Many Cuban-Americans in Florida voted for Trump. This news will cause mixed feelings

Will Grant

Mexico, Central America and Cuba correspondent

Seeing the travel ban extended to Cuba will cause both celebration and consternation in Florida.

Many conservative Cuban-American voters gave Donald Trump their vote in November and carried the state for him easily in the election. They have long advocated for harsh sanctions against the island’s government and its leadership.

For its part, the Cuban government staunchly disputes its classification as a “state sponsor of terrorism” – the reason cited by the White House for the island’s inclusion in the ban. It says the entire premise is unjust and intended to further harm its economic interests by forcing its isolation from the international banking system.

However, the idea that ordinary Cubans applying to reach the US through family reunification, or under other visas and legal pathways, might be prevented from doing so by this decision may stick in the craw of many Cuban-Americans, even in Miami – the home of anti-Cuban Government sentiment.

There is already a growing resentment among some in Florida at seeing the Trump administration deport Cubans back to Cuba. They have always enjoyed a privileged migration status in the US, stretching back to the Kennedy administration.

If this latest step is seen as harming Cubans who are wanting to escape communist rule, it could be enough to give some in Florida buyers’ remorse.

This marks a sharp escalation in tensions between the Trump administration and Harvard, following a federal court ruling that blocked a prior attempt to restrict international student visas. The new order relies on different legal grounds and follows a dispute over Harvard’s cooperation with federal demands for student misconduct records. While Harvard claims it has complied, the government maintains the school’s response was inadequate.

President Trump has signed an executive order blocking nearly all foreign students from entering the United States to attend Harvard University, citing national security concerns. The move targets the university’s significant international student population, which makes up about a quarter of its student body. In the order, Trump stated that Harvard’s actions had made it an “unsuitable destination” for foreign students and researchers.

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Trump releases video on new travel ban — 9:08 p.m. Link copied

By the Associated Press

In a video released on social media explaining the travel restrictions, Trump tied them to the recent attack in Boulder, Colorado, in which police say an Egyptian man injured a dozen people assembled to raise attention for Israeli hostages in Gaza.

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Trump said the attack underscored the dangers posed by some foreign nationals and visitors who overstay visas. Federal authorities have said the Boulder attack suspect has been living in the U.S. illegally. Egypt is not on Trump’s restricted list.

Trump said the severity of the restrictions on each country depended on how strong the threat was. He said the list could be updated to reflect improvements or additional threats around the world.

The countries impacted by Trump’s travel ban — 8:43 p.m. Link copied

By the Associated Press

People from a dozen countries will be banned from entering the United States under Trump’s ban. Those countries include:

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Afghanistan

Myanmar

Chad

the Republic of Congo

Equatorial Guinea

Eritrea

Haiti

Iran

Libya

Somalia

Sudan

Yemen

There will also be heightened restrictions on visitors from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.

“I must act to protect the national security and national interest of the United States and its people,” Trump said in his proclamation.

Ten of the 19 countries under the bans and restrictions are in Africa, nine of those from majority-Black African countries. Several of those, including Sierra Leone, Togo and Equatorial Guinea, are not known for hosting armed groups that pose a major threat to the West.

Trump issues new ban on international students at Harvard — 8:41 p.m. Link copied

By Mike Damiano, Globe Staff

The Trump administration took two extraordinary new steps in its fight against Harvard University and other elite schools, measures that could have financial consequences beyond what the universities have already suffered during the White House’s pressure campaign and that could reshape Harvard’s student body and research enterprise.

In one, President Trump imposed a six-month ban on any international students who plan to come to Harvard to study or for an exchange program. The order follows the White House’s previous attempt, since temporarily blocked by a federal judge, to revoke altogether Harvard’s ability to enroll foreign students.

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Trump moves to block US entry for Harvard-bound foreigners — 8:33 p.m. Link copied

By the Associated Press

In an executive order signed Wednesday, Trump declared that it would jeopardize national security to allow Harvard to continue hosting foreign students on its campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts. International students account for a quarter of the university’s student body.

It’s his latest attempt to choke the Ivy League school and stems from Harvard’s refusal to submit to a series of demands made by the federal government.

Trump orders investigation into Biden’s actions as president, alleging cover-up of cognitive decline — 8:13 p.m. Link copied

By the Associated Press

Trump is ordering his administration to investigate former President Joe Biden’s use of an autopen to sign pardons and other documents.

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An autopen is a mechanical device that is used to replicate a person’s authentic signature, and presidents have used them for decades. Trump has frequently suggested that some of Biden’s actions are invalid because his aides were usurping presidential authority to cover up what Trump claims is Biden’s cognitive decline.

The memo Wednesday came after House Republicans requested transcribed interviews with five former Biden aides, alleging that they had participated in a cover-up concerning “Biden’s cognitive state and who was calling the shots.”

Biden and members of his family have vigorously denied the claims, and Democrats have dismissed the effort as a distraction.

Trump announces travel ban affecting a dozen countries — 7:56 p.m. Link copied

By the Associated Press

Trump is again banning people from countries his administration deems dangerous from coming to America.

