Protesters Rally Against Elon Musk Outside OPM Office

Protesters outside of the US Office of Personnel Management (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

HAND IN GOV

Trump’s federal worker resignation offer blocked by judge

The scale of the administration’s DOGE-led federal job cuts now hangs in the balance.

2/7/25 11:08AM

On Thursday evening, a federal judge temporarily blocked President Trump’s deferred resignation program for federal workers — just hours before the offer’s original midnight deadline.

The ruling to pause the government-shrinking plan — which, by way of an opt-in email entitled “A Fork in the Road,” gave federal employees the option to leave their jobs by the end of February in exchange for pay until September 30 — comes amidst questions of the offer’s legality, after lawsuits from several federal unions.

Following the ruling, employees received an email informing them that the offer deadline would be extended to Monday, though whether or not it will be pushed back further will be decided at a hearing scheduled for Monday afternoon. Even so, a White House official told CNN that at least 65,000 federal workers have now opted in, more than 3% of the ~2 million employees who received the offer.

Fed frenzy

Now the scale of the administration’s effort to reduce the size of the federal bureaucracy hangs in the balance. Indeed, the US Agency for International Development has already been dismantled, following foreign aid hitting a recent high of 1.17% of the US budget in FY 2023.

Headed by Elon Musk’s DOGE initiative, the plan targets workers at various agencies, including many at the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Education.

But by far the biggest chunk of America’s federal employee roster comprises those in defense or security-related agencies, with departments related to Veterans Affairs (21.4% of employees), the Army (9.7%), and the Navy (9.5%) alone accounting for almost 1 million workers in total.

Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension highlights Nexstar and Sinclair’s vast control over US airwaves

Nexstar and Sinclair control large swaths of US television stations. Nexstar’s planned merger could make their influence even greater.

Max Knoblauch13h

Jon Keegan

9/17/25

Senator Mark Kelly wants AI companies to pay into a fund to offset AI’s negative impacts

The proposal would use money from top frontier AI companies to create an “AI Horizon Fund” to help retrain workers and pay for infrastructure upgrades in a “public / private partnership.”

Max Knoblauch

9/16/25

Delta dips as the Trump administration orders the end of its joint venture with Aeromexico

Shares of Delta Air Lines ticked down on Tuesday morning following the Trump administration’s order that the airline dissolve its approximately 9-year-old joint venture with Aeromexcio by January 1, 2026.

Delta said it was disappointed in the decision, adding that the termination will “cause significant harm to U.S. jobs, communities and consumers traveling between the U.S. and Mexico.” CEO Ed Bastian previously said that the administration’s regulatory stance could be a “breath of fresh air” for the aviation industry.

The Biden administration tentatively decided last year to not renew the antitrust immunity agreement covering the joint venture. At the time, Delta said “$800 million in annual consumer benefits would evaporate” if the partnership were terminated.

Collaboration isn’t over between the two airlines: the Department of Transportation said Delta can maintain its 20% stake in the Mexican airline and the partnership can continue through “arms-length activities such as codesharing, marketing, and frequent flyer cooperation.”

Max Knoblauch

9/11/25

The DOJ is suing Uber, alleging the company discriminates against passengers with disabilities

The Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against Uber on Thursday, alleging that the company routinely and illegally discriminates against passengers with physical disabilities.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in San Francisco, alleges that Uber’s drivers regularly refuse service to passengers with service animals and stowable wheelchairs. Some passengers are charged cleaning fees for service animals and cancellation fees after being refused a ride, the lawsuit alleges. According to the complaint, others are insulted or denied requests like sitting in the front seat due to mobility issues.

“Uber’s discriminatory conduct has caused significant economic, emotional, and physical harm to individuals with disabilities,” the lawsuit reads.

A survey last year by the organization Guide Dogs for the Blind found that more than 83% of people who are blind or visually impaired said they’ve been denied ride-share service.

In a statement to Bloomberg, Uber disagreed with the lawsuit, saying it has a “zero-tolerance policy for confirmed service denials.”

Jon Keegan

9/9/25

Draft Senate bill gives AI companies a two-year pass on federal regulation, Bloomberg reports

Bloomberg reports that a draft bill from Senator Ted Cruz would give AI companies a two-year pass from any federal regulation when they apply to be part of a White House-controlled “regulatory sandbox.” Such a regulatory framework frees participating companies from federal agency oversight while simultaneously handing President Trump broad powers to shape a still nascent and increasingly powerful industry.

The draft bill allows companies approved for the waiver to request renewals for up to eight years, according to the report.

The fast-moving generative-AI boom that took the tech world by storm was kicked off by the release of OpenAI’s ChatGPT less than three years ago. A potential decade free of federal regulations would be a huge win for companies like Meta, Google, OpenAI, and Amazon.

In July, the US Senate voted 99-1 to kill a planned provision from President Trump’s massive tax bill that would have prevented any state from regulating AI for 10 years.

Draft Senate Bill Waives Federal Rules on AI Companies During Testing