Trump Administration Domestic Policy

Two controversial federal‑agent shootings in Minneapolis — including the killing of Alex Pretti, where available video and officials’ accounts have challenged DHS’s initial claims and body‑worn camera footage remains under review — have sparked protests and intense scrutiny of DHS leadership. In response, DHS pulled Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino from the operation and installed border czar Tom Homan to lead Operation Metro Surge and meet with Gov. Tim Walz and Mayor Jacob Frey to press for targeted tactics and custody transfers, even as President Trump renewed public attacks on Minnesota officials within 48 hours.

FEMA has pre‑positioned 250,000 meals, 400,000 liters of water and 30 generators at Camp Minden, Louisiana, with shuttle drivers ready to move supplies from facilities in Pennsylvania, Texas, Louisiana and Georgia, and has 28 urban search‑and‑rescue teams on standby to deploy at governors’ request. The preparations come as forecasts warn a 2,300‑mile winter storm threatening more than 240 million people from Arizona to Maine has prompted thousands of flight cancellations and multiple state emergency declarations, amid concerns about FEMA’s capacity after staffing cuts under the Trump administration.

A Council on Criminal Justice study of 35 large U.S. cities found homicides fell 21% from 2024 to 2025 — the single‑largest one‑year drop in the dataset — amounting to roughly 922 fewer killings and leaving the sample's homicide rate about 25% below 2019 levels. Declines occurred in most cities (notable drops included Richmond 59%, Los Angeles 39% and New York City 10%; Denver, Omaha and Washington, D.C. saw 40%+ reductions while Little Rock rose 16%), and the report also found big drops in carjackings (61% since 2023), vehicle thefts (27%) and shoplifting (10%) with drug offenses edging up and experts attributing the turnaround to multiple factors like restored routines, targeted interventions, resumed court operations and broader investments.

The General Services Administration says that in the first year of President Trump’s second term it has generated more than $60 billion in federal contract savings and begun shrinking the government’s real‑estate footprint as part of the administration’s DOGE initiative. In a Tuesday announcement, Administrator Edward C. Forst said GSA has disposed of 90 federal properties—eliminating over 3 million square feet, avoiding an estimated $415 million in repairs and operations, raising $182 million from sales, and projecting another $730 million in lease and portfolio savings—while targeting 45 more high‑cost, underused buildings that could avert roughly $3 billion in future costs. Working with OMB, the Pentagon and NASA, GSA also completed what it calls a historic rewrite of the Federal Acquisition Regulation, cutting about one‑quarter of the rulebook (484 pages and 230,000 words) and removing more than 2,700 'shall' and 'must' mandates, alongside canceling over $500 million in underperforming contracts, trimming the federal vehicle fleet, and slashing compliance burdens for small vendors it says now can be onboarded in a single day. The agency further touts a 72% cut in the Federal Management Regulation, a 50% cut in the Federal Travel Regulation, elimination of 84 outdated bulletins, and projected $900 million in regulatory savings over a decade, while expanding use of Login.gov as part of a broader effort to reduce roughly $200 billion in annual improper payments. The claimed savings and aggressive deregulation are already drawing partisan praise as proof DOGE is delivering and quiet skepticism from watchdogs who note that headline 'savings' often rely on internal baselines and that easing procurement and property rules can also create new avenues for waste if oversight doesn’t keep pace.