As he is ramping up deportations of migrants from the U.S., President Trump is battling the backlash from Democrats in Congress, activists on the ground and judges in the courtroom.
U.S. District Judge James Boasberg recently imposed a temporary order to halt deportations under the Alien Enemies Act, an 18th-century wartime law. The judge wanted the government to prove that the Trump administration did not defy the order that he issued last weekend to return the flights from Texas that were carrying alleged Venezuelan gang members.
Boasberg contended during Thursday’s hearing that the government “evaded” his deadline to fork over information about the deportations of migrants that were flown to El Salvador. Both Trump and his close adviser Elon Musk have blasted Boasberg publicly and called for him to be impeached.
“You can’t stop [deportations] with a judge sitting behind a desk who has no idea what’s going on and happens to be a radical left lunatic,” Trump told journalists at the White House on Friday.
Trump signed an executive order Thursday to chart a path for abolishing the Department of Education (DOE). Although approval from Congress is needed to fully terminate the department, the president told Education Secretary Linda McMahon to achieve as much as she can on her end.
Then on Friday, the commander-in-chief announced that student loans will be taken care of by the Small Business Administration, an agency suffering from a 40 percent workforce cut. The Department of Health and Human Services will oversee the special needs programs.
“The department’s useful functions … will be preserved, fully preserved,” Trump said on Thursday.
McMahon previously said a massive reduction of the department’s workforce would be “the first step” toward totally dismantling the cabinet-level agency. She is set to appear on CNN’s “State of the Union” where she will likely discuss the next steps the administration will have to take to eliminate the department and what she can do legally to shrink it.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is touring the country and drawing massive crowds of liberal voters who are expressing dissatisfaction with the Trump administration’s efforts to overhaul the federal government which has resulted in the firings of thousands of government workers.
The progressive senator will be on ABC’s “This Week” where he will likely discuss what the Democratic Party needs to do next to regain the losses suffered in the 2024 elections and his takeaways from the rallies in Arizona and Nevada.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) has faced loud scrutiny from his fellow colleagues in Congress over his willingness to advance the GOP-crafted funding bill that was eventually signed by Trump. Some in the party, including Maryland Rep. Glenn Ivey (D), suggested that the longtime senator should step down from his leadership role. Schumer is set to appear on NBC’s “Meet the Press” where he will likely respond to the backlash he has received in recent days and talk about his new book “Antisemitism in America: A Warning.”
Here’s a list of this week’s Sunday show appearances:
NewsNation’s “The Hill Sunday”: Kentucky Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman (D); author and McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence and Director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals & Institutions at Princeton Robert P. George.
ABC’s “This Week”: White House border czar Tom Homan; Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).
NBC’s “Meet the Press”: Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), and John Curtis (R-Utah).
CNN’s “State of the Union”: Education Secretary Linda McMahon; Reps. Ro Khanna, (D-Calif.), and Jason Crow (D-Colo.).
CBS’ “Face the Nation”: National security adviser Mike Waltz; Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.); Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.); former Food and Drug Administration commissioner Scott Gottlieb.
“Fox News Sunday”: Steve Witkoff, U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D).
Fox’s “Sunday Morning Futures”: Attorney General Pam Bondi; Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) and New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch.
