March 20

Trump Signs Executive Order 14242 Directing Closure of Department of Education

President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 14242 on March 20, 2025, directing Education Secretary Linda McMahon to take "all necessary steps to facilitate the closure" of the Department of Education "to the maximum extent appropriate and permitted by law." Nine days earlier, on March 11, the administration announced layoffs cutting roughly 2,000 of the department''s 4,133 employees. The order cited National Assessment of Educational Progress data showing 70% of 8th graders below reading proficiency, though experts noted these scores predated current federal policies.

Senate Bill 1151 would impose nationwide E-Verify through IRCA amendments

Senate Bill 1151 was introduced to amend the Immigration Reform and Control Act to require all U.S. employers to use the E-Verify system to confirm employee work authorization. Supporters argued it would close a loophole enabling illegal employment; critics warned of database errors, discrimination risks, and burden on small businesses.

Trump administration proposes eliminating the Institute of Education Sciences and Education Statistics infrastructure

The Trump administration's budget proposal included the elimination of the Institute of Education Sciences and its National Center for Education Statistics, which have for decades collected and published authoritative data on US student achievement, school financing, teacher demographics, and educational attainment. IES data is the primary source for the research that informs education policy at the federal, state, and local level. It is cited in litigation over school funding equity, used by states to allocate resources, and relied on by journalists, policymakers, and advocates to assess the effects of education policy changes. The proposal to eliminate IES was read by education researchers as an attempt to defund the statistical infrastructure that makes independent analysis of education policy possible.

Trump Signs Executive Order 14242 Directing Closure of the Department of Education

President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 14242, "Improving Education Outcomes by Empowering Parents, States, and Communities," on March 20, 2025. The order directs Education Secretary Linda McMahon to take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return authority over education to the states, while acknowledging that full elimination requires an act of Congress. By May 2026, OPM data showed the department had cut its workforce from roughly 4,200 to about 2,300 employees and offloaded more than 100 programs to other agencies.

Trump pardons January 6 defendant Thomas Caldwell for document tampering

Trump pardoned January 6 defendant Thomas Caldwell on March 20, 2025, erasing his federal conviction for document tampering related to the Capitol riot. Caldwell had already served his sentence and been released, but the pardon formally cleared his record. The action extended Trump's ongoing January 6 clemency to defendants whose charges went beyond the original January 20 mass pardon.

Associated Press Sues Trump White House Over 'Gulf of America' Name Ban

The Associated Press filed suit against the Trump White House after being barred from presidential events for refusing to adopt the administration's renaming of the Gulf of Mexico to 'Gulf of America' in its reporting. The case raised core First Amendment questions about press access and government retaliation for editorial decisions.

Secretary Rubio Holds Diplomatic Meetings at Mar-a-Lago and Trump Doral

Secretary of State Marco Rubio conducted official diplomatic meetings at Trump-owned properties Mar-a-Lago and Trump Doral, raising Emoluments Clause concerns. Ethics watchdogs argued the meetings created financial conflicts of interest by directing foreign government spending to businesses owned by the sitting president.

DOJ Line Prosecutors Resign Citing Model Rules of Professional Conduct

A wave of DOJ line prosecutors resigned, citing violations of the American Bar Association's Model Rules of Professional Conduct. The resignations followed orders they considered ethically impermissible, including directives to drop cases or modify prosecutorial positions for political reasons, intensifying concerns about DOJ independence.

Kimberly Zapata is convicted for requesting fake military absentee ballots

A Milwaukee County jury convicted former Milwaukee Election Commission deputy director Kimberly Zapata after she requested military absentee ballots using false names. Prosecutors said Zapata used a work laptop and sent the ballots to a Republican state lawmaker who had promoted false claims about Wisconsin's 2020 election. Zapata said she wanted to expose a system flaw, but the jury found her guilty of election fraud and misconduct in public office.

EPA adopts strongest-ever auto emissions standards will cut US car CO2 in half by 2032

The EPA finalizes historic vehicle emissions standards for model years 2027-2032 that require dramatic improvements in fleet fuel efficiency and electrification. The standards, the strongest ever adopted, will cut average new vehicle CO2 emissions roughly in half by 2032 compared to 2026 levels. The rules are projected to avoid more than 7 billion tons of CO2 equivalent pollution over the lifetime of covered vehicles, more than any other climate regulation in US history. The standards are designed to accelerate adoption of electric vehicles. EPA projects roughly 56% of new passenger car sales will be EVs by 2032. Auto industry trade groups raise concerns about feasibility, while environmental groups call the rules a transformational step.

Biden's Commerce Department awards CHIPS Act funding to TSMC, Intel, Samsung, and Micron

The Commerce Department announces preliminary memoranda of terms for major CHIPS Act semiconductor grants: TSMC ($6.6B to build three Arizona fabs), Intel ($8.5B for fabs in Ohio, Arizona, New Mexico, and Oregon plus a $11B loan), Micron ($6.1B for new DRAM fabs in New York and Idaho), and Samsung ($6.4B for a Texas fab expansion. The four awards account for the majority of the $39B in CHIPS Act manufacturing incentive funding. Each award is tied to construction milestones, hiring targets, and prohibitions on expanding China operations for 10 years.

Alabama enacts law barring DEI programs at schools and state agencies

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signed SB 129, banning diversity, equity, and inclusion programs at public schools, universities, and state agencies. The law also restricts teaching concepts about race and gender that Republican lawmakers labeled divisive.

IPCC Sixth Assessment Report confirms human-caused climate change is unequivocal

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released the Synthesis Report of its Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) on March 20, 2023. The report synthesizes findings from three working group reports released between 2021-2022. The AR6 confirms it is unequivocal that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, ocean, and land. Global surface temperature reached 1.1°C above 1850-1900 levels in 2011-2020. The report assesses current mitigation and adaptation actions are insufficient and calls for urgent near-term responses to limit warming to 1.5°C.

Trump invokes COVID authority to expel migrants without asylum hearings

The Trump administration directed the CDC to invoke Title 42 of the Public Health Services Act, authorizing Border Patrol to rapidly expel migrants — including asylum seekers — at land borders without processing immigration claims, citing COVID-19 as a public health emergency. The policy bypassed asylum law protections that had governed border processing since the 1980 Refugee Act. Border Patrol conducted nearly 400,000 expulsions under Title 42 before the end of Trump term.

Obama visits Cuba, first presidential visit since Coolidge in 1928

President Barack Obama arrived in Havana on March 20, 2016, leading a delegation of roughly 1,000 officials, business leaders, and members of Congress — the first sitting US president to visit Cuba since Calvin Coolidge in 1928. Obama toured Old Havana, met with Cuban dissidents for two hours, and delivered a televised address at the Gran Teatro broadcast live on Cuban state television calling on Cuba to expand political freedoms. He and Raul Castro held a joint press conference at which Castro pushed back publicly on US criticism of Cuba's human rights record. On March 22 the Tampa Bay Rays played an exhibition game against the Cuban national team at Estadio Latinoamericano.