The travel ban issued Wednesday is a repeat of an order of his first administration that led to widespread confusion at airports. This version includes Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.

Trump’s first travel ban was issued in 2017 and banned travel to the U.S. by citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries. Trump has said the ban was aimed at protecting the country.

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Judge blocks Trump move to cut Job Corps program — 7:41 p.m. Link copied

By The New York Times

A federal judge in New York has blocked the Trump administration’s move to eliminate the Job Corps, a Department of Labor program that offers jobs training for young people seeking work.

In the two-page order, Judge Andrew L. Carter Jr. of the Southern District of New York did not elaborate on his reasons for blocking the action, saying that the Department of Labor could not “take any further action to eliminate the Job Corps program without Congressional authorization.”

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Guatemalan man deported to Mexico has been brought back to the US — 7:33 p.m. Link copied

By the Associated Press

A Guatemalan man who was deported to Mexico and whom the Trump administration was working to bring back after a court order landed in the United States on Wednesday, his attorneys confirmed.

The man, identified in court documents by initials O.C.G, landed in California via a commercial flight and made contact with his legal team while waiting in line to go through immigration, said Trina Realmuto of the National Immigration Litigation Alliance.

“We expect that he will be detained, but we don’t know where yet,” she said in an email.

The Trump administration said in court filings last month that it was working to bring him back after he was deported to Mexico, in spite of his fears of being harmed there, days after a federal judge ordered the administration to facilitate his return.

Trump muses about third term during White House event — 7:26 p.m. Link copied

By the Associated Press

After Trump finished speaking at the event for political appointees, the crowd chanted, “Eight more years!”

A third term would breach a constitutional limit on how long presidents can remain in office.

He referred to the political appointees as “patriots” and said, “We have the hottest, most talked-about country anywhere in the world.”

Trump also suggested that a future president could be among them.

“There’s greatness in this crowd,” he said.

Army leaders defend parade and border spending — 7:07 p.m. Link copied

By the Associated Press

Army leaders are defending spending as much as $45 million to add a parade to the service’s 250th birthday celebration on June 14, saying it will help boost recruitment.

They are responding to members of Congress who argue that the money could be better spent on troops’ barracks or other priorities.

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Members of the House Armed Services Committee also said during Wednesday’s hearing they are concerned that the Defense Department is shifting about $1 billion from a variety of accounts — including base housing — to cover the costs of shoring up the defense of the southern border.

Trump administration violated a settlement to provide legal advice to families separated at the border, judge says — 7:03 p.m. Link copied

By the Associated Press

A federal judge in San Diego says the Trump administration violated a settlement to provide legal advice to thousands of families that were separated at the border.

American Civil Liberties Union attorney Lee Gelernt says the legal advice could be critical for families as they seek to renew humanitarian parole, which began expiring in May 2024 under the settlement.

Justice Department attorneys argued that a new service from its immigration courts fulfills its obligations, but the ACLU countered that they failed to show even a single person signed up. The ACLU wants the government to rehire the Acacia Center for Justice, whose contract for the free legal advice was ended in April.

U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw said he would likely decide on concrete steps by early next week.

Hundreds gather at the White House for ‘summer soirée’ — 7:00 p.m. Link copied

By the Associated Press

Hundreds of political appointees gathered on the South Lawn under blue skies for what the White House was billing as a “summer soirée.”

They milled around with drinks in plastic cups as a military band played “Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I’m Yours)” by Stevie Wonder and other upbeat tunes.

Trump is expected to address the crowd, including Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

GOP senators say ‘failure is not an option’ on budget bill — 6:47 p.m. Link copied

By the Associated Press

Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters that Republican senators had a “very positive discussion about the path forward” with Trump on his “big, beautiful” bill.

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Thune said Republicans were moving “in the same direction to get this across the finish line.”

He did not offer details about the hour-plus discussion with the president but said: “Failure is not an option.”

Justice Department pushes to unseal FBI’s surveillance records of Martin Luther King Jr. — 6:27 p.m. Link copied

By the Associated Press

A federal judge is weighing a request from the Trump administration to unseal records of the FBI’s surveillance of Martin Luther King Jr. — files that the civil rights leader’s relatives want to keep in the national archives.

US District Judge Richard Leon in Washington, D.C., said during a hearing Wednesday that he wants to see an inventory of the records before deciding whether the government can review them for possible public release.

Justice Department attorneys have asked Leon to end a sealing order for the records nearly two years ahead of its expiration date. A department attorney said the administration is only interested in releasing files related to King’s assassination.

House panel expands inquiry into Biden’s health in office — 6:26 p.m. Link copied

By the Associated Press

The House Oversight Committee is requesting interviews with members of former President Joe Biden’s innermost circle as Republicans ramp up their investigation into the final moves of the Biden administration.

Oversight Chairman James Comer of Kentucky requested transcribed interviews with five former Biden aides, alleging that they had participated in a cover-up over “Biden’s cognitive state and who was calling the shots.”

Comer also requested interviews with Biden’s physician and four other senior aides.

