Plus: Town halls heat up for right & left as voters express political frustration

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Good afternoon,

How’s everyone feeling? I ask because the latest World Happiness Report came out, and the U.S. sunk to its lowest ranking ever at #24. Topping the chart was Finland, for the 8th year in a row.

Experts attribute the U.S.’s drop to rising cost of living, financial uncertainty, and political polarization. Young adults under 30 years old seem to be driving the decline, citing that they feel "less supported by friends and family, less free to make life choices, and less optimistic about their living standards," said Julie Ray, managing editor of world news at Gallup, which conducts the survey.
Highs & Lows: Nordic nations make up the top four happiest countries. Finland stands out for its strong social support, trust in institutions, and optimism for the future.
- Afghanistan came in last, as the Taliban has made life especially difficult and prohibitive for women and girls.

The survey was conducted in July 2024 amid the disastrous Trump-Biden debate and the attempted assassination against Trump, so… I don’t blame Americans for feeling a bit gloomy. Hopefully you’ve all found ways to turn that frown upside down. I’ll be trying out a gratitude journal ✍️

Sari
Senior Producer

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🚨 ONE THING MO NEWS WAS IN THE ROOM FOR

Trump Signs Order To Dismantle Ed. Department: What Comes Next

President Donald Trump, surrounded by school-aged kids sitting in desks, signed an executive order this afternoon instructing the Secretary of Education to eliminate the agency after 45 years. Mo News was in the East Room for the signing, as Trump vowed to preserve Pell Grants, Title I funding for low-income students, and resources for children with disabilities.

McMahon and others have suggested moving disability programs to the Department of Health and Human Services, civil rights enforcement to the Justice Department, and student loans to the Treasury Department.

Trump acknowledged Thursday that the issue might come before lawmakers. Shortly after the signing, Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) announced that he will introduce legislation to shut the department down. Realistically, Trump does not have the congressional approval and a filibuster-proof supermajority of 60 votes in the Senate to officially eliminate the agency.

Even if Congress does not act, McMahon can still implement some major changes to reduce staffing and programs.

WHY DISMANTLE?
Republicans have felt for decades that the department is unnecessary and ineffective, and have been trying to dismantle it since it was created in 1979. McMahon recently said, "The Department of Education doesn't educate anyone. It doesn't hire teachers. It doesn't establish curriculum."

Republicans argue that the department pushes progressive agendas, bloats bureaucracy, and has failed to improve reading and math scores compared to other developed countries.

WHERE WE ARE
The Education Department has thousands of employees and a roughly $240 billion annual budget. McMahon has already moved to cut about half of the staff.

The Education Department enforces sexual misconduct cases and discrimination at schools. It also oversees national achievement tests and collects data about staffing, crime, and enrollment at schools.
90% of K-12 funding comes from the states. Federal funds primarily support low-income students through Title I programs — about 60% of public schools are eligible for — and students with disabilities.
‼️ The agency’s biggest job is running the $1.6 trillion federal student loan program. More than half of all undergraduates participate in it.

STUDENT LOAN QUESTIONS
However, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Thursday that a shrunken Education Department might still oversee student loans programs – which could create issues for the 40 million Americans who have federal student loans.

It comes as more than 8 million student loan borrowers are at risk of losing access to the SAVE plan, a Biden-era income-driven repayment program designed for more affordable payments and eventual loan forgiveness, after it was challenged in court by a group of Republican-led states.
Meanwhile, the Department of Education recently suspended all four of its most affordable federal repayment plans. Congress is also considering legislation to repeal SAVE, and the Trump administration could eliminate it through rule-making.

What to expect: Following Trump’s order, McMahon has the power to make some changes including more staff cuts, closing programs, rolling-back protections for LGBTQ students, and establishing a universal school choice program through the federal government.

🚨 ONE THING MAKING HEADLINES

Town Halls Heat Up As Voters Express Frustration With Trump, DOGE

Frustrated voters on both sides of the aisle are taking to town halls in droves to criticize their lawmakers and the federal government.

