People with disabilities say President Trump's DEI purge is eroding health care, education and legal protections they've only won in recent decades.

Why it matters: The Trump administration has taken actions that undermine accessibility measures — critical for leveling the playing field for people with disabilities — as part of its efforts targeting diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.

• "It's very clear that there is an orchestrated attack by conservatives to dismantle the rights of people with disabilities," said Shawn Murinko, a Washington resident who has cerebral palsy.

State of play: Trump last month ordered an end to all federal programs that mandate or invoke accessibility, alongside diversity, equity and inclusion.

• The Department of Justice said it will penalize programs that promote accessibility.
• Trump has pledged to close the Department of Education, which enforces protections for students with disabilities in school.
• Meanwhile, Food and Drug Administration officials said the word "disabled" was banned from external communications, though the White House later claimed that was an error.
• Cuts to National Institutes of Health funding also threaten existing and future disability research.
• The federal government is one of the largest employers for people with disabilities, but return-to-office mandates could force some out of their jobs.

Reality check: "Disability is a natural part of the human experience," said Katy Neas, chief executive officer of The Arc, which serves people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

• "All people will probably face disability at some point in their life, whether it's due to illness, injury or age, and disability affects every family, regardless of race, ethnicity, sex, income or political party."

Republicans have floated cutting Medicaid, which provides health care for more than 10 million children and adults with disabilities — nearly 15% of the program's beneficiaries.

• Medicaid covers services that allow people with disabilities to live and work in their own communities rather in institutions or medical facilities. But waiting lists for those services are long.
• Medicaid-provided home and community services have been vital to Sean Pevsner, a Texas-based civil rights attorney with cerebral palsy. Their support has allowed him to attend college and law school, practice law, and lobby for disability rights, he said.

Threat level: A Republican-led lawsuit challenging a Biden-era policy to treat gender dysphoria as a protected disability has the potential to undermine a 1973 civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability, advocates warn.

• Republican attorneys general leading the lawsuit told the court they don't want the entire section of the law overturned, only the provisions on transgender care.
• However, advocates remain concerned and say LGBTQ support programs frequently overlap with the disabilities community.
• According to the Human Rights Campaign, 1 in 3 LGBTQ adults report having a disability — including more than half of transgender adults.
• "Not only is disability on the chopping block," said Lizzy Graham, an autistic transgender woman with ADHD. "We have the entire LGBTQ community on the chopping block."

Beyond policies, advocates say Trump and those in his orbit routinely denigrate people with disabilities, giving supporters license to use the same rhetoric online.

• For example Trump incorrectly blamed DEI hires and people with intellectual and developmental disabilities at the Federal Aviation Administration for a fatal plane crash outside of Washington, D.C.
• Elon Musk, who heads Trump's Department of Government Efficiency, also regularly uses ableist slurs in his social media posts.
• This tone is "very hurtful, because people with disabilities have a right to work, and they get their jobs because they're qualified," said Sydney Badeau, a neurodivergent self-advocate in Wisconsin.

The other side: The Trump administration takes issue with lowering standards to achieve diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility goals — not DEIA itself, the White House told Axios.

• "President Trump is a leader for all Americans. The Trump-Vance administration values the contributions of government employees with disabilities and believes they should be recognized and rewarded based on the merit of the work," a White House official said in an email.

Yes, but: Trump administration officials such as Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have stigmatized disabilities by falsely linking vaccines to conditions such as autism, advocates say.

• That medicalizes disabilities, treating them as impairments that need to be fixed, Graham said. She prefers a "social model" that emphasizes societal barriers that create challenges for people with disabilities.
• Eroding support for disabled people "harkens back to the time when people with disabilities were put behind closed doors and not talked about instead of being celebrated and supported," said Nicole Jorwic, advocacy chief at Caring Across Generations, a coalition of caregivers and care recipients.

What's next: Ray Hemachandra, whose son Nicholas is autistic and medically fragile, said he wants more Republican families to join and be welcomed into disability advocacy circles.

• "I'm hopeful that we recognize, and that politicians recognize and legislators recognize, that Republicans are as likely to have a family member with intellectual and developmental disabilities as Democrats do," Hemachandran said.

Go deeper:

• Trump's DEI orders may halt progress for disabled workers
• Mapped: Medicaid recipients across the U.S.

Former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) will announce Thursday he will not seek reelection in 2026.

Why it matters: McConnell was the longest-serving Senate party leader in U.S. history and has become one of President Trump's GOP antagonists since the new administration began.

• McConnell, who stepped down from leadership last year, addressed colleagues on the Senate floor on Thursday. He received a standing ovation afterward.
• "Representing our commonwealth has been the honor of my lifetime. I will not seek this honor an eighth time," McConnell said. "My current term in the Senate will be my last."
• He said his birthday, Feb. 20, was as good a time as any to make his announcement.

The big picture: The senator oversaw aggressive Republican efforts to slash taxes and reshape the federal courts.

• His health scares in recent years, including freezing in front of reporters and several falls, reignited criticism of older public officeholders staying in their roles.
• He eventually endorsed Trump during the election but had previously condemned his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.

What he's saying: McConnell's speech focused on what has long been his top priorities — preserving the important role of the Senate, confirming judges, investing in U.S. defense and preserving the filibuster.

