Trump signs order tightening mail-in voting, drawing swift legal threats

2026-03-31 21:47:56 UTC / Reuters

By Nandita Bose

March 31, 2026 9:47 PM UTC Updated 11 mins ago

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Item 1 of 2 U.S. President Donald Trump speaks as he shows a signed executive order on mail ballots, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., March 31, 2026. REUTERS/Evan Vucci

[1/2]U.S. President Donald Trump speaks as he shows a signed executive order on mail ballots, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., March 31, 2026. REUTERS/Evan Vucci Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

• Summary

• Order directs use of federal data to verify voter eligibility in each state
• Order follows Trump’s unproven claims of voter fraud and push for tighter voting rules
• Critics call order unconstitutional, vow court challenges

WASHINGTON, March 31 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday tightening rules ‌on mail‑in voting nationwide, including directing his administration to compile a list of confirmed U.S. citizens eligible to vote in each state, drawing immediate threats of legal challenges from voting rights groups and Democrats.

The order would use federal data to help state election officials verify who is eligible ​to vote. It would also require absentee ballots to be sent only to voters on each state’s approved ​mail-in ballot list and mandate secure ballot envelopes with unique tracking barcodes.

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Trump said he did not ⁠see how the order could be successfully challenged in court, arguing only a judge could block it and complaining about ​what he called “rogue” and “very bad” judges.

“I don’t see how they can challenge it,” he said.

Voting rights groups, election experts and Democratic ​officials swiftly rejected that claim, saying federal efforts to force changes to state-run election systems would not survive in court.

“Not only is his order unconstitutional, it’s unserious,” NAACP President Derrick Johnson said in a statement. “This order will not stand.”

David Becker, head of the Center for Election Innovation & ​Research, said in a social media post the order was “clearly unconstitutional” and would be blocked immediately, adding Trump “might as well ​sign an EO banning gravity.”

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California Governor Gavin Newsom said on X that “The President wants to limit which Americans can participate in our democracy. California ‌will see ⁠him in court.”

The Republican president has for years pushed the false claim that his 2020 election defeat was the result of widespread voter fraud and has called for tighter rules on voting by mail ahead of the November midterm elections, when his party will be trying to defend its narrow majorities in Congress.

The order comes as the Senate weighs the SAVE America ​Act, a measure Trump has ​made a top priority, arguing ⁠it would help Republicans in the midterms.

The bill, which passed the House in February, would require proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote and a photo ID to cast a ​ballot. It faces long odds in the Senate, where Republicans lack the 60 votes needed ​to overcome Democratic ⁠opposition.

Trump’s vocal opposition to voting by mail did not stop him from casting his own vote that way in a special election in Florida last week. Asked about it, he said he cast a ballot by mail recently “because I’m president” and “I had a lot ⁠of different ​things” to do.

The president has previously used executive action to direct federal ​agencies to help states verify voter citizenship and sought to bar states from counting mail ballots received after Election Day, a direct challenge to election procedures ​traditionally set by the states.

Reporting by Nandita Bose in Washington; editing by Scott Malone, Michelle Nichols, Colleen Jenkins and Chris Reese

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Jamie Dimon says not supporting capitalism is “dead wrong” — and more highlights from CBS News interview

2026-03-31T18:10:00-0400 / CBS News

Jamie Dimon is defending capitalism in its hour of need.

In an interview with “CBS Evening News” anchor Tony Dokoupil, the JPMorgan Chase CEO rejects critiques of the country’s economic system as no longer benefiting a mass of Americans as “dead wrong.” Dimon acknowledged that capitalism has its drawbacks, but said it has helped lift “billions” out of poverty.

His remarks come as millions of Americans struggle with the high cost of living and with some polls showing a decline in positive views of capitalism. A recent CBS News poll also found that most Americans think it is harder to buy a home, raise a family and get a good job than it was for past generations.

Dimon spoke with Dokoupil following the launch of JPMorgan Chase’s new “American Dream” initiative, which will funnel tens of billions of dollars into local communities to support small businesses, affordable housing and job growth.

