trump administration

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Trump admin moves to block public from enforcing environmental protection laws
2 months ago
- Congress included citizen suit provisions in environmental laws like the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and Safe Drinking Water Act to allow citizens to enforce them when the government does not act.
- Since the 1970s, citizen suits have been used in over 2,000 lawsuits, shaping modern environmental law by halting dams, stopping groundwater pollution, and securing millions in penalties.
- The Trump administration, in a legal filing related to the NAACP v. xAI case, argued that citizens should not be allowed to enforce environmental laws, claiming it usurps executive branch authority.
- The NAACP sued xAI under the Clean Air Act for operating natural gas turbines without permits, alleging harmful emissions linked to health issues.
- The Department of Justice asked the court to dismiss the case, citing executive orders on national energy emergency and AI leadership, arguing citizen suits should not proceed when the government deems enforcement contrary to public interest.
- This marks the first time the DOJ has taken this position in court, highlighting a conflict between government policy and citizens' statutory rights to enforce environmental protections.
Trump administration bans new Chinese humanoid robots
2 months ago
- The Trump administration banned new foreign-made humanoid and four-legged robots, along with power inverters, citing national security risks.
- Many of these advanced robots are produced in China, which is competing with the US in robotics and AI development.
- The FCC added the items to its Covered List, blocking new imports but not affecting previously authorized models.
- FCC warned that foreign-made inverters and robots could enable surveillance, data theft, remote control, or cyberattacks by foreign actors.
- The Chinese embassy opposed the ban as politicizing trade and threatened necessary measures, urging the US to stop its hegemonic mindset.
- The ban is part of broader US-China trade tensions, including tariffs on Chinese EVs, semiconductor export restrictions, and IP theft allegations.
- Chinese robotics firms like Unitree, UBTech, and AgiBot have rapidly developed humanoid robots for factories and homes.
US Officials Advocate for White South Africans and Right-Wing Causes in Europe
2 months ago
- Trump administration officials bypassed normal bidding to fund groups aligned with conservative and anti-immigration causes in Europe and white South African advocates.
- Proposed grants include a $5 million no-bid grant to the Free Speech Union and a $40 million grant to the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation.
- The shift marks a departure from traditional human rights aid, drawing criticism from lawmakers and experts for politicizing foreign assistance.
- Samuel Samson, a deputy assistant secretary, is a key figure in directing grants to far-right groups, raising concerns over conflicts of interest.
- The State Department's human rights bureau faces budget cuts and ideological changes, with funding redirected from marginalized groups.
The War That Shall Not Be Named
2 months ago
- The Trump administration reduced the publicly reported death toll of the Iran war from 18 to 14, then recategorized 4 killed soldiers after a cease-fire as 'overseas operations' casualties to avoid admitting the war continued.
- The administration invoked a fragile April cease-fire to claim the war was over, bypassing Congress under the War Powers Resolution, but renewed strikes in July, leading to a new 60-day clock.
- The GOP-controlled House and Senate passed non-binding resolutions calling for an end to the war, reflecting public and Republican anger ahead of midterms.
- Trump downplayed the human cost by contrasting Iran war deaths with larger conflicts and claimed fallen soldiers supported the war rationale, even though his administration said the war had ended.
- The Pentagon's death toll recategorization drew more attention to the 18 killed and over 600 wounded, similar to past controversies like the Dover ban on press access to returning remains.
DOJ Says Government Can Use TikTok Again Because 'Owned' No Longer Means 'Owned'
2 months ago
- The Trump administration’s Office of Legal Counsel redefined 'ownership' in a TikTok ban law to mean 'controlling stake,' allowing government devices to use the app again even though ByteDance still holds a 19.9% stake.
- The law, passed under Senator Josh Hawley, banned TikTok on government devices based on ByteDance ownership, but the OLC argued that the new joint venture is controlled by US interests, so the ban no longer applies.
- Critics argue this reinterpretation exposes the moral panic behind the TikTok ban as exaggerated, with political convenience dictating legal definitions rather than consistent principles.
Government withdraws reporter subpoenas for NYT after admitting legal errors
2 months ago
- The US government withdrew subpoenas for three New York Times reporters after a federal judge criticized its legal errors.
- The subpoenas aimed to compel testimony about sources for articles on Trump’s Qatari-gifted Air Force One jet.
- The judge cited laws protecting journalists as a last resort, finding the government's actions violated First Amendment principles.
- The Justice Department defended the subpoenas, citing a national security leak investigation, and criticized the judge's conduct.
- The government’s errors included subpoenas for phone records of a reporter’s mother and spouses, which it admitted were mistakes.
- The Times argued the subpoenas were issued in bad faith without a serious prior investigation, seeking records from months before the articles.
- The judge highlighted the absurdity of a journalist being served a subpoena while watching a family movie, demanding no repeat of such scenarios.
White House used keywords to kill billions worth of California research grants