• He said he still has "some unfinished business" to attend to in what is left of his term.
• "Regardless of the political storms that may wash over this chamber during the time I have remaining, I assure our colleagues that I will depart with great hope for the endurance of the Senate as an institution," McConnell said.
• "There are any number of reasons for pessimism, but the strength of the Senate is not one of them," he added.

Zoom in: A biography published in October drew on thousands of archival materials, letters and more than 100 interviews to piece together the senator's life story.

Go deeper: Mitch McConnell takes his revenge on Trump

Editor's note: This is a developing story and will be updated.

President Trump's executive order designed to expand access to in vitro fertilization doesn't change U.S. law or policy and only begins to deliver on a campaign promise to make the treatment free or significantly cheaper.

Why it matters: The order shows the issue is still on the president's radar. It also could reopen a debate within his party over how expanding access to IVF squares with some anti-abortion advocates' beliefs.

• Trump on Tuesday ordered his domestic policy assistant to make recommendations by mid-May to reduce out-of-pocket and health plan costs for IVF treatment.
• Trump has "long advocated for more babies and expanding American families," a White House fact sheet on the order notes, while adding the U.S. fertility rate hit a historic low.
• The announcement somewhat renews a GOP-led focus on declining birth rates in the U.S., though it's far from clear that more IVF would solve that problem.

State of play: The order doesn't address Trump's campaign promise to mandate that the government or insurance companies cover the cost of IVF for "all Americans that need it." But making the government pay for IVF would be costly.

• Congress would have to fund a new division of the federal government to oversee the program, per the NYT.
• Senate Republicans twice last year blocked efforts to enshrine federal protections for IVF.

Context: The Republican-controlled Alabama Supreme Court almost a year ago ruled frozen embryos are children under state law. The decision created chaos for clinics and hopeful parents across the state as health care providers feared they'd be held liable over typical parts of the treatment, like discarding surplus embryos.

• Trump reacted to the ruling on the campaign trail, calling himself the "father of IVF" when asked about reproductive care and fertility treatments.
• Meanwhile, Trump flip flopped his stance on abortion during the campaign, taking credit for the overturning of Roe v. Wade while claiming he wouldn't sign a national ban.

Zoom out: Conservative lawmakers have pushed to address the declining U.S. birth rate, declaring it a somewhat existential problem for civilization.

• Little evidence shows that politics or public policy could meaningfully reverse the trend, Axios' Emily Peck previously reported.
• Trump's close ally Elon Musk has previously called the falling birth rate "the biggest danger civilization faces."

But historically Trump and his Republican allies have failed to articulate how they'd make child care more affordable.

• Polling has shown accessing child care influences younger Americans' decisions on having children.

By the numbers: A single IVF cycle can cost up to $30,000. With an age-dependent success rate between 38% and 49%, most people need two to three rounds to have a child.

Go deeper: Trump rekindles IVF debate

New York City's Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) sued the U.S. Department of Transportation on Wednesday after the Trump administration moved to rescind federal approval for the city's controversial congestion pricing program, which just went into effect in January.

Why it matters: If the program is overturned, billions fewer dollars will go toward improving the city's public transit infrastructure.

• "I share the president's concerns about the impacts to working class Americans who now have an additional financial burden to account for in their daily lives," Transportation Sec. Sean Duffy wrote in a letter to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D).
• "It's mystifying that after four years and 4,000 pages of federally-supervised environmental review – and barely three months after giving final approval to the Congestion Relief Program – USDOT would seek to totally reverse course," MTA chair and CEO Janno Lieber said in a statement.

Zoom in: "We'll see you in court," Hochul said in a statement.

• "We are a nation of laws, not ruled by a king," she also said, referring to an earlier post by President Trump on Truth Social.
• "Manhattan, and all of New York is saved," Trump had said. "Long live the king!"

Context: Congestion pricing went into effect in January after a months-long delay.

• Hochul in June had indefinitely paused the implementation of the toll, weeks before it was originally supposed to take effect, citing concerns about the costs to drivers.
• Duffy argued in his letter that NYC's program "exceeds the authority authorized by Congress" under the Value Pricing Pilot Program.

Zoom out: The administration's move sets up a turf war between federal and state power, with the Republican-led executive branch going against a Democratic-led state.

• The congestion pricing tolls "appear to be driven primarily by the need to raise revenue for the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) system as opposed to the need to reduce congestion," Duffy wrote.
• New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) asked the Trump administration to reexamine the program on Inauguration Day.

Reality check: Early MTA data showed that gridlock decreased the first week the toll was in effect.

Go deeper: New York becomes first U.S. city with congestion pricing

Editor's note: This story was updated throughout.

The Department of Education wrote in a letter to academic institutions that it may cut federal funding for those with policies related to race or diversity, signaling the latest crackdown by the Trump administration on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

The big picture: The letter includes a sweeping interpretation of the Supreme Court's affirmative action ruling and instructs schools, colleges and universities to eliminate any DEI policies within 14 days or face funding cuts.

