Federal Workers Reinstated & Trump Tower Swarmed | Afternoon Update | 3.13.25

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Good Ranchers, American meat delivered. A judge orders the reinstatement of thousands of federal workers, anti-Israel protesters swarm Trump Tower, and a Connecticut woman is arrested for allegedly holding her stepson captive for decades.
I'm Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley with Georgia Howe. It's Thursday, March 13th, and this is your Morning Wire afternoon update.
Thousands of fired federal workers are poised to get their jobs back, for now, after a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to reinstate them. The ruling by U.S.
District Judge William Alsup follows a lawsuit from labor unions arguing the mass firings violated federal hiring laws and administrative procedures. The ruling mainly applies to probationary workers across six government agencies.
The Trump administration plans to appeal. 21 Democrat attorneys general are seeking to stop what they call Trump's illegal and unconstitutional mass layoffs at the Education Department.
The lawsuit, spearheaded by New York's Letitia James, claims the firing of over 1,300 workers at the department will hurt millions of students, especially those with disabilities and in low-income communities. It argues that the administration cannot, quote, unilaterally incapacitate a cabinet agency without congressional approval.
The White House defends the move as a push for efficiency and to save taxpayer dollars. Protests erupted today inside Trump Tower as demonstrators called for Mahmoud Khalil, a detained anti-Israel activist, to be released.
Dozens of protesters, organized by a group called Jewish Voice for Peace, occupied the building's lobby today, chanting things like free Mahmoud and free Palestine. NYPD officers arrested multiple demonstrators, removing them in zip ties.
Khalil, a former Columbia University student and Palestinian activist, was detained by ICE over the weekend. The Trump administration calls him a national security risk, alleging he distributed pro-Hamas

propaganda.

A federal judge has temporarily blocked his deportation as protests continue across Manhattan.

Russian President Vladimir Putin says he agrees in principle with a 30-day ceasefire

in Ukraine, but insists that terms must be negotiated.

Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce has the latest. Putin said that any truce must lead to lasting peace and address Russia's security concerns.
Here's the Russian president at a news conference today. We agree with the proposals for the ceasefire.
But our position is based on the assumption that the ceasefire would lead to a long-term peace, something that would remove the initial reasons for the crisis. Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff traveled to Moscow today for talks on the U.S.-brokered proposal.
Russian demands for a ceasefire include blocking Ukraine from joining NATO and recognizing Russian claims to occupied territories. Meanwhile, Russian forces claim they've retaken a key border town in Ukraine while tightening control over Ukraine's foothold in the Kursk region.
The Kremlin has yet to formally accept the ceasefire as both sides weigh the risks and potential advantages of a temporary truce. Trump has raised the stakes on the trade war with the EU.
The president has threatened a 200% tariff on wine, champagne, and other alcohol imports from Europe

after the EU announced tariffs on American whiskey.

Here's Trump today.

Take a look at the EU.

We're not allowed to sell cars there.

It's prohibitive because of their policies.

And also their non-monetary tariffs.

They put obstacles in your way that you can do nothing about. But if you take a look at what happens, so we sell no cars to Europe, I mean virtually, no cars, and they sell millions of cars to us.
They don't take our agriculture, we take their agriculture. It's like a one-way street with them.
The European Union is very, very nasty. Trump says the move will boost U.S.
alcohol producers, but French officials vow to respond, calling it an escalation of the trade war. Meanwhile, industry leaders warn that tariffs could hurt American businesses, urging both sides to negotiate.
This comes after the EU announced counter tariffs on $28 billion worth of U.S. exports, which are set to take effect in April.
The White House has revoked their nomination for director of the CDC. Daily Wire deputy managing editor Tim Rice explains.
Former Congressman Dave Weldon's nomination was yanked just hours before his Senate confirmation hearing. Weldon had faced mounting criticism over past claims linking vaccines to autism.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
reportedly told officials Weldon wasn't ready for the role. Meanwhile, doctors Jay Bhattacharya and Marty Makkari have both advanced to full Senate floor votes.
Bhattacharya's nomination to lead the National Institutes of Health in a 12-11 party line vote. Trump nominated Bhattacharya to lead the National Institutes of Health and Makkari to head up the FDA.
If confirmed, the two say they'll work very closely. A 55-year-old Connecticut woman has been arrested for allegedly holding her 32-year-old stepson captive for more than 20 years.
Daily Wire senior editor Ash Short has more. Police say the man, who had been held in the Waterbury home since he was 11, set the home ablaze last month in an effort to escape.
He told police, I wanted my freedom. Investigators found the victim severely emaciated, suffering from prolonged abuse, starvation, and neglect.
He had received no medical or dental care for decades and was given only minimal food and water. 56-year-old Kimberly Sullivan was arrested yesterday and is facing multiple charges, including kidnapping,

assault, and unlawful restraint. She's being held on a $300,000 bond.
Waterbury's police chief called the case heartbreaking and unimaginable. Here's the chief in a press conference today.

He lit that fire knowing he could very well die.

Could he be locked in that room for 20 years? And for 20 years, he'd been trying to get out

of that room. Meanwhile, an attorney for Sullivan has denied the allegations, saying Sullivan is

Thank you. that he'd been locked in that room for 20 years.
And for 20 years, he'd been trying to get out of that room. Meanwhile, an attorney for Sullivan has denied the allegations,

saying Sullivan is blown away by the claims.

And the Philadelphia Eagles are heading to the White House.

The team has accepted President Trump's invitation

to celebrate their Super Bowl victory over the Kansas City Chiefs.

Crane & Company co-host David Cohn has more.

White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt confirmed the visit set for April 28th. I know there was a lot of fake news about an invitation that wasn't sent or was sent.
We want to correct the record. We sent an invitation.
They enthusiastically accepted, and you will see them here on April 28th. This marks a shift from 2018 when the Eagles were disinvited after some players opted out over Trump's criticism of anthem protests.
And they weren't the only ones. Several dozen major sports teams won championships during President Trump's first administration.
Many celebrated at the White House. Many did not.
Of those teams that didn't, not all did so in defiance. Some had scheduling conflicts, some were not invited to begin with for various reasons.
This time, many players on the Eagles, including lineman Lane Johnson, say they are honored to go. Those are your drive home updates this afternoon.
To learn more about these stories, go to dailywire.com. And in case you missed it this morning, we covered some big stories, including Trump escalates his tariff threats, the education department is gutted, and more than a thousand Christians and Shia Muslims are killed in Syria.

Thanks for tuning in.

We'll be back tomorrow morning with another full edition of Morning Wire.