He cited a new book that details concerns and debates inside the White House and Democratic Party over Biden’s mental state and age. Biden and members of his family have vigorously denied the book’s claims.

Judge says migrants sent to El Salvador prison must get a chance to challenge their removals — 5:43 p.m. Link copied

By the Associated Press

A federal judge ruled that the Trump administration must give migrants sent to an El Salvador prison a chance to challenge their removals.

US District Court Chief Judge James Boasberg said that people who were sent to the prison in March under an 18th-century wartime law haven’t been able to formally contest the removals or allegations that they are members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. He ordered the administration to work toward giving them a way to file those challenges.

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Unsealed records in Abrego Garcia case offer few details that are new, unknown — 5:18 p.m. Link copied

By the Associated Press

A federal judge ordered the unsealing of several court documents in the lawsuit over Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s deportation, rejecting the Trump administration’s arguments that it would risk national security.

US District Judge Paula Xinis in Maryland issued her order after media organizations, including The Associated Press, argued the public has a right to access court records under the First Amendment.

Filings unsealed so far offer little information that’s new or unknown publicly. Xinis described one document as “relatively boilerplate.” It was a request by the Trump administration to temporarily halt discovery, an early phase of a lawsuit where parties share evidence.

Wife of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, second from left, joins a rally outside the US Courthouse in Greenbelt, Md. on May 16, 2025. Manuel Balce Ceneta/Associated Press

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US vetoes UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate Gaza ceasefire — 4:32 p.m. Link copied

By the Associated Press

The United States vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution demanding an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza because it was not linked to the release of hostages.

The resolution before the U.N.’s most powerful body also did not condemn Hamas’ deadly attack in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which ignited the war, or say the militant group must disarm and withdraw from Gaza — two other U.S. demands.

The 14 other members of the 15-nation council voted in favor of the resolution, which described the humanitarian situation in Gaza as “catastrophic” and called on Israel to lift all restrictions on the delivery of aid to the 2.1 million Palestinians in the territory.

The U.S. vetoed the last resolution on Gaza in November, under the Biden administration, also because the ceasefire demand was not directly linked to the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages. Similarly, the current resolution demands those taken by Hamas and other groups be released, but it does not make it a condition for a truce.

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Homeland Security investigating whether Egyptian man’s family knew of attack — 4:19 p.m. Link copied

By the Associated Press

The Homeland Security Secretary says the department is investigating what the family of an Egyptian man arrested in the Colorado firebombing attack knew about the attack ahead of time.

Kristi Noem said in a statement Wednesday that they’re also looking into whether the family provided any support to the attack.

Noem said Immigration and Customs Enforcement has taken Mohamed Sabry Soliman’s wife and five children into custody and is processing them so they can be removed from the country.

Homeland Security said his wife was a 41-year-old Egyptian citizen and that he had three daughters and two sons. The Department said all of them are Egyptian citizens and arrived with him when he arrived in he U.S. August 27, 2022.

Government goes after Columbia’s accreditation — 4:00 p.m. Link copied

By the Associated Press

The Education Department is pressuring Columbia University’s accreditor to take action against the Ivy League school over findings that it failed to protect Jewish students from harassment.

The department on Wednesday told the Middle States Commission on Higher Education that Columbia should face action because it has been found in violation of antidiscrimination laws.

Accreditors work on behalf of the federal government to decide which colleges can accept federal financial aid. Without an accreditor’s seal of approval, Columbia could no longer accept students’ federal grants or loans.

“Just as the Department of Education has an obligation to uphold federal antidiscrimination law, university accreditors have an obligation to ensure member institutions abide by their standards,” Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a statement.

The announcement says the accreditor must take action against Columbia if it doesn’t come into compliance.

The Education Department and the Department of Health and Human Services determined on May 22 that Columbia violated federal law by acting with “deliberate indifference” toward the harassment of Jewish students. Columbia and its accreditor did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Trump’s tariffs would cut US deficits by $2.8T over 10 years and shrink the economy, CBO says — 2:46 p.m. Link copied

By the Associated Press

Trump’s sweeping tariff plan would cut deficits by $2.8 trillion over a 10-year period while shrinking the economy, raising the inflation rate and reducing the purchasing power of households overall, according to an analysis released Wednesday by the Congressional Budget Office.

The numbers were revealed in a letter sent to Democratic congressional leadership outlining how the Trump administration’s plan to impose wide-ranging tariffs on countries around the world will affect American households.

Baked into the CBO analysis is a prediction that households would ultimately buy less from the countries hit with added tariffs. The budget office estimates the tariffs would increase the average annual rate of inflation by 0.4 percentage points in 2025 and 2026.

The budget office’s model also assumes that the tariffs, announced through executive action between January and May, will be in place permanently.

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Trump says he agrees with Senator Warren after she backs the president’s call to scrap debt limit — 2:40 p.m. Link copied

By Alyssa Vega, Globe Staff

In a Truth Social post, Trump said that he and Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren agree “on SOMETHING” after she backed his call to eliminate the nation’s debt ceiling.

