ICE seeks contractors for 24/7 social media surveillance targeting deportations with 30-minute turnaround on urgent cases and AI to track negative sentiment toward agency.
Federal workers union sues Education Dept. for manipulating civil servants’ out-of-office emails without consent to blame Democrats for shutdown, claiming First Amendment violation.
Treasury confirms $1 coin draft with Trump on both sides for 250th anniversary despite 1866 law barring living persons to avoid monarchy appearance.
Newsom threatens to cut state funding to California universities that sign Trump compact requiring closure of departments hostile to conservatives, 15% cap on international students, and acceptance of administration’s gender definitions.
Trump reposts QAnon-affiliated content calling Democratic leaders “The Party of Hate, Evil, and Satan” during shutdown negotiations while falsely claiming they seek healthcare for unauthorized immigrants.
Smithsonian warns White House order to relocate Space Shuttle Discovery from Virginia to Texas within 18 months would require disassembling the most intact orbiter, destroying its historical value.
Trump and budget director Vought plan to determine which “Democrat Agencies” to cut during shutdown after already canceling $18 billion in infrastructure funding for New York.
Education Department changes furloughed employees’ out-of-office emails to blame Democratic senators for the shutdown without their knowledge or permission, raising Hatch Act violation concerns.
Trump calls OMB director Russ Vought “of Project 2025 fame” while discussing agency cuts during the shutdown, months after claiming no connection to the conservative blueprint.
Voice of America stops all broadcasts and furloughs journalists 2 days after judge threatened contempt for defying restoration order, breaking with past shutdowns that treated news to authoritarian countries as essential.