“Some people are selfish. Some are self-centered. Some are this. Some are that,” said Dimon, who is widely regarded as America’s most prominent banking industry CEO. “That’s true in a communist society or in a capitalist society. Some businesses do bad things, and it’s not because of capitalism.”

“Bad policy”

Still, while Dimon described the U.S. as a “prosperous nation” and said that Americans are better off than they were in the past, he acknowledged that the bottom third of income earners have seen less progress.

“Their incomes didn’t really go up very much,” he said. “They struggle more.”

The recent CBS News poll shows that 62% of Americans think opportunities are increasing for wealthy people, versus 16% who said the same for the middle class. Experts say such sentiments reflect the emergence of a so-called”K-shaped”economy in the U.S., which describes the divergent fortunes of wealthier people and those lower down the ladder.

Dimon blamed part of the affordability challenges many Americans face on “bad policy” that has failed to ignite economic growth, which he said has averaged around 2% for the last two decades.

“Had it been 3%, we [would have had] $20,000 per person more GDP. That would’ve paid for an awful lot,” he said, adding that growth is “what creates everything — capital formation, capital, R&D, investment, productivity.”

A need for affordable housing

To rev up economic activity, Dimon supports creating more affordable housing and boosting investment in local school districts.

Achieving those goals won’t be easy. To shore up the nation’s affordable housing supply, the JPMorgan CEO said the U.S. would need to rework the rules that dictate mortgage rates and remove barriers that make it more difficult and expensive to build homes.

“The reason we’re not building more affordable housing is because of local zoning requirements and mortgage origination — mortgage rules that made it so expensive to get a mortgage. We could reduce the cost of that mortgage,” he said.

Mortgage rates now stand at 6.38%, up 0.4 percentage points since the Iran war started on February 28. Meanwhile, the cost to build multifamily housing in states such as California is twice as much as in other states due to higher development fees and longer permitting processes, according to a report released last year by RAND, a nonpartisan research organization.

President Trump has called for a ban on institutional investors’ ability to buy single-family homes. But Dimon is skeptical that the proposal would have much of an impact.

“I hate to tell you this, it’s basically irrelevant…” he told CBS News. “Only 1% of the homes are owned by what you would call large companies. … I don’t think it’s gonna change any calculus.”

JPMorgan Chase prediction market?

Dimon also said JPMorgan Chase is assessing the growing demand for prediction markets, telling CBS News that “it’s possible one day we’ll do something like that.”

Still, JPMorgan Chase would draw the line at allowing customers to bet on sports and politics, as prediction markets do.

“There’s a bunch of stuff we won’t do. And obviously, we have strict rules around insider information,” Dimon said.

Asked by Dokoupil whether prediction markets are more for investing or gambling, Dimon said the platforms can be used for both purposes.

“I think for the most part, it’s more like gambling,” Dimon said. “But there are areas where you could say, ‘No, it’s investing.’ You are deeply knowledgeable. You’re taking the other side of a bet. And you think … you know better than the other person.”

AI will bring “huge benefits for society” — and risks

Dimon also touched on how he envisions artificial intelligence will reshape society. He predicts the technology could help develop treatments for disease, shrink the work week to three and a half days, and improve road and aviation safety, among other benefits.

“AI’s gonna cure cancers. It’s gonna come up with better materials. It’ll stop a lot of car crashes,” he said.

While the technology will improve people’s lives, AI could also disrupt parts of the job market, added Dimon, who stressed the importance of the public and private sectors joining forces to develop policies to address issues caused by AI.

“I do think AI in the long run will create huge benefits for society,” he said. “If it causes problems in the short run, let’s be prepared.”

Pain at the pump

With the Iran war entering its fifth week, Dimon admitted he is unsure if the conflict would tip the U.S. into a recession, saying that “what’s more important to the future of the world is that the war successfully conclude.”

He acknowledged that higher gas prices, which on Tuesday hit $4 a gallon for the first time since 2022, are “very unfortunate” and will cause hardship for many Americans.

“The gas prices are gonna hurt some folks,” he said, adding that “the sooner it gets properly resolved, the better.”

