Highlights from April 23, 2025
- President Donald Trump said this morning that his administration is "actively" engaging with China on a potential deal to lower tariffs. A spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry said that Beijing is open to talks but that the United States "should stop threatening and blackmailing China."
- Vice President JD Vance said the United States could walk away from Russia-Ukraine peace talks if neither country agrees to a deal. Trump blamed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for the talks' stalling.
- Trump signed several executive orders today focused on education. One order looks to use the accreditation process for universities, law schools and other graduate programs as another avenue for the administration to combat what it calls "woke" policies.
- Dick Durbin, of Illinois, the second-highest-ranking Democrat in the Senate, said he will not seek re-election in 2026, ending a decadeslong career in Congress.
Judge agrees to pause discovery in Kilmar Abrego Garcia case
The federal judge overseeing litigation over the forced removal of Kilmar Abrego Garcia paused discovery in the case until April 30 after attorneys for Abrego Garcia and the Trump administration agreed to the new deadline.
Discovery is the formal process of exchanging information between parties about witnesses and evidence that will be presented at trial.
Judge Paula Xinis chided the administration yesterday for not adequately responding to requests from Abrego Garcia's attorneys for more information, slamming the government for a “willful and bad faith refusal to comply with discovery obligations."
She ordered the administration to provide specific, legal and factual answers to the questions Abrego Garcia's attorney posed.
This morning, a day after that order, the Trump administration filed a motion to pause the ruling concerning the discovery process for seven days.
The filing was sealed — meaning it's unclear why the administration made the request. A filing by Abrego Garcia's attorneys this morning initially opposing the motion was also sealed.
His lawyers said in a statement that they remain focused on bringing Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran native and former Maryland resident, back to the United States.
"The court has entered a sealing order, and so therefore we are not at liberty to speak about the current status of the case at this time. We will let you know as soon as there are any publicly available updates," the attorneys said.
House speaker says he 'would not expect' increased tax rate for millioniares in GOP bill
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said in an interview with Fox News that aired today that he "would not expect" a Republican bill to hike the tax rate on millionaires.
Johnson was asked about reports that the Trump administration was considering a potential increase in the tax rate for people making over a million dollars in the interview.
"I would not expect that. We have been working against that idea," he said. "I don’t think we’re raising taxes on anybody. What we’re trying to do is prevent the largest tax increase in U.S. history."
Johnson did not elaborate on a proposed plan but said there are "more details coming, and I think you’re going to be very pleased by what you see."
NBC News has reported that Republican lawmakers were debating whether to permit higher tax rates for those in higher income brackets when parts of Trump's 2017 tax law expire to pay for his agenda and limit the nation's debt.
Tulsi Gabbard says she referred two 'leak' cases to the Justice Department
National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard said that she referred two cases of alleged leaks to the Justice Department today for investigation and that a third criminal referral will soon follow.
The cases include a recent “illegal leak” to The Washington Post, Gabbard said on X, without specifying an article.
“Politicization of our intelligence and leaking classified information puts our nation’s security at risk and must end. Those who leak classified information will be found and held accountable to the fullest extent of the law," she wrote.
“These deep-state criminals leaked classified information for partisan political purposes to undermine POTUS’ agenda. I look forward to working with @TheJusticeDept and @FBI to investigate, terminate and prosecute these criminals.”
Trump holding rally in Michigan to mark first 100 days in office
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed this evening that Trump will travel to Michigan on Tuesday to commemorate his first 100 days in office. The trip will be his first visit to the battleground state since he narrowly defeated Kamala Harris to win Michigan in November.
"President Trump is excited to return to the great state of Michigan next Tuesday, where he will rally in Macomb County to celebrate the FIRST 100 DAYS!" Leavitt said on X.
Trump visited Michigan more than 20 times during the 2024 campaign and held at least three events in Macomb County specifically.
He handily won the Republican-leaning county, defeating Harris by double digits.
Ahead of his visit to Macomb, Trump will travel to Rome for the funeral of Pope Francis on Saturday.
Trump upends DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, sparking ‘bloodbath’ in senior ranks
The Trump administration has quietly transformed the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, forcing out a majority of career managers and implementing new priorities that current and former officials say abandon a decadeslong mission of enforcing laws that prohibit discrimination in hiring, housing and voting rights.
More than a dozen senior lawyers — many with decades of experience working under presidents of both parties — have been reassigned, the current and former officials say. Some have resigned in frustration after they were moved to less desirable roles unrelated to their expertise, according to the sources.
“It’s been a complete bloodbath,” said a senior Justice Department lawyer in the division who is not authorized to speak publicly.
Trump says a millionaire tax would 'be very disruptive'
Trump said a millionaire tax would "be very disruptive" and cause millionaires to leave the United States as Republicans consider heightening taxes for the wealthy to pay for a party-line package.
"I think it would be very disruptive, because a lot of the millionaires would leave the country," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office today. "You know, the old days, they left states. They go from one state to the other. Now, with transportation so quick and so easy, they leave countries. You’ll lose a lot of money if you do that."
Trump had been asked whether he would support a tax for millionaires.