• "The law is clear: treating students differently on the basis of race to achieve nebulous goals such as diversity, racial balancing, social justice or equity is illegal under controlling Supreme Court precedent," Craig Trainor, acting assistant secretary for civil rights within the Education Department, wrote in the letter released Friday.
• The directive applies to educational institutions from preschool to college, as well as state education agencies that receive financial assistance.

Zoom in: "At its core, the test is simple: If an educational institution treats a person of one race differently than it treats another person because of that person's race, the educational institution violates the law," Trainor wrote.

• Schools also can't use students' personal essays, writing samples, extracurriculars, or other cues as a means of determining or predicting race, the letter said.

What they're saying: The letter states that teaching DEI gives preference to one racial group over another and teaches "students that certain racial groups bear unique moral burdens that others do not."

• The programs "stigmatize students who belong to particular racial groups based on crude racial stereotypes," the letter continues.
• The letter adds that federal law prevents institutions from using race in decisions related to admissions, hiring, compensation, housing, financial aid and scholarships, discipline and "all other aspects of student, academic and campus life."

Friction point: The department's interpretation of the SCOTUS ruling could also challenge content taught in classes, along with the functions of student organizations like Black fraternities and sororities, per CNN.

What's next: By the end of the month, the department will "take appropriate measures to assess compliance" with the administration's interpretation of the law.

• Education institutions were instructed to review their policies; cease efforts to circumvent bans of race considerations or its proxies; and end contracts with third parties that consider race.
• The department's order will almost certainly be challenged in court.

Read the full letter:

Go deeper: Trump-voting states have more to lose if Education Department dismantled

Employees of Elon Musk's SpaceX will visit the Federal Aviation Administration's Air Traffic Control command center on Monday to suggest safety improvements, Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said.

Why it matters: The agency is under heightened scrutiny following last month's deadly collision between a helicopter and a regional jet at Ronald Regan Airport in Washington, D.C.

• SpaceX team members will "get a firsthand look at the current system, learn what air traffic controllers like and dislike about their current tools, and envision how we can make a new, better, modern and safer system," Duffy said on Sunday.

The intrigue: SpaceX's involvement with the FAA is complicated and mired with potential conflicts of interest. The federal agency has investigated and fined the aerospace company multiple times, including for alleged safety violations.

• The company has billions in government contracts, primarily with NASA and the Pentagon.
• Musk is classified as a special government employee due to his work with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
• It is unclear what, if any, role Musk has in SpaceX advising the FAA on safety improvements, but he has previously railed against FAA regulations.

Zoom in: To counter the argument that Musk's team was "getting special access," Duffy said the FAA regularly gives tours of the command center to media and companies.

• "The safety of air travel is a non-partisan matter," Musk said in a Sunday X post. "SpaceX engineers will help make air travel safer."

Friction point: Earlier this month, Duffy said DOGE was "going to plug in to help upgrade our aviation system," prompting some lawmakers to voice concerns about potential conflicts of interest for Musk.

• "It is a conflict of interest for someone whose company is regulated by the federal government to be involved in anything that affects his personal financial interest, his company or his competitors," Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wa.) said in a letter to Duffy.

What they're saying: A Department of Transportation spokesperson said in an emailed statement the FAA "continues to hire and onboard air traffic controllers and safety professionals, including mechanics and others who support them."

• The spokesperson added: "The agency has retained employees who perform safety critical functions."

Zoom out: The Trump administration reportedly began firing probationary FAA employees on Friday, many of them responsible for maintaining air traffic control infrastructure, multiple outlets reported.

• David Spero, the national president of a union that represents thousands of FAA and Defense Department employees, condemned the firings in a statement Saturday and that said "[s]everal hundred employees have been impacted with messages being sent from an 'exec order' Microsoft email address," rather than an official .gov address.
• "This draconian action will increase the workload and place new responsibilities on a workforce that is already stretched thin," Spero's statement read, characterizing the move as "especially unconscionable" after multiple recent deadly aircraft accidents.
• Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg questioned the move Monday writing on BlueSky, "The flying public needs answers. How many FAA personnel were just fired? What positions? And why?"

Go deeper: DOGE seeks access to IRS system with sensitive taxpayer data

Editor's note: This story has been updated with comment from a Department of Transportation spokesperson and additional context.

Language learning app Duolingo killed off its plucky mascot, Duo the owl, this week — creating a social media marketing moment that may have more sticking power than recent Super Bowl ads.

Why it matters: Duolingo has mastered not only helping people cultivate polyglot skills, but also the art of storytelling marketing and pushing the envelope in a brand's online presence.

• Completing lessons on the app could bring Duo back to life, the company said on Wednesday, in an apparent signal that the digital creature's death announced Tuesday might be a spoof after all. Axios reached out to the company for comment.

Driving the news: Duo "probably died waiting for you to do your lesson, but what do we know," the company said Tuesday on X.

• It later shared a video of Duo being hit by a Tesla Cybertruck.
• "In lieu of flowers, please do a Duolingo lesson," another post said.

State of play: Firms ranging from entertainment and media to intergovernmental organizations joined the social media moment on X and TikTok throughout the week.