Jamie Dimon says “life will be better” with AI, but notes risks for workers

March 31, 2026 / 5:55 PM EDT / CBS News
By Mary Cunningham

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon thinks artificial intelligence will vastly improve people’s lives, predicting 3-and-a-half day work weeks and cures for cancer. But he also said the technology could disrupt the labor market, requiring public-private approaches for retraining workers.

“I believe that 30 years from now… your kids are probably working three and a half days a week. They’ll probably live to 100, and a lot of the diseases that afflicted a lot of us, they won’t get,” he told “CBS Evening News anchor” Tony Dokoupil.

“Life will be better,” Dimon added, touting what he sees as the technology’s potential benefits on everything from medical care to road safety.

“AI’s gonna cure cancers. It’s gonna come up with better materials. It’ll stop a lot of car crashes,” he said.

Yet the nation’s most prominent banking leader also acknowledged some of the adverse effects AI could have on the U.S. workforce.

“I mean, the world is getting very productive. AI’s gonna do that. The risk is if it is too fast,” Dimon said, echoing concerns from experts that the tech could replace millions of workers.

At the same time, Dimon also shares the view of many economists that AI will, over the long term, create more jobs than it destroys. The key for corporate and political leaders is to be prepared for those changes, he said, in part by ensuring that workers are shifted into new jobs or sectors as the economy demands.

“We take you, and we say, ‘Hey, there are other jobs for you. We’ll retrain you. We’ll move you,’” he said. “And it works. We have to do it in more scale.”

Dimon also said critical industries, such as advanced manufacturing companies, could benefit from a redeployment of workers into areas where labor is in short supply. He suggested that the government and business world should join forces to develop solutions to address any issues that arise as AI is embedded across the economy.

“I do think AI in the long run will create huge benefits for society,” he said. “If it causes problems in the short run, let’s be prepared.”

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/jamie-dimon-says-ai-will-shorten-work-week-to-3-5-days-cure-cancer/

Two-thirds of Americans want quick end to Iran war even if goals unachieved, Reuters/Ipsos poll finds

2026-03-31T21:03:49.772Z / Reuters

By Costas Pitas

March 31, 2026 9:03 PM UTC Updated 3 hours ago

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A view of a residential building damaged by a strike, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Tehran, Iran, March 27, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

March 31 (Reuters) – Two-thirds of Americans believe that the U.S. should work to end its involvement in the Iran war quickly, even if that ​means not achieving the goals set out by the ‌Trump administration, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found.

Some 66% of respondents to the poll, conducted Friday through Sunday, voiced that view, while 27% said the U.S. should work ​to achieve all its goals in Iran, even if the conflict ​goes on for an extended period. Six percent did not ⁠answer the question.

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Among Trump’s Republicans, 40% supported ending the conflict ​quickly even if it did not achieve U.S. goals, while 57% supported ​a longer involvement.

The month-long war has spread across the Middle East, killing thousands of people and has hit the global economy with soaring energy prices, fuelling global inflation fears.

A ​total of 60% of respondents said they disapproved of U.S. military ​strikes on Iran, while 35% approved in the survey of 1,021 people.

One of the ‌war’s ⁠most visible effects in the U.S. has been the rising cost of gasoline, which rose above $4 a gallon on Monday for the first time in more than three years, data from price tracking service GasBuddy ​showed.

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Two in three ​respondents said they ⁠expected gas prices to worsen over the next year, including 40% of Republicans.

Trump’s Republicans face voters in ​November for midterm elections that will decide whether ​they can ⁠hold onto slim majorities in the House and Senate. The incumbent president’s party tends to lose seats in Congress in midterm elections.

More than half ⁠of ​respondents thought the conflict will have a ​mostly negative impact on their personal financial situation, including 39% of Republicans surveyed.

