Monday, April 7, 2025
All civic learning topics for this day
Today's Topics
Energy Department secretly surveils contractors' dealings with Trump-targeted law firms
The Department of Energy instructed employees April 7, 2025, to gather information on government contractors' business relationships with law firms targeted by Trump's punitive executive orders. The directive demanded contractors disclose relationships with WilmerHale, Jenner & Block, Perkins Coie, and Covington & Burling by April 11—despite federal judges already blocking identical disclosure requirements as unconstitutional First Amendment violations. Energy officials quietly rescinded the surveillance directive April 9 after legal challenges exposed the constitutional violations.
USDA cuts commodity support as retaliatory tariffs hit farm exports
Trump administration cuts agricultural subsidies while tariff wars devastate crop exports to China and Europe. Small farmers face bankruptcy as commodity prices plummet while the administration eliminates crop insurance programs and reduces funding for rural development and broadband infrastructure.