What's Happening

Politics

Your Washington Debrief: Tariffs, SCOTUS, and Mayors Taking a Stand

What's going on: After President Donald Trump’s address to Congress, there’s a lot going on in politics. Here’s what happened yesterday (yes, it all went down in one day)… 

• Tariff whiplash: President Trump has reversed course on trade faster than you can refresh your news feed. Not 48 hours after declaring 25% tariffs on all products from Mexico and Canada, he backtracked — granting a one-month reprieve on auto imports. The reversal comes after automakers warned tariffs could disrupt supply chains and drive up car prices by more than $10,000. Meanwhile, Trump's broader global tariffs plan is set to roll out on April 2. Businesses — from Ford to Target — warn the higher import costs will hit the economy hard, with most of the burden falling on consumers.

• SCOTUS says “not so fast”: In its first major break with Trump since his return to office, the Supreme Court rejected his push to freeze nearly $2 billion in foreign aid. Some analysts say this signals that the Court — despite its conservative majority — might not just rubber-stamp Trump’s policies. With multiple legal challenges to his executive orders and budget cuts piling up, this ruling could signal more pushback ahead. Democrats, meanwhile, are calling the Supreme Court’s decision a win, saying it proves Trump can’t bypass Congress-approved spending.

• Sanctuary city showdown: Democratic mayors from cities like Chicago and Boston defended their immigration policies before Congress. During the fiery hearing, they pushed back against Republican claims that undocumented immigrants fuel violence. The mayors said that, despite an influx of migrants from GOP-led states, crime rates have dropped. Decades of research backs them: Studies have found immigrants are less likely than those born in America to commit crimes. Chicago’s Mayor Brandon Johnson noted: “Scapegoating entire communities is not only misleading, it is unjust and it is beneath us.”

Related: The Trump Administration Just Dropped a Lawsuit Aiming To Guarantee Abortion Access in Emergency Rooms (CNN)

Education

A Billion-Dollar Shift: How Texas Could Reshape School Choice in America

What's going on: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) is making his biggest push yet for school vouchers, backing a $1 billion program that would give tens of thousands of students taxpayer-funded scholarships for private school tuition. Abbott has spent years reshaping the Texas Legislature, including backing challengers to unseat Republicans who opposed vouchers. Now, with the support of President Trump (who just signed an executive order to boost private school vouchers) and Elon Musk, Abbott is closer than ever to making the voucher program happen. But there’s a plot twist: A rare alliance between Democrats and rural Republicans is trying to block the effort. Critics say the plan won’t actually help low-income families, since vouchers often don’t cover the full cost of private tuition and tend to benefit students already in private school. Public school leaders also warn it could drain resources from an already underfunded system.

What it means: If passed, this would be the largest school voucher program in US history, giving over 5 million public school students potential access to private school funding. (Though budget officials say only a fraction of the students would leave for private schools in the program’s first year.) It could also set a precedent for other GOP-led states looking to follow suit. Wyoming just joined the school choice club, signing a bill into law Tuesday. Louisiana, Alabama, and South Carolina have already expanded theirs this year, and at least 13 states now offer universal vouchers. Meanwhile, Texas Republicans who stand in the way of the bill could face political blowback, with Trump and Musk pressuring lawmakers to pass the measure. Still, debates over funding, eligibility, and accountability could thwart the plan.

Related: Trump’s Education Secretary Linda McMahon Lays Out “Final” Assignment (ABC News)

Parenting

Parents: It's Time To Talk to the Chatbot, Sweetie

What's going on: Forget screen time limits, some parents are pushing AI chatbots on their kids. Mastering AI is quickly becoming one of the most sought-after job skills, and parents are trying to get ahead of the curve by introducing bots like ChatGPT and DALL-E to their young children (think: elementary school age). But it’s not necessarily just about acing math quizzes or writing history reports. In structured, supervised settings, parents are teaching kids how to use AI for creativity and critical thinking. One parent told The Guardian her kids use AI to build recipes, plan trips, and even reimagine Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off” from the perspective of a squirrel. Sounds like a new era, indeed.

What it means: There are still a lot of unknowns about artificial intelligence and how it will continue to evolve — especially as the technology remains largely unregulated. Companies like OpenAI and Google have also said their bots aren’t for children younger than 13. Meanwhile, not all parents are ready to chat. A 2023 Ipsos poll found that nearly a third of parents want AI tools banned from schools. Some experts worry that an overreliance on the tech could impact kids’ cognitive development. Then there’s the darker side of AI, including allegations that one chatbot pushed a teenager to suicide. One expert (who has introduced their kid to ChatGPT) says, “children can actually learn effectively from AI, as long as the AI is designed with learning principles in mind.”

Related: How AI Is Changing the Way Students Read and Write (USA Today)