The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), operating out of the White House, continues to mire the administration in more legal challenges as they pursue unfettered—often unauthorized—access to sensitive federal government infrastructure and data. This week, EPI, the AFL-CIO, and a coalition of member unions expanded our lawsuit to challenge DOGE’s access to federal agencies, adding the Department of Health and Human Services and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to the list of agencies that should be protected.

Far fewer federal employees than expected voluntarily accepted the offer of deferred resignation by the Trump administration’s deadline, meaning the administration will need to turn to more drastic measures to hit their target of shedding at least 10% of the federal workforce. Public reporting this week indicates that the administration has instructed at least some agencies to fire employees in their probationary period—meaning they have generally worked for the federal government for less than a year and thus lack the full job protections and right to appeal wrongful firings that most federal employees have. The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) announced their intention to continue to pursue every available legal challenge to these mass firings.

The Trump administration continued to illegally fire leadership of independent agencies—those agencies outside of the President’s cabinet that were specifically established to be insulated from the White House and political influence. These include firing the Chair of the Federal Labor Relations Authority and a member of the Merit Systems Protection Board. While the work of these agencies is often under the radar, they have an important role in defending the legal rights of federal employees and ensuring smooth labor relations between the government and those who make it run. The Trump administration also effectively stopped work at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau this week, an independent agency responsible for protecting Americans from fraudulent financial products and services.

As the Trump administration farms out most of its work to kneecap agencies to Elon Musk’s DOGE team, it’s important to note that Musk has been under investigation for potential illegal activities at his companies by many of the agencies now in his crosshairs. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) investigated a Tesla facility after the death of a worker last year. And among independent agencies, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruled that SpaceX illegally fired workers for taking collective workplace action. Musk has also faced scrutiny from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) into whether he misled investors or committed securities fraud. Without transparent disclosure of his financial conflicts—and with political appointees under his direction accessing sensitive agency documents and privileged government data—Musk may well get personal financial benefits out of DOGE’s operations.

The administration retreats on trade policy

Much hay was made about the administration’s teased announcement of a reciprocal tariffs policy this week. However, the White House’s presidential memorandum is ultimately all talk and no action—it simply orders more studies and policy recommendations from agencies to be added to an April report, and does not actually impose any new tariffs. It’s notable that when it comes to trade, the White House has either rolled back or soft-walked most of their policy actions. The chaotic announcement in early February of large, broad-based tariffs on Canada, China, and Mexico faced such blowback from allied nations, the business community, and consumers that the supposed tariffs on Canada and Mexico were almost immediately placed on pause pending further negotiations. President Trump also walked back the suspension of a tax exemption on cheaper imports from China. On trade policy, the administration appears to be more interested in creating chaos and the illusion of action.  

As a reminder, you can find a more comprehensive catalogue of administration policies relevant to working people and the economy at Federal Policy Watch, our online tool documenting actions by the Trump administration, Congress, federal agencies, and the courts. You can subscribe to daily Federal Policy Watch updates here.