Trump targeted protected areas of the Pacific with two orders Thursday, in a move he claims increases competitiveness of the commercial fishing.
In a proclamation, he removed fishing regulations in the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument, an area known to have “some of the most pristine coral reef ecosystems in the Pacific Ocean,” according to a description from NOAA Fisheries. The incredibly biodiverse area supports a range of marine mammals, seabirds, and “vegetation not found anywhere else in the world,” including many threatened and endangered species.
As the president makes moves to rescind Harvard’s tax-exempt status following the universities rejection of the administration’s demands, he’s also now considering using the strategy to target other nonprofit organizations that don’t align with his priorities, including environmental and ethics nonprofits.
Here’s what else we’ve covered:
- James Comer, the chair of the House oversight committee, and Elise Stefanik, chair of the House Republican leadership, have launched an investigation into Harvard University, accusing the university of a “lack of compliance with civil rights laws”.
- Elon Musk’s SpaceX and two partners have emerged as frontrunners to win a crucial part of Donald Trump’s “Golden Dome” missile defense shield.
- The supreme court said it will hear arguments next month over Donald Trump’s bid to restrict automatic birthright citizenship.
- In their unanimous opinion issued today, a US appeals court warned the Trump administration that battles against the judiciary could undermine public confidence.
- After weeks of strong rhetoric, the president told reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday that he thought trade deals could be finished in the “next three or four weeks”.
- Trump on Thursday extended a government-wide federal hiring freeze that was set to expire this weekend.
- The Washington DC headquarters for the Department of Housing and Urban Development may soon be up for sale.
