The Trump-Era Rollback of Transgender Rights Is Gaining Steam
Voters in at least 10 states have elected a transgender person to their legislature. A transgender man has argued a case before the Supreme Court. Last year, the first transgender woman was elected to Congress.
Transgender people have become visible in ways that were unthinkable five years ago, a development that advocates thought would generate more societal acceptance. And yet, the political and legal tides are shifting in a different direction.
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8 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump says "maybe" he'll try to fire Fed chief Jerome Powell
President Trump suggested Friday he may try to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, calling the central bank leader a "Total and Complete Moron" for leaving interest rates steady. The president has been lashing out against Powell for months, criticizing the central banker — whom Mr. Trump appointed in his first term — for not lowering interest rates at a faster pace. It's unclear whether the president is legally allowed to fire Powell before his term ends in May 2026, and Mr. Trump said in April he has "no intention" of doing so. But in a post criticizing Powell on Friday, Mr. Trump floated the idea, writing: "Maybe, just maybe, I'll have to change my mind about firing him?" "But regardless, his Term ends shortly!" the president added. Any attempt to fire Powell would be legally contentious. Federal law and prior court precedent says members of the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors, including the chair, can only be fired "for cause." The Supreme Court ruled last month that the Trump administration can fire members of other independent federal agencies — but specifically exempted the Fed, calling the central bank a "uniquely structured, quasi-private entity." Powell said last year he will not resign if Mr. Trump asks him to step down. The two met at the White House last month. Mr. Trump also called Powell a "dumb guy" in his Friday evening post. "I fully understand that my strong criticism of him makes it more difficult for him to do what he should be doing, lowering Rates, but I've tried it all different ways," Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social. "I've been nice, I've been neutral, and I've been nasty, and nice and neutral didn't work! He's a dumb guy, and an obvious Trump Hater, who should have never been there." The Fed declined to comment to CBS News. Why has Trump criticized Powell? Mr. Trump's issues with Powell hinge on the Federal Reserve's interest rate policies. The central bank's interest rate-setting committee, which is chaired by Powell, has kept its benchmark rate steady so far this year, after lowering it slightly from a two-decade high last year — following a series of rate hikes in 2022 and 2023 to quell inflation. Most recently, the committee opted against lowering rates earlier this week, drawing backlash from Mr. Trump. The decision comes with tradeoffs. High interest rates can slow down economic growth and make it more expensive for Americans to borrow money, which is why Mr. Trump wants cuts. But lowering interest rates too quickly could overheat the economy and cause inflation to spike yet again. While inflation has cooled off in recent years, it's still higher than the Fed's 2% annual target, and the Fed warns Mr. Trump's tariffs could push prices up. "Because the economy is still solid, we can take the time to actually see what's going to happen," Powell said earlier this week. Mr. Trump disagrees, nicknaming Powell "Mr. Too Late" and arguing that inflation is already low. On Friday, the president amped up his criticism, calling Powell a "numbskull" and suggesting the other members of the rate-setting Federal Open Monetary Committee "override" him. Mr. Trump also said Powell should lower interest rates immediately and just hike them again if inflation spikes — an idea that's at odds with the Fed's cautious strategy. "Don't say that you think there will be Inflation sometime in the future, because there isn't now but, if there is, raise the Rates!" wrote Mr. Trump. The attacks are a redux of Mr. Trump's first-term criticism. The president pushed back against Powell after the Fed hiked interest rates in 2018, but called Powell his "most improved player" for slashing rates during the 2020 pandemic. SpaceX Starship upper stage blows up Hurricane Erick approaches Mexico with destructive winds, major storm surge "Jaws" premiered 50 years ago, but it's a wonder it got made at all
Yahoo
8 minutes ago
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House Democrat: We should be let into ICE facilities
Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.) condemned new policies Friday requiring prescreening for lawmakers' visits to immigration detention facilities after a series of incidents where members of Congress seeking to conduct oversight were denied entry. 'This administration has continuously tried to go around Congress and block Congress from doing its constitutionally responsible duties,' Meeks said during a Friday appearance on MSNBC. 'We are and have oversight and should be let into these facilities without notice,' he added. Meeks said Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials can misrepresent conditions when provided advanced notice of oversight visits. His comments come after the DHS issued new guidance requesting 72-hour notice before members of Congress visit facilities. Several lawmakers in New Jersey, California, Illinois and New York have been barred from entering facilities to conduct legal oversight. Meeks said the DHS's new policy is 'problematic.' 'The way that you find out what actually is taking place, and we've done this under several administrations, Democrat and Republican previously, you're able to walk in and make an assessment of what is and what is not taking place,' Meeks told MSNBC. 