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Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14) today introduced the Civilian Climate Corps for Jobs and Justice Act, which establishes a Civilian Climate Corps (CCC) administered by the Corporation for National and Community Service within AmeriCorps. This legislation updates, modernizes, and expands the concept of the New Deal-era Civilian Conservation Corps: ensuring that all Americans who want to participate may do so, regardless of race, age, or gender; broadening the range of eligible projects; providing 21st century health and education benefits; deepening partnerships with unions; and preserving Tribal sovereignty.
"My constituents in Vermont and constituents all over this country want to know what the hell is going on with the federal government right now," the democratic socialist senator said.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)—the ranking member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions—on Thursday urged the panel to launch an investigation into the Department of Government Efficiency and its de facto chief, Elon Musk, "the richest man in the world, to testify about his plans for running the federal government."
"I think everybody on this committee and the people of America understand who is running the government, and it's not going to be the secretary of labor," Sanders said during Thursday's HELP committee hearing on the confirmation of Keith Sonderling, Republican U.S. President Donald Trump's nominee for deputy labor secretary.
"We must find out what is going on in the federal government. And the way we do that is bringing Mr. Musk before this committee."
"With all due respect to President Trump's nominees, the... person who is running the government right now is Elon Musk," Sanders asserted.
"Mr. Musk has taken it upon himself, with the support of President Trump, to virtually dismantle the United States government," the senator said.
Sanders noted various attacks on agencies, including efforts to oust over 80,000 employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs and get rid of half of the Social Security Administration's employees, "at a time when Social Security is now grossly understaffed."
"Mr. Musk has ordered [the Department of Health and Human Services], the Department of Labor, and the Department of Education to fire employees, hand over confidential and sensitive data, and defy judicial orders," he added.
"My constituents in Vermont and constituents all over this country want to know what the hell is going on with the federal government right now," Sanders said. "And it's not going to be the next deputy secretary of labor who is going to tell them."
"So if we are serious... about our oversight responsibilities, we must find out what is going on in the federal government," he added. "And the way we do that is bringing Mr. Musk before this committee."
Sanders' call for an investigation into DOGE and subpoena for Musk came on the same day that Trump convened an in-person Cabinet meeting during which he clarified that the department secretaries are in charge of their agencies, not Musk. Multiple administration officials toldPolitico that "Musk was empowered to make recommendations to the departments but not to issue unilateral decisions on staffing and policy."
Musk was in the room for the meeting. As Politico reported:
The president's message represents the first significant move to narrow Musk's mandate. According to Trump's new guidance, DOGE and its staff should play an advisory role—but Cabinet secretaries should make final decisions on personnel, policy, and the pacing of implementation.
Musk joined the conversation and indicated he was on board with Trump's directive. According to one person familiar with the meeting, Musk acknowledged that DOGE had made some missteps—a message he shared earlier this week with members of Congress.
"As the secretaries learn about, and understand, the people working for the various departments, they can be very precise as to who will remain, and who will go," Trump later explained on his Truth Social platform. "We say the 'scalpel' rather than the 'hatchet.' The combination of them, Elon, DOGE, and other great people will be able to do things at a historic level."
Since its launch, DOGE has been plagued by statistical and accounting mistakes, as well as overzealous and errant firings of thousands of critical government workers, including people in charge of nuclear and air traffic safety and pandemic response.
"It's pretty shocking, really, that we've lost that much biodiversity in such a short time," said one of the study authors.
A landmark study released Thursday in the journal Science found that the number of butterflies in the United States declined dramatically between 2000 and 2020.
"The prevalence of declines throughout all regions in the United States highlights an urgent need to protect butterflies from further losses," according to the abstract of the study, which was authored by over 30 researchers from around the country.
Between 2000 and 2020, total butterfly abundance in the contiguous United States fell by 22% across 554 recorded species. The study also reported widespread species-level decline, in addition to overall abundance decline. According to researchers, 13 times as many butterfly species are declining as they are increasing.
"It's pretty shocking, really, that we've lost that much biodiversity in such a short time," said Eliza Grames, a conservation biologist at Binghamton University in New York and one of the study authors, who spoke with WBUR about the findings.
The survey used data from multiple sources, including North American Butterfly Association, which is the "longest-running volunteer-based systematic count of butterflies in the world," as well as data from Massachusetts Butterfly Club, which "carries out organized field trips and records individuals' reports across the state in which participants identify and record butterflies seen."
Scientists and dedicated amateur enthusiasts helped collect the data, according to The Washington Post, which spoke with some of the researchers.
"Scientists could not get all the data we used," Nick Haddad, an ecologist and conservation biologist at Michigan State University who worked on the study, per the Post. "It took this incredible grassroots effort of people interested in nature."
The study identified pesticide use, climate change, and habitat loss as drivers of the decline.
The research echoes other scientific findings that have recorded widespread loss of insect abundance more generally, a phenomenon that's sometimes called the "insect apocalypse." Bugs do many important things, like pollinating crops and keeping soil healthy. "As insects become more scarce, our world will slowly grind to a halt, for it cannot function without them," wrote biologist Dave Goulson in 2021.
Entomologist David Wagner, who was not involved in the study, told the Post in an email that butterflies function as a "yardstick for measuring what is happening" among insects generally. He said the findings of the study were "catastrophic and saddening."
"Everything Trump does on trade maximizes chaos and uncertainty," said one lawmaker.
In a move that one Democratic lawmaker said would further harm the United States' "credibility and our economy," U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday postponed tariffs on certain Canadian and Mexican imports after a discussion with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum.
Trump had imposed 25% tariffs on the countries' imports on Tuesday, saying the levies were aimed at pressuring Canada and Mexico to take more action to stop the flow of fentanyl into the United States.
Sheinbaum, who had threatened to impose tariffs in retaliation, said in a press conference that she convinced Trump to delay the tariffs on products traded under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) until April 2.
The Mexican leader said she had sent Trump U.S. Customs and Border Protection data showing that fentanyl trafficking has already dropped significantly in recent months, with seizures of the drug decreasing by 40% over the past month.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum: “It’s a very definitive moment for Mexico, depending on what happens these days until Sunday. There will be no submission. Mexicans are brave, resistant, and full of strength.”
Sheinbaum’s statement comes as Mexico prepares to respond to U.S.… https://t.co/IgdSEzqdL7 pic.twitter.com/LvxdvOVfq3
— Drop Site (@DropSiteNews) March 6, 2025
Sheinbaum said she asked Trump, "How can we continue cooperating, collaborating when this hurts the people of Mexico?"
"It was simply: 'Understand me. The most important thing is my people,'" she said Thursday. "'And I need to continue collaborating and cooperating with you, but in a situation of equality.'"
Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, noted that only a very small amount of fentanyl enters the U.S. from Canada.
Trump did not make a public statement about delaying the Canadian tariffs on Thursday, but included them in an executive order he signed postponing them.
The president also delayed 25% tariffs on auto industry imports on Wednesday after car manufacturers said the levies would hit them hard financially.
U.S. Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) said businesses across the U.S. "are delaying decisions, investments, and hiring, because they don't know what Trump will do."
"Everything Trump does on trade maximizes chaos and uncertainty," said Beyer. "Keeping his tariffs in place will cost families up to $2,000, but imposing and lifting them over and over again also has a cost."
With Trump's delay only applying to goods traded under USMCA, the White House said 62% of imports from Canada and 50% of those Mexico will still face the tariffs that were imposed this week. Experts have stressed that these costs will be passed on to consumers.
Outgoing Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday that the country expects "to be in a trade war that was launched by the United States for the foreseeable future."