Reporting by ​Costas Pitas in Los Angeles; Editing by Scott Malone and Deepa Babington

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

万科去年录得创纪录亏损 债务压力加剧

2026年4月1日 07:13 / 联合早报

万科去年录得886亿元人民币的创纪录亏损。 （路透社档案照）

万科去年录得886亿元（人民币，下同，约165亿新元）的创纪录亏损，凸显在大量债务即将到期之际，这家中国房地产开发商面临的问题正在加剧。

综合第一财经和彭博社报道，万科星期二（3月31日）发布的财报显示，2025年实现营收2334亿元，同比下降31.98%；归母净利润为-885.56亿元，同比下降78.98%；资产总额约1.02万亿元，负债总额约7847.62亿元，净负债率约123.48%，同比上升42.88个百分点。

这一业绩较公司此前预期更差，也是万科自1991年上市以来第二次出现全年亏损。

具体来看，万科房地产开发项目结算规模显著下降，毛利率仍处低位，约为8.1%。报告期内，万科的房地产开发业务结算利润主要对应2023年、2024年销售的项目及2025年消化的现房和准现房库存。这些项目的地价获取成本较高，销售情况和毛利率均低于投资预期，导致报告期结算毛利总额大幅减少。

此外，导致亏损的原因还包括业务风险敞口升高，新增计提了信用减值和资产减值；部分经营性业务扣除折旧摊销后整体亏损，以及部分非主业财务投资亏损；部分大宗资产交易和股权交易价格低于账面值。

万科在过去两个财年的累计亏损超过1300亿元。

在中国持续多年的房地产危机冲击下，万科的流动性承压，大股东深圳地铁集团已减少支持。股票投资者同样选择撤离，导致万科的港股跌至该公司十多年前在香港上市以来的纪录低点附近。在大陆市场，其股价也徘徊在近二十年来的低点。

Trump advisers fear GOP midterm losses as gas prices spike

March 31, 2026 / 7:40 PM EDT / CBS News

By Jennifer Jacobs, Jennifer Jacobs
Olivia Rinaldi

Jennifer Jacobs is a senior White House reporter at CBS News.

Read Full Bio

Jennifer Jacobs, Olivia Rinaldi

Olivia Rinaldi is a White House reporter at CBS News. She covered President Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign and was previously an associate producer for “CBS Evening News with Norah O’Donnell” and a broadcast associate for “Face the Nation.” She is based in Washington, D.C.

Read Full Bio

Updated on: March 31, 2026 / 4:04 PM EDT / CBS News

White House officials have privately discussed their concerns about recent internal and public polling on the economy and President Trump and have been trying to drum up new strategies to prevent GOP losses in the midterm elections, sources briefed on the conversations told CBS News.

Senior aides, including chief of staff Susie Wiles and deputy chief of staff James Blair, regularly brief the president on the latest polling on voter sentiment.

A central focus is the dissatisfaction of independent voters, whose economic angst has risen since the president’s tariffs triggered global economic uncertainty and gas prices began to spike as a result of the U.S. military action against Iran.

On Tuesday, gasoline prices in the U.S. topped $4 a gallon for the first time since 2022, according to AAA. Several officials concede there will be Republican losses in the midterms if they don’t turn around the trending numbers.

A Republican source says the House will be difficult for the GOP, but Republicans expect to retain control of the Senate.

CBS News’ recent polling found Mr. Trump’s approval rating among independents is 31%, with 69% who disapprove.

Wiles has repeatedly asked administration officials for ideas for initiatives to lower costs, an ongoing directive since the beginning of Mr. Trump’s second administration.

“When Operation Epic Fury is complete, gas prices will plummet back to the multi-year lows American drivers enjoyed before these short-term disruptions,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement Tuesday.

White House spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement that the president “has always been clear about short-term disruptions as a result of Operation Epic Fury, and the Administration has had a plan in place to mitigate these disruptions while continuing to restore long-term working-class prosperity by implementing the President’s proven economic agenda of tax cuts, deregulation, and energy abundance.”

Desai also pointed to the president’s “multiple executive orders on housing affordability” and cited TrumpRx.gov and other initiatives, such as not taxing tips or overtime and Trump accounts for children as part of the administration’s efforts to ease financial pressure on Americans.

The latest CBS News poll found the majority of Americans say gas prices in their area are going up, which is fueling negative feelings about the economy. Fears of a recession have ticked slightly higher, with a third of Americans now bracing for a recession in the next year.

Sixty-seven percent of Americans say they are unwilling to pay more at the pump during the conflict in Iran.

