Happy New Year 2025

Tag: cutting

Into the ring: Trump education chief pick McMahon to testify on cutting ‘red tape’ amid DOGE sweeps

FIRST ON FOX: Linda McMahon, the former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and President Donald Trump’s pick to head the Department of Education, will testify before the Senate on Thursday, centering her opening remarks around creating “a better future for every American learner.”

The Trump nominee, who was tapped in November, will kick off her confirmation process during a hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee on Thursday morning. Republican Sens. Tim Scott of South Carolina and Katie Britt of Alabama will introduce McMahon before the hearing, Fox News has learned.

McMahon will focus her remarks on enacting Trump’s vision with the idea that “education is the issue that determines our national success and prepares American workers to win the future,” according to an excerpt of her opening remarks, shared first with Fox News Digital.

“I would like to thank President Trump for his confidence in me to lead a Department whose mission and authority were a special focus of his campaign. He pledged to make American education the best in the world, return education to the states where it belongs, and free American students from the education bureaucracy through school choice,” McMahon will say in her opening remarks.

TRUMP EDUCATION DEPT LAUNCHES PROBE INTO ‘EXPLOSION OF ANTISEMITISM’ AT 5 UNIVERSITIES

Linda McMahon arrives for a meeting in Washington, D.C. (Valerie Plesch/Bloomberg)

McMahon is being boosted to head the department that Trump has suggested he wants to dismantle during his term, recently saying that if McMahon is confirmed, he wants her to “put herself out of a job.”

Trump said Wednesday just hours ahead of McMahon’s hearing that he wanted to close the Education Department “immediately.”

“It’s a big con job,” he said. “They ranked the top countries in the world. We’re ranked No. 40, but we’re ranked No. 1 in one department: cost per pupil. So, we spend more per pupil than any other country in the world, but we’re ranked No. 40.”

His comments came as Trump’s executive agency, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) run by Elon Musk, continues its financial audit of the federal government.

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McMahon previously served as the administrator of the Small Business Administration during Trump’s first term before stepping down in 2019 to “return to the private sector.”

She plans to say during her opening remarks Thursday, “My experience as a business owner and leader of the Small Business Administration, as a public servant in the state of Connecticut, and more than a decade of service as a college trustee has taught me to put parents, teachers, and students, not bureaucracy, first.”

“Outstanding teachers are tired of political ideology in their curriculum and red tape on their desks. This is why school choice is a growing movement across the nation: it offers teachers and parents an alternative to classrooms that are micromanaged from Washington, D.C.”

President Donald Trump shakes hands with Linda McMahon after announcing her resignation on March 29, 2019. (Joshua Roberts)

The Trump nominee also plans to highlight antisemitism in schools and the issue of biological males competing in women’s and girls’ sports.

“If I am confirmed, the department will not stand idly by while Jewish students are attacked and discriminated against,” her remarks read. “It will stop forcing schools to let boys and men into female sports and spaces. And it will protect the rights of parents to direct the moral education of their children.”

In her opening remarks, McMahon will note that “many Americans today are experiencing a system in decline” but that “the opportunity before us these next four years is momentous.”

Linda McMahon speaks at the Republican National Convention on July 18, 2024. (Mike Segar)

“It is my great honor to announce that Linda McMahon, former Administrator of the Small Business Administration, will be the United States Secretary of Education,” Trump said in his nomination announcement in November.

Before being tapped to head the Education Department, McMahon founded WWE with her husband in 1980, which has grown into a global wrestling entertainment network.

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“As Secretary of Education, Linda will fight tirelessly to expand ‘Choice’ to every State in America, and empower parents to make the best Education decisions for their families,” the press release added. “Linda served for two years on the Connecticut Board of Education, where she was one of fifteen members overseeing all Public Education in the State, including its Technical High School system.”

After McMahon’s confirmation hearing, the committee will schedule a vote on whether to advance her nomination to a full floor vote.

Aubrie Spady is a Writer for Fox News Digital.

February 13, 2025
LARRY KUDLOW: Don’t believe the fake news, Trump is cutting spending and the bureaucracy

The Beltway swamp hates it, but President Donald Trump is bound and determined to shrink the federal budget and its massive deficit, and to shrink the 2 million-plus federal workforce.

A score of liberal news outlets are all claiming that Trump’s directive to freeze certain federal spending was rescinded on Wednesday. Except, no such thing took place.

A memo from the Office of Management and Budget was pulled back, mainly because it was badly written.

Take the headline from the Washington Post, for example: “Trump White House rescinds order freezing federal spending, reversing course.”

But Mr. Trump’s executive order to put a hold on various grants, loans, and credits that have not yet been spent or dispersed continues to stand.

He still wants to freeze and then review funding for things like Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) and the Green New Deal.

He is still going after the misnamed Inflation Reduction Act and a whole bunch of other programs that are based on some kind of status called “disadvantaged businesses or communities.”

DEI and affirmative action strike again, but they are both illegal. And the President is well within his executive authority.

