Stephen Dinan

Supreme Court demurs on Trump’s first appeal over firing powers

The Supreme Court has rebuffed President Trump's initial attempt to expand his firing powers, as the first case involving the new administration's aggressive agenda reached the high court.

February 23, 2025

Trump on major losing streak on birthright citizenship

President Trump's deadline for denying automatic citizenship to illegal immigrants passed with barely a whimper last week as the policy remains snared in a web of court rulings -- all of them against the president.

February 23, 2025

New York City sues to force feds to give back $80 million in migrant money

New York filed a lawsuit Friday asking a judge to restore $80 million in migrant aid money that the Trump administration plucked out of the city's accounts earlier this month.

February 22, 2025

Judge says Musk’s DOGE can access federal employee data

A federal judge has refused to shut down the Department of Government Efficiency's access to human resources files of government employees, saying there was no "concrete evidence" that the DOGE was misusing the data right now.

February 21, 2025

Supreme Court rebuffs Trump’s attempt to oust special counsel — for now

The Supreme Court has ruled that one of the government agency leaders whom President Trump wants to fire can remain on the job for at least another week.

February 21, 2025

Judge releases hold on Trump’s plan to slash USAID

A federal judge lifted his order that had blocked President Trump from carrying out a mass shakeup at the U.S. Agency for International Development.

February 21, 2025

Trump removes acting ICE director as administration seeks to ramp up deportations

The administration has ousted the head of the government's deportation force, according to a new report that said President Trump was upset with the slow pace of deportations.

February 21, 2025

Catholic bishops lose first round to Trump in court battle over refugee money

A federal judge on Thursday rejected the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' request to turn back on the spigot of federal money the government formerly paid outside groups to help settle refugees.

February 20, 2025

DHS reverses deportation amnesty for Haitians, could pave path for more expulsions

Homeland Security on Thursday unwound the Biden administration's attempt to lock in 18 extra months of a deportation amnesty for Haitian migrants, saying it was an abuse of the system.

February 20, 2025

Trump conquers CPAC 10 years after hostility

Like so much of the rest of the political right -- from Reaganism to the tea party movement -- Donald Trump has conquered CPAC, bringing it into the broader MAGA fold.

February 20, 2025

Judge declines to stop Trump’s firing of probationary federal workers

A federal judge on Thursday rejected labor unions' request for a restraining order halting President Trump's firing of thousands of new federal employees who were still working on a probationary period.

February 20, 2025

Man who sold guns to illegal immigrants gets 12-year prison sentence

A man who sold guns to illegal immigrants in Texas near the U.S.-Mexico border was sentenced Thursday to more than 12 years in prison.

February 20, 2025

Homeland Security deputizes State Department personnel to enforce immigration

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has deputized up to 600 law enforcement officers from the State Department to serve as immigration enforcement officers.

February 20, 2025

State Department to designate MS-13, Tren de Aragua as terrorist organizations

The State Department designated two migrant gangs and six Mexican cartels as terrorist organizations, following through on a campaign promise President Trump made to step up pressure on the groups.

February 19, 2025

Trump, Associated Press enter ring for media supremacy; presidential power vs. press freedom

Amid all of the fights the new president has picked so far, his feud with The Associated Press is the spiciest: one part petty, one part subversive and one part pure power politics.

February 19, 2025

Poverty level surged among new immigrants under Biden

The immigrants President Biden welcomed to the U.S. over the last four years were poorer and less educated than their predecessors, according to a new study released Wednesday.

February 19, 2025

Catholic bishops sue Trump administration to demand restart of refugee money

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops sued the Trump administration on Tuesday, asking a federal judge to order the State Department to restart the taxpayer money that the bishops say they need in order to help refugees.

February 18, 2025

Feds bust migrant crime ring suspected in burglaries at sports stars’ homes

Federal prosecutors revealed charges Tuesday against seven Chilean migrants accused of running a sophisticated burglary ring that targets pro athletes across the country,

February 18, 2025

Judge unconvinced by blue states’ alarm at Musk’s role in federal government

A federal judge backed Elon Musk on Tuesday, rejecting an attempt by Democrat-led states to shut down his work with President Trump's Department of Government Efficiency.

February 18, 2025

U.S. deported 14,470 people to Mexico since Trump took office

Mexico says it has been the recipient of 14,470 deportees since President Trump took office on Jan. 20 -- a rate that's slightly lower than in the final year of the Biden administration.

February 18, 2025