“I am very pleased to announce that, after all of these years, I agree with Senator Elizabeth Warren on SOMETHING,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “The Debt Limit should be entirely scrapped to prevent an Economic catastrophe. It is too devastating to be put in the hands of political people that may want to use it despite the horrendous effect it could have on our Country and, indirectly, even the World.”

Trump shared Warren’s post on X from Friday, saying that the debt limit should “be scrapped to prevent an economic catastrophe.” “Let’s pass a bipartisan bill and get rid of it forever,” Warren wrote.

Warren also took a swipe at a GOP-backed tax bill supported by Trump, saying that “jacking up the debt limit by $4 trillion to fund more tax breaks for billionaires is an outrage.”

Senator Elizabeth Warren. Jemal Countess/Photographer: Jemal Countess/Get

Homeland Security says its cracking down on visa overstays after attack left several injured in Boulder, Colorado — 2:24 p.m. Link copied

By the Associated Press

The Department of Homeland Security says it will be going after people who stay in the U.S. once their visas expire after an Egyptian man who overstayed his visa was charged with injuring several people in Boulder, Colorado.

Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, is among hundreds of thousands of people known to overstay their visas each year in the United States.

In a news release Wednesday, Homeland Security said that US Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services are ramping up their reviews of immigration records.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem warned that anyone aiming to come to America and “advocate for antisemitic violence and terrorism” was not welcome and would be prosecuted.

Homeland Security has said that Soliman entered the country in August 2022 on a tourist visa that expired in February 2023. Soliman filed for asylum in September 2022 and was granted a work authorization in March 2023, but that also expired.

Judge tosses Democratic committees’ lawsuit over the Federal Election Commission’s independence — 2:14 p.m. Link copied

By the Associated Press

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit that sought to block President Donald Trump’s administration from implementing an executive order that Democratic Party officials claim could undermine the independence of the Federal Election Commission.

U.S. District Judge Amir H. Ali in Washington ruled late Tuesday that there’s insufficient evidence that the Republican administration intends to apply a key portion of Trump’s executive order to the FEC or its commissioners.

“This Court’s doors are open to the parties if changed circumstances show concrete action or impact on the FEC’s or its Commissioners’ independence,” the judge wrote.

The Democratic Party’s three national political committees sued after Trump signed the executive order in February. The order was intended to increase his control of the entire executive branch, including over agencies such as the FEC, a six-person bipartisan board created by Congress to independently enforce campaign finance law.

Trump renegotiating CHIPS Act awards — 2:04 p.m. Link copied

By the Associated Press

The Trump administration is renegotiating some grants previously awarded to companies under a law design to reinvigorate semiconductor manufacturing in the United States, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick confirmed in a hearing on Wednesday.

When asked at a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing about delays in doling out CHIPS Act funding awarded to some companies, Lutnick said they have been reworking some agreements to try and generate additional domestic investment.

“Are we renegotiating? Absolutely, for the benefit of the American taxpayer, for sure,” Lutnick said. “All the deals are getting better. And the only deals that are not getting done are deals that should have never been done in the first place.”

The CHIPS Act, a law passed in 2022 with bipartisan support, was designed to revive US semiconductor manufacturing while sharpening the US edge in military technology and minimizing future supply chain disruptions.

But recent tariffs and export limitations paired with the administration’s threats against the CHIPS Act, could dramatically slow its goal of ensuring the US maintains a competitive edge in artificial intelligence development.

What is the CBO? — 2:00 p.m. Link copied

By Alyssa Vega and the Associated Press

The Trump administration and Republicans have long criticized the Congressional Budget Office, a nonpartisan agency tasked with analyzing the fiscal impact of legislation.

On Wednesday, the CBO released a report estimating that President Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” would cut taxes by $3.7 trillion — but also increase the deficit by $2.4 trillion over the next ten years.

The budget office also projected that by 2034, 10.9 million more people would be uninsured, due to proposed spending cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act.

The bill now heads to the Senate, where Republican leaders are aiming to approve a revised version by July 4, a deadline set by Trump.

In the weeks ahead of the CBO’s analysis, the White House and Republican leaders have criticized the budget office in an effort to sow doubt in its findings.

Here’s what to know about the nonpartisan agency and what the Trump administration has said about it.

Trump administration urged to save program extending internet access — 1:34 p.m. Link copied

By Bloomberg

A key Democratic senator on Wednesday urged Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to save a program targeted by President Donald Trump that provides billions to extend internet access in underserved communities.

Trump said last month he would end the program, part of President Joe Biden’s massive infrastructure law, as part of his administration’s efforts to target diversity, equity or inclusion measures. He has called the measure unconstitutional, racist, illegal and a giveaway.

“You don’t get to keep laptops from our kids,” Senator Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, said during a hearing. “It is a law, it is not unconstitutional.”

Lutnick answered that the issue will work its way through the courts. Trump’s conservative supporters argue the program discriminates against white Americans.

The Digital Equity Act offered $2.75 billion in grants administered by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. The programs aim to “ensure that all people and communities have the skills, technology, and capacity needed to reap the full benefits of our digital economy,” according to an NTIA website.

