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Reuters
20 minutes ago
- Reuters
T-Mobile ending DEI programs as it seeks US FCC approval for 2 deals
July 9 (Reuters) - Wireless carrier T-Mobile US (TMUS.O), opens new tab said on Wednesday it is ending its diversity, equity and inclusion programs, under pressure from the Trump administration as it seeks regulatory approval for two major deals. T-Mobile said in a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr made public on Wednesday that the wireless company is ending its DEI-related policies "not just in name, but in substance." T-Mobile said it will no longer have any individual roles or teams focused on DEI, is removing any references to DEI on its websites and has removed references to DEI from its employee training materials. Carr said in a text message he was pleased with the changes. "This is another good step forward for equal opportunity, nondiscrimination and the public interest." T-Mobile is awaiting FCC approval to buy almost all of regional carrier United States Cellular's (USM.N), opens new tab wireless operations including customers, stores and 30% of its spectrum assets in a deal valued at $4.4 billion. The FCC is also weighing a separate transaction in which T-Mobile would establish a joint venture with KKR (KKR.N), opens new tab to acquire internet service provider Metronet, which reaches more than 2 million homes and businesses in 17 states. T-Mobile plans at closing to invest about $4.9 billion to acquire a 50% equity stake in the joint venture and 100% of Metronet's residential fiber retail operations and customers. FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez, a Democrat, criticized T-Mobile's action saying "in yet another cynical bid to win FCC regulatory approval, T-Mobile is making a mockery of its professed commitment to eliminating discrimination, promoting fairness, and amplifying underrepresented voices." The FCC in May approved Verizon Communications'(VZ.N), opens new tab $20 billion deal to acquire fiber-optic internet providers Frontier Communications (FYBR.O), opens new tab after the largest U.S. telecom company agreed to end its DEI program and after the FCC opened an investigation. Carr, a Republican designated by Trump in January as chair, told Comcast (CMCSA.O), opens new tab in February he was opening a probe into the NBC News-parent company's promotion of DEI programs. In January, Trump issued sweeping executive orders to dismantle U.S. government DEI programs, and pressured the private sector to join the initiative.
NBC News
30 minutes ago
- NBC News
After Texas floods, questions about FEMA's future loom large
The devastating Texas flooding that has killed nearly 120 people is the first high-profile disaster the Federal Emergency Management Agency has faced under the current Trump administration. But while the loss of life has been catastrophic, former and current FEMA officials told NBC News that the relatively small geographic area affected means it's not a true test of what the agency, whose full-time staff has been shrunk by a third, is capable of doing in the wake of a disaster. The real tryout could come later this summer, they say, when there is always the threat that a hurricane could hit several states. As the agency's future is debated — President Donald Trump has talked about possibly 'getting rid of' it — Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who oversees it, has tightened her grip. Noem now requires that all agency spending over $100,000 be personally approved by her, according to current and former FEMA officials. To prevent delays on the ground, on Monday FEMA officials created a task force to speed up the process of getting Noem's approval, according to two people familiar with that unit. While Noem has been exercising more direct control over the agency, there is a void created by the largely voluntary exodus of FEMA leaders. In May, the agency announced in an internal email the departures of 16 senior officials who took with them a combined disaster expertise of more than 200 years. 'DHS and its components have taken an all-hands-on-desk approach to respond to recovery efforts in Kerrville,' a DHS spokesperson said in a statement to NBC News. 'Under Secretary Noem and Acting Administrator [David] Richardson, FEMA is shifting from bloated, DC-centric dead weight to a lean, deployable disaster force that empowers state actors to provide relief for their citizens. The old processes are being replaced because they failed Americans in real emergencies for decades. … Secretary Noem is delivering accountability to the U.S. taxpayer, which Washington bureaucrats have ignored for decades at the expense of American citizens.' On Wednesday afternoon, officials gathered for the second meeting of the FEMA Review Council, which the president has set up to determine the agency's future role. Trump told reporters in early June, 'We want to wean off of FEMA, and we want to bring it down to the state level.' As of now FEMA still has the same mandate and is managing more than 700 open disasters, according to Chris Currie, who tracks and audits the agency for the Government Accountability Office. 'They are not doing anything different. They are just doing it with less people,' he said in an interview. While the push to get states to do more has some supporters, even at FEMA, some Republican members of Congress have taken care to defend the agency in light of the disastrous floods. 'The role of FEMA is critically important,' Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas told reporters on Capitol Hill this week. 'I think everyone also agrees reforms that make FEMA more nimble, able to respond more quickly to a disaster, those reforms are beneficial, but regardless of the precise structure, the role is critical.' Red tape A key theme of the first FEMA Review Council meeting was how the federal government could reduce red tape. But current and former FEMA officials say Noem's demand to personally sign off on expenditures is creating a layer of bureaucracy that could delay assistance on the ground in Texas and during future hurricanes. A current FEMA official said the new requirement runs counter to the idea of reducing red tape and costs. 'They're adding bureaucracy … and they're adding cost,' the official said. One former senior FEMA official said the agency frequently needs to buy supplies and services in disaster zones and routinely signs contracts that exceed $100,000 to do that. 