Here’s a look at what made news on March 18, 2025.

• A federal judge in Washington D.C. issued a preliminary injunction halting President Trump’s ban on transgender troops serving in the military. U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes, appointed by Joe Biden, temporarily blocked the enforcement of the ban pending litigation.
• The Trump administration released thousands of previously classified records related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Many of these documents were disclosed during Biden’s administration.
• President Trump’s ban on transgender military service members was indefinitely blocked by US District Judge Ana Reyes, citing bias.
• Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty sued the Trump administration over its cancellation of their contract and the subsequent freezing of their funding.
• President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin have begun discussions regarding a ceasefire in Ukraine.
• The two Democratic commissioners at the Federal Trade Commission, Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, were dismissed by President Trump.
• Lawyers reacted critically to President Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act for the deportation of five Venezuelan immigrants, urging a federal appeals court to uphold a previous judge’s order blocking their removal.
• US District Judge James Boasberg gave the Justice Department until Wednesday to provide more information about deportations carried out under President Trump’s wartime authority.
• The Trump administration’s decision to dismantle the U.S. Institute of Peace, a congressionally funded independent nonprofit, has drawn controversy.
• Vice President JD Vance assumed the role of finance chairman for the Republican National Committee.
• The Trump administration’s shutdown of the U.S. Agency for International Development was deemed unconstitutional by a federal judge.
• Judge James Boasberg challenged the Trump administration’s deportation of immigrants.
• Lawyers for the Trump administration defended the deportation of hundreds of alleged gang members to El Salvador.
• Federal agencies have begun the process of reinstating employees who were fired under Trump’s administration following court orders.
• Trump’s immigration policies have led to an increase in U.S. citizens getting caught up in immigration raids.
• President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin have begun negotiations for a ceasefire in Ukraine.
• A French politician suggested the U.S. return the Statue of Liberty, questioning whether the country still upholds the values it represents.
• Democrats are struggling to strategize for the party’s future amid disputes over a spending bill as President Trump reshapes the U.S. domestically and internationally.