Trump says he spoke about Iran with Putin and they agreed that country ‘cannot have a nuclear weapon’ — 1:25 p.m. Link copied

By the Associated Press

Trump says part of his call with Putin was focused on Iran and “the fact that time is running out on Iran’s decision pertaining to nuclear weapons, which must be made quickly!”

Trump said in a post on his social media site that he told Russia’s president “that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon and, on this, I believe that we were in agreement.”

He said Putin suggested “that he will participate in the discussions with Iran” and could perhaps “be helpful in getting this brought to a rapid conclusion.” Trump previously boasted that a major announcement on Iran was coming — but none has materialized.

He suggested in his latest post that Iran has been slow-walking their decision “and we will need a definitive answer in a very short period of time!”

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British Prime Minister says deal exempting UK from US metals tariffs will be in place before deadline — 1:15 p.m. Link copied

By the Associated Press

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer says he is confident a trade deal exempting the U.K. from U.S. metals tariffs will be in force before a July 9 deadline set by President Donald Trump.

Starmer and Trump announced a trade agreement on May 8 that will eliminate import taxes on U.K. steel and aluminum, but it has yet to come into force. Trump raised the tax on imported steel and aluminum from 25% to 50% starting Wednesday, but said it would stay at 25% for the U.K.

President Donald Trump met with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in the Oval Office on Feb. 27. Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post

He reserved the right to hike the rate if the deal isn’t in force by July 9.Starmer told lawmakers in the House of Commons that the agreement would be implemented “in just a couple of weeks.”

“We are the only country in the world that isn’t paying the 50% tax on steel and that will be coming down,” Starmer said. “We are working on it to bring it down to zero, that is going to happen.”

Gareth Stace, head of the industry body U.K. Steel, said Trump’s decision to keep tariffs on British steel at 25% was a “welcome pause” but warned that continuing uncertainty was making American customers “dubious over whether they should even risk making U.K. orders.”

Trump says Putin told him that Russia will respond to Ukrainian attack on airfields, expects no ‘immediate peace’ — 1:00 p.m. Link copied

By the Associated Press

President Trump said Russian President Vladimir Putin told him “very strongly” in a phone call Wednesday that he will respond to Ukraine’s weekend drone attack on Russian airfields.

Russian President Vladimir Putin Gavriil Grigorov/Associated Press

The U.S. president said in a social media post that “It was a good conversation, but not a conversation that will lead to immediate Peace.”

The call that lasted for an hour and 15 minutes was Trump’s first known with Putin since May 19.

Trump said he and Putin also discussed Iran’s nuclear program.

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African history classes are safe if they teach ‘both sides,’ McMahon says — 12:37 p.m. Link copied

By the Associated Press

Education Secretary Linda McMahon made the comment Wednesday while facing questions by the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.

Asking about the Trump administration’s push to end diversity, equity and inclusion programs, Democratic Rep. Summer Lee asked if courses on African American history should be permitted.

“I do not think that African studies or Middle East studies or Chinese studies are part of DEI if they are taught as part of the total history package,” McMahon said. “If you’re giving the facts on both sides, of course they’re not DEI.”

Lee responded that “I don’t know what both sides of African American history would be.”

Lee posed the same question about lessons on the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. “I’d have to get back to you on that,” McMahon said.

Warren to meet with McMahon, who she criticized for giving Trump ‘a blank check to destroy American public education’ — 12:30 p.m. Link copied

By Julian E.J. Sorapuru, Globe Staff

Senator Elizabeth Warren will meet with Education Secretary Linda McMahon Tuesday, June 10, according to a letter obtained the Globe. This comes after Warren invited McMahon to a public forum on higher education affordability in May — an invitation McMahon rejected in favor of a one-on-one meeting with the senator.

Warren’s letter, dated June 3, refutes a number of claims McMahon had previously asserted in her own letter about the merits of the Trump administration’s higher education policy.

Senator Elizabeth Warren questioned Billy Long, President Trump’s pick to lead the Internal Revenue Service, during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Finance Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Tuesday, May 20. KENNY HOLSTON/NYT

“In advance of our meeting, I would like to address eight false or deceptive statements made in your May 12 letter and request information to better understand how your efforts to dismantle the Department of Education are affecting students, borrowers, and families,” Warren wrote to McMahon. “You claimed to ‘refute…baseless accusations’ about your record in your letter. Instead of doing so, you presented a series of false or misleading arguments about your actions to cut funding and support for students and families, increase the cost of higher education, and impose new burdens on student loan borrowers. This is an atrocious record, and your attempts to defend it do not stand up to scrutiny.”

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Pennsylvania is suing the USDA over cutting funding to a $1 billion food aid program for states — 12:17 p.m. Link copied

By the Associated Press

Pennsylvania sued the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Wednesday, saying the agency, under President Donald Trump, had illegally cut off funding to it through a program designed to distribute more than $1 billion in aid to states to purchase food from farms for schools, child care centers, and food banks.

The lawsuit in federal court, announced by Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, comes three months after the USDA advised states that it was ending the pandemic-era assistance program because it no longer reflected agency priorities.