'When you are prevented from doing your job and prevented from, you know, doing what the Constitution says you should be doing, then it makes you feel that there is something going on that should not be going on.' Multiple detainees have complained of overcrowding and a lack of due process amid national protests regarding the Trump administration's new immigration policies. Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) also said Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is seeking to block lawmakers from visiting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) field offices, even during advance visits. 'No matter how much she and Trump want to force us to live under their authoritarian rule, ICE is not above oversight and the Department must follow the law. This unlawful policy is a smokescreen to deny Member visits to ICE offices across the country, which are holding migrants – and sometimes even U.S. citizens – for days at a time,' Thompson, ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee, said in a statement. 'They are therefore detention facilities and are subject to oversight and inspection at any time. DHS pretending otherwise is simply their latest lie. There is no valid or legal reason for denying Member access to ICE facilities and DHS's ever-changing justifications prove this,' he added. DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement to The Hill, 'As ICE law enforcement have seen a surge in assaults, disruptions and obstructions to enforcement, including by politicians themselves, any requests to tour processing centers and field offices must be approved by the Secretary of Homeland Security. These requests must be part of legitimate congressional oversight activities.'As for visits to detention facilities, requests should be made with sufficient time to prevent interference with the President's Article II authority to oversee executive department functions—a week is sufficient to ensure no intrusion on the President's constitutional authority. To protect the President's Article II authority, any request to shorten that time must be approved by the Secretary.' Updated at 6:36 p.m. EDT. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
8 minutes ago
- Yahoo
On Iran and its nuclear threat, Trump says Tulsi Gabbard is wrong (again)
Four months into her tenure, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard was already struggling on multiple fronts when things went from bad to worse earlier this week. As Donald Trump considered a possible military offensive against Iran, many were reminded of the fact that Gabbard, just a few months ago, told members of Congress — under oath, while reading from a prepared text that her office published online — that the U.S. intelligence community 'continues to assess that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon and Supreme leader Khomeini has not authorized the nuclear weapons program that he suspended in 2003.' When reporters asked the president for his reaction to the assessment from his own handpicked director of national intelligence, he told reporters: 'I don't care what she said.' Gabbard quickly went into damage-control mode, and during an appearance on CNN on Tuesday, she insisted that she and Trump are 'on the same page.' Three days later, there's fresh reason to believe otherwise. During a Friday afternoon Q&A with reporters, one member of the press corps reminded the president that his own country's intelligence community has concluded that Iran is not yet building a nuclear weapon. 'Well, then my intelligence community is wrong,' Trump replied. 'Who in the intelligence community said that?' When the same reporter answered, 'Your director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard,' the president added: 'She's wrong.' By all accounts, the evidence does not appear to be on his side. As NBC News reported this week, 'The U.S. assessment of Iran's nuclear program has not changed since March, when the director of national intelligence told lawmakers that Tehran has large amounts of enriched uranium but has not made a decision to rush toward building an atomic bomb, according to the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee and a source with knowledge of the matter.' That might not be what the White House wants the public to hear, but it's what U.S. intelligence agencies keep telling policymakers. Trump has nevertheless decided it's 'wrong,' for reasons he has not explained or acknowledged. There's no shortage of questions surrounding his latest exchange, including the inevitable concerns about whether Trump is disregarding U.S. intelligence and accepting information from other sources. I'm also reminded of what happened the last time the United States had a different Republican president who disregarded his own country's intelligence and insisted that a Middle Eastern foe had weapons of mass destruction. What's more, it's hard not to wonder whether Gabbard will soon need to start updating her resume. NBC News also reported this week, 'National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard, an outspoken critic of past U.S. military interventions abroad, appears to have fallen out of favor with President Donald Trump as he weighs military action against Iran, according to multiple senior administration officials with knowledge of the matter.' The reporting, which dovetailed with related reporting from other major outlets about Gabbard being sidelined, came against a backdrop of related reports about the intelligence chief being left out of important meetings and the president having soured on the former congresswoman. So much for being 'on the same page.' This article was originally published on
