Headlines for April 3, 2025
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The Trump administration has abruptly fired the entire workforce at the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, which helps more than 6 million people pay their home heating and cooling bills. The cuts came amid a mass purge of some 10,000 workers at the Department of Health and Human Services on Tuesday.
Separately, leaders of the National Endowment for the Humanities say Elon Musk’s DOGE operation has recommended slashing NEH’s workforce by up to 80%. The independent federal agency provides grants to museums, universities, teachers, libraries, public radio and TV stations, nonprofits and more.
Meanwhile, disability rights groups have sued the Trump administration and Elon Musk over DOGE’s cuts to the Social Security Administration, which they say have disproportionately impacted their community, violating their constitutional rights.
This week, the Social Security Administration opened an investigation into a series of website crashes that prevented beneficiaries from accessing their online accounts at the MySSA portal at least five times last month, with some beneficiaries receiving inaccurate notices that they would no longer receive Supplemental Security Income. Elon Musk has called Social Security “the biggest Ponzi scheme of all time” and has proposed slashing up to $700 billion from Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security and programs for the poor.
On Wednesday, the White House dismissed reports that Elon Musk might soon leave his role in the Trump administration, saying his work with DOGE will continue.