• Netflix shared a video of Duo's so-called elimination in the format of its popular Squid Games TV show, while accounts for video games "Halo" and "World of Warcraft" shared photos mourning Duo in their respective universes.
• Pop singer Dua Lipa responded: "Til' death duo part." The original announcement urged readers to respect her privacy (Not only do they have similar names, but in another bit, Duo proposed to the singer outside her concert in 2022).
• The World Health Organization speculated on Duo's cause of death. "One thing we know for sure," it said. "It's not smallpox, because the disease has been eradicated since 1980."
• The European Space Agency shared a photo of Duo in space with the caption: "Someone forgot their space suit."

Our thought bubble, from Axios' media reporter Kerry Flynn: Sometimes marketing stunts actually work. But this campaign's virality is a testament to Duolingo's long commitment to brand building by leaning into unhinged content and relatable conversation on social media and its own platform.

• Duo is not the first brand mascot to die around the Super Bowl. In 2020, Planters killed Mr. Peanut and he was reborn as Baby Nut in a Super Bowl commercial. This Duo fan hopes for a similar comeback for the green owl.

Zoom out: Duolingo's ad "hijacked" about 84% of the conversations that all Super Bowl ads were generating, impacting culture unlike any of Sunday's commercials, per Nathan Jun Poekert, an adviser to chief marketing officers.

• "We are in a media environment where ~$600M in ads (plus production costs) that made us laugh, touched our heart, created nostalgia, made us proud, made us angry — can instantly be erased," he wrote on Linkedin, "by a handful of social media posts…of a dead mascot."
• Young audiences feel connected to brands with a sense of humor and personality, youth culture agency Archrival said in a Friday analysis, encouraging marketers to engage audiences as "active participants, not passive viewers."
• "In today's cultural landscape of infotainment overload and hype-driven social posts, marketing has to be truly different to stand out as fresh," the agency said.

The big picture: Duolingo over the years has joined fandoms and pop culture moments to create "authentic connections" and build community with users, Inc. Magazine wrote last month.

• Storytelling and witty engagement are strengths of Duolingo's marketing team, setting its brand presence apart in a low-cast way, per Inc.

Go deeper: Super Bowl ads shift to health and body positivity

The Justice Department on Friday evening moved to drop bribery and fraud charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams.

Why it matters: At least seven prosecutors resigned this week rather than obey a DOJ order to withdraw the indictment, with some criticizing department leadership for making the decision for political rather than legal reasons.

• Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove reportedly pulled the DOJ's remaining public integrity prosecutors into a room and warned them that if one didn't agree to file the motion dismissing the charges within an hour, they could all be fired.

Driving the news: Two prosecutors ultimately did file the request with Judge Dale E. Ho asking for a dismissal of the case "without prejudice," meaning the charges could later be reinstated.

• The request, signed by Bove, argues the indictment interferes with the mayor's ability to do his job, including with regard to immigration.
• They also said they find the dismissal necessary "because of appearances of impropriety and risks of interference with the 2025 elections in New York City," per the letter.
• Judges have little leeway to deny such requests, though Ho had repeatedly denied Adams' efforts to dismiss the case, the NYT reports.

State of play: The request follows the resignations of at least seven top prosecutors in New York City and Washington, D.C., all of whom refused to follow the DOJ's order.

• Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove asked prosecutors on Monday to drop Adams' charges, which Trump has cast as political persecution much like the criminal cases against himself.
• Bove justified the decision in part because withdrawing the charges would make it more likely that Adams would comply with the Trump administration's immigration policies, according to two of the resignation letters.
• Adams then appeared in two joint interviews with Trump's immigration czar, Tom Homan, and promised to do just that.

Flashback: Adams in September became the first NYC mayor to face criminal charges while serving in office.

• He was indicted on charges of bribery and fraud following a federal investigation that his campaign illegally conspired with foreign businesspeople and Turkish officials.
• He had denied all accusations and pleaded not guilty. He was scheduled to go to trial in April.

What they're saying: The DOJ order "allowed the Department of Justice to continue to bring those charges back and effectively, seemingly were designed to keep Eric Adams on a short leash," House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) told Spectrum News earlier Friday.

• "That's a very troubling situation."
• Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said on X Adams must be removed, if he won't resign, also before the DOJ dismissed his case.
• New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has the power to remove the mayor from his role. She said Friday that she needed time to weigh the situation.

Go deeper:

• READ: Prosecutors' resignation letters after refusing to drop Eric Adams case
• Trump's DOJ is at war with its own prosecutors

Three top federal prosecutors resigned from their positions on Thursday after refusing an order from the Department of Justice to drop charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams, multiple outlets reported.

Why it matters: The resignations are among the most public opposition to the DOJ after President Trump promised to overhaul the federal agency and has installed loyalists and allies in top jobs.

• Danielle Sassoon, interim U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, resigned Thursday afternoon, an SDNY spokesperson confirmed to Axios. The spokesperson did not specify a reason for the resignation.
• John Keller, the acting chief of the Justice Department's Public Integrity Section, and Kevin Driscoll, the acting head of the DOJ's criminal division, also resigned.
• Driscoll was appointed in 2019 during Trump's first term, and Keller had a decades-long career in the DOJ, according to their Justice Department biographies.

What they're saying: In a letter addressed to Attorney General Pam Bondi, Sassoon explained her refusal to drop the charges, calling it a "rushed and superficial" decision.

