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MAGA Republicans are in uproar this morning after the Supreme Court blocked the Trump administration from using the Alien Enemies Act to deport foreign nationals. Justices Thomas and Alito dissented. Outraged conservatives are calling the decision a “Supreme Coup” and directing their fury at Justices Roberts, Kavanaugh, and Gorsuch.
A leaked classified assessment from the National Intelligence Council finds no evidence backing Donald Trump’s claim that Venezuela is directing the Tren de Aragua prison gang to invade the U.S. The report directly undercuts the administration’s use of the Alien Enemies Act to justify mass deportations without due process.
According to Wired, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is merging data from the Department of Homeland Security, the Social Security Administration, and the IRS—building what experts warn could become a surveillance apparatus of unprecedented scale. The initiative includes sensitive biometric data and has no historical precedent in its scope. “They are trying to amass a huge amount of data,” a senior DHS official told Wired. Privacy experts are sounding the alarm over the potential for catastrophic violations of civil liberties.
The Trump administration admits that the letter sent to Harvard last Friday—sparking a public showdown—was sent in error and without authorization. Nonetheless, officials are now standing by it, reportedly out of anger at Harvard’s leadership for taking the dispute public.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had to wait for Peter Navarro to be occupied in another meeting before rushing to the Oval Office with Howard Lutnick to persuade President Trump to pause tariffs. They sealed the deal moments before Trump announced the decision on Truth Social.
BOSTON (AP) — A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration’s attempt to change passport rules that would have stripped recognition from transgender Americans.
Harvard University got a letter from the Trump administration last Friday that sparked a public dispute between the two—but it turns out the letter was sent by mistake and wasn’t officially approved. Despite that, the Trump administration is now backing the letter anyway, frustrated that Harvard chose to make the conflict public.
The Trump administration is seeking to eliminate funding for Head Start, a move that would gut early education and child care for over half a million low-income children. The proposal, buried in a draft budget obtained by the AP, signals sweeping cuts to the Department of Health and Human Services ahead of the 2026 fiscal plan.
CNN has learned that the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security will not recommend that President Trump invoke military authority to assist in migrant arrests—at least for now. In a forthcoming memo, Pete Hegseth and Kristi Noem will state that such powers are not currently necessary.
Reuters: A U.S. judge has ordered the Trump administration to transfer a Tufts University student from an immigration detention facility in Louisiana to Vermont, highlighting growing legal pushback against the administration’s detention policies targeting international students.
See you this evening.
— Aaron
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