News Report: August 29, 2025 - Trump’s Controversial Moves | News Glare

WASHINGTON, August 29, 2025 - President Donald Trump made a series of high-profile moves today that intensified the debate over presidential authority and congressional oversight.

1. Trump Dismisses Independent Agency Heads in Bid to Expand Executive Control In a span of three days this week, President Trump ordered the removals of three senior officials from bodies long considered insulated from direct political pressure: Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Susan Monarez, and Surface Transportation Board member Robert Primus. Administration spokespeople argue these firings fall within the president’s legal rights and are necessary to align agency leadership with his policy goals. However, legal scholars warn that targeting officials in positions designed to operate independently threatens to erode public confidence in institutions tasked with providing expert, non-partisan guidance to the federal government. “This is a concerning and unprecedented power grab by the president,” said Scott Stier, president of the Partnership for Public Service, an advocacy group focused on maintaining a professional civil service.

2. Trump Seeks to Cancel Nearly $5 Billion in Foreign Aid Without Congress Late Thursday, the White House notified lawmakers of its intent to rescind $4.9 billion in already-approved foreign assistance under the rarely used “pocket rescission” provision of the Impoundment Control Act. The package includes $3.2 billion for development programs, $838 million for U.N. peacekeeping, $520 million in U.N. contributions, and $322 million from the State Department’s Democracy Fund. The Office of Management and Budget described the action as consistent with Trump’s “America First” agenda. Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins (R-ME) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) condemned the move as an illegal usurpation of Congress’s power of the purse.

3. Appeals Court Rules Trump’s Emergency Tariffs Unlawful A federal appeals court today upheld a lower court decision finding that President Trump exceeded his authority in using a national-emergency declaration to impose broad tariffs on imports earlier this year. The ruling strikes a significant blow to Trump’s trade agenda by limiting the scope of emergency powers that he invoked to bypass congressional approval for higher duties on steel, aluminum, and a range of manufactured goods. White House officials signaled they will appeal to the Supreme Court, asserting that the president acted to protect vital U.S. industries from unfair foreign competition.

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