“I don’t get what the hell their priorities are if not feeding people and taking care of our farmers,” Shapiro said at a news conference at a food bank warehouse in Philadelphia.

The USDA did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

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Former White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has a book coming out this fall — 12:12 p.m. Link copied

By the Associated Press

The book promises a close look at President Joe Biden’s decision not to run for reelection and calls for thinking beyond the two-party system.

Jean-Pierre herself has switched her affiliation to independent after working in two Democratic administrations, according to Legacy Lit, a Hachette Book Group imprint that will publish “Independent: A Look Inside a Broken White House, Outside the Party Lines” on Oct. 21.

Jean-Pierre was criticized at times for being evasive about Biden’s physical condition. Wednesday’s announcement from Legacy Lit says she’ll take readers “through the three weeks that led to Biden’s abandoning his bid for a second term and the betrayal by the Democratic Party that led to his decision.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson says he called Elon Musk to discuss Musk’s posts criticizing tax bill — 11:48 a.m. Link copied

By the Associated Press

“I called Elon last night and he didn’t answer, but I hope to talk to him today,” Johnson told reporters Wednesday. He added, “I hope he comes around. I’d love to talk to him this week and I hope he calls me back today.”

Johnson said he and Musk spoke at length Monday about the bill.

“Elon was encouraged by that conversation. We had a great, it was a very friendly, very fruitful conversation together, and he and I talked about the midterm elections, and he said, ‘I’m going to help,’” Johnson said.

“Then yesterday, you know, 24 hours later, he does a 180 and he comes out and opposed the bill and it surprised me, frankly,” he added.

A Democrat responds to the Congressional Budget Office’s forecast on Trump’s tax bill — 11:41 a.m. Link copied

By the Associated Press

“Republicans cry crocodile tears over the debt when Democrats are in charge — but explode it when they’re in power,” said Rep. Brendan Boyle of Pennsylvania, the top Democrat on the House Budget Committee.

Representative Brendan Boyle spoke at the rally to Say NO to Tax Breaks for Billionaires & Corporations at US Capitol in April in Washington, DC. Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Fair Share America

“In the words of Elon Musk,” Boyle said, reviving the billionaire and former Trump aide’s criticism of the package, “this bill is a ‘disgusting abomination.’”

Trump budget eliminates funding for crucial global vaccination programs — 11:34 a.m. Link copied

By The New York Times

The Trump administration’s proposed budget for the coming fiscal year eliminates funding for programs that provide lifesaving vaccines around the world, including immunizations for polio.

The budget, submitted to Congress last week, proposes to eliminate the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s global health unit, effectively shutting down its $230 million immunization program: $180 million for polio eradication and the rest for measles and other vaccine-preventable diseases. The budget plan also withdraws financial support for Gavi, the international vaccine alliance that purchases vaccines for children in developing countries.

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House Majority Leader Steve Scalise criticizes the Congressional Budget Office — 11:21 a.m. Link copied

By the Associated Press

At a news conference Wednesday with House leadership, Scalise said the office has continuously failed to take economic growth into account.

“You don’t need to go back that far to see how wrong the CBO has been,” Scalise said. “When it comes time to make prognostications on economic growth, they’ve always been wrong.”

Asked later if the budget office should be done away with, Scalise did not shoot down the idea.

“I think it’s very valid to raise these concerns that CBO has missed the problems that come with making false estimates,” he said. “Economic growth has been their Achilles heel.”

World Pride opening speaker says she was denied entry to US ahead of human rights conference — 11:13 a.m. Link copied

By the Associated Press

Just days before she was set to give opening remarks at World Pride’s human rights conference in Washington, Phyll Opoku-Gyimah, the co-founder of UK Black Pride widely known as Lady Phyll, said she was denied entry to the U.S. after her visa was revoked due to her travels to Cuba earlier this year.

The US Capitol building in Washington, DC. Graeme Sloan/Photographer: Graeme Sloan/Bloom

Many LGBTQ+ travelers have expressed concerns or decided to skip the gathering due to anxieties about safety, border policies and a hostile political environment. Several countries, including Denmark, Finland and Germany, issued cautions for LGBTQ+ travelers visiting the U.S. for World Pride.

Speaking over a livestream, Opoku-Gyimah said she applied immediately for a non-immigrant visa, but the earliest date she was given was in September.

“I’ve called. I’ve written. I’ve pleaded,” she said. “And the answer was a cold, bureaucratic ‘No.’”

Pennsylvania sues the USDA over cutting funding to $1 billion food aid program — 11:11 a.m. Link copied

By the Associated Press

The state says the agency under Trump illegally cut off funding to it through a program designed to distribute more than $1 billion in aid to states to buy food from farms for schools, child care centers and food banks.

The lawsuit in federal court was announced by Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, and comes three months after states received notices of termination from the Department of Agriculture saying the pandemic-era assistance program no longer reflects agency priorities.

“I don’t get what the hell their priorities are if not feeding people and taking care of our farmers,” Shapiro said at a news conference at a food bank warehouse in Philadelphia.

