The Education Department is taking its first step toward a shutdown. U.S. allies hit back after 25% tariffs on imported steel and aluminum took effect. And authorities in the Dominican Republic intensify their search for a U.S. college student who went missing during a spring break trip.
Here’s what to know today.
Education Department to fire roughly half its staff
The Education Department plans to cut about half of its staff — about 1,300 career employees — it announced yesterday. It’s the first step on the road to shutting down the body, Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in an interview on Fox News.
A news release from the Education Department said employees would have an opportunity to return to offices today to turn in their government property and clean out their desks. Employees hit by the layoffs separately received notices from the chief human capital officer informing them that they will be placed on paid administrative leave beginning March 21, according to copies reviewed by NBC News. All employees working out of the department’s regional offices in San Francisco, New York, Boston, Chicago, Dallas and Cleveland will be fired.
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Around 3,000 people work in the department’s Washington headquarters, and roughly 1,000 are in 10 regional offices. Another 600 people previously accepted voluntary resignations or early retirement.
The Education Department enforces an array of anti-discrimination laws and campus safety rules and distributes funding to assist needy students.
Conservatives have for decades discussed ideas for how to abolish or dramatically scale down the department. As one of the smallest Cabinet-level federal departments, Education’s $268 billion appropriations last year represented 4% of the federal budget.
Read the full story here.
More politics news:
- The House passed a six-month funding bill that would prevent a government shutdown at the end of the week, but the legislation faces an uncertain fate in the Senate.
- The White House’s South Lawn became a temporary Tesla showroom in a conspicuous favor to Elon Musk. During the event, Trump said he planned to buy a Tesla and said he hopes his purchase helped Tesla’s stock.
- USAID employees have been instructed to shred and burn classified documents as the Trump administration faces legal challenges over its attempt to shut down the agency.
- Some of Project 2025’s most prominent contributors, including its principal author, have high-ranking roles in the Trump administration.
- A House hearing yesterday ended abruptly after an exchange resulting from the GOP chair’s misgendering of Rep. Sarah McBride.
- The first election to offer a look at the post-2024 political landscape is very local and expected to yield low turnout. Still, NBC News and MSNBC’s Steve Kornacki thinks there are key patterns and trends worth watching for. Read the full analysis here.
25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports take effect
New U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum imports hit 25% at midnight as the Trump administration digs in on trade policies that are roiling the financial market and fueling fears of a recession. Allies of the U.S. have responded in kind with a hail of criticism and reciprocal tariffs. The EU announced retaliatory tariffs early this morning on $28 billion-worth of a wide range of U.S. goods imported to Europe such as boats, motorbikes and alcohol. Read more about the new tariffs.
Meanwhile, the Bureau of Labor Statistics will release its latest Consumer Price Index report this morning, which is expected to show slower price growth amid falling fuel prices. The Federal Reserve is still hoping to reach its 2% inflation goal, though some experts fear tariffs will make it impossible to reach that threshold.
U.S. to restart intelligence sharing and security assistance to Ukraine
The U.S. will immediately lift a pause on intelligence sharing and resume providing security assistance to Ukraine after delegates from Kyiv agreed to accept the Trump administration’s proposal for a 30-day interim ceasefire with Russia. Now, the U.S. and Ukraine are looking to Russia to agree to the deal. The Kremlin did not immediately comment.
The future of U.S. support for Kyiv has been in grave doubt since an extraordinary on-camera spat between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office. The Trump administration has also made a series of policy moves indicating a more cooperative relationship with Russia. The talks, held yesterday in Saudi Arabia, and resulting ceasefire proposal were hailed as a “positive step” by Zelenskyy.
Missing college student last seen with people she met on spring break trip, authorities say
Authorities in the Dominican Republic have expanded their nearly weeklong search for 20-year-old University of Pittsburgh student Sudiksha Konanki, who went missing last week during a spring break trip with friends to Punta Cana. Dominican Republic National Police said they are re-interviewing the last people who interacted with Konanki, her friends and hotel staff members. They’re also expanding their surveys of security video.
Konanki was last seen early Thursday morning in security video entering the beach area of the RIU Republic Resort. Her friends returned to the resort while Konanki stayed on the beach with other people who she had met on the trip, said Michael Chapman, the sheriff in Loudon County, Virginia, where Konanki is from.
After one of the last people who had contact with Konanki reported “that a wave hit them,” police kept a team on the beach overnight on at least two occasions to watch the water and see where a body would drift if someone drowned. Here’s what else we know.
Read All About It
- Four astronauts are scheduled to launch to the International Space Station, kicking off the process of bringing home two NASA astronauts who have spent more than nine months in orbit. And in a separate mission, NASA’s SPHEREx observatory launched into space on mission to map 450 million galaxies.
- Seven people pleaded not guilty in the killing of Sam Nordquist, a Black transgender man who was allegedly held captive for more than a month before his death.
- The National Transportation Safety Board called on the FAA to ban helicopters from flying near Ronald Reagan International Airport in the wake of the catastrophic midair collision in January.
- An Alabama city plans to replace and rebuild its police department after a grand jury recommended abolishing the small-town force.
Staff Pick: Pregnant and parenting students fall victim to lawsuit targeting LGBTQ rights
Graduation rates for student parents are bleak. One thing that can help keep them in school, experts say, are accommodations, like excused absences from class for medical care or a clean, private space to pump milk. These arrangements can mean the difference between students feeling supported or overlooked. That’s what the Biden administration had in mind when it expanded Title IX protections last year for pregnant and parenting students.
But some of the updates that advocates cheered have now been undone because of a lawsuit taking issue with parts of the measures meant to protect LGBTQ students. I spoke with legal advocates who hope to stem the fallout and a mom who graduated after waging her own battle for a simple 20-minute break. “I can’t imagine how many mothers drop out,” she said. — Bracey Harris, national reporter
NBC Select: Online Shopping, Simplified
Looking to carve out more time for the gym? The NBC Select team spoke to experts to find the best fitness apps for all types of workouts — and tested a few of them ourselves. Plus, we found some discounted men’s and women’s clothing up to 50% off for the latest Carhartt sale.
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