Trump to sign executive order to shut down Education Department

The Trump administration moves to dismantle the Department of Education in a new executive order Thursday, March 20. And a website lists the alleged personal information of Tesla owners and DOGE employees. These stories and more highlight your Unbiased Updates for Thursday, March 20, 2025.

Trump to sign executive order to begin dismantling Education Department

President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order on Thursday, March 20, initiating the process of closing the federal Department of Education.

The White House said the order would direct Education Secretary Linda McMahon to take steps toward dismantling the agency and transferring its essential programs to other government departments.

The president, however, cannot close the agency on his own. Closing the department would require congressional approval.

While Trump is expected to take the first step toward closing the Department of Education on Thursday, Congress would have the final say. Eliminating the department would require 60 votes to break a filibuster in the Senate, where Republicans hold 53 seats.

The administration cannot abolish the Department of Education unilaterally, though it can reduce its staff and cut inefficient programs. McMahon has already initiated such steps, including a workforce reduction.

Several Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) staff members are also working with the agency to reduce costs.

Straight Arrow News reporter Karah Rucker has more on what Trump can do to make it happen here.

Critics of Trump’s plan have spoken out.

“You can’t shut down the Department of Education, and you know it. Fox News knows it. So stop,” Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., wrote in a post on X.

Smith also vowed to fight Trump’s “illegal behavior until the cows come home.”

The president of the National Education Association — one of the nation’s largest teachers unions — released a statement:

“If successful, Trump’s continued actions will hurt all students by sending class sizes soaring, cutting job training programs, and making higher education more expensive and out of reach for middle-class families… Taking away special education services for students with disabilities, and gutting student civil rights protections.”

Last week, nearly two dozen Democratic attorneys general filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, seeking to halt the effort to lay off half of the Department of Education’s workforce.

Meanwhile, a White House spokesperson said the executive order “will empower parents, states and communities to take control and improve outcomes for all students.”

Israel says it intercepted Houthi missile as strikes on Gaza continue

The Israeli military reported it intercepted a missile launched from Yemen early Thursday morning, March 20, as hostilities with the Houthi rebels intensified amid Trump’s threats to punish Iran for its apparent support of the militant group.

In a statement, the Israeli Defense Forces said, “A missile launched from Yemen was intercepted before crossing into Israeli territory. Sirens were sounded in accordance with protocol.”

Israel’s ambulance service did not report any serious injuries.

A Houthi spokesperson confirmed that the militant group was responsible for a missile strike targeting Ben Gurion Airport in Israel.

Earlier this week, the Houthis vowed to escalate strikes in support of the terrorist group Hamas.

Meanwhile, Israeli strikes killed at least 58 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip overnight, according to hospitals in the area.

Israel resumed heavy strikes across Gaza on Tuesday, March 18, effectively ending the ceasefire with Hamas. Israel claimed Hamas refused to release the remaining hostages — a total of 59, with 24 still believed alive.

Since then, Israeli attacks have resulted in nearly 500 deaths among Gaza residents, according to a spokesperson for Gaza’s civil defense team.

Russia and Ukraine exchange attacks as US pushes for ceasefire

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told Trump during a call on Wednesday, March 19, that his country was ready to implement a limited ceasefire in the war with Russia. However, Russian authorities reported a “massive” Ukrainian drone attack on the Engels airbase in Russia, a major bomb operations base.

Russia’s defense ministry claimed it shot down 54 drones in the region.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian authorities reported a Russian bombardment of the central city of Kropyvnytskyi overnight, with more than 30 explosions reported.

The regional governor also said that Russia launched a “massive” attack on the eastern city of Kupyansk, near the front line.

Authorities said at least one person was killed and another wounded after the Russians dropped at least 20 bombs on the city in a matter of hours.

Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 171 drones in the country overnight. It claimed to have shot down 75 of them, and 63 were lost in flight without causing damage.

Tesla owners targeted in alleged doxxing campaign on ‘Dogequest’ website

Elon Musk’s ties to the Trump administration have led to an apparent act of intimidation online as Tesla owners now face an ultimatum: sell your car or find yourself on a blacklist.

A website called “Dogequest” posted the alleged personal information of Tesla owners across the U.S. with an interactive map, including an image of a Molotov cocktail as the cursor. 

“Dogequest” aims to, “Empower creative expressions of protest” through exposing the names, addresses, phone numbers and email addresses of Tesla owners. The owners of the website said it will only remove the data if they can provide proof they’ve sold their Teslas. 

The map also includes Tesla dealership addresses, Tesla supercharger locations and the employees’ personal information from Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Straight Arrow News reporter Lauren Taylor has more details on the controversial website’s workings and the Trump administration’s response here.

While doxxing is not explicitly illegal under U.S. federal law, it can violate certain laws related to harassment, stalking, threats and invasion of privacy.

Federal reserve holds interest rates steady

The Federal Reserve has maintained interest rates at their current level. On Wednesday, March 19, the Fed held the benchmark rate between 4.25% and 4.5%. However, the committee of decision-makers anticipates two rate cuts in 2025, each by a quarter point.

Wednesday’s decision to keep interest rates steady coincided with Trump’s tariff imposition on Canada, Mexico and China, with further tariffs anticipated in early April. The ongoing tariff wars have sparked economic uncertainty, prompting the committee to foresee potential price increases on specific goods.

Meantime, inflation remains near 3%, slightly higher than the Fed’s preferred number of 2%.

“If the economy remains strong, and inflation does not continue to move sustainably toward 2%, we can maintain policy restraint for longer,” Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said.

The markets reacted positively to the news. The Dow was up by 383 points on Wednesday and the S&P 500 by 60 points. As of Thursday morning, stock futures are “up.”

Finland tops list of happiest countries in the world, US drops in rank

The 13th annual World Happiness Report found Finland is the happiest nation in the world for the 8th year in a row, with Denmark and Iceland following next on the list.

The U.S., however, has earned its lowest ranking yet, landing at 24 on the list.

According to the report, declining happiness and social trust have significantly contributed to the rise of political polarization in the U.S. and some parts of Europe.

The World Happiness Report ranks countries based on self-assessed life evaluations, asking respondents to visualize a ladder where the best possible life for them is a 10 and the worst a zero. They then rate their current lives on this scale.

Additionally, it considers six variables, including GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom, generosity and freedom from corruption.