Good morning, and welcome to The Epoch Times News Brief for Wednesday, January 29, 2025. I’m Bill Thomas, we have some urgent stories to share with you right now, and here’s what’s happening nationally and around the world.
A federal judge issues a critical ruling regarding President Donald Trump’s plan to freeze most federal financial assistance; the president issues a stern warning about a revolutionary new Chinese AI app, and a number of federal employees have just been placed on leave for allegedly trying to circumvent the president’s orders.
Also, Republican challengers are hopeful after a key Democratic senator says he won’t run for reelection, and a NATO ally says they’re beefing up their military to protect a strategic Arctic island.
Judge Blocks Trump’s Plan to Freeze Federal Aid
A U.S. district judge in Washington has just temporarily blocked part of President Donald Trump’s directive to pause federal loans, grants, and other financial assistance, shortly before it was scheduled to take effect.The judge granted what’s called a “brief administrative stay” which maintains the status quo and puts a hold on the order until next Monday, when another hearing will be held to determine the next steps for the case. The move was made after a number of advocacy groups and several Democratic state attorneys general filed lawsuits against the administration to stop the order.
The freeze would have had no impact on Social Security benefits or Medicare payments.
The order would have potentially impacted billions or even trillions of dollars in grants to both state and local governments. It said that all grants and loans would have been placed on hold while the Trump administration determined whether or not they were aligned with the president’s priorities.
When they initially announced the move, the OMB said that using federal resources for policies which are at odds with the president’s agenda “is a waste of taxpayer dollars that does not improve the day-to-day lives” of the American people.
The OMB also pointed out that during the last fiscal year, the federal government spent nearly $10 trillion, and that more than $3 trillion was devoted to financial assistance such as grants and loans.
Additionally, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) called the move “a heist done on a national scale.” He went on to say that “the president does not have the authority to ignore the law” and that Democrats are going to fight the order in every way they can.
Trump: China’s DeepSeek a ‘Wake-Up Call’ for US Tech Companies
Trump is calling the recent release of DeepSeek AI a “wake-up call” for our country’s tech industries, and he says that from now on, they need to be “laser-focused” on competing to develop similar innovations.As a reminder, DeepSeek’s breakthrough allows for faster and cheaper AI processing, and Trump said it was very surprising that the innovation did not come from a U.S. company.
He went on to say that the U.S. has the greatest scientists in the world, that we always have the best ideas, and that when you hear somebody come up with something, we’re always first.
The president also expressed some cautious optimism that U.S. companies could harness the same technology. He said that nobody really knows if the company’s reported training costs are as cheap as they say, but that if the claims are true, he views that as a positive development, because our tech companies will soon be doing that as well.
He went on to say that we’re going to “unleash our tech companies, and we’re going to dominate the future like never before.”
Federal Employees Put on Leave After Allegedly Trying to Circumvent Trump’s Orders
Those employees, who work with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), have just been placed on administrative leave because they allegedly tried to find a way to work around executive orders issued by President Donald Trump.The agency’s acting administrator says the employees will receive full pay and benefits while they’re not working and their actions are analyzed.
It is not clear how many USAID employees have been placed on leave, and the agency did not respond to a request for more information regarding the actions of the workers.
One official says that the agency’s decision both “undermines our national security and emboldens our adversaries.” He says that instead of focusing on China, North Korea, or Russia, the Trump Administration is going after public servants who have served multiple administrations—including the first Trump administration.
For the record, USAID is an independent federal agency that leads U.S. efforts regarding humanitarian assistance to other countries, including providing resources to farmers and helping establish schools.
Additionally, a number of Republicans have been critical of some of the agency’s priorities, and some are even calling for the agency to be “dismantled.”
Since taking office, Trump has signed a flurry of executive orders dealing with both USAID and the State Department, including one which suspended all U.S. foreign aid for 90 days. A recent memo informed staff members that the pause meant “a complete halt” to all spending, except for emergency humanitarian food assistance and officials returning to their duty stations.
Democratic Senator Not Running for Reelection
Democratic Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) has just announced that he will not be running for reelection in 2026, leading to a significant opportunity for the GOP to expand its current Senate majority.The 66-year-old says that he’s proud of the job he did in Congress, but that he always thought that the time would come to step aside and pass the reins to the next generation.
He also says that he never saw serving in Congress as something you do your whole life, that there are other things he wants to accomplish, and that there are other ways he can give back to the community.
By the way, Peters was first elected to the Senate in 2014 before narrowly winning reelection in 2020. During his time in Washington, he led the main campaign finance committee for Senate Democrats, and he also chaired the Senate Homeland Security Committee for nearly four years, beginning in February 2021.
Peters says that although he’s not leaving the political arena, he will not be running in next year’s Michigan gubernatorial primary, where current Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is term-limited and therefore cannot run for reelection; however, she is rumored to be interested in running for his soon-to-be-vacant Senate seat.
At the end of the day, Peters says “the great thing” about not running for reelection is that it allows him to be completely focused on his daily work as a U.S. senator before the end of his term and continue to fight for issues that are important to the people of Michigan.
Denmark to Spend $2 Billion Beefing Up Military Capabilities in Greenland
Denmark has just unveiled a more than $2 billion package to boost its military presence in Greenland, following repeated requests by Trump to acquire that semi-autonomous Danish territory.The money will pay for three new Arctic navy vessels, all of which will be equipped with helicopters and drones. The Danish government says they also plan to permanently place two long-range drones in Greenland which have the ability to conduct what they call “detailed surveillance” over both large areas and great distances.
They also say the money will be spent on upgrading the facilities of the Joint Arctic Command in Greenland’s capital, Nuuk, as well as on extra satellite capacity and ground-based sensors to “strengthen situational awareness and intelligence.”
Denmark’s defense minister said that his country must “face the fact” that there are a number of serious challenges regarding security and defense in the North Atlantic region, and that because of that, his nation must strengthen their presence there.
The Danish Defense Ministry also pointed out that geopolitical tensions between Russia, China, and the United States have now spilled into the Arctic; that the goal of low tension in the region is under severe pressure; and that Denmark and Greenland must respond quickly to the increasingly tense security situation.
Just a reminder, Greenland is a semi-autonomous territory which runs its own domestic matters, but its foreign affairs—including defense—are controlled by Denmark. The island is also home to a large U.S. military base with missile warning and space-surveillance systems.
Additionally, the Arctic is the shortest path for intercontinental ballistic missiles between the United States and Russia, making Greenland a critical outpost amid rising global power rivalries.
And now, it looks like our time is just about up for today, so we’re gonna call it a wrap for the Wednesday edition of The Epoch Times News Brief.
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And finally, as we do each and every day on this program, we wrap everything up with a very notable quote and this one comes to us from Edgar Allan Poe, who said:
“I would define, in brief, the poetry of words as the rhythmical creation of Beauty.”
Poe was an American writer and poet, best known for his short stories and poems.
For all of us here at the Epoch Times News Brief, I’m Bill Thomas.
The Epoch Times News Brief program is written each day by David Ross.
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