Latest news with #TrumpFiring
New York Times
14-06-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Federal Judge Reinstates Consumer Product Safety Regulators Fired by Trump
A federal judge in Maryland reversed President Trump's firings of the three Democratic members of the five-member Consumer Product Safety Commission, which monitors the safety of products like toys, cribs and electronics. In the ruling, Judge Matthew J. Maddox of the Federal District Court in Maryland said that the law only allowed Mr. Trump to fire the officials for 'neglect of duty or malfeasance,' while Mr. Trump had purported to fire them without cause. 'Plaintiffs have performed ably in their roles,' Judge Maddox wrote, 'and have never been accused of neglect of duty or malfeasance in office by either President Trump or President Biden.' It is the latest setback for Mr. Trump in his effort to purge perceived political opponents from independent agencies in the government, part of an assault on counterweights to his authority. Another federal judge ruled last month that Mr. Trump broke the law when he fired Democratic members of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, an independent civil liberties watchdog. The three Democratic members of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, Mary T. Boyle, Richard L. Trumka Jr. and Alexander Hoehn-Saric, said in separate statements after Mr. Trump moved to fire them that they had been targeted for votes they cast to stop the importing of poorly made lithium-ion batteries and objecting to staffing cuts. Ms. Boyle's term as a commissioner ends in October, and Mr. Trump will be able to pick her replacement, granting him a Republican-controlled majority on the commission.
Reuters
09-06-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Democratic FTC commissioner Bedoya says he will step down
WASHINGTON, June 9 (Reuters) - One of the two Democratic commissioners at the U.S. Federal Trade Commission who has challenged his firing by President Donald Trump said on Monday he was stepping down. Alvaro Bedoya said he would step down to comply with ethics rules but will remain a plaintiff in a lawsuit challenging his dismissal. "I love this work. But I'm not getting paid for it," Bedoya said. "But my number one job is to take care of my family." The FTC is currently led by three Republicans.
CBS News
08-06-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Former Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden speaks out on her firing by Trump
Former Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden speaks out on her firing by Trump Last month, Carla Hayden was nearing the end of her ten-year term as Librarian of Congress. Appointed by President Barack Obama, Hayden was the 14th Librarian of Congress since 1802. She was a history-maker – the first woman and first Black person to hold the job. Then, on May 8, Hayden received an email, one she thought may have been fake. It began simply, "Carla," and stated: "On behalf of President Donald J. Trump, I am writing to inform you that your position as the Librarian of Congress is terminated effective immediately." CBS News "I was never notified beforehand and after," she said. "No one has talked to me directly at all from the White House." She said she has received no phone call, either – only that single email. Hayden said there had never been any issues between her and President Trump: "Oh, no, or any other administration." "So, this wasn't personal?" Dr. Carla Hayden, former Librarian of Congress. CBS News "No, no. I don't think it was personal," she replied. "Do you think it was about power?" "I don't know what it was about, frankly," Hayden said. Hayden's firing is seen by many as part of a broader story. President Trump has been pushing out leaders at cultural institutions, and is targeting public media and universities for spending cuts. Call to action Last weekend, at Washington, D.C.'s Martin Luther King, Jr. Library, Hayden's supporters gathered for a town hall meeting. One speaker, author Kwame Alexander, said, "The firing of our distinguished, esteemed Librarian of Congress, Dr. Carla Hayden, makes it clear to us that the freedom to read, the freedom to learn, the freedom to express ourselves is under attack. … We are simply going to be bold." On May 31, at Martin Luther King Jr. Library in Washington, D.C., a town hall meeting was held "to defend creative expression, access to all books, and the freedom to learn." CBS News I asked Hayden, "There are librarians, academics, activists, many people in America who are often seen as the 'quiet types,' they're being loud." "They're being loud, I think, and it's so humbling to have that outpouring of support," Hayden said. "But what is really, I think, part of this feeling is that it's part of a larger-seeming effort to diminish opportunities for the general public to have free access to information and inspiration. We like to say as librarians, 'Free people read freely.' And so, there's been an effort recently to quelch that." White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has addressed Hayden's dismissal, stating on May 9, "We felt she did not fit the needs of the American people. There were quite concerning things that she had done at the Library of Congress in the pursuit of DEI and, uh, putting inappropriate books in the library for children." Hayden's response? "When I heard those comments, I was concerned that there might not have been as much of an awareness of what the Library of Congress does." The library's primary function is to fulfil research requests from members of Congress – it is not a lending library for the general public. The White House press