2 months ago
- The Trump administration used keyword searches (e.g., diversity, gender, vaccine hesitancy, COVID-19) to terminate over 1,000 University of California research grants worth nearly $2 billion, rather than reviewing them individually.
- UC researchers' lawyers argue this violated the First Amendment by targeting politically disfavored research, the Constitution by punishing researchers based on states' voting patterns, and Congress's spending directives by not redirecting funds as required.
- A federal judge has issued preliminary injunctions restoring grants, and the plaintiffs now seek a final ruling; the government may appeal, and stakes include harm to researchers, careers, and global research standing.
Trump Set Fire to America's Election Defenses. Now He's Pointing at the Smoke
2 months ago
- The Trump administration has dismantled or weakened key election security capabilities, including the FBI team investigating foreign election interference.
- Trump's speech claimed other officials left elections vulnerable, without acknowledging his policies' role in creating or worsening those vulnerabilities.
- Actions like defunding the intelligence center for tracking foreign political influence and withdrawing from threat-sharing networks have compromised the U.S. election defense system.
Trump Shrinks Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears National Monuments
2 months ago
- President Trump drastically reduced the size of Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears national monuments.
- Nearly 3 million acres were cut from the two monuments located in southern Utah.
Trump Pushes Out Members of Bipartisan Election Commission Ahead of Midterms
3 months ago
- President Trump removed the three remaining members of the Election Assistance Commission, including Democrats Benjamin Hovland and Thomas Hicks (fired) and Republican Christy McCormick (allowed to resign).
- The move leaves the bipartisan commission, established in 2003 to set voting standards and provide funding, in limbo and allows Trump to appoint replacements aligned with his election security agenda.
- Critics, including voter advocacy groups and Democratic state officials, condemned the dismantling as reckless, warning it undermines support for state and local election administration.
- A White House statement emphasized the president's right to remove individuals not fully aligned with securing elections and preventing fraud, especially ahead of the midterms.
- In March 2025, Trump ordered the EAC to change the national voter registration form to require proof of U.S. citizenship, a move pushed by allies but not yet voted on by the commission.
- The commission has faced issues like partisan infighting and underfunding but had recently made progress, such as setting new voting machine standards, often with unanimous decisions despite partisan divides.
DOGE self-deletes on July 4th. The grand experiment fell apart long before that
3 months ago
- Trump's DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) commission, established in January 2025, is set to sunset on July 4, 2026, but its actual end remains unclear.
- DOGE aimed to cut costs and bureaucracy but resulted in chaos, loss of expertise, and minimal savings ($215 billion vs. promised $2 trillion), damaging public trust in government.
- Key figures like Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy led DOGE initially, but both left early, and the initiative faded, with its X account dormant and webpage outdated.
- DOGE's 'deferred resignation' program led to nearly 140,000 federal employees leaving, criticized for weakening agencies and increasing wait times without proving widespread waste.
- Despite its end, the spirit of DOGE influences ongoing efforts like the National Design Studio, but experts believe its slash-and-burn approach won't be replicated in future administrations.
Welcome to the Dual State of AI Regulation
3 months ago
- The U.S. government reversed export controls on Anthropic's Fable model after negotiations, reinstating public access, though the reasons remain undisclosed.
- The Trump administration has established a non-public de facto licensing system for frontier AI models, as seen with OpenAI's limited rollout of ChatGPT 5.6.
- The 'dual state' concept describes two coexisting systems: the normative state (governed by laws) and the prerogative state (characterized by lawlessness and arbitrariness).
- The Trump administration's dual state involves secrecy, corruption, and retaliation, impacting areas like immigration enforcement and AI governance.
- In AI regulation, the prerogative state allows for actions without transparency, such as potentially punitive measures against companies like Anthropic.
- Anthropic and other AI companies face vulnerability in dealings with the government, lacking leverage against tools like export controls and regulatory roadblocks.
- When analyzing AI governance under the Trump administration, it's crucial to consider both the normative and prerogative states, as the latter significantly influences policy.

trump administration

Trump admin moves to block public from enforcing environmental protection laws

Trump administration bans new Chinese humanoid robots

US Officials Advocate for White South Africans and Right-Wing Causes in Europe

The War That Shall Not Be Named

DOJ Says Government Can Use TikTok Again Because 'Owned' No Longer Means 'Owned'

Government withdraws reporter subpoenas for NYT after admitting legal errors

White House used keywords to kill billions worth of California research grants

Trump Set Fire to America's Election Defenses. Now He's Pointing at the Smoke

Trump Shrinks Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears National Monuments

Trump Pushes Out Members of Bipartisan Election Commission Ahead of Midterms

DOGE self-deletes on July 4th. The grand experiment fell apart long before that

Welcome to the Dual State of AI Regulation