A day after President Trump announced he was renaming Nov. 11 — the date that Veterans Day is observed — as “Victory Day for World War I,” the White House is now saying it will be an additional proclamation and not a full replacement.

White House backtracks on renaming Veterans Day

A day after President Donald Trump announced he was renaming Nov. 11 — the date that Veterans Day is observed — as “Victory Day for World War I,” the White House is now saying it will be an additional proclamation and not a full replacement.

“We are not renaming Veteran’s Day,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told ABC News. “It will just be an additional proclamation that goes out on that day.”

In his social media post on Thursday, Trump also said he intended to designate May 8 as “Victory Day for World War II.”

Establishing a federal holiday or a patriotic or national observance requires the passage of a law, according to the Congressional Research Service.

Trump asks Supreme Court to give DOGE access to Social Security records

The Trump administration filed a new emergency request with the Supreme Court on Friday seeking to lift a lower court block of its efforts to overhaul the federal government.

The administration argued that a judicial order blocking DOGE from accessing sensitive data inside the Social Security Administration is an illegal infringement on core executive branch power to conduct day-to-day business of the government.

It also argued the federal employee union that brought the challenge lacks standing because it is unable to show any concrete injury.

“The district court is forcing the Executive Branch to stop employees charged with modernizing government information systems from accessing the data in those systems because, in the court’s judgment, those employees do not ‘need’ such access,” Solicitor General John Sauer wrote.

EPA administrator announces agency reorganization

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced a significant reorganization for the agency the same day the Trump administration proposed billions of dollars in cuts to renewable energy, environmental and climate programs.

“EPA is creating the first-of-its-kind Office of State Air Partnerships within the Office of Air and Radiation. This office will be focused on working with, not against, state, local and tribal air permitting agencies to improve processing of State Implementation Plans and resolving air permitting concerns,” Zeldin said in a video posted to YouTube.

Zeldin added that the EPA will also create a new Office of Clean Air program, make changes to its Office of Water and create an Office of Applied Science and Environmental Solutions.

Zeldin said the reorganization would save more than $300 million a year and that the agency’s goal is to reduce staffing to match the level of Ronald Reagan’s presidency.

A possible military parade takes shape for Trump’s birthday

The US Army is weighing plans for a historic parade through the streets of Washington, D.C., this June that would involve some 6,600 soldiers, tanks and infantry vehicles, helicopter flyovers and parachute jumps, according to several people familiar with the ongoing planning effort.

The June 14 parade, if approved, would coincide with the Army’s long-planned 250th celebration, as well as President Donald Trump’s 79th birthday.

The Army has long been planning to commemorate its milestone birthday with a festival on the National Mall that would include a fitness expo, staged vehicles and historical memorabilia. Officials said the parade is a potential add-on and cautioned that no final decisions have been made.

President Donald Trump gives a commencement address at the University of Alabama, May 1, 2025, in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP

The timing and White House involvement in planning efforts have stoked speculation that Trump is using the Army’s birthday as an excuse to get the kind of grand military parade he wanted during his first term in office. That event was scrapped after estimates topped $90 million.

The cost for this year’s June 14 parade is unclear, officials said. But it would likely be steep. The event will require involvement from several federal agencies, including those requiring security.

Trump admin settles with Maine over school meal funding freeze

The state of Maine and the Trump administration reached a settlement Friday to resolve a lawsuit over a recent funding freeze that Maine alleged was imposed to punish the state for its policies on transgender athletes.

The settlement was disclosed in a court filing on Friday afternoon, and lawyers with the Maine Attorney General’s office moved to dismiss their case shortly afterward.

Maine Governor Janet Mills listens as President Donald Trump hosts a business session with U.S. governors who are in town for the National Governors Association’s annual winter meeting, at the White House in Washington, Feb. 21, 2025.
Leah Millis/Reuters

The terms of the settlement were not immediately disclosed.

“It’s unfortunate that my office had to resort to federal court just to get USDA to comply with the law and its own regulations. But we are pleased that the lawsuit has now been resolved and that Maine will continue to receive funds as directed by Congress to feed children and vulnerable adults,” Maine Attorney General Aaron M. Frey said in a statement Friday.

Last month, a federal judge blocked the Department of Agriculture from freezing millions of dollars related to child nutrition and other federal programs, finding the Trump administration likely violated the law when it attempted to cut off the previously appropriated funding.

The lawsuit followed a tense interaction between Trump and Maine Gov. Janet Mills in February over the president’s executive order prohibiting transgender athletes from participating in women’s sports.

Senate Democrats call on Trump to investigate Musk

Thirteen Senate Democrats wrote to President Donald Trump in a letter Friday to express concern that Elon Musk is “exploiting his position” as a senior White House advisor to “influence foreign governments for his own financial gain,” and to call on him to investigate these allegations.

The letter cites reports that Musk is allegedly “taking advantage of his government role to coerce concessions from foreign governments for his own benefit, including unfettered market access as well as contracts with his companies, in exchange for favorable treatment by the U.S. government.”

Democrats are particularly focused in this letter on recent reports about business deals struck between Musk’s company Starlink and other countries. They cite reporting by the Washington Post about recent distribution deals and licensing deals reached between Starlink and several countries, including India and Bangladesh.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk attends a cabinet meeting held by U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington, April 30, 2025.
Evan Vucci/AP

If these actions took place in the White House or Blair House, Democrats say, they could be in violation of U.S. law. Democrats say this should be investigated and call on Trump to make public any findings.

“The fear that officials are misusing their authority for self-enrichment, be it through government contracting or through corrupt interactions with foreign governments, is not one that Americans should have to countenance. Brazen corruption of that sort is seen in despotic regimes, not the United States of America,” the letter states.

White House proposes $163B cuts in federal budget, increase in defense spending

The White House has released its proposed FY2026 budget Friday – which calls for $163 billion in cuts to federal spending, according to a letter that OMB Director Russell Vought sent to Congress alongside the proposal.

Many of those cuts will come from agencies, including the Department of Education, the Department of Health and Human Services, USAID and the Environmental Protection Agency, among others. But there are plans to increase funding in some areas – primarily for defense and border security.

“The President is proposing base non-defense discretionary budget authority $163 billion-22.6% below current year spending, while still protecting funding for homeland security, veterans, seniors, law enforcement, and infrastructure,” Vought said in a letter about the proposal.

The budget proposal from the White House is basically a wish list, but it does serve to illustrate the administration’s priorities and what the White House hopes is a jumping off point for negotiations with Congress.

Trump touts jobs data, other economic markers as he defends tariff policy

President Donald Trump is touting economic markers as he continues to defend his tariff policy in a new social media post. Trump touted gas prices, which he incorrectly claims have been the “lowest in years,” as well as jobs data, saying there is “strong employment.”

Hiring slowed but remained robust in April following Trump’s tariff rollout. The U.S. added 177,000 jobs in April.

President Donald Trump arrives at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Fla., May 1, 2025.
Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP

“Just like I said, and we’re only in a TRANSITION STAGE, just getting started!!! Consumers have been waiting for years to see pricing come down,” Trump wrote in a social media post on his platform after the latest jobs data was released.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *