When Elon Musk and his youthful Department of Government Efficiency warriors boasted of taking a “chainsaw” to the U.S. Agency for International Development, they did more than destroy a government agency. They violated the law by summarily firing USAID’s public servants while placing millions of people around the world in mortal danger.
The thousands of public servants, fired without due process, care deeply about the agency’s mission. They did not deserve to be fired, nor did they deserve the efforts by the president himself to pile on by besmirching their reputation.
These actions have ramifications far beyond the impact on the individuals involved. They place every government employee at risk. Career professionals in the State Department and the intelligence community have also been summarily relieved of duty.
If the courts fail to intervene, our nation will be sent hurtling back in history to the era of the corrupt spoils system. That era ended when the Civil Service Reform Act of 1883 created a system based on merit. The law was updated in 1978 and it explicitly states that a public servant can only be removed if there is evidence of misconduct or poor performance — and only then after providing an opportunity for due process.
On 16 July, activists launched a digital campaign under the hashtag "They Lied to You" to refocus global attention on Israel's ongoing genocide of Palestinians in Gaza and to challenge the perception that the October 2025 ceasefire agreement brought Israel's military attacks on the besieged strip to an end.
President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that Maj. Gen. Mykhailo Drapaty will become the new Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, ending days of speculation amid the country’s deepening military leadership crisis.
Zohran Mamdani, the New York City mayor, acknowledged on Tuesday he does not have the authority to arrest Benjamin Netanyahu, but urged US federal authorities to do so if the Israeli prime minister visits the US later this year.
A federal appeals panel has reversed a lower court decision ordering the release of pro-Palestinian activist Mohsen Mahdawi, opening the door to the re-arrest of a student protest organizer whom the Trump administration has spent more than a year trying to deport.
Donald Trump announced a new package of tariffs on Tuesday, this time on generic drugs made overseas, to begin in 2028.
