The Headlines - Gutting the Education Department, and a Trump Tesla Show

Episode Date: March 12, 2025

Plus, who can do the Daffy Duck voice? On Today’s Episode: Education Department Fires 1,300 Workers, Gutting Its Staff, by Michael C. Bender and Dana GoldsteinE.P.A. Plans to Close All Environmental Justice Offices, by Lisa FriedmanUkraine Supports 30-Day Cease-Fire as U.S. Says It Will Resume Military Aid, by Andrew E. Kramer and Alan RappeportHouse G.O.P. Passes Bill to Avert a Shutdown, Daring the Senate to Accept It, by Catie EdmondsonTrump’s Tariffs on Steel and Aluminum Go Into Effect, by Ana Swanson and Jeanna SmialekWho Likes Tariffs? Some U.S. Industries Are Eager for Them, by Peter EavisTrump, an E.V. Naysayer, Gives Tesla and Musk a White House Exhibition, by Tyler PagerMusk Seeks to Put $100 Million Directly Into Trump Political Operation, by Theodore Schleifer and Maggie HabermanHe Voices Porky Pig, and That’s Not All, Folks, by Carlos AguilarTune in every weekday morning. To get our full audio journalism and storytelling experience, download the New York Times Audio app — available to Times news subscribers on iOS — and sign up for our weekly newsletter.Tell us what you think at: [e-mail]. 

From the New York Times, it's the headlines. I'm Tracy Mumford. Today is Wednesday, March 12th. Here's what we're covering. Now is this the first step on the road to a total shutdown? Yes, actually it is because that was the president's mandate. This directive to me clearly is to shut down the Department of Education. The Trump administration's effort to radically upend the federal government has reached the

Education Department. The department announced yesterday that it's firing more than 1,300 workers, bringing staffing levels down to half of what they were when President Trump took office. In an interview on Fox News, Trump's new secretary of education, Linda McMahon, said a total elimination of the agency is in the works. Better education is closest to the kids, with parents, with local superintendents, with local school boards. McMahon said state and local governments should be the ones overseeing the education system

instead. Despite the gutting, McMahon said several functions of the department will continue in some form, including managing federal student loans, tracking student achievement, and distributing funds for special needs students. But the president of the country's largest teachers union warned the cuts will raise the costs of higher education and that, quote, the real victims will be our most vulnerable students. Some of the steepest cuts to the department have hit its Office of Civil Rights. If the administration moves to shut the department down completely,

as it is said it intends to, that will be a direct challenge to the authority of Congress, which created the department and by law would have to agree to close it down. And in another major cut, the Times has learned that the Environmental Protection Agency is shutting down its environmental justice offices. They were stationed across the country and tasked with addressing high levels of pollution in poor and minority communities. Those communities are often located near highways, industrial plants, and other areas that can lead to health issues.

An EPA spokeswoman said closing the offices will save money and that it's part of Trump's push to roll back DEI initiatives. Even before the cuts, the administration was already turning away from this kind of work. Last week, it dropped a federal lawsuit against a chemical plant in Louisiana. The suit had claimed the plant was driving up cancer rates among black residents who live nearby. Now, three quick updates on stories we've been tracking.

The U.S. announced it will immediately restart military aid to Ukraine after the two countries met for talks yesterday about how to end the war with Russia. As part of the negotiations, the U.S. and Ukraine also settled on a 30-day ceasefire proposal that Secretary of State Marco Rubio said they'll now send to Moscow. And we hope that they'll say yes, that they'll say yes to peace. The ball is now in their court and we hope the Russians will reciprocate. In Washington, On this vote, the yeas are 217, the nays are 213.

House Republicans narrowly passed their stopgap funding measure to head off a government shutdown. The bill's now headed to the Senate for what will likely be another close vote. If it passes, it will keep the government funded until September 30th. If not, a shutdown will begin Friday at midnight. And on the trade front, President Trump's new 25 percent tariffs on foreign steel and aluminum went into effect this morning. Trump put similar tariffs in place during his first term.

And my colleague Peter Eves says that U.S. steel and aluminum companies are glad to have them back. They say that they will give them protection from cheap imports that are being, in their view, dumped in the United States at below market prices. And they will be able to invest more in their plants and hire more people. This happened to some extent during the first Trump administration, but it remains to be seen whether it will happen again. to be seen whether it will happen again. When it comes to consumers, trade groups are warning that the tariffs on metals could lead to higher prices on cars, tools, canned goods and other products. Meanwhile.

What's your best of these cars? What do you think? Well, the car that I drive is the Model S Platinum. Which is that one? That red one in the middle. I like that, yeah. President Trump put on an extraordinary show yesterday to help boost Tesla, Elon Musk's electric car company.

In what was part press conference, part sales pitch, Trump showed off five Tesla models parked in the White House's driveway. He's built this great company and he shouldn't be penalized because he's a patriot. He's an incredible patriot. Trump said he didn't like that Musk has taken a lot of criticism in recent weeks as the face of the administration's massive cuts. Tesla and its vehicles have become a target. There's been vandalism at dealerships and slumping sales.

In defending Musk, Trump even announced he was buying one of the cars. I'm president, so I want to pay full price. While there are rules against executive branch employees promoting or endorsing products on behalf of friends or relatives, they do not apply to the president. On Musk's part, he has signaled to Trump's advisors in recent days that he wants to put $100 million into Trump's political operation. It's not exactly clear what the money will go towards, but it could be used to help boost candidates who support the president's agenda. During the last election, Musk spent close to three hundred million dollars backing Trump.

And finally, this week, the first fully animated Looney Tunes original movie will hit theaters. Space Jam doesn't count. In this movie, Daffy Duck and Porky Pig will be getting their star moment. It's also a breakout moment for the actor doing their voices. We have to act fast and there's only one person that can do the job. Most of the iconic Looney Tunes voices were created nearly 90 years ago by Mel Blank. He was dubbed the man of a thousand voices and he did all of the big ones for decades and decades. Bugs Bunny, Tweety, Yosemite Sam, Taz. But the time sat down with the performer who is taking up the mantle, Eric Bauza. Listen, Buster! Don't listen to that other guy.

Listen to me. I know what I'm talking about. Bauza voices Daffy and Porky in the new movie called The Day the Earth Blew Up. He got into the film industry first as an animator, but said he's done funny voices ever since he was a kid, and a few years ago, when he was asked to audition for a Looney Tunes project, he fully committed. He brought carrots into the studio and ate them while doing the bugs voice. Still, Bowser says his actual dream is to come up with an entirely new voice that will become as famous as the characters he's doing now. Doing all these voices is getting me tired. And on that note, that's all folks.

Those are the headlines. Today on The Daily, a look at the epicenter of the measles outbreak in West Texas. That's next in the New York Times audio app, or you can listen wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Tracy Mumford. We'll be back tomorrow.