• "Because the law does not support a dismissal, and because I am confident that Adams has committed the crimes with which he is charged, I cannot agree to seek a dismissal driven by improper considerations," she said.
• Sassoon accused the DOJ official who ordered her to do so of soliciting an unjust quid pro quo.
• "I have always considered it my obligation to pursue justice impartially, without favor to the wealthy or those who occupy important public office, or harsher treatment for the less powerful," she wrote.

Zoom in: Sassoon was appointed by President Trump while former SEC chief Jay Clayton goes through the confirmation process to be Manhattan's U.S. attorney.

• "Your resignation is accepted," Emil Bove, acting deputy attorney general, wrote in a letter. "The decision is based on your choice to continue pursuing a politically motivated prosecution despite an express instruction to dismiss the case."
• Bove's letter also placed two assistant U.S. attorneys who worked on Adams' case on leave, saying they were "unwilling to comply with the order to dismiss the case. The two prosecutors will be investigated by the Attorney General's office and the Office of Professional Responsibility, Bove's letter said.
• Bondi will decide disciplinary actions, including possible termination, after the investigation, Bove wrote.

Context: The Justice Department on Monday requested that prosecutors drop federal charges against Adams, who was indicted last September on charges of bribery and fraud.

• Bove requested the corruption case be dismissed without prejudice back in November.
• Adams attended Trump's January inauguration, and the president has expressed sympathy toward the mayor's legal battle, prompting speculation that he could pardon him.

Go deeper: DOJ moves to have NYC Mayor Eric Adams' charges dropped

Editor's note: This story has been updated with Sassoon's letter to the DOJ.

Federal workers who are spouses of some military and Foreign Service members are exempt from return to office policies, the Trump administration said on Wednesday.

Why it matters: The administration has used executive orders and buyouts to crack down remote employees as part of its broader overhaul of the federal workforce.

• Trump's return to office executive order required all federal departments to have employees end remote work by Feb. 20, though it did allow for department heads to allot for exemptions to in-office work "deemed necessary."

Zoom in: The directive applies to spouses of active-duty military members, disabled or deceased Armed Forces members, and members of the U.S. Foreign Service on overseas assignments, according to a memo from the Office of Personnel Management.

• Military spouses can still be appointed to remote work positions, per the memo, which was sent to the heads and acting heads of all federal departments and agencies.

Between the lines: Reps. Rob Wittman (R-Va.) and Eugene Vindman (D-Va.) proposed legislation earlier this month to protect remote work for military spouses employed by the federal government.

• "Our military families make great sacrifices in support of their loved ones in the Armed Forces — for which we are forever grateful for — and should not come at the expense of employability, financial stability, or personal fulfillment," Wittman said in a statement.

Go deeper: Trump's return-to-office push will likely lead to talent exodus

About 77,000 federal employees, or 3.2% of the workforce, accepted the Trump administration's buyout offer, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Thursday.

Why it matters: The administration fell short of its 5-10% target, which would have required hundreds of thousands of workers to opt in.

• The federal workforce exceeds 2.4 million people, per the White House, excluding active-duty military and Postal Service employees.
• Certain employees were exempt from accepting buyouts, like those who work in national security, immigration enforcement, and IRS workers needed for the tax season.

Zoom in: A federal judge on Wednesday lifted a pause on the resignation program on Wednesday, and the White House subsequently closed the offer, according to an email sent to federal employees.

• The administration sent out an email saying the "buyout" offer would be over at 7:20pm ET.

Context: Workers who took the buyout are promised pay through September, but critics have argued there's no guarantee people will receive that money and that Congress needs to authorize the plan.

• The buyouts aligned with the Trump administration's goals of requiring in-office work and "adhering to higher standards."
• The administration originally said the buyouts could save up to $100 billion annually for taxpayers.

Go deeper: Trump's federal worker "buyout" program can proceed, judge rules

President Trump was unanimously elected chairman of the Kennedy Center board of trustees on Wednesday, the president said on Truth Social.

Why it matters: Trump, who had a tense relationship with the arts organization during his first term, removed rivals its board last week to lay the ground for his takeover.

• "We will make The Kennedy Center a very special and exciting place," Trump wrote.

Friction point: Kennedy Center president Deborah Rutter was fired on Wednesday, the Washington Post reported, although she previously announced that she'd step down from her role at the end of the year.

• Ben Folds resigned as the artistic director of the National Symphony Orchestra on Wednesday "given developments at the Kennedy Center," he said in a statement.

Zoom in: Trump's newly designated trustees included Susie Wiles, his White House chief of staff, and Usha Vance, the second lady, Politico reported.

• He appointed Pam Bondi, now his attorney general, to the board during his first term.

Context: During his first term, Trump skipped the Kennedy Center Honors ceremony after some honorees declined to meet him, per NPR, becoming the first president to skip all four years.

• Before he dismissed several members on Friday, the board was relatively evenly split between Trump and former President Biden appointees.

Go deeper: Trump says he'll remove Kennedy Center board members, name himself chair

American students are half a grade level behind pre-pandemic achievement levels in math and reading, according to an Education Recovery Scorecard report released on Tuesday.