The loss to Pennsylvania is $13 million under a three-year contract, money the state planned to use to buy food from farms to stock food banks. States also use the money to buy food from farms for school nutrition programs and child care centers.

Budget office estimates increase of 10.9 million people without health insurance under Trump’s bill — 10:54 a.m. Link copied

By the Associated Press

That would include 1.4 million who are in the country without legal status in state-funded programs. The package would reduce federal outlays, or spending, by $1.3 trillion over that period, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said.

The analysis comes at a crucial moment in the legislative process as Trump is pushing Congress to have the final product on his desk to sign into law by Fourth of July.

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Trump’s big bill will cut taxes by $3.7 trillion and add $2.4 trillion to deficit, CBO says — 10:24 a.m. Link copied

By the Associated Press

The analysis comes at a crucial moment as President Trump is pushing to have the final product on his desk by Fourth of July.

The White House and GOP leaders have been sowing doubt on the Congressional Budget Office’s work. But its findings as the official scorekeeper of legislation will be weighed by lawmakers and others seeking to understand the budgetary effects of the sprawling 1,000-page plus package.

Voters in northern Virginia will pick successor to Representative Gerry Connolly, who died last month — 10:10 a.m. Link copied

By the Associated Press

Republican Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin announced the special election to fill the Congressional seat representing the state’s most populous county would be set for Sept. 9. Both parties must choose their nominees by July 11.

Connolly, a fixture of Democratic politics in a deep blue district, died weeks after announcing he wouldn’t seek reelection. Before his death, he endorsed his former chief of staff and Fairfax County Board Supervisor James Walkinshaw, largely seen as a frontrunner among a crowded field of Democrats vying for the party’s nomination.

State Senator Stella Pekarsky, state Delegate Irene Shin and six other local Democrats have also filed to run. Three local Republicans and an independent have additionally launched their campaigns.

The special election takes place amid a busy year for Virginia voters in which candidates for governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and all 100 House of Delegates seats will be up for election in November.

Wall Street stalls following a potentially discouraging report on the US job market — 10:09 a.m. Link copied

By the Associated Press

US stocks are drifting in tentative trading following a potentially discouraging signal on the job market and economy.

The S&P 500 edged up 0.2% Wednesday and lost some some momentum after a big rally drove it back within 3% of its all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 53 points, and the Nasdaq composite added 0.3%.

The action was stronger in the bond market, where Treasury yields fell after a report suggested employers outside the government hired far fewer workers than expected last month. That could bode ill for Friday’s more comprehensive jobs report coming from the Labor Department.

Trader Leon Montana works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. Richard Drew/Associated Press

Trump to participate in a ‘summer soirée’ at the White House — 9:39 a.m. Link copied

By the Associated Press

Scheduled for 7 p.m. ET on the South Lawn, the event is billed as a way for Trump to thank and celebrate the work of hundreds of political appointees in his administration.

People in those jobs are chosen by the president and range from his staff at the White House to Cabinet secretaries and agency heads.

Trump’s Wednesday schedule, according to the White House — 9:18 a.m. Link copied

By the Associated Press

2 p.m. — Trump will receive his intelligence briefing

3 p.m. — Trump will sign proclamations

7 p.m. — Trump will participate in the “Summer Soirée” at the White House

Trump and Thune are meeting Wednesday to discuss budget bill — 9:17 a.m. Link copied

By the Associated Press

The president, Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee that oversees tax policy are meeting at the White House this afternoon to discuss Trump’s “one big beautiful” tax cut and spending bill.

That’s according to a person familiar with the schedule who was granted anonymity to confirm a private meeting.

The Republican-controlled House recently passed the bill by one vote, but it’s now facing resistance from a handful of Senate Republicans who want even deeper spending cuts.

Trump adviser Elon Musk has also blasted the bill as a “disgusting abomination.”

The centerpiece of Trump’s legislative agenda, the bill would extend $4.5 trillion in expiring tax cuts, spend more money on immigration and border enforcement and find savings by cutting Medicaid, food stamps and green energy investments.

Wall Street ticks quietly higher in premarket as Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs due to kick in — 8:52 a.m. Link copied

By the Associated Press

Futures for the S&P 500, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq all rose 0.2% in light trading before the bell Wednesday morning.

The European Union’s top trade negotiator, Maroš Šefčovič, met Wednesday with his American counterpart, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, on the sidelines of a meeting of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Šefčovič said talks were “advancing in the right direction at pace.”

There’s been no official update on the status of the steel and aluminum tariffs as of early Wednesday morning. Those tariffs are expected to hit a broad range of businesses hard and likely push up prices for consumers.

While you were asleep: Trump’s overnight posts range from China’s president to Biden’s autopen — 8:42 a.m. Link copied

By the Associated Press

President Trump was active on his social media site in the 2 a.m. ET hour.

“I like President XI of China, always have, and always will, but he is VERY TOUGH, AND EXTREMELY HARD TO MAKE A DEAL,” he said in one post.

The Republican president said last week that he’ll stop being “Mr. NICE GUY” with China on trade after he accused the country of breaking an agreement with the US.

Trump and Xi are expected to speak by telephone this week.