NBC News reported last week that Republicans have privately discussed increasing taxes on the rich as they examine how to limit debt and boost funding for immigration enforcement and the military.
A dozen states sue to stop Trump’s tariffs
Twelve states filed a lawsuit today challenging the legality of Trump’s broad tariff agenda, arguing it unlawfully undermines Congress’ constitutional authority to regulate foreign commerce.
The legal challenge, led by Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes and Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield, seeks to halt enforcement of the global tariffs Trump levied that invoked a wartime law granting presidents the power to oversee trade if the United States is in a state of emergency.
“By claiming the authority to impose immense and ever-changing tariffs on whatever goods entering the United States he chooses, for whatever reason he finds convenient to declare an emergency, the President has upended the constitutional order and brought chaos to the American economy,” said the complaint Democratic attorneys general filed in the U.S. Court of International Trade.
Judge rips Mike Lindell lawyers for using AI in court filing
A federal judge in Colorado said today she wants attorneys for MyPillow founder Mike Lindell to explain why she shouldn't sanction them after they admitted using artificial intelligence for a court filing in one of the defamation cases against him.
The motion by Lindell's attorneys had "nearly thirty defective citations," U.S. District Judge Nina Y. Wang said in a ruling.
"These defects include but are not limited to misquotes of cited cases; misrepresentations of principles of law associated with cited cases, including discussions of legal principles that simply do not appear within such decisions" and "most egregiously, citation of cases that do not exist," Wang wrote.
She said that she asked Lindell's lead attorney, Christopher Kachouroff, about the errors at a hearing Monday and that he initially "declined to explain" how the filing "became replete with such fundamental errors."
"Not until this Court asked Mr. Kachouroff directly whether the Opposition was the product of generative artificial intelligence did Mr. Kachouroff admit that he did, in fact, use generative artificial intelligence," Wang wrote. He also acknowledged he'd failed to check the citations.
She gave him until May 5 to make his case for why he, his clients and fellow attorneys in the case shouldn't be sanctioned. She also directed him to explain "under the oath subject to the penalty of perjury, the circumstances surrounding the preparation" of the filing, "including but not limited to whether Defendants were advised and approved of their counsel’s use of generative artificial intelligence."
Kachouroff told NBC News, "This is a case where the wrong document was filed."
Former Trump attorney Michael Cohen got into legal hot water over a similar issue in 2023, but Reuters reported the judge in that case eventually decided not to sanction him after having found the bogus citations weren't made in bad faith.
Elon Musk and Scott Bessent got into a shouting match last week
Elon Musk and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent got into a shouting match last week, two White House officials confirmed to NBC News.
Axios first reported the heated exchange over leadership at the IRS.
“It’s no secret President Trump has put together a team of people who are incredibly passionate about the issues impacting our country," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement. "Disagreements are a normal part of any healthy policy process. And ultimately everyone knows they serve at the pleasure of President Trump.”
NBC News had reported on the disagreement between Bessent and Musk over the pick to lead the IRS.
Trump aims to boost AI training for students, change accreditation rules with new executive orders
Trump signed several executive orders in the Oval Office today focused on education, some continuing the administration's efforts to root diversity equity and inclusion from schools and others aiming to increase apprenticeships and artificial intelligence training opportunities for students.
One order looks to use the accreditation process for universities, law schools and other graduate programs as another avenue for the administration to combat "woke" policies. It accuses third-party accreditors of relying on "woke ideology" to determine accreditation rather than merit and performance.
"We’re charging the Department of Education to really look holistically at this accreditation mess and hopefully make it much better," White House aide Will Scharf told Trump.
A different order looks to prevent federal agencies from using "disparate impact theory" to determine policy, with Scharf saying the theory underlies "modern DEI and CRT-driven diversity culture."
According to Justice Department guidance, disparate impact regulations are used to "ensure programs accepting federal money are not administered in a way that perpetuates the repercussions of past discrimination."
Trump also signed an order aimed at ensuring Historically Black Colleges and Universities "are able to do their job as effectively and efficiently as possible."
The order will establish the White House Initiative on HBCUs, in which federal agencies, private sector employees, educational associations and philanthropic organizations will work together to "increase the capacity of HBCUs to provide the highest-quality education to an increasing number of students."
Two of the executive orders are focused on training and workforce development: one directs the Education Department to ensure that young Americans "are adequately trained in AI tools so that they can be competitive," and another charges federal agencies with creating "up to a million" new apprenticeship programs focused in "critical job areas" facing shortages of workers.
Trump said at the signing that Education Secretary Linda McMahon, who was at the event, personally backed an order focused on toughening school discipline policies, citing past guidance that "made it almost impossible for schools to enforce adequate discipline."
In a statement, McMahon accused the Biden-Harris administration of "encouraging schools to turn a blind eye to poor or violent behavior in the name of inclusion."
"Under the Biden-Harris Administration, schools were forced to consider equity and inclusion when imposing discipline," McMahon said. "Disciplinary decisions should be based solely on students’ behavior and actions.”
Trump also signed an order that directs federal agencies to enforce rules relating to foreign gift disclosure policies for American universities. Scharf accused Harvard specifically of "routinely" violating the law as it relates to the disclosures.
