'There's never been a president that high!' the speaker of the House said.
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The Hill
a minute ago
- The Hill
Tennessee republican resigns from House
Rep. Mark Green (R-Tenn.) has resigned from the House amid a tight margin between parties in the lower chamber. 'It's with a heavy heart that I say farewell. To my constituents across Tennessee's 7th District—thank you. The trust you put in me is humbling. I will look back fondly on my years of serving as your voice in Washington,' Green, who started in the House in 2019, said in a post on the social platform X earlier this month. There are now 219 Republicans and 212 Democrats in the lower chamber, only a seven-seat difference amid already high tensions between the two parties and the 2026 midterm races in which Democrats seek to take back the House, beginning to heat up. President Trump's base has also recently been rattled by controversy over files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, creating some strain between Republican lawmakers and the president. Close to three-quarters of Democratic voters were feeling motivated to vote in the next election cycle in a recent CNN poll. Seventy-two percent of Democrats and Democratic-leaning voters in the poll were 'extremely motivated' to vote before next year's midterms, with 50 percent of Republicans and Republican-leaning voters saying the same.
2 minutes ago
School districts sue Trump administration over $6 billion funding freeze
A coalition of school districts -- including Alaska's largest school district -- and advocacy groups has sued President Donald Trump's administration over the $6 billion funding freeze to congressionally appropriated education programs. The news comes just days after nine Republican senators and Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski conducted a rare rebuke of President Donald Trump's education policies, urging the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russ Vought to reverse the decision to withhold aid for key programs, such as English language acquisition, teacher development and student support. OMB told ABC News in a statement that many of the programs "grossly misused" government funds to promote a "radical leftwing agenda." However, the GOP senators' letter said the decision to pause this funding was "contrary to President Trump's goal of returning K-12 education to the states," and they didn't believe any leftwing agenda programs were being administered in their states. Within 48 hours, the Trump administration had unfrozen more than a billion dollars for critical after-school and summer education programming nationwide, a senior administration official told ABC News. Murkowski celebrated the initial funding release but noted it doesn't go far enough. "The pause of these funds caused great concern for families across the nation, and I am relieved to know that our young people will have enriching opportunities to stay engaged outside of the classroom," Murkowski wrote in a statement to ABC News. "While this news is welcome, it is frustrating that many additional funds Alaska school districts are relying on from the Department of Education remain in limbo," she said. ABC News has reached out to the Trump administration for additional comment. A pause on the total $6 billion funding happened on July 1, when federal aid for schools is typically allocated each year. However, states were notified on June 30 that an ongoing programmatic review of education funding would occur, according to a Department of Education memo sent to Congress, obtained by ABC News. School districts and programs have been concerned that programs and staff could be eliminated if funding isn't restored. The case, Anchorage School District et al. v. Department of Education et al., is led by multiple Alaska school districts and affiliates of the American Federation of Teachers. In it, the plaintiffs argue that the administration's recent actions violate the Administrative Procedure Act, the Impoundment Control Act, and the constitutional separation of powers. The Impoundment Control Act of 1974 says Congress must consider and review executive branch withholdings of budget authority, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office. The GAO website says the Administrative Procedure Act prescribes the minimum procedural steps an agency must follow in its administrative proceedings. The school districts' suit was filed in the U.S. District Court of Rhode Island. It comes in the wake of two dozen state attorneys general and Democratic governors suing the administration for withholding education funding using the same claims. "It's against the Constitution," North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson, one of the AGs involved in the suit, told ABC News. "It's against the Impoundment Act. From a legal standpoint, this is not a hard case," he added. AFT President Randi Weingarten called the freeze an attempt to "lawlessly" defund education through rampant government overreach. "It's not only morally repugnant: the administration lacks the legal right to sacrifice kids' futures at the altar of ideology," Weingarten wrote in a statement to ABC News. "The Department of Education is holding hostage billions of dollars from American communities," according to Skye Perryman, President and CEO of Democracy Forward -- a public education advocacy nonprofit representing the plaintiffs. "This is an unconstitutional and unlawful power grab that puts extreme agendas over the well-being of students and denies communities the educational resources that Congress intended them to have," Perryman added in a statement to ABC News. Earlier this month, the Anchorage School District announced in a letter to the community that the district had already begun laying off some staff members after $46 million was impacted by the pause. The district receives about a third of the state's federal education funds, according to Superintendent Jharrett Bryantt. Several state education leaders who've spoken to ABC News say that they're scrambling to prevent immediate harm to students as the school year approaches. OMB has not given a timeline for when the programmatic review for the other education programs will be completed. Meanwhile, Rhode Island Department of Education Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green applauded the Republican efforts to reverse the funding pause, stressing this is not a political issue. "We are one United States of America," Infante-Green told ABC News. "These dollars are important to every single student in every single state. This is what we need," she said.
CNN
2 minutes ago
- CNN
Judge partially blocks Trump administration from enforcing funding ban against Planned Parenthood
A federal judge on Monday extended an order that blocked the Trump administration from enforcing a provision of President Donald Trump's sweeping domestic policy law to defund Planned Parenthood's health care services. US District Judge Indira Talwani partially granted Planned Parenthood's request for a preliminary injunction while its lawsuit against the administration plays out. The order does not apply to all Planned Parenthood members. The Trump administration will not be allowed to enforce the funding ban against the Planned Parenthood members who cannot provide abortions because of state abortion bans, or who received less than $800,000 in Medicaid reimbursements in 2023, the Planned Parenthood said Monday. The measure — which is part of Trump's 'big, beautiful bill,' that was signed into law July 4 — bars Medicaid users from coverage with a health care provider that also provides abortion services. In a statement responding to the ruling, the Planned Parenthood groups said, 'This isn't over. While we're grateful that the court recognized the harm caused by this law, we're disappointed that not all members were granted the necessary relief today.' 'The court has not yet ruled on whether it will grant preliminary injunctive relief to other members. We remain hopeful that the court will grant this relief. There will be nothing short of a public health crisis if Planned Parenthood members are allowed to be 'defunded,'' they added. Talwani, a Barack Obama appointee, had previously temporarily blocked the provision's enforcement for 14 days on July 7, after the Planned Parenthood Federation of America — along with Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts and Planned Parenthood Association of Utah — sued the administration. While the legislation does not explicitly mention Planned Parenthood, it prohibits federal funding for providers 'primarily engaged in family planning services, reproductive health, and related medical care' that also provide abortion services.' Planned Parenthood previously warned that nearly 200 clinics nationwide — which also provide birth control, STI testing and treatment, and cancer screening — could close as a result of the bill's ban on funds. Talwani, in her order, said Planned Parenthood was likely to succeed on its claim that the law's funding ban violates the health care provider's First Amendment rights because of its support for — and provision of — abortion services. 'Instead of merely prohibiting Planned Parenthood Members that receive Medicaid funds from providing abortions, the statute prohibits them from affiliating with entities that do. Moreover, the record is devoid of evidentiary support for Defendants' suggestion that Planned Parenthood entities share funds that are ultimately used for abortions,' the judge wrote. 'Therefore, restricting funds based on affiliation with an abortion provider operates only to restrict the associational right of Members that do not provide abortion.' The bill originally barred funds for ten years, before the Senate Parliamentarian, Elizabeth MacDonough, reduced the measure to one year. CNN has reached out to the Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for comment. Planned Parenthood is also battling the Trump administration in court over cuts to a federal teen pregnancy prevention program. Lawyers for five Planned Parenthood networks argued in a federal District of Columbia court this June that administration's changes to the program, including limits on language around diversity and equity, were vague and could bar Planned Parenthood from providing longtime services.
