What a week! One of the first elections since Donald Trump took office appeared to be a rebuke of Elon Musk, who spent more than $20 million and handed out $1 million each to two voters in support of conservative state supreme court candidate Brad Schimel only for the liberal candidate, Susan Crawford, to win the election. But, in Florida’s special election to replace National Security Adviser Michael Waltz and former Rep. Matt Gaetz, both Republican candidates won, preserving the GOP’s slim majority in the House of Representatives.

And about these tariffs… I’m no economics expert, but the people who are economics experts are, uh, stressed about them! If you haven’t heard, Trump announced sweeping, unprecedented tariffs on nearly all of the country’s trading partners, including China and the European Union (as well as a few Antarctic islands only inhabited by penguins). The stock market took a historic nosedive, and despite the White House trying to soften the potential impact to the public, NBC News reported that the move will likely hit lower-income folks the hardest, as many low-cost products, including clothing and food, come from the very countries Trump’s tariffs target.

Experts say inflation is likely to uptick. Even Sen. Ted Cruz, a staunch supporter of Trump and Senate Commerce Chair, said the domino effect could be “terrible” and that he’s “not a fan,” POLITICO reported. Ted! Cruz!

For its part, the Senate passed a resolution to block the president’s tariffs against Canada, though it’s unlikely to succeed in the House. Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley and Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell introduced legislation to reestablish Congress’ authority over tariffs, though it’s also not expected to become law, according to POLITICO.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Anti-democratic actions

• The Trump administration said it is reviewing nearly $9 billion in federal funding to Harvard University. The New York Times later reported that the administration presented the university with a list of demands to end the review, including imposing a mask ban with limited exceptions.
• Judge James E. Boasberg said the Trump administration likely violated his court order halting deportation flights carrying migrants to El Salvador under the 1700s-era Alien Enemies Act, and he’s expected to issue a ruling next week on whether the administration was in contempt of court.
• After Trump issued an executive order revoking union rights for many federal workers, a group of the unions representing federal workers sued to block it, the New York Times reported.
• After far-right activist Laura Loomer reportedly encouraged Trump to fire several security officials in a meeting, multiple officials were dismissed, including General Timothy D. Haugh, who led both the National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command.

DOGE

• Most National Endowment for the Humanities grants have been canceled, reportedly following several visits by Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (which is not an official government agency), according to the New York Times.
• A Pennsylvania man who canvassed for Musk’s America PAC is suing Musk over his alleged failure to pay out $20,000 in promised rewards for getting signatures on a gun rights and free speech petition ahead of the 2024 election.

Health and science

• Celebrity TV doctor Mehmet Oz was confirmed as the head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
  All of the staff from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Administration for Community Living’s Center for Policy and Evaluation were laid off, Mother Jones reported.
• Thousands of U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention employees were laid off.
• The HHS laid off employees who helped make scientific studies and guidance digestible for the public
• Researchers are suing the HHS and National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya over the NIH’s cancellation of billions of dollars in grant money.
• The Trump administration moved to largely eradicate the U.S. Agency for International Development, reducing its workforce from nearly 10,000 people to just 15.
• The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Chair Sen. Bill Cassidy and Ranking Member Sen. Bernie Sanders asked HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to testify about HHS cuts on April 10, according to NBC News reporter Sahil Kapur.
• Kennedy said 20 percent of HHS cuts could be “mistakes,” and some employees may be reinstated, CBS reported.

Reproductive rights

• The Trump administration cut tens of millions in funding to nine Planned Parenthood clinics, POLITICO reported.
• The HHS Division of Reproductive Health laid off most of its employees, Mother Jones reported.

Immigration

• The administration deported more Venezuelan and El Salvadoran migrants to El Salvador. This time, they cited a different authority to do so than the Alien Enemies Act, which had landed the White House in hot water in federal court.
• Momodou Taal, a Cornell University student who sued to prevent his deportation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), announced he had left the country. Taal said he believed that even a court ruling in his favor would not be enough to ensure his safety and freedom of speech, the New York Times reported.
• The Trump administration said its deportation of a Maryland father to an El Salvador detention center was an “administrative error” and claimed the matter was out of its hands. Days after the White House admitted it was a mistake, Vice President JD Vance went on Fox News to disparage the mistakenly-deported man based on previous traffic violations. A federal judge ordered the White House to bring the man back to the U.S. by midnight on April 7.

LGBTQ+ rights

• The U.S. Department of Agriculture froze federal education funding for Maine, the New York Times reported. The move comes after Maine Gov. Janet Mills and Trump’s clash over the state’s policies regarding transgender athletes.
• The Trump administration directed the NIH to study transgender people’s post-transition regret, Nature reported. According to studies, the trans folks’ rate of regret for gender-affirming care is about 1 percent.

DEI and civil rights

• Anti-voting rights lawyer and longtime Trump legal advisor Harmeet Dhillon was confirmed as the Department of Justice’s Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights.

Recommended reading

• I loved this photo diary from Chicago’s celebration of Trans Day of Visibility, published by Assigned Media, a newsroom dedicated to covering the trans community.
• In case you somehow missed it, Sen. Cory Booker delivered a speech against Trump on the Senate floor for 25 hours and 5 minutes, breaking the record previously set by segregationist Sen. Strom Thurmond in 1957. Booker told New York magazine that he gave the speech because “people were demanding that I do more and the demand was sinking into me that even though we were trying … it was not enough. As I said in my speech, it was insufficient.” I am not going to pretend that I watched all 25 hours, but you can watch them in two parts here and here, if you’re so inclined.

Unwind

• I am a FIEND for the podcast Normal Gossip, and its creator, Kelsey McKinney, recently published a book of essays about the culture and history of gossip called You Didn’t Hear This From Me: (Mostly) True Notes on Gossip. It’s funny, empathetic, and a true joy to read (or listen to!). P.S. If you’ve somehow never listened to Normal Gossip, I highly recommend starting with this absolutely deranged story from season one about a bunch of brothers with a complicated relationship.
• Before I start my next recommendation, I should tell you I know nothing about sports culturally. I love watching basketball and going to games, but I don’t know the lore, you know? Like, I’m an Atlanta Hawks fan because I have to support my hometown team, but I couldn’t tell you how they’re doing. That said, every year my childhood friends and I do a vibes-based March Madness bracket. I am losing very badly this year (how could you ruin my bracket, Gonzaga?!), but I’m excited to watch the women’s finals on April 6 and the men’s finals on April 7.