'FEMA doesn't sneeze without spending that amount of money,' the former official, who requested anonymity because they are working in a related industry, told NBC News. Beyond the rule about Noem approving certain spending, current and former officials said staff are confused about who is in charge of FEMA on a day-to-day basis: Noem or Richardson, who has been acting administrator since early May. One of the former officials said the agency's culture has shifted from being proactive to being more cautious because people are afraid of losing their jobs. DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin told NBC News that any questions about who is in charge are 'silly,' saying, 'Kristi Noem is the secretary of Homeland Security, which oversees federal emergency management — everyone knows that.' More changes are afoot. Last week the agency officially ended its practice of sending staff to knock on doors in disaster zones as a way to connect victims to services. The change came after FEMA canvassers came under scrutiny last fall when an agency employee told a survivor assistance team to avoid homes with Trump signs. The acting administrator at the time called the FEMA staffer's actions 'reprehensible.' The staffer, who was fired, has since told NewsNation that she was following orders from a supervisor and that the move was intended to help employees avoid 'hostile encounters.' While many people access FEMA services through other means, including its website and hotline, two former senior officials said door knocking is still an essential way that disaster victims get connected to services. It's unclear if the agency is sending or will send staff to knock on doors in Texas. This week a Democratic senator also complained that he has not yet seen the 2025 hurricane plan that Noem said at a May hearing she would share. Sen. Andy Kim of New Jersey, the top Democrat on the Subcommittee on Disaster Management, will send a letter Wednesday to Noem asking for the plan again. 'The reports of FEMA's incomplete 2025 hurricane season plan on the cusp of the start of hurricane season and DHS' slowness in providing the plan to this Committee are equally unsettling,' Kim wrote in the letter. FEMA or states? The key question going forward for FEMA remains what role, if any, it will play in disaster recovery, and what part of its previous mission will be delegated to the states to handle on their own. Experts who spoke with NBC News say it's clear the federal agency should still have a role in managing large-scale multistate disasters. What is less clear is whether states should be encouraged to do more to manage smaller disasters instead of relying on the federal government to bail them out. 'We need to incentivize states to spend more before requiring federal assistance,' said Jeff Schlegelmilch, director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University. Natalie Simpson, a professor at the University of Buffalo who is an expert in emergency services and disaster response, said larger states can handle more responsibility when disaster strikes. 'I think big states like California, New York and Florida have enough economies of scale so they can set up a mini-FEMA, but I think other states it won't be as effective,' she said in an interview. Current and former FEMA officials pointed to comments Texas Gov. Greg Abbott made at the first FEMA Review Council meeting, in which he called FEMA 'clunky and 'slow' and that 'states have proven that we can move more nimbly, more swiftly and more effectively.' They noted that the governor had asked for a FEMA disaster declaration within days of the floods. On Sunday the president dodged a question about whether he would still eliminate the agency, telling reporters: 'Well FEMA is something we can talk about later. But right now, they're busy working, so we'll leave it at that.' By Monday, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said talks around the broader purpose of the agency were ongoing. 'The president wants to ensure American citizens always have what they need during times of need. Whether that assistance comes from states or the federal government, that's a policy discussion that will continue,' Leavitt said.
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
US sanctions UN expert Francesca Albanese, critic of Israel's Gaza offensive
The Trump administration is imposing sanctions on the UN Human Rights Council special rapporteur Francesca Albanese, an outspoken critic of Israel's military offensive in Gaza. Secretary of State Marco Rubio linked the move to her support for the International Criminal Court (ICC), some of whose judges have already been sanctioned by the said the US was sanctioning Ms Albanese for directly engaging with the ICC in its efforts to prosecute American or Israeli nationals, accusing her of being unfit for service as a UN Special Rapporteur. The sanctions are likely to prevent Ms Albanese from travelling to the US and would block any assets she has in the country. It is the latest escalation by the Trump administration as it wages a campaign against the ICC, having already sanctioned four its judges after the court last year issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his then defence minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes in Gaza, accusations they reject. Mr Rubio also accused Ms Albanese of having "spewed unabashed antisemitism, expressed support for terrorism, and open contempt for the United States, Israel, and the West." The move is likely to provoke a fierce backlash from those who argue for accountability over the civilian death toll from Israel's military offensive in Gaza. The special rapporteur has longed argued that Western governments are not doing enough to support the rights of Palestinians in the occupied Palestinian territories, and with her outspoken stance has attracted significant support among those who accuse Israeli and US leaders of weaponising accusations of antisemitism in order to silence criticism of their policies. The timing of the sanctions announcement is notable with Netanyahu currently in Washington, where he on Wednesday received an extended honour cordon at the Pentagon. Ms Albanese has previously rejected similar claims against her, telling the BBC in October: "I don't take these remarks and the defamation they carry lightly, but at the same time, I know this is not about me, as my predecessors knew that it was not about them. "I also know these member states [making accusations of antisemitism] have done absolutely nothing to abide by international law." Her office has been approached for comment. The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken least 57,575 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory's Hamas-run health of Gaza's population has also been displaced multiple times. More than 90% of homes are estimated to be damaged or destroyed; the healthcare, water, sanitation and hygiene systems have collapsed; and there are shortages of food, fuel, medicine and shelter.
