Welcome back to the Week in Review! This will cover March 3 – March 9.

Government and Politics:

• • The Department of Education has offered buyouts of up to $25,000 to employees who have been with the government for at least 3 years. They had until 11:59 p.m. ET this past Monday to accept the offer.
  • Thomas Corry, the assistant secretary of public affairs and top Health and Human Services spokesperson has resigned.
  • U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has called for an immediate freeze on hiring new civilians and creating new civilian positions in the department.
  • President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday that doubled the tariff on all Chinese goods to 20%, as well as imposed a 25% tariff on all goods from Mexico and Canada.
    • Right after it went into effect on Tuesday, China announced it would be placing a 15% retaliatory tariff on chicken, wheat, corn, and cotton imported from the U.S.
    • Canada’s Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, said that their capital would immediately respond with tariffs on $30 billion of U.S. goods.
    • On Wednesday, after a meeting with Trudeau, Trump announced the U.S. would delay auto tariffs on Mexico and Canada for 1 month. In response, Canada also delayed their tariffs until April 2.

• James Dennehy, the assistant director of the FBI New York division retired, claiming he was forced to do so.

• • The Senate confirmed Linda McMahon as secretary of the Department of Education 51-45.
  • The White House announced it is pausing all military aid to Ukraine.
    • The U.S. has also paused intelligence support and satellite imagery to Ukraine.
  • On Tuesday, President Trump gave his State of the Union address, breaking the record for the longest annual presidential address to Congress in modern history at just under one hour and 40 minutes. CNN reports his address was also one of the most partisan.
  • The Supreme Court has rejected President Trump’s request to keep billions in foreign aid frozen in a 5-4 decision. 
    • Afterward, U.S. District Judge Amir Ali said that the Trump administration must pay back all the money owed to nonprofits and contractors who sued over this freeze on foreign aid for the work they had already completed by March 10.
  • The U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board has reinstated, at least temporarily, almost 6,000 fired probationary workers from the Department of Agriculture. The Agriculture Department must show the board within five days that it has complied with reinstating the employees.
  • A senior official at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said that many federal employees who were reinstated are choosing not to return because of the “unstable” working environment.
  • Meanwhile, the Department of Labor on Friday has begun reinstating all of its probationary employees who were fired by the Trump administration.
  • A group of protesters gathered outside of the House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing for Trump appointee Pete Marocco, who is behind the massive changes to the U.S. Agency for International Development. They were later arrested and removed by the Capitol police.
  • The mayors of four “sanctuary cities”— New York Mayor Eric Adams, Denver Mayor Mike Johnston, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu—testified before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee about their approach to immigration enforcement.
  • The Trump administration has dropped a lawsuit Former President Joe Biden has took up against Idaho that sought to protect abortion access in medical emergencies.
  • The DC Circuit Court of Appeals has granted a request by the Trump administration to allow President Trump to remove the head of a government watchdog agency, Hampton Dellinger, while a legal challenge to his firing plays out.
    • Dellinger later dropped his legal challenges to his termination after a panel of federal judges said the Trump administration could remove him while the case continues.
  • Hayden Haynes, the chief of staff to House Speaker Mike Johnson, was arrested for driving under the influence.
  • U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell has ruled that President Trump’s firing of Gwynne Wilcox, the former chairwoman of the National Labor Relations Board, was illegal and has reinstated her as a board member, although Trump’s chair pick, Marvin Kaplan, will remain in charge. 
  • The Trump administration has instructed federal agencies to convert typically nonpartisan top Human Resources positions to presidential appointments in order to block diversity, equity, and inclusion policies.
  • President Trump issued an executive order that established the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, prompting backlash from the crypto industry.
  • The Trump administration invoked a rarely used law that forces people who challenge the government to post money at the start of their court case.
  • President Trump signed an executive order that created a task force to oversee preparations for the 2026 World Cup, which is being co-hosted by the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.

• Elizabeth Oyer, the head of the Justice Department’s pardon office, was fired on Friday.

• Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced Todd Lyons would serve as acting director and Madison Sheahan as deputy director of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency.

Arts and Entertainment:

• The producer of the “Hamilton” musical has canceled their shows planned for 2026 at the Kennedy Center because of the “recent purge” by the Trump administration.

Sports:

• The Eagles have agreed to exchange Kenny Pickett for the Browns’ quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson and a 2025 fifth-round pick.

Local News:

• On Sunday, a house exploded in East Price Hill. Two adults and two kids were injured.

Other News:

• On Monday, SpaceX called off its eighth test flight of Starship, but on Thursday launched another mammoth Starship rocket that crashed minutes after take-off.

Good News:

• 30-year mortgage rates have fallen a lot in the last two months and are at their lowest since December.

This Week in History:

• Monday, March 3 was the day Florida became the 27th U.S. state in 1845.
• Tuesday, March 4 was the day Italian violinist and composer Antonio Vivaldi was born in 1678.
• Wednesday, March 5 was the day George Westinghouse patented his railway air brake in 1872.
• Thursday, March 6 was the day the US Senate passed the American Rescue Plan, a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill, in 2021.
• Friday, March 7 was the day American musician and singer-songwriter Brian Wilson released his first solo single, “Caroline No,” in 1966.
• Saturday, March 8 was the day Raymonde de Laroche became the first woman with a pilot’s license in 1910.
• Sunday, March 9 was the day the first Barbie doll went on sale in 1959.