MSN

President Donald Trump's Department of the Interior and its secretary, Doug Burgum, have appealed after Judge Cynthia Rufe invoked George Orwell's dystopian novel "1984" to order the return of a slavery exhibit to the museum on the site of former President George Washington's home in Philadelphia.

"As if the Ministry of Truth in George Orwell's 1984 now existed, with its motto 'Ignorance is Strength,' this Court is now asked to determine whether the federal government has the power it claims—to dissemble and disassemble historical truths when it has some domain over historical facts. It does not," Rufe wrote in a Monday ruling.

Businessman Les Wexner is expected to face a barrage of questions from lawmakers Wednesday as part of their ongoing probe into Jeffrey Epstein, and one law expert predicted the session to be an explosive and “uncomfortable process” for the aging billionaire and longtime Epstein associate.

“It seems like [lawmakers] are very interested, at least getting to the substance of Les Wexner’s relationship here,” said Anthony Marcum, lawyer and assistant professor at Capital University Law School, speaking with ABC 6 in its report Wednesday.

President Donald Trump's longtime economic adviser Kevin Hassett suggested on CNBC Wednesday that the economists at the New York Fed who produced an analysis revealing 90 percent of Trump's tariffs are paid by U.S. companies and consumers, should face punishment of some kind.

"The paper is an embarrassment. It's, I think, the worst paper I've ever seen in the history of the Federal Reserve System," said Hassett, who was recently in the running for Trump's next nominee to lead the Fed. "The people associated with this paper should presumably be disciplined, because what they've done is they've put out a conclusion that has created a lot of news, that's highly partisan, based on analysis that wouldn't be accepted in a first-semester econ class."

Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo floated a blatantly unconstitutional suggestion for President Donald Trump to get a Republican voter suppression law passed, and a GOP congressman said he'd look into it.

House Republicans passed the SAVE America Act, which would require documented proof of citizenship to vote and potentially disenfranchise millions of eligible voters, but the Trump-backed bill has run into Democratic opposition in the Senate, where it lacks the votes to overcome the 60-vote filibuster threshold.

On her Monday night broadcast, Rachel Maddow opened with what she called a Presidents’ Day “present” for history lovers: a federal judge ordering the Trump administration to restore references to slavery at the President’s House site in Philadelphia’s Independence National Historical Park. Maddow walked viewers through the fraught history of the long-lost home where George Washington and John Adams once lived, "— while Adams was not a slaveholder, George Washington was," said Maddow. She then blasted Trump’s effort to scrub that truth from public view. In a stinging ruling that invoked George Orwell's 1984, a George W. Bush appointed judge declared the government cannot, “assemble and disassemble historic truths” at will. The injunction forces the administration to put the slavery exhibits back, delivering what Maddow gleefully framed as a court-ordered restoration of reality.

Last year, President Donald Trump’s first State of the Union address since retaking the White House was met with vocal opposition from Democratic lawmakers, but next week on Tuesday, Democrats have a new plan to push back against the president with an unprecedented “break with tradition,” The New York Times reported Wednesday.

Last March, Democratic lawmakers were seen sporting signs with labels like “False” and “Save Medicaid” to protest Trump’s first State of the Union since retaking office, and Rep. Al Green (D-TX) was ejected from the chamber after interrupting the president’s address.

Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) tried to score points Monday by blasting California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) ahead of a planned trip to Nashville, but instead got scorched in return. Blackburn, who’s running for governor, accused Newsom of turning California into “the most unaffordable [state] in America” and warned Tennesseans against his radical leftist policies. Newsom shot back, calling out Tennessee’s violent crime rate and highlighting California’s higher incomes, longer life expectancy and overall quality of life. “Time to turn Tennessee blue,” he added. The clash comes as Newsom ramps up his national profile, openly criticizing Trump abroad. "Donald Trump is temporary. He'll be gone in three years," Newsom said at a summit over climate policy in the U.K., adding that California will be "stable and reliable." Newsom is visiting Tennessee to meet with former Californians who have moved there.

Watch the video below.

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) may have been disbanded months ago, but some of the staffers who were on board by billionaire Elon Musk to make good on his promise to dramatically slash government spending are reportedly still hard at work at the Office of Personnel Management (OPM).

According to Politico’s Sophia Cai, the “task of overhauling the federal workforce continues" despite reports the fact that DOGE came up woefully short of its goals, with the Wall Street Journal reporting it had a negligible impact.