The poll found Mr. Trump’s overall approval rating to be virtually unchanged since before the start of the Iran conflict. It has been at 40% or in the low 40s for many months, and he continues to draw strong backing from Republicans. His disapproval rating sits at 60%.

Polling averages show that Mr. Trump is at his lowest approval rating of his second administration with an average approval rating of just 41%, according to Real Clear Polling.

Trump says he will attend Supreme Court oral arguments on birthright citizenship challenge

2026-03-31 7:08pm EDT / Fox News

SCOTUS will weigh Trump’s order to end birthright citizenship; he argues the 14th Amendment is being exploited

By Louis Casiano Fox News

President Donald Trump tells Fox News senior White House correspondent Peter Doocy he will attend Wednesday’s expected oral arguments on the birthright citizenship case. (Pool)

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President Donald Trump said Tuesday he plans to attend Wednesday’s case before the U.S. Supreme Court about who is entitled to birthright citizenship.

The justices will hear arguments in Trump v. Barbara, which is challenging his 2025 executive order ending the birthright citizenship practice.

Trump issued the order upon taking office, saying birthright citizenship, a product of the 14th Amendment that has been widely interpreted to guarantee citizenship to anyone born in the U.S., has been widely abused by foreigners, specifically illegal immigrants.

NEARLY ALL REPUBLICAN AGS ADD FIREPOWER TO TRUMP’S BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP PUSH

President Donald Trump holds a signed executive order in the Oval Office of the White House. Trump said he will attend Wednesday’s oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court for a case about birthright citizenship. (Reuters/Kevin Lamarque)

The case has come before the high court after multiple judges blocked the order from taking effect.

The Trump administration has argued the 14th Amendment was originally intended to grant citizenship to former slaves, not to children of illegal immigrants or temporary visitors.

“This is not about Chinese billionaires or billionaires from other countries who, all of a sudden, have 75 children or 59 children in one case or 10 children becoming American citizens,” Trump told Fox News senior White House correspondent Peter Doocy in the Oval Office on Tuesday.

“This was about slaves. And if you take a look, slaves. We’re talking about slaves from the Civil War.”

HOW THE SUPREME COURT’S INJUNCTION RULING ADVANCES TRUMP’S BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP FIGHT

Demonstrators gather outside the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., in support of birthright citizenship.(Kent Nishimura/Bloomberg via Getty)

The 14th Amendment was ratified in 1898 after the Supreme Court held that children born on U.S. soil are automatically granted citizenship with very few exceptions, such as children of diplomats.

Trump noted that people and companies, many from China, have profited off the birth tourism industry by bringing people into the U.S. with the intent of giving birth so their children could be granted American citizenship and, therefore,reap its benefits.

“People are making a living, a big living, getting hundreds of thousands and even millions of dollars from bringing people in and saying, ‘Congratulations, your whole family is going to be a citizen of the United States of America,’” he said. “That’s not what it was for. It wasn’t for billionaires bringing people in or family, and it was for the children of slaves.”

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6392271365112

Critics warn that if birthright citizenship ended, it could create a new class of people born in the U.S. who are not recognized as citizens, while supporters say it would be an incentive for illegal immigration and exploitation.

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“It is the craziest thing I’ve ever seen,” said Trump. “It’s been so badly handled by legal people over the years. If you look at the original birthright citizenship papers, they all happened right after the Civil War. The reason was it had to do with the babies of slaves. … Our country is being scammed. We’re getting all of these people.”

Louis Casiano is a reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to louis.casiano@fox.com.

