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March 20, 2025

3 entries on this date.

Trump signed EO 14243 directing all agencies to grant DOGE officials unrestricted federal database access, superseding Privacy Act

On March 20, 2025, President Trump signed Executive Order 14243, "Stopping Waste, Fraud, and Abuse by Eliminating Information Silos," directing all federal agency heads to provide DOGE-designated officials with full access to all unclassified agency records, data systems, and IT infrastructure. The order explicitly superseded Privacy Act system-of-records notices and any regulations restricting inter-agency data sharing, requiring agencies to rescind such limitations within 30 days. Legal challenges argued the order impermissibly overrode statutory Privacy Act protections that only Congress has authority to amend.

Trump signed EO 14242 directing closure of the Department of Education, ordering Secretary McMahon to facilitate shutdown

President Trump signed Executive Order 14242 on March 20, 2025, directing the Secretary of Education to "take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return authority over education to the States and local communities." The order also directed Secretary McMahon to condition all federal education funds on compliance with the administration's anti-DEI directives. The Department of Education was established by Congress under Pub. L. 96-88 in 1979; its formal abolition requires an act of Congress, not an executive order.

Trump signed presidential memo granting OPM authority to dismiss career civil servants based on post-appointment conduct

On March 20, 2025, President Trump signed a presidential memorandum directing the Office of Personnel Management to make final suitability determinations against career federal employees based on conduct that occurred after their initial appointment — an authority previously limited to job applicants. The memo required agency heads to remove any employee OPM found unsuitable within five business days, overriding the civil service removal protections established by the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978. OPM was further directed to propose new regulations under 5 C.F.R. Part 731 to implement the expanded authority.