secretary also used the term "DEI," referring to "diversity, equity and inclusion." I asked Hayden, "When you hear that, as one of the most prominent Black women in the United States, what do you hear?" "It's been puzzling in many ways, to think about being 'inclusive' as a negative," Hayden said. "What's that all about?" "I don't know, because when you think about diversity, you can put it to its lowest level. It's wonderful to have options," Hayden said. "When you go and get ice cream, you know, this one likes strawberry, this one likes pistachio – you know? I would stay with the chocolate, I must say." The book that sparked a lifetime of reading While Hayden, who's 72, is no longer at the Library of Congress, the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, which she led for over two decades, has the feel of home. Hayden's lifetime of reading was sparked by a library book – "Bright April" by Marguerite De Angeli, the story of a Black girl and her family. She said she saw herself in that book: "Yeah, it was like, 'Oh my gosh, this is me,'" she said. "You see yourself. And that's why it's so important for young people to see themselves, or to read about experiences that they're having. 'Cause it validates you, because you've seen it in a book. Somebody took the time, somebody cared enough. "That's what librarians are fighting for, that people will be able to say, 'Here's a book about our family. We have a family that other people might think is a little different.' Or, 'Here's a book that talks about someone that's just like you.' And because it's in a book, it's been published, it means that it's real and it's important." Carla Hayden shows correspondent Robert Costa a copy of "Bright April." CBS News For Hayden, libraries do more than convene people in buildings; they convene Americans around our founding values. And she points to "Freedom to Read" – the 1953 statement by the American Library Association – as a guiding light. "The freedom to read is essential to our democracy," it said. "It is continuously under attack." Is it under attack today? "Democracy is under attack," Hayden said. "Democracies are not to be taken for granted. And the institutions that support democracy should not be taken for granted. And so, that's what the concern is about libraries and museums. It's part of a fabric. Think of it as an infrastructure that holds up – the libraries have been called one of the pillars of democracy, that you have these institutions in every community that allow anyone to come in and access knowledge." For more info: Story produced by Ed Forgotson. Editor: Chad Cardin.
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Fired US librarian of Congress details callous dismissal in new interview
The first woman and African American to serve as the US librarian of Congress before Donald Trump fired her in May has not heard from the president's administration beyond the 31-word email it sent her with word of her dismissal, she has revealed in her first interview since her ouster. 'No one has talked to me directly at all from the White House,' Carla Hayden says in an interview airing on the upcoming CBS News Sunday Morning. 'I've received no communication directly, except for that one email. 'That's the only communication.' Hayden's comments to the CBS national correspondent Robert Costa provide a first-hand glimpse at the unceremonious way she was fired from a post to which the US Senate confirmed her in 2016. She had been thrust under political pressure by a conservative advocacy group that had pledged to drive out anyone deemed to be standing in the way of the Trump White House's rightwing agenda. That organization, the American Accountability Foundation (AAF), leveled accusations against Hayden and other library leaders that they had promoted children's books with 'radical content' as well as literature by opponents of the president. Hayden then received an email on 8 May that read: 'Carla, on behalf of President Donald J Trump, I am writing to inform you that your position as the Librarian of Congress is terminated effective immediately. Thank you for your service.' Asked by Acosta whether her tenure really ended 'with one missive that's electronic', Hayden replied: 'That was it.' She also remarked: 'I was never notified beforehand and after.' Hayden is one of numerous federal government officials whom Trump has dismissed upon having been convinced that they were not aligned with his second presidency's plans. Just hours before her firing became public, the AAF used its X account to insult her as 'woke' and 'anti-Trump'. 'It's time to get her OUT,' the AAF also said on X, in part. Congressional Democrats reacted with fury to Hayden's termination. New York's Chuck Schumer, the top US Senate Democrat, said Hayden was a 'trailblazer, a scholar and a public servant of the highest order'. The New York representative Joseph Morelle, the highest-ranking Democrat on the US House's administration committee, called Hayden 'an American hero'. 'Hayden has spent her entire career serving people – from helping kids learn to read to protecting some of our nation's most precious treasures,' said Morelle, whose committee oversees the congressional library. The Library of Congress sits across from the US Capitol in Washington DC. It holds a vast collection of the US's books and history, making it available to federal lawmakers as well as the public. It archives the papers of presidents and supreme court justices and has collections of rare books, images, music and artifacts. In 2022, Hayden arranged for the singer Lizzo to play one of those artifacts: a flute owned by James Madison, who was US president from 1809 to 1817.