‘Kudlow’ panelists Sandra Smith, Taylor Riggs and John Carney evaluate the White House’s efforts to stop government waste.

In other words, he’s not pulling back. And it’s the executive order that counts.

Not to mention, all this could save close to $1 trillion in federal spending and deficits.

As far as shrinking the federal workforce, another Trump executive order provides a generous eight-month severance package to workers who want to resign, rather than work for the administration.

Once again, while the liberal media and the Washington swamp howl, Mr. Trump absolutely has the authority to do this under the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978. Hat-tip to the Wall Street Journal editorial page for pointing this out.

The President can redesignate jobs if the role involves policymaking at any level, be it a Cabinet secretary or an assistant secretary or a mid-level career bureaucrat.

And Mr. Trump is restoring a job category known as “Policy/Career,” which was formerly known as “Schedule F”. Which allows him to say: if you disagree with my policy agenda, and you work against it, you’re fired.

Well, over 50,000 civil servants will have to deal with this. And over two million civil servants will have to figure out if they want to resign or not.

Odds are, 5 to 10% will resign. That alone could save taxpayers $100 billion.

If you want to stay in the game, you have to show up for work and toe the line for President Trump’s election mandate for policy change.

And don’t listen to any fake news.

January 30, 2025
Trump blasts Fed, Jerome Powell for not cutting interest rates

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., discusses the importance of cutting the federal budget on ‘Making Money.’

President Donald Trump unleashed on the Federal Reserve and Chair Jerome Powell on Wednesday, after the central bank decided to hold interest rates steady rather than making a cut, as the president had wanted.

“Because Jay Powell and the Fed failed to stop the problem they created with Inflation, I will do it by unleashing American Energy production, slashing Regulation, rebalancing International Trade, and reigniting American Manufacturing, but I will do much more than stopping Inflation, I will make our Country financially, and otherwise, powerful again!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

President Donald Trump (CHIP SOMODEVILLA/POOL/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)

“The Fed has done a terrible job on Bank Regulation,” the president continued. “Treasury is going to lead the effort to cut unnecessary Regulation, and will unleash lending for all American people and businesses. If the Fed had spent less time on DEI, gender ideology, ‘green energy, and fake climate change, Inflation would never have been a problem. Instead, we suffered from the worst Inflation in the History of our Country!”

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This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

January 29, 2025
Starbucks cutting 30% of its menu

‘Barron’s Roundtable’ panelists offer their economic outlook and analyze Starbucks and Chipotle stock.

Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol reaffirmed his commitment to simplifying the coffee chain’s menu on Tuesday, revealing plans to cut 30% of its food and beverage offerings.

“In the coming months, you’ll see us begin to optimize our menu offerings, resulting in a roughly 30% reduction in both beverages and food SKUs by the end of fiscal year 2025,” Niccol told analysts on an earnings call.

Niccol – just five months on the job – said the company will still respond to customer trends and their changing preferences in order to innovate its selection of beverages and food.

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Niccol took over the struggling coffee chain from former CEO Laxman Narasimhan in September and, in short order, announced several changes to its stores, including bringing back the condiment bar. Niccol also said the company would revert cafes back to their former “coffee house” aesthetic with “personal touches” like mugs and sharpies, all in an effort to reverse a slump in sales and declining foot traffic.

Part of his immediate strategy also included simplifying the coffee chain’s “overly complex menu” to better align with its identity as a coffee house company, separating mobile order pickup from the cafe experience, and fixing its pricing architecture. Niccol also told FOX Business in an exclusive interview in December that he aims to make pricing on its app more transparent.

A barista pours steamed milk into a beverage cup at a Starbucks cafe. (Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)

“We’ve been focused on simplifying our menu to position partners for success, improve consistency, drive customer satisfaction, and enhance our economics,” Niccol told analysts. “As part of this work, we made some late simplifications to our holiday product lineup and believe we have more opportunities ahead as we follow a disciplined stage-gate process to innovate and bring to market fewer better beverage and food offerings that reflect our premium positioning.”

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SBUX STARBUCKS CORP. 107.10 +6.69 +6.66%

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On Monday, the condiment bars – which were removed during the COVID-19 pandemic – returned to Starbucks locations throughout the U.S. and Canada, offering customers the ability to add their own creamer, milk and sweeteners.

The Starbucks logo is displayed on a cup and bag at a Starbucks store on October 29, 2021, in San Francisco. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images / Getty Images)

Baristas also began to put “any” drinks ordered “for here” in coffee mugs, glasses or a customers’ personal cup. The company also brought back free refills of hot brewed or iced coffee, or hot or iced tea for dine-in customers during the same visit.

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In November, the coffee giant also stopped charging customers for soy milk, oat milk, almond milk and coconut milk at company-owned and operated locations in the U.S. and Canada. The move resulted in a 10% price drop for customers that customize their drinks with non-dairy milk, according to the company,

As part of its strategy to improve workforce morale, the company plans to double its paid parental leave benefits this spring. For some workers, it’s as much as three times the original amount.

January 29, 2025