Why it matters: No state showed improvements in both math and reading from 2019 to 2024, according to the Nation's Report Card — a national assessment of math and reading achievement.

• High-income districts are four times more likely to have recovered, according to the Education Recovery Scorecard, which combines results from the Nation's Report Card assessment and state test scores.
• The slide in test scores "masks a pernicious inequality: scores have declined far more in America's middle- and low-income communities than its wealthy ones," Sean Reardon, director of Stanford's Educational Opportunity Project, said in a statement.

By the numbers: 17% of students between third and eighth grade are in districts with average math achievement above 2019.

• 11% are in districts that have recovered in reading, and 6% are in districts that have recovered in both reading and math.
• More than 100 districts performed above pre-pandemic levels in both math and reading.

Between the lines: Louisiana is the only state that showed slight improvements in both math and reading, according to the Education Recovery Scorecard report.

Zoom out: Chronic absenteeism, which worsened during the pandemic, has started to show improvements, per the report. But it slowed academic recovery, especially in high-poverty districts.

• In 2019, the national rate was 15%. That nearly doubled to 29% in 2022 and dropped slightly to 26% in 2023.
• In the 20 states with data through Spring 2024, chronic absenteeism fell by an additional two points.
• "The full impact of the rise in absenteeism is not yet clear," the report said.

What's next: Researchers urged states and districts to redirect funding toward interventions, now that federal pandemic relief has dried up.

• They also said mayors, employers and other leaders should help in addressing chronic absenteeism so that all of the burden doesn't fall on schools.

The bottom line: "The rescue phase is over," Tom Kane, director of Harvard's Center for Education Policy Research said in a statement.

• "The federal relief dollars are gone. It is time to pivot from short-term recovery to longer term challenges such as reducing absenteeism and addressing the slide in literacy."

Editor's note: This story was updated to clarify that while the Nation's Report Card found no states improved in both math and reading, the Education Recovery Scorecard found one exception, Louisiana.

Go deeper: American students' reading skills drop to record lows

The Kremlin issued a warning on Monday about the fragility of current U.S.-Russia relations, after refusing to confirm that President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin recently spoke, multiple outlets reported.

Why it matters: Trump repeatedly pledged on the campaign trail to speedily end the Russia-Ukraine war, but Russian leaders said on Monday that Putin's stipulations had to be met before any resolution would be possible.

Driving the news: Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov said Monday during a media conference that U.S.-Russian relations "are balancing on the brink of a breakup," per NBC News.

• Russian authorities will not end the war until Putin's terms outlined last year are met, which include Ukraine dropping its NATO ambitions and withdrawing troops from Russian-controlled regions.
• "This is where we are and the sooner U.S., U.K. and others understand it, the better it would be and the closer this desired political solution will be for everyone," Ryabkov said.

Zoom in: Ryabkov also praised the Trump administration for its interest in talking to Russia about the conflict, according to the Guardian.

Context: Trump told the New York Post in an interview published over the weekend that he had spoken with Putin to negotiate an end to the war, but did not confirm when or how many times.

• Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Sunday he could neither confirm nor deny Trump's comments, Russian state news agency TASS reported.
• The communication, if confirmed, would be the first officially acknowledged contact between the two since 2022, per NBC News.
• Journalist Bob Woodward reported that Trump and Putin had "maybe as many as seven" conversations since Trump first left the White House in 2021.

Go deeper: Trump says he's talked with Putin about ending Ukraine war

American Sign Language performers didn't appear at all during the Super Bowl national anthem broadcast last year, following the trend of more than a decade of little to no screen time.

The big picture: Disability rights and visibility are under attack by the Trump administration as part of its anti-DEI policies during the first few weeks of the new term.

Driving the news: The association requested that Fox Sports show ASL performers on the main broadcast screens or via picture-in-picture technology, as well as on the big screen on Super Bowl Sunday inside Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.

Zoom out: Trump's attacks on diversity policies could set back progress for people with disabilities, who already face obstacles in landing jobs.

• Some saw increases in employment rates after the pandemic boost in remote work.
• That work is now getting pushback from the federal government, as the Trump administration terminated what it called "DEI discrimination" in the federal workforce and spending.

By the numbers: About half a million people throughout the U.S. use ASL to communicate as their natural language, according to ASL Deafined, a video lesson program.

• After English and Spanish, it's the third-most commonly used language in the U.S.

State of play: Since the 1992 Super Bowl, most ASL performers appeared on screen for 8% or less of the broadcasted national anthem, per an Axios analysis. In 16 of the 33 years, they weren't on screen at all.

• At the 1993 Super Bowl, country singer Garth Brooks was joined by ASL performer Marlee Matlin, who was fully visible the entire performance. It's one of two broadcasts where both performers were visible during the full national anthem.
• "This is the standard that should be met," the National Association of the Deaf said in a January community letter.

Zoom in: The ASL pregame performances and ASL Halftime show will be supported by Deaf civil rights attorney Alexis Kashar, who also founded ASL jewelry company LOVE SIGN, and Howard Rosenblum of advocacy organization Deaf Equality, according to a press release.