46岁的德泽尔比此前曾担任马赛和布赖顿主帅，征战顶级联赛经验丰富。 （路透社）

（伦敦综合电）“热刺”托特纳姆（Tottenham）在新加坡时间星期二（3月31日）晚上宣布任命德泽尔比（De Zerbi）为球队新主帅，接替仅执教七场就离开的图多尔（Tudor），争取带队保级。

这位前马赛（Marseille）和布赖顿（Brighton）意大利籍主帅与热刺签约五年。他在今年2月离开马赛，如今接手的是目前在英超仅高出降级区一分，深陷保级泥潭的热刺。

据ESPN获悉，德泽尔比与热刺的合同中包含一笔“保级成功”的丰厚奖金，但如果热刺降级，合约中是否也有特别安排，目前尚不清楚。

德泽尔比在俱乐部声明中表明：“我非常高兴加盟这家出色的足球俱乐部——这是世界上最大、最具声望的俱乐部之一。

“在与俱乐部高层的所有对话中，他们对未来的雄心都非常明确——打造一支能够取得伟大成就的球队，而且要用一种能令球迷兴奋、受鼓舞的踢法来做到这一点。我之所以在这里，是因为我相信这种雄心，并且签下了一份长期合同，全力去实现它。

“短期内，我们的首要目标就是在英超积分榜上往上爬，这将是从现在到赛季最后一场终场哨响前的全部重心。我期待尽快走上训练场，与这些球员一起努力达成这个目标。”

热刺体育总监兰格（Lange）透露：“罗伯托（德泽尔比）是我们今夏的头号目标，我们非常高兴现在就能把他请来。他是当今足坛最具创造力和前瞻性的教练之一，拥有在最高水平执教的丰富经验，其中也包括英超。”

德泽尔比曾声援格林伍德 热刺球迷团体感到不满

不过，这一任命也引发部分球迷群体的担忧。热刺球迷信托（THST）在声明中点名，对德泽尔比此前公开支持格林伍德（Greenwood）的言论表示严重关切。

格林伍德因为曾对伴侣哈丽特·罗伯森（Harriet Robson）施暴，在2022年10月被控一项企图强奸、一项控制与胁迫行为，以及一项造成实际身体伤害的袭击罪，但英国检方在2023年2月宣布撤销指控，理由是“关键证人撤回证词，且出现了新证据”。哈丽特过后撤销了指控，两人目前还孕有两个女儿。

德泽尔比曾表示，格林伍德在指控（包括企图强奸和袭击）被撤销、离开曼联（Manchester United）转投马赛之后，已经“以一种非常沉重的方式付出了代价”。他说格林伍德“似乎是个好人”，和在英格兰对他的描述中“非常不同”。外界批评德泽尔比的言论是在淡化针对格林伍德的指控，并将后者塑造成“受害者”的一方。

虽然当时格林伍德转会马赛在当地引起了争议，连马赛市长都反对，但格林伍德上赛季和巴黎圣日耳曼（PSG）前锋登贝莱（Dembele）一样，以21个进球并列赢得法甲金靴。

THST在声明中写道：“我们理解，拥有近期英超执教经验的主帅人选本来就不多，而球队在面临降级风险时也需要迅速行动。但这次任命引发了严肃且深远的忧虑，许多球迷已联络我们，希望我们向俱乐部传达这种强烈感受。我们在俱乐部官宣前，已直接向俱乐部表达了这些担忧。

“俱乐部曾公开承诺，会在面对针对女性和女孩的暴力事件时挺身而出，并在任何事件面前，以正直和坚守价值观的方式行事。德泽尔比关于格林伍德的言论是不必要的、判断失误的，并且对相当多的球迷造成了深深冒犯，无疑也会令男性暴力的受害者感到不安。我们认为，如果这些言论得不到回应和澄清，将在球迷之间制造分裂，而此刻本应是所有人齐心支持球队的时刻。”

热刺官方女子球迷协会“Women of the Lane”共同创办人阿莉·斯皮奇利（Ali Speechly）也说她们反对这项任命，而阿莉本人也称“不想让他（德泽尔比）出现在我支持的俱乐部附近”，会因为球队聘请德泽尔比，而停止到现场观赛。

德泽尔比上任后的首场比赛，将是4月12日在英超作客桑德兰。

US strips citizenship from couple in trade theft case, part of Trump immigration push

2026-03-31T22:09:21.552Z / Reuters

By Andrew Goudsward

March 31, 2026 10:09 PM UTC Updated 1 hour ago

Information packs are distributed by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services following a citizenship ceremony at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S., July 18, 2018. REUTERS/Brian Snyder/File Photo

• Summary

• Judge approves denaturalizing Chinese couple convicted of trade theft
• DOJ under Trump emphasizing denaturalization as top priority
• Bondi says U.S. citizenship a privilege

WASHINGTON, March 31 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump’s administration is revoking the U.S. ​citizenship of a California couple who emigrated from China and pleaded guilty to stealing ‌trade secrets.

