Elon Musk

The President’s Executive Order on Elections, Explained

President Donald Trump issued an executive order on March 25 that aims to illegally overhaul and take control of major parts of the nation’s election systems. He claimed extraordinary unilateral authority to regulate federal elections and usurp the powers of Congress, the states and an independent bipartisan federal agency. This violates the Constitution and various federal laws. If implemented, the order could disenfranchise millions of American citizens, compromise the security of sensitive personal data, and disrupt election administration across the country.

What would the executive order on elections do? Is the executive order legal? Is this executive order the same as the SAVE Act?

‘Severance’ and Threats to Bodily Autonomy—Past, Present and Future

When cultural texts such as Severance show how characters experience and endure attacks against bodily autonomy, it can help make the threats more salient for viewers. Questions and commentary about bodily autonomy pervade Severance and are a key concern for protecting and strengthening workers’ rights in the real world. Yet, bodily autonomy in the contemporary workplace is under threat.

Under 50? The Trump-Musk-DOGE Attack on Social Security Is Coming for You Too.

Even if retirement feels out of reach, younger Americans can’t afford to ignore the GOP’s coordinated effort to sabotage Social Security from the inside out.

The playbook seems clear: Take one of the most popular and successful government programs we hav, and break it. Claim it’s so dysfunctional that it has to be dismantled, perhaps even privatized as Republicans have tried to do before. And use a flood of lies and misinformation to convince younger Americans to go along with their scheme. In essence, they’ll set our house on fire, and then stand there with fistfuls of spent matches telling us that it was doomed anyway and “would you like to invest in a nice condo near Mar-a-Lago instead?”

Trump’s War on Older Women

By now we all know that President Trump’s various policies and announcements have targeted immigrants, institutions with DEI programs and several federal agencies, including ones that focus on media, libraries, museums and ending homelessness.

But one of the biggest groups caught in his crosshairs is older women.

Here’s the truth: Social Security is the foundation of retirement security for most American seniors, and the damage, especially to women, is likely to be severe. Women account for more than half (56 percent) of the total beneficiary population aged 65 or older; they are the vast majority (78 percent) of widowed retirees.

Antiabortion Extremists Blockade Milwaukee Abortion Clinic as State Supreme Court Election Looms Large

On Thursday, March 27th in Milwaukee, anti-abortion extremists blocked access to Affiliated Medical Services, refusing to leave until police physically removed them. This calculated act in defiance of the federal Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act occurred just days before Wisconsin voters decide a critical State Supreme Court race that will determine the future of abortion rights in the state.

Social Movements Constrained Trump in His First Term—More Than People Realize

As The New York Times noted not long ago, Trump “had not appeared to be swayed by protests, petitions, hashtag campaigns or other tools of mass dissent.” That’s a common perspective these days. But what if it’s wrong?

In fact, popular resistance in Trump’s first term accomplished more than many observers realize; it’s just that most wins happened outside the spotlight. In my view, the most visible tactics—petitions, hashtags, occasional marches in Washington—had less impact than the quieter work of organizing in communities and workplaces.

Understanding when movements succeeded during Trump’s first term is important for identifying how activists can effectively oppose Trump policy in his second administration.

Keeping Score: Trump Threatens Students and Universities; Texas Midwife Arrested for Abortion Care; Americans Criticize Federal Worker Firings, ‘It’s Time to Fire Elon Musk’

In every issue of Ms., we track research on our progress in the fight for equality, catalogue can’t-miss quotes from feminist voices and keep tabs on the feminist movement’s many milestones. We’re Keeping Score online, too—in this biweekly roundup.

This week: Trump pulled university funding and arrested student leaders over pro-Palestine protests; a Texas midwife faces felony charges for providing abortion care; Congress members avoid town halls after Department of Education and other federal agencies were decimated; abortion bans threaten the lives of Black mothers; and more.

Break Things and Leave Them Broken: The Next Stage for Fired Federal Workers

Federal judges ordered the reinstatement of workers terminated based on their probationary status—a blow to the Trump administration. But for many fired feds, this welcome news does not mean a return to work. For me and most of my colleagues in HHS’ Administration for Children and Families, for instance, we will continue to receive our pay and benefits, but we won’t be allowed to work. One might think that this is a pretty good deal—but only if you don’t know federal employees.

Some of my colleagues shared with me their stories of uncertainty, loss and an unfinished mission to serve the public.

—My first colleague, a change management specialist, was nervous about rumored changes to the federal workforce, but buoyed by the encouragement of his mentors who said, “This is your dream. The way you light up, this is the thing we want in federal employees. Roll the dice, go for it.”
—Another, a policy analyst specializing in children’s issues, said she was living out her dream job. When she found out she was fired, she was on bedrest for a high-risk pregnancy. In a cruel twist of fate, it was Valentine’s Day … and also the anniversary of her previous stillbirth.

When the U.S. Turns Its Back on Aid, Women Pay the Price

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The justification is always the same: fiscal responsibility, foreign policy recalibrations, shifting political winds. But on the ground, the reality is much more cutting. When aid disappears, people die. Not theoretically. Not eventually. Immediately.

Aid is not a line item to be slashed when convenient. It is a commitment: to humanity, to protecting women, to the belief that no life is worth less simply because it exists beyond our borders. It is the difference between Judith finding safety and Nyamal being forced to return to her abuser. It is, quite literally, life or death.