating anxiety and uncertainty on Wall Street.

Safety Concerns Prompt Removal of Teslas Off Auto Show Floor

Officials with the Vancouver International Auto Show in Canada have removed the Tesla display from its event. According to a spokesperson for the popular event, the Telsa display was removed due to safety concerns. Elon Musk's company had been given the opportunity to voluntarily withdraw before show organizers made the decision to remove them from the show floor.

The Tesla brand has been the center of much controversy in recent weeks as Musk raises alarm about his decisions in Washington, D.C. Several dealerships in the U.S. and Canada have become victims of vandalism.

Trump Dismantles U.S. Department of Education

In a move that he had been hinting at since taking office in January, President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday that will effectively dismantle the Department of Education. The president signed the order from the East Wing of the White House surrounded by students wearing school uniforms.

There is a great deal of uncertainty surrounding how far Trump will be able to take this order. A president must have the approval of Congress to completely shut down a Cabinet-level agency. Trump said that the goal is to send the management of education to the state level.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt fielded questions from reporters during her daily press briefing regarding the dismantling of the agency. Leavitt told the media that the order would simply "minimize the agency," noting that critical functions such as grants for at-risk children and student loans will remain under the direction of the department.

However, it was just one day later that Trump told reporters gathered in the Oval Office that the nation's Small Business Administration (SBA) would take over the student loan program. The SBA is led by former Georgia senator and Trump ally Kelly Loeffler.

Trump made this announcement on Friday, noting that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will now be in charge of administering the funding for American students with special needs. This function had previously fallen under the umbrella of the Department of Education.

On this same day, Loeffler detailed that the SBA would slash its workforce by approximately 43%. This will equate to a loss of about 2,700 jobs. She did not specify how the agency will carry through with the new responsibility of administering the nation's student loan program within these reductions.

Federal Judge Bans DOGE from Tapping Into Social Security Data

In a major loss for the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a federal judge blocked the newly created agency from accessing personal data from the Social Security Administration (SSA).

U.S. District Judge Ellen Hollander released her opinion in a 137-page document accusing DOGE of going on a "fishing expedition at SSA." The Barack Obama-appointed judge concluded that the Trump administration has not effectively shown why DOGE needs to access this personally identifiable information.

As part of Hollander's restraining order, DOGE agents are mandated to delete any sensitive information that they have already taken from the SSA. The case could serve as a harbinger of things to come as federal agencies and workers push back on Musk's initiatives to downsize the government.

Tariffs Delayed on U.S. Goods Flowing into Europe

The European Union (EU) is delaying its planned tariffs on American goods such as whiskey until the middle of April. The EU had previously announced a round of retaliatory tariffs to strike back on President Trump's duties placed on steel and aluminum coming into the U.S. Leaders at the key Europen agency had originally set the first phase of the tariffs to begin on April 1.

In addition to whiskey, the EU is planning to tax beer, beef, soybeans, poultry, tomatoes, motorcycles, and motorboats. The delay means that the tariffs will not take effect until April 13. Approximately $28 billion worth of American goods will be impacted by the tariffs.

Trump Rescinds Security Clearance for More Former Government Officials

The week in politics was not over when the sun went down on the National Mall on Friday. In a late-night memo, President Donald Trump confirmed that he was revoking the security clearance for more than a dozen of his political adversaries. Those on the list include former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former Vice President Kamala Harris, the two candidates he defeated in his presidential bids.

The directive will mean that these individuals will no longer receive access to classified information, including the President's Daily Brief. The president had already pulled security clearance from former President Joe Biden.