• ASL performer Stephanie Nogueras will sign the national anthem and "America the Beautiful," according to the Delaware Association of the Deaf. Otis Jones IV, another ASL performer, will sign the Black national anthem "Lift Every Voice and Sing."
• Matt Maxey will perform the ASL rendition of Kendrick Lamar's halftime performance.

Spokespeople for the Super Bowl and Fox News did not respond to Axios' requests for comment on plans for showing the ASL stream on the main broadcast.

Go deeper:

• Super Bowl broadcasts have mixed history of screen time for sign language performers
• Sign language's struggle for support

Elon Musk posted on X Friday that a staffer with his Department of Governmental Efficiency who resigned after racist social media posts were unearthed "will be brought back."

Why it matters: The White House swiftly announced Marko Elez's exit after the Wall Street Journal first reported on the blatantly racist posts, which included "normalize Indian hate" and "I was racist before it was cool." But Vice President Vance and Musk's online army both rallied behind Elez, and Musk has now declared that he'll be reinstated.

Driving the news: Elez, 25, was one of Musk's key lieutenants within DOGE. He received access to U.S. Treasury payments a day before resigning, when the Journal contacted the Trump administration about his connection to the deleted social media account that made the racist posts.

• The account associated with Elez also advocated for repealing the Civil Rights Act and supported a "eugenic immigration policy."
• Musk posted a poll Friday asking whether he should bring Elez back, with 78% of respondents voting "yes" at time of writing.
• Vance responded to the poll by saying "I obviously disagree with some of Elez's posts, but I don't think stupid social media activity should ruin a kid's life," adding: "I say bring him back."

Zoom in: Elez worked for Musk's SpaceX, Starlink and X, per the Wall Street Journal. He focused on artificial intelligence.

• On Wednesday, Department of Justice lawyers agreed to give Elez and one other employee "read-only" access to Treasury data. Federal employees' unions had sued to stop DOGE's access to confidential data.
• The White House did not respond to Axios' request for comment about Elez's resignation on Thursday.

Between the lines: Elez's reinstatement comes as Reuters reports that another DOGE employee, Gavin Kliger, has shared white supremacist content on social media.

• Kliger, a computer scientist, reposted content from white supremacist Nick Fuentes and self-proclaimed misogynist Andrew Tate.

Go deeper: What is the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, the government's $5 trillion checkbook

This story was updated with the news that Musk intends to bring Elez back.

President Trump's campaign promise to dismantle the Department of Education could prove more costly for red states than blue.

Why it matters: Funding for public schools primarily falls to local and state governments, but federal funds work to fill the gaps.

• States that voted for Trump last November, on average, use more federal funding in their education apportions than states that voted for former Vice President Harris.
• "That dependence is, in large part, because they're just lower wealth states and they don't have the same capacity to step in and make up that difference," Kevin Welner, the director of the National Education Policy Center, told Axios.

State of play: Average federal spending in the 2021-22 school year was 17% in Trump-voting states, compared to 11% in states that voted for Harris.

• At 23%, Mississippi had the highest proportion of federal public school funding that school year, with South Dakota and Arkansas following with 22% each, per USA Facts. New York, at 7%, had the lowest.
• Mississippi spends an average of $12,390 on public K-12 spending per student, compared to New York's $33,440, per the Education Data Initiative.

Zoom out: Anywhere from 11 to 14% of public school funding is federal, Welner said.

• That figure was on the higher end after the start of the pandemic but has since decreased.

The intrigue: Even if the Education Department is disbanded, programs within its purview could fall to other federal agencies. Head Start, for example, is already run by the Department of Health and Human Services.

• "Moving program administration to other departments is going to be highly disruptive, if that happens" Welner said. "But the bigger question is what Congress decides to do in response to any requests from the administration to cut these programs."

Threat level: States would likely handle cuts to federal education funding in different ways. Those that have more low-income families and, in turn, receive higher shares of Title I funding would feel the impact most, per Welner.

• "In wealthier states, we would probably see some reduced spending for students and some increased state allocations," he said.
• "In states that are already financially strained because they just have less wealth, this could result simply in less funding and fewer resources for the students," Welner said.

The big picture: Student performance, which was already in decline before the pandemic, has worsened since 2020, making federal funds to help bridge academic gaps all the more important.

• Federal funds include grant programs to help at-risk or disabled students, per the Peter G. Peterson Foundation.

Context: Trump regularly floated eliminating the Department of Education on the campaign trail, and has called the agency an example of federal overreach.

• Trump promised to sign an executive order curtailing the Department of Education's powers, and dozens of its employees were placed on administrative leave last week.

Yes, but: A president does not have the authority to create or dismantle a federal agency, only Congress.

• The legislative branch has historically resisted such moves, including during Trump's first term when he proposed merging the Education Department and Department of Labor. Those efforts never gained traction with lawmakers.
• House Republicans introduced a bill last month to terminate the Education Department on Dec. 31, 2026. With slim majorities in both chambers, it's unlikely to pass, if it even reaches to a floor vote.

Go deeper: What to know about Trump's plan to eliminate the Department of Education

A U.S. federal judge on Monday extended a temporary block on the Trump administration's spending freeze.

Why it matters: District Judge Loren AliKhan expressed concern in her order that the Trump administration was still enforcing the spending freeze despite the temporary restraining order.

