WASHINGTON (AP) — Although some parts of President Donald Trump’s agenda are getting bogged down by litigation, Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency is having better luck in the courtroom. Labor unions, Democrats and federal employees have filed several lawsuits arguing that DOGE is running roughshod over privacy protections or usurping power from other branches of government. But judges appointed by Democratic and Republican presidents haven’t always gone along with those arguments, at least so far. Most notably, DOGE critics are failing to obtain temporary restraining orders that would prevent Musk’s team from accessing sensitive government databases.… Continue Reading

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge has found the Trump administration hasn’t fully followed his order to unfreeze federal spending and has ordered the White House to release all money. U.S. District Court Judge John McConnell on Monday found there’s evidence that some federal grants and loans are still not going out to the recipients and ordered that the cash be released. McConnell earlier ordered a halt to Trump administration plans for a sweeping freeze federal funding. The Republican administration has said the pause was necessary to ensure federal spending fits with the president’s agenda. The order comes in a lawsuit filed by nearly two dozen states.… Continue Reading

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said he is serious about wanting Canada to become the 51st state in an interview that aired Sunday during the Super Bowl preshow. “Yeah it is,” Trump told Fox News Channel’s Bret Baier when asked whether his talk of annexing Canada is “a real thing” — as Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau recently suggested. In the interview, Trump also said he has not seen enough action from Canada and Mexico to stave off the tariffs he has threatened to impose. “No, it’s not good enough,” he said of the United States’ two largest trading partners. “Something has to happen. It’s not sustainable. And I’m changing it.”… Continue Reading