Nebraska Rep. Mike Flood (R) struggled to contain a fired-up town hall crowd of more than 200 people for over an hour. In Wyoming, Rep. Harriet Hageman (R) faced heckling and chants of “deport Elon” over her support for the government funding bill and DOGE’s cost-cutting efforts. She shot back to the crowd of hundreds, “It’s so bizarre to me how obsessed you are with federal government.”
- It’s gotten so bad that GOP leadership is encouraging lawmakers to avoid town halls.
Democrats are also facing exasperated constituents, angry that their party leaders are not pushing back on the Trump administration enough. In one of the more heated town halls in Maryland, a woman shouted, “You’re not fighting! We are suffering!” to Rep. Glenn Ivey (D).
- Democratic Sens. Ruben Gallego and Mark Kelly in Arizona faced criticism of Senate leadership after party infighting over the recently-passed stop-gap funding bill. In Oregon, Sen. Ron Wyden and Rep. Janelle Bynum heard that Democrats are “not willing to step up and fight.”

And that all happened just this week. Lawmakers have been facing angry constituents back home – mostly concerned with DOGE cuts – for weeks now.

DEMOCRATIC PLANTS?
Many of the people in the town halls are pretty obviously not Trump supporters. At Hageman’s Wednesday town hall people were yelling “January 6” and “tax the rich” — not typical Trump-voter frustrations. There have been accusations of Democratic plants, but there’s no clear evidence of that.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has claimed the hecklers are "professional protesters,” but it’s clear that’s not entirely true, if at all. At Hageman’s event Wednesday night, she fielded genuine questions in deeply red Wyoming about potential Social Security cuts, the pace of Trump’s moves to overhaul the federal workforce, and Elon Musk’s power.

By the numbers: Fox News polling highlights those concerns. While 44% of people believe a great deal of federal spending is wasteful, 65% are very or extremely concerned about the way the Trump administration is handling it.

Across the country, Trump is seeing approval ratings around 49%. By party, 92% of GOP voters support him — the exact percentage of Democrats who oppose him. Among independents, 38% approve, while 61% disapprove, according to Fox (NBC has independents’ approval a bit lower).

The same poll shows Congressional GOP approval standing at 43%, while Democrats are at just 30%.

DEMS FLIP THE SCRIPT
Despite being accused of coordination, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) seems to be happy with images and videos circulating from rowdy Republican town halls.

The DNC said Wednesday that it will launch billboards with lawmakers phone numbers in key Republican-held districts, encouraging constituents to demand public forums as the GOP warns against them.
Democratic groups are also organizing their own “People’s Town Halls,” aiming to further highlight voter frustrations.

⏳ SPEED READ

🚨NATION

📌 MO NEWS MENTIONED: Millions of Americans are turning to social media influencers for news. But they couldn't do their jobs without traditional journalists. (YAHOO)

📌 Federal judge blocks DOGE from accessing Social Security personal information for now (AP)

📌 Administration officials believe order lets immigration agents enter homes without warrants (NY TIMES)

📌 French scientist denied US entry after phone messages critical of Trump found (GUARDIAN)

🌎 AROUND THE WORLD

📌 Hamas fires first rockets since Israel broke recent ceasefire (NPR)

📌 Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney will call a snap election on Sunday with vote expected April 28 (AP)

📌 Hungary's parliament passes law banning Pride events in new assault on LGBTQ rights (NBC)

📌 Joshua Riibe, student last seen with Sudiksha Konanki, American student who disappearance in the Dominican Republic, detained in Puerto Rico after release from DR (NY POST)

📱BUSINESS, SCIENCE & TECH

📌 How to get a free Dairy Queen cone TODAY (AXIOS)

📌 NASA astronauts delayed in space for 9 months won’t get overtime pay (FOX)

📌 Home sales rose 4.2% in February, beating expectations (ABC)

📌 RFK, Jr. wants to let bird flu spread on poultry farms. Why experts are concerned (SCIENTIFIC AMERICA)

🎬 SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT

📌 Celtics sold for $6.1 billion, highest price in North American sports history (CBS)

📌 Snow White film is both 'bad' and 'captivating' say critics (BBC)

📌 ‘Coco 2’ set for 2029 release from Disney and Pixar (VARIETY)

ICYMI FROM THE 📲

In case you missed it… The Oval Office got a makeover. President Donald Trump gave a tour of his office to Fox News’ Laura Ingraham, showing off his latest changes — including adding gold finishes (shout-out to our Mo News Premium members who noticed this weeks ago!) and cherubs, displaying the original Declaration of Independence, and hanging additional presidential portraits.