Today’s notice: We have questions about what’s next for the Department of Education. We have answers about Democrats’ strategy on transgender rights. Also, it’s a tough time to be a government contractor… or Greenpeace.
Where Does the Department of Education Go Now?
Donald Trump has been rooting for Elon Musk to take his chainsaw to the Department of Education, where he has already slashed more than a thousand jobs.
Even with plenty of advance warning, few in Washington know what functionally comes next for the department after Trump signed an executive order to “begin eliminating” it.
Legal experts believe only Congress can abolish it, and there are big questions about how gutting the agency would play on Capitol Hill. As recently as 2023, for example, 60 House Republicans opposed an amendment to close the agency.
Right now, House Republicans are publicly embracing Trump’s order. NOTUS obtained talking points distributed by Conference Chair Lisa McClain that begin, “We must fund students — not failing systems.”
The Senate would be a bigger hurdle to codifying Trump’s goal. And key Republican Sen. Susan Collins has signaled she’s not willing to play ball.
There are even more questions at the state level. NOTUS’ Violet Jira checked in with Republican state education officials earlier this week about how they’ll implement the order. Some — like Oklahoma Superintendent Ryan Walters — championed the move as “the right path.” Others, like Mississippi Department of Education spokesperson Jean Cook, couldn’t begin to “speculate” on what department changes would mean for the state.
The situation basically boils down to Collins’ first question to Education Secretary Linda McMahon at her confirmation hearing.
“How do we maintain the administration and oversight of these programs if we abolish or substantially reorganize the Department of Education?” Collins asked.
—Riley Rogerson | Read Violet’s story.
Democrats Soul-Search on Trans Rights
After relentless Republican attacks on transgender rights caught Democrats flat-footed last year, NOTUS’ Oriana González reports the party is engaged in serious conversations to chart a course forward.
Rep. Sarah McBride — the first openly transgender member of Congress — has been leading talks to get the party on the same page. Her message? “We have to create more space in our tent.”
“A binary choice between being all-on or all-off is not constructive for anyone,” McBride told NOTUS. “It impedes the very needed path toward winning electorally, winning hearts and minds and, most importantly, winning progress.”
Oriana reports that McBride has spoken with Reps. Seth Moulton and Tom Suozzi, who recently received intraparty backlash over their opposition to trans athletes participating in female sports. But McBride told NOTUS that Democrats’ rage at their own misses the point.
“I think it is an incredibly problematic instinct that many have to excommunicate people who aren’t in lockstep with you on every policy, or even aren’t in lockstep with you on the messaging,” she said.
Front Page
- The NIH Is Quietly Laying Off Contract Workers: Contractors make up nearly half of the NIH’s total workforce.
- A Democratic Senator Inched Closer to Calling for Chuck Schumer to Step Aside: The remarks signal an escalation in the Democratic blowup over Schumer’s leadership.
- Millions of Student Loan Borrowers Are in Limbo: The Education Department says payment plan applications could be back online as soon as next week.
Contracting Some Unintended Consequences
The Trump administration’s DOGE-driven axing of thousands of federal contracts could make it more difficult and expensive for agencies to secure new contracts, NOTUS’ Shifra Dayak reports. The administration terminated over 5,000 federal contracts, many of which supported the now-gutted USAID, and ordered the elimination of “non-essential” contracts at some major consulting firms. Some contractors are already rolling back DEI efforts at Trump’s urging.
But some of his cuts could come with unintended consequences. “If people who want to contract with the government expect the United States government to renege on some or all of its contracts … they’re going to put in a risk premium,” one federal budget expert said.
The Ordeal of Deported Venezuelan Migrants
Lawyers for some of the migrants deported and sent to an El Salvador prison by the Trump administration submitted details in federal court filings that often “directly contradict the assertions made by the Trump administration,” NOTUS’ Jose Pagliery reports.
Filings claim detainees faced grueling conditions, enduring dehydration, near-heat exhaustion and verbal abuse. Detainees “asked and begged officers for food and water. The officers did not provide any water or food but instead drank water themselves in front of them and laughed,” according to one such filing. The White House and its “border czar,” Tom Homan, have vowed to forge ahead.
“I don’t care what the judges think. I don’t care what the left thinks,” Homan said on Fox News.
NOTUS Exclusive: Angry Consumer Groups
Consumer groups are livid about Trump firing Senate-confirmed FTC commissioners Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Kelly Slaughter.
In a letter exclusively shared with NOTUS’ Samuel Larreal, groups including the National Consumer League are imploring House and Senate Commerce leaders to intervene, arguing the terminations were premature and illegal.
“We urge you to investigate these unlawful attempted firings and act swiftly to restore the FTC’s independence, using all tools available to Congress,” the letter reads.
But the consumer groups may not find much luck on Capitol Hill. Sen. Ted Cruz, chair of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, has already said, “President Trump is right to challenge this precedent and return power to the people.”
Quotable: The Greenpeace Verdict’s Chilling Effect
“It’s emboldening others to say, ‘Hey, if Energy Transfer can go into court and sue its critics and get a nine-figure jury verdict, I’m going to go out to sue my critics too.’”
“That can embolden anybody from high-figure public officials to your local dentist or doctor who wants to sue somebody because they left a bad review on Yelp.”
That’s what JT Morris, an attorney at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, told NOTUS’ Anna Kramer of a jury ordering Greenpeace to pay over $660 million in damages for materially supporting the 2016 Standing Rock protests.
Not Us
We know NOTUS reporters can’t cover it all. Here’s some other great hits by … not us.
- Meet Elon Musk’s Top Lieutenant Who Oversees DOGE by Ryan Mac, Kate Conger and Theodore Schleifer at The New York Times
- Stephen Miller Has a Plan by Nick Miroff and Jonathan Lemire at The Atlantic
- Israel’s ‘forever war’ stretches IDF to the limit by Neri Zilber at the Financial Times
Be Social
We’re not sure what Minions had to do with this.
LISTEN UP ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/i7UxstmpCe
— State of New York (@NYGov) March 20, 2025
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