- Linda McMahon confirmed, prepares to gut DoED. The Senate confirmed Linda McMahon to her post as Secretary of the Department of Education. Almost immediately she sent out an email to all employees titled, “Our Department’s Final Mission” detailing her desire to emphasize patriotism and vocational skills in American education, while simultaneously dismantling federal oversight. Trump was due to sign an EO aimed at gutting the dept on Thursday, but delayed due to unpopularity. (Keep it up!)
- Musk calls people who receive government assistance the “parasite class.” Musk posted on X referring to people who receive Social Security or government assistance as the “parasite class.” The comment comes as DOGE seeks to gut the Social Security Administration and the GOP sets its sights on Medicaid funding.
Dehumanizing rhetoric, especially referring to people as animals, is Stage 4 in the Ten Stages of Genocide. In the lead up to the Rwandan genocide, the Tutsis were called “cockroaches”; in Germany, Nazis called Jews “vermin,” disabled people “useless eaters,” and more. - Executive Order “Designating English as the Official Language of the US”. The EO declares English the US’s official language and revokes the Clinton EO, “Improving Access to Services for Persons with Limited English Proficiency,” Individual agencies can now choose whether they want to provide materials in other languages.
The changes may have dangerous impacts for those needing medical and legal interpreters, as well as educational impacts for English language learners. Section 504 and the still ADA protect the right to ASL interpreters, but procuring funding may be more complicated, (and the 504 lawsuit even more consequential). - DOGE Takes Aim at Social Security Administration. Workers inside the Social Security Administration (SSA) said DOGE have been controlling their computer access for weeks, including internet access to outside news websites. A new plan aims to cut 12% of the workforce, or about 7,000 people, though more are expected to be driven out by stressors. The SSA workforce was already stretched thin, operating at a 50-year low.
Musk called social security a “Ponzi scheme” and alleged massive fraud. However, American workers pay into Social Security to receive their retirement benefits, and there is no evidence of widespread fraud. 70 million retired and disabled Americans depend on Social Security benefits. They layoffs may cause payment delays and make it harder to access SSA offices, helplines, and more. - More Attacks on Veterans Affairs, Employment. The Department of Veterans Affairs announced a major overhaul this week, with a goal to lay off approximately 80,000 workers. The plan is sure to disrupt veterans’ healthcare, hospitals, mental health services, and other benefits, as well as lay off many veterans in the process–the federal government is also the number one employer of disabled veterans across many agencies.
In discussing the potential layoffs, Alina Habbas, one of the President’s lawyers, said, that those veterans affected may not be “fit to have a job at this moment.” - RFK Jr. waffles on vaccines as US Sees 2nd measles death. RFK Jr. Released an Op-Ed on Fox News that appeared to encourage people to get vaccinated against the measles as the outbreak surged in Texas and cases appeared on the east coast. Others say RFK’s views are unchanged, and his mention of “therapeutic treatments” in addition to vaccines is a dog-whistle to antivax followers.
Under Kennedy, the CDC announced a new large-scale study into vaccines and autism on Friday. The topic has already been thoroughly studied, with no link found. Increased rates of autism in children are attributed to better screenings. - Eugenics and “Race Science” conference to convene in Texas. The 2nd annual “Natal Conference” will take place at University of Texas at Austin’s AT&T Conference Center on March 27-28th. “Natalism” is philosophy that believes in the importance of childbearing for social (or religious) reasons, and thus advocates for a high birthrate.
Eugenics and “race science” are strains of pseudoscience founded in the belief that humanity can be “improved” through selective breeding. Typically, these ideas are used to reinforce racist stereotypes and ableism. Various far-right and neofascist influencers are slated to speak. Musk has also been invited. - Texas v. Beccera lawsuit continues. Attorneys General continue to use transphobic rhetoric to attack Final Rule and Section 504. Participants continue to say they do not want to dismantle disabled people’s rights, but have not revoked the original filing, which explicitly asks for 504 to be declared unconstitutional (p 37-42).
504 protects disabled people’s rights in all spaces that receive federal funding, but could have major implications for those needing interpreters in hospitals in light of the new English EO. The next update is due in April.
Action Items
Share this info. Disability is often lost in mainstream coverage.
- Call your Rep. and tell them NO cuts to Medicaid/SNAP and Veterans’ care, and YES to the Dept. of Education Protection Act.
- Call your Rep. and Senators and remind them that Social Security is *our* money, not Musk’s.
- Protest U of T’s hosting of the upcoming racist and eugenicist conference.
- Call the 10 Dems who voted with GOP to censure Black disabled Rep. Al Green on their cowardice.
- Make sure your vaccines are up to date, especially if you may have received an inactive virus version of the MMR vaccine from 1963-67, which was found to be ineffective.
- If your state is involved, contact your Attorney General and ask them to withdraw from Texas v. Beccera. Tell them you stand in solidarity with disabled people, and trans folks.