Washington Post
04-06-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Defying Trump, National Portrait Gallery Director Kim Sajet is still at work
President Donald Trump's latest attempt to assert control over an elite American cultural institution has turned into a high-stakes Washington stand-off. In defiance of Trump's announcement last Friday that he was firing her, Kim Sajet — the director of the Smithsonian Institution's National Portrait Gallery — has continued to report for work, conducting meetings and handling other museum business as she did before, according to several people familiar with her activities who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a personnel matter. Writing on Truth Social, Trump had declared he is firing Sajet because she 'is a highly partisan person' and because she is a 'strong supporter of DEI,' a reference to diversity, equity and inclusion. He said her replacement would be named shortly. Trump has not provided a legal reasoning to support his authority to fire Sajet. Two top congressional Democrats have asserted the president does not have legal authority for the firing. In a joint statement, House Administration Committee ranking Democrat Joe Morelle of New York and House Appropriations Committee ranking Democrat Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut said: 'President Trump has no authority to fire employees of the Smithsonian Institution — including the Director of the National Portrait Gallery. The dismissal of Director Sajet is unacceptable and has the same legal weight as the President's prior attempts to undermine the Smithsonian's independence: absolutely none. Should the White House require a copy of the Constitution, we would be more than happy to provide one.' Sajet's refusal to abide by Trump's decision sets up a test of the bounds of presidential authority over the Smithsonian, a sprawling complex of 21 museums, 14 education and research centers and the National Zoo. It is not a traditional government agency nor part of the executive branch, and hiring and firing decisions have historically been handled by the Smithsonian's secretary, rather than its Board of Regents. The Smithsonian's current secretary, Lonnie G. Bunch III, is widely expected to discuss the president's attempt to oust Sajet when regents meet next Monday. In an only-in-Washington twist, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. — who has been presented with major questions at the Supreme Court regarding the limits of presidential authority since Trump took office — is the chancellor of the Smithsonian and a member of its board. A Trump White House spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A Smithsonian spokesperson declined to comment. In February, Trump made another foray into American arts when he took over control of the Kennedy Center, dismissing his predecessor's appointees to its board, who then installed him as chairman and replaced the institution's director with a political ally with scant experience in the arts. The Smithsonian differs from the Kennedy Center because presidents don't appoint members to its board, which is composed of a mix of officials from all three branches of government and members of the public. But Trump is not without allies on the Smithsonian board, including Vice President JD Vance who, like Roberts, is an ex-officio member. Trump's move against Sajet follows an executive order he issued on March 27 titled 'Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History,' which aims to 'restore the Smithsonian Institution to its rightful place as a symbol of inspiration and American greatness.' A 35-year-old special assistant and senior associate staff secretary, Lindsey Halligan, was among the order's architects — instigated, in part, by her early-2025 visit to the show 'The Shape of Power: Stories of Race and American Sculpture,' an exhibition at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, which shares a building with the Portrait Gallery. The order calls for Halligan and Vice President JD Vance to 'remove improper ideology' from the Smithsonian and 'prohibit expenditure on exhibits or programs that degrade shared American values, divide Americans based on race.' 'President Trump's attempt to fire the National Portrait Gallery Director is outrageous and represents yet another disturbing example of his relentless effort to control American art and culture,' said Rep. Chellie Pingree (Maine), ranking Democrat of the House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee, which oversees the Smithsonian, in a statement. 'Despite what the President may think, America's cultural institutions are not run by dictatorial impulses.' On Tuesday a White House official provided The Post a list of 17 instances in which, the White House argued, Sajet was critical of Trump or outspoken about her support for diversity, equity and inclusion. The list included her donations to Democratic politicians and advocacy groups; a social media post praising Anthony Fauci; the caption for the museum's presidential portrait of Trump mentioning his two impeachments and 'incitement of insurrection' for the events of Jan. 6, 2021; and numerous quotes from interviews in a variety of publications about her efforts to represent a broad swath of Americans within the gallery's walls. One item on the list was a quote in a 2019 USA Today story about Black artists demanding representation in American artistic institutions: 'We owe it to Americans to reflect them because we owe it to accurate history,' Sajet says. 'I'm not interested in only having a museum for some people.' The list additionally took issue with remarks Sajet has made in support of the #MeToo and Black Lives Matter movements, and criticism of Columbus Day and her rejection of one artist's 2016 portrait of Trump as 'too political.' It notes that Sajet has commissioned artworks about Mexican immigration and 'the complications of ancestral and racial history.' It was critical of her 2013 decision to use '50 percent of all money spent on art' to 'support diverse artists and portrait subjects.' Since its founding 179 years ago, the Smithsonian, which receives about 60 percent of its budget from federal appropriations and grants, has generally operated independently, although there have been several controversies in which museums have altered exhibitions in response to outside criticisms, including from politicians. Museum directors, such as Sajet — holders of some of the most prestigious positions in American arts — are not paid with federal funds, instead drawing their salaries from the Smithsonian's trust fund. Hours after Trump's post, Bunch told Smithsonian staff in an email obtained by The Washington Post that the White House also sent new details of proposed cuts to the institution's budget, slashing it by 12 percent and excluding funding for its Anacostia Community Museum and its forthcoming National Museum of the American Latino, Bunch said. On Saturday, at the Portrait Gallery and SAAM's joint family Pride celebration, a trio of visitors strolled the central courtyard in neon vests emblazoned with 'Hands off the arts' on the back — closely watched by a Smithsonian staff member, who hovered nearby. 'I'm outraged' by Sajet's firing, said Karen Nussbaum, 75, of Washington. 'There's a place for a political expression in art, but not political control of art.' 'I think the next step is controlling what artists think and do,' said Cynthia Cain, 60, of Washington, 'and that's not acceptable.' Sophia Nguyen and Janay Kingsberry contributed to this report.