A federal judge in San Diego, California granted the Justice Department’s request to revoke U.S. citizenship from Yu Zhou and Li Chen, a married couple from China who pleaded guilty in 2020 to charges of conspiracy to ​steal trade secrets and wire fraud.

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U.S. District Judge James Simmons found Zhou and Chen had ​committed “crimes involving moral turpitude” when they were legally required to show upstanding character ⁠as part of their immigration process.

Federal law allows the Justice Department to revoke citizenship from naturalized ​immigrants if citizenship was obtained by concealing or misrepresenting important facts.

In Trump’s second term, the DOJ has ​secured denaturalization in 13 cases and has 16 pending cases.

As Trump makes a crackdown on illegal immigration a centerpiece of his policies, revoking citizenship is part of the administration’s wider agenda to portray U.S. citizenship as a privilege that ​can be revoked or redefined.

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Trump’s Justice Department on Wednesday will urge the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn ​the longstanding right to automatic citizenship for nearly anyone born in the United States, known as birthright citizenship, under the 14th ‌Amendment ⁠to the U.S. Constitution.

“These latest denaturalizations illustrate this Department of Justice’s focus on ensuring that citizenship remains a privilege to obtain, not a right to abuse,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement on Tuesday.

A lawyer for Zhou and Chen declined to comment.

Chen and Zhou, who were researchers at ​Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, ​Ohio, arrived in the ⁠U.S. on H-1B visas for highly skilled workers in 2007 and 2008, respectively. They became citizens nine years later.

Zhou and Chen admitted in 2020 ​to plotting to steal trade secrets related to pediatric medical treatment for financial ​gain.

The Justice ⁠Department last week succeeded in stripping citizenship from natives of Ukraine and Cuba who were convicted of or pleaded guilty to crimes. It is also seeking to revoke the citizenship of a Lebanese immigrant who ⁠had ​pleaded guilty to lying during the naturalization process.

The Justice Department’s ​Civil Division last year identified denaturalization as one of its top priorities.

Seven of the 13 denaturalization cases the DOJ has secured ​during Trump’s second term were brought during the Biden administration.

Reporting by Andrew Goudsward; Editing by Cynthia Osterman

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Trump administration exempts oil and gas drilling in the Gulf from Endangered Species Act

March 31, 2026 / 4:48 PM EDT / CBS/AP

The Trump administration on Tuesday exempted oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico from the Endangered Species Act after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said environmentalists’ lawsuits threatened to hobble domestic energy supplies as the U.S. wages war against Iran.

Critics said the move by the government’s Endangered Species Committee could doom a rare whale species and harm other marine life. Nicknamed the “God Squad” by groups who say it can decide a species’ fate, the committee comprises several Trump administration officials and is chaired by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum.

It met Tuesday for the first time in more than three decades amid global oil shocks and soaring energy prices brought on by the Iran war. The U.S. pumps more oil than any other nation, but that hasn’t insulated it from spiking prices: The national average for a gallon of gasoline topped $4 Tuesday for the first time since 2022.

“Disruptions to Gulf oil production doesn’t hurt just us, it benefits our adversaries,” Hegseth told the committee. “We cannot allow our own rules to weaken our standing and strengthen those who wish to harm us. When development in the Gulf is chilled, we are prevented from producing the energy we need as a country and as a department.”

Environmental groups sought unsuccessfully to block Tuesday’s meeting and pledged to challenge the exemption. They say the exemption would speed the extinction of the rare Rice’s whale, which is found exclusively in the Gulf of Mexico. Government biologists say only about 50 of the animals remain.

“If Trump is successful here, he could be the first person in history to knowingly extirpate a species from the face of the earth. That’s how precarious the condition of the Rice’s whale is,” said Patrick Parenteau, emeritus professor of law at Vermont Law School. Parenteau dismissed Hegseth’s claims of a security threat, since companies have continued to look for and extract oil in the Gulf despite legal challenges over the critically endangered whale.