In another overnight post, Trump criticized the use of an automatic pen by by his Democratic predecessor, Joe Biden, calling it a “scandal.”

Ukraine’s backers meet to drum up arms and ammo. The Pentagon chief is absent — 8:41 a.m. Link copied

By the Associated Press

Senior officials from nearly 50 nations gathered Wednesday, with the Pentagon’s chief absent for the first time since the group organizing the military aid was set up three years ago.

The Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting at NATO headquarters is going to be chaired by the United Kingdom and Germany. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth would only arrive in Brussels after it’s over. He’ll participate in a meeting of NATO defense ministers Thursday.

His absence is the latest in a series of steps Washington has taken to distance itself from Ukraine’s efforts to repel Russia’s full-scale invasion, which began on Feb. 24, 2022.

Before Wednesday’s meeting, the UK said that it plans a tenfold increase in drone production to help Ukraine. Drones have become a decisive factor in the war, now in its fourth year.

Europe and the US are meeting in Paris to negotiate a settlement of a tense tariff spat — 8:18 a.m. Link copied

By the Associated Press

The European Union’s top trade negotiator, Maroš Šefčovič, met Wednesday with his American counterpart, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, on the sidelines of a meeting of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.

“We’re advancing in the right direction at pace,” Šefčovič said at a news conference. He said ongoing technical meetings between EU and US negotiators in Washington would be soon followed by a video conference between himself and Greer to then “assess the progress and charter the way forward.”

Brussels and Washington are unlikely to reach a substantive trade agreement in Paris. The issues dividing them are too difficult to resolve quickly.

President Trump regularly fumes about America’s persistent trade deficit with the European Union, which was a record $161 billion last year, according to the US Commerce Department.

Environmentalists criticize Trump administration push for new oil and gas drilling in Alaska — 8:12 a.m. Link copied

By the Associated Press

Top Trump administration officials — fresh off touring one of the country’s largest oil fields in the Alaska Arctic — headlined an energy conference led by the state’s Republican governor on Tuesday that environmentalists criticized as promoting new oil and gas drilling and turning away from the climate crisis.

Several dozen protesters were outside Governor Mike Dunleavy’s annual Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference in Anchorage, where US Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin were featured speakers. The federal officials were continuing a multiday trip aimed at highlighting Trump’s push to expand oil and gas drilling, mining and logging in the state.

Calls for additional drilling — including Trump’s renewed focus on getting a massive liquefied natural gas project built — are “false solutions” to energy needs and climate concerns, protester Sarah Furman said outside the Anchorage convention hall, as people carried signs with slogans such as “Alaska is Not for Sale” and “Protect our Public Lands.”

Trump administration revokes guidance requiring hospitals to provide emergency abortions — 8:10 a.m. Link copied

By the Associated Press

The Trump administration announced on Tuesday that it would revoke guidance to the nation’s hospitals that directed them to provide emergency abortions for women when they are necessary to stabilize their medical condition.

That guidance was issued to hospitals in 2022, weeks after the US Supreme Court upended national abortion rights in the US. It was an effort by the Biden administration to preserve abortion access for extreme cases in which women were experiencing medical emergencies and needed an abortion to prevent organ loss or severe hemorrhaging, among other serious complications.

Under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act, emergency rooms that receive Medicare dollars to provide an exam and stabilizing treatment for all patients. Nearly all emergency rooms in the US rely on Medicare funds.

The Trump administration announced on Tuesday that it would no longer enforce that policy.

The move prompted concerns from some doctors and abortion rights advocates that women will not get emergency abortions in states with strict bans.

Trump formally asks Congress to claw back approved spending targeted by DOGE — 8:09 a.m. Link copied

By the Associated Press

The White House on Tuesday officially asked Congress to claw back $9.4 billion in already approved spending, taking funding away from programs targeted by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.

It’s a process known as “rescission,” which requires Trump to get approval from Congress to return money that had previously been appropriated. Trump’s aides say the funding cuts target programs that promote liberal ideologies.

The request, if it passes the House and Senate, would formally enshrine many of the spending cuts and freezes sought by DOGE. It comes at a time when Musk is extremely unhappy with the tax cut and spending plan making its way through Congress, calling it on Tuesday a “disgusting abomination” for increasing the federal deficit.

White House budget director Russ Vought said more rescission packages and other efforts to cut spending could follow if the current effort succeeds.

“We are certainly willing and able to send up additional packages if the congressional will is there,” Vought told reporters.

Higher tariffs on steel and aluminum imports go into effect — 7:09 a.m. Link copied

By New York Times

US tariffs on steel and aluminum imports doubled on Wednesday, as President Trump continued to ratchet up levies on foreign metals that he claims will help revitalize American steel mills and aluminum smelters.

The White House called the increased tariffs, which rose to 50 percent from 25 percent just after midnight Eastern time, a matter of addressing “trade practices that undermine national security.” Steel is based.

They were announced during Mr. Trump’s visit to a US Steel mill last week, and appear to be aimed at currying favor with steelworkers and the steel industry, including those in swing states like Pennsylvania, where US Steel is based.