Catch up quick: The White House ordered a "temporary pause" on federal funding on Tuesday that prompted intense confusion and backlash.

• AliKhan issued an initial temporary pause on the order last week, which was due to expire Monday.
• The Office of Management and Budget rescinded the memo on Wednesday, following AliKhan's order. However, the White House said pulling back the memo didn't mean withdrawing the funding freeze.

Zoom out: On Friday, a federal judge in Rhode Island also temporarily blocked the spending freeze.

• Judge John J. McConnell Jr. said White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt's social media posts claiming the freeze was still in effect despite withdrawing the order were grounds for the lawsuit to continue.

What they're saying: AliKhan said in her order that plaintiffs had proven certain funding sources outside of executive order parameters were inaccessible even after the OMB rescinded its memo.

• The government, AliKhan wrote, had "offered no rational explanation for why they needed to freeze all federal financial assistance."
• AliKhan added that the plaintiffs had proven that the injuries caused by the freeze were "sufficiently concrete" and "potentially catastrophic."
• "Each day that the pause continues to ripple across the country is an additional day that Americans are being denied access to programs that heal them, house them, and feed them," she added.

Go deeper: Tweet from Trump's press secretary justifies halting spending freeze, judge says

Several federal websites tracking climate science and health care issues like HIV prevention and transgender care were down as of Friday afternoon.

Why it matters: The sites included topics like contraception, transgender issues and climate change that President Trump and Republicans have repeatedly targeted.

• The administration immediately began changing White House websites after his inauguration.
• The U.S. Census Bureau website was also down as of Friday afternoon.

Between the lines: Trump was asked on Friday about reports that government websites were going to be shut down in compliance with an executive order on DEI content.

• "It doesn't sound like a bad idea to me," he said. "DEI would have ruined our country, and now it's dead. I think DEI is dead, so if they want to scrub the websites, that's OK with me."
• The Trump administration did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.

By the numbers: As of Friday morning, 305,578 datasets were available on data.gov, which houses the government's open data.

• On Jan. 20, that website had 307,854 datasets available, per the Internet Archive.

State of play: The following Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sites or datasets were scrubbed as of Friday afternoon, though it's not immediately clear what day they were removed:

• The Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System
• AtlasPlus, which housed HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis and STD information
• A contraception page for health care providers
• A page on ending gender-based violence
• Evidence supporting recommendations for HPV vaccination harmonization across genders, ages 22 through 26 years
• Heart disease death rates by gender, by county, Florida
• Information about transgender and gender diverse people (archived Friday morning)
• Pages related to the HIV prevention drug PrEP
• Social vulnerability index, related to demographic and socioeconomic factors adversely affecting communities
• Health Disparities Among LGBTQ Youth
• Creating Safe Schools for LGBTQ+ Youth
• Safer Food Choices for Pregnant People

Between the lines: Health and Human Services and National Institutes of Health pages were down, too, including:

• An NIH page for the sexual and gender minority research office
• An HHS page for Protecting the Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex (LGBTQI+) People

A Department of State website formerly directed toward LGBTQI+ travelers now reads "LGB" travel information, removing reference to other gender identities.

Context: Trump on Jan. 22 ordered key federal health agencies to pause all external communications.

• He's targeted transgender health care in several executive orders.
• He also pulled the U.S. from the World Health Organization.

What they're saying: "The removal of HIV- and LGBTQ-related resources from the websites of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other health agencies is deeply concerning and creates a dangerous gap in scientific information and data to monitor and respond to disease outbreaks," the Infectious Diseases Society of America said in a statement.

Zoom out: USDA websites that were down as of Friday afternoon included:

• The climate change homepage and resources
• A page on climate change and its effects

Catch up quick: Trump withdrew the U.S. from the Paris Climate Agreement, which takes a year, and targeted Biden administration climate protections.

• USDA employees were ordered to delete landing pages on climate change from the agency's website and document climate change references for further review, Politico reported.

Go deeper: Tracking Trump's executive orders: What he's signed so far

Editor's note: This story has been updated with developments.

President Trump on Friday blamed the flight path of the Black Hawk helicopter for the fatal plane crash near Washington, D.C.

The big picture: Trump — without providing any evidence — had already blamed diversity efforts for the crash, and his latest comments come well before the National Transportation Safety Board has had time to conduct a thorough investigation.

• 'The Blackhawk helicopter was flying too high, by a lot," he wrote on Truth Social. "It was far above the 200 foot limit. That's not really too complicated to understand, is it???"

State of play: Early evidence shows the helicopter may have been flying outside of its approved flight path, multiple outlets reported.

• A Federal Aviation Administration report said one air traffic controller was working two jobs at the time of the crash, per AP, which was "not normal for the time of day and volume of traffic."

Zoom out: The NTSB's preliminary report is expected within 30 days, and a board member said Thursday it's too early to draw conclusions about the cause of the accident.

• Trump, who ordered a review of federal aviation hiring and safety decisions, on Thursday said it was "common sense" to blame diversity programs for the tragedy, without providing any link between the two.
• American Airlines CEO Robert Isom said in a Thursday memo to staff that the NTSB "will be the sole source of truth going forward."

Go deeper: What to know about the victims of the D.C. plane crash