Streamlined approvals for drilling

The federal government has not allowed drilling in federal waters in the eastern Gulf, which includes offshore Florida and part of offshore Alabama, since 1995, because of concerns about oil spills. During his last days in office, former President Joe Biden sought to ban new offshore oil and gas drilling in most U.S. coastal waters, citing the climate crisis.

President Trump reversed that policy and made increased fossil fuel production a central focus of his second term. The Republican wants to open new areas of the Gulf off the Florida coast to drilling, and has proposed sweeping rollbacks of environmental regulations disliked by industry.

Hegseth notified Burgum on March 13 that an Endangered Species Act exemption for oil and gas drilling in the Gulf was “necessary for reasons of national security.”

Hegseth told committee members Tuesday that Iran’s efforts to block shipping through the world’s busiest oil route, the Strait of Hormuz, underscored the national security imperative of robust domestic oil production. He said pending litigation from environmental groups “threatened to halt” oil production in the Gulf.

Mr. Trump has voiced his own frustration with the 1973 law and similar environmental protections, saying environmentalists are impeding growth. The Trump administration also has other plans to overhaul the Endangered Species Act to make it easier to build in the U.S. where endangered species live.

Industry observers said the exemption could have significant implications for energy companies by streamlining approvals of new projects and impeding opponents’ ability to derail drilling plans.

“Serial litigation from activist groups targeting a lawful, well-regulated industry should not be allowed to indefinitely obstruct projects of clear national importance,” said Erik Milito with the National Ocean Industries Association, which represents offshore developers.

The Gulf of Mexico is one of the nation’s top oil regions, producing 2 million barrels a day. It accounts for almost 15% of crude pumped annually in the U.S., plus a small share of domestic natural gas production.

The Gulf of Mexico also has been the scene of environmental disasters such as BP’s Deepwater Horizon blowout in 2010 that killed 11 workers and spilled 134 million gallons of oil. Rice’s whale numbers dropped by 22% following the accident and could take decades to recover, scientists said.

A spill in the Gulf earlier this month off the Mexican coast spread 373 miles, contaminating at least six species and polluting seven protected natural reserves.

The Trump administration in mid-March approved BP’s new $5 billion ultra-deepwater drilling project in the Gulf.

Whales, turtles and sturgeon at risk

Former federal disaster response specialists and national environmental groups have raised concerns that job and funding cuts in the early months of Mr. Trump’s second term could hamper the government’s response to incidents such as last year’s oil spill off Louisiana’s Gulf Coast— a leak that quickly contaminated marshlands and threatened vital wildlife habitats and fisheries.

A 2025 National Marine Fisheries Service analysis also determined the Gulf oil and gas program was likely to harm several species of whales, sea turtles and Gulf sturgeon. They face potential harm from ship strikes, oil spills and other impacts.

The Gulf exemption is the first time national security has been cited to justify action by the Endangered Species Committee. Conservation groups immediately condemned the action and asserted it was done illegally.

“The Endangered Species Act has not slowed an iota of oil from being extracted from the Gulf,” said Defenders of Wildlife President Andrew Bowman. “I cannot stress enough how unprecedented and unlawful this action is.”

Since 1973, the Endangered Species Act has made it illegal to harm or kill species on a protected list. The committee was formed in 1978 as a way to exempt projects if no alternative would provide the same economic benefits in a region or if it was in the nation’s best interest.

Before this week, the panel had convened just three times and issued only two exemptions. The first was in 1979 to allow construction on a dam on the Platte River in Wyoming, home to the whooping crane. It last met in 1992, allowing logging in northern spotted owl habitats in Oregon. That exemption request was later withdrawn.

Its latest meeting follows a federal judge’s ruling on Monday that struck down attempts during Mr. Trump’s first term to weaken rules for endangered species.

The panel’s members include the secretaries of agriculture, interior and the Army, the chairperson of the Council of Economic Advisers, and the administrators of both the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. They all voted in favor of Hegseth’s request for an exemption.