President Donald Trump revealed his intentions to reshape the Smithsonian Institution with an executive order Thursday that targets funding to programs with “divisive narratives” and “improper ideology.”

Trump said there has been a “concerted and widespread” effort over the past decade to rewrite American history by replacing “objective facts” with a “distorted narrative driven by ideology rather than truth.”

He signed an executive order putting Vice President JD Vance in charge of an effort to “remove improper ideology” from the Smithsonian Institution, including its museums, education and research centers and the National Zoo.

Trump’s order specifically names the National Museum of African American History and Culture and the Women’s History Museum, which is in development.

“Museums in our Nation’s capital should be places where individuals go to learn — not to be subjected to ideological indoctrination or divisive narratives that distort our shared history,” the order said.

Representatives for the Smithsonian did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

The Smithsonian Institution is the world’s largest museum, education and research complex. It consists of 21 museums and the National Zoo. Eleven museums are located along the National Mall in Washington.

Judge blocks Trump trans-troop ban

A U.S. judge in Washington state has blocked enforcement of President Donald Trump’s order banning transgender people from serving in the military, the second nationwide injunction against the policy in as many weeks.

The order Thursday from U.S. District Court Judge Benjamin Settle in Tacoma came in a case brought by several long-serving transgender military members who say the ban is insulting and discriminatory, and that their firing would cause lasting damage to their careers and reputations.

In his 65-page ruling, Settle — an appointee of former President George W. Bush and a former captain in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General Corps — said the administration offered no explanation as to why transgender troops, who have been able to serve openly over the past four years with no evidence of problems, should suddenly be banned.

U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes in Washington, D.C., similarly issued an order blocking the policy last week but then put her own ruling temporarily on hold pending the government’s appeal. The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia late Thursday told the parties that it would consider putting the ruling into effect if “any action occurs that negatively impacts” transgender service members.

Trump to end federal collective bargaining

President Donald Trump moved Thursday to end collective bargaining with federal labor unions in agencies with national security missions across the federal government, citing authority granted him under a 1978 law.

The order, signed without public fanfare and announced late Thursday, appears to touch most of the federal government. Affected agencies include the Departments of State, Defense, Veterans Affairs, Energy, Health and Human Services, Treasury, Justice and Commerce and the part of Homeland Security responsible for border security.

Police and firefighters will continue to collectively bargain.

Trump said the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 gives him the authority to end collective bargaining with federal unions in these agencies because of their role in safeguarding national security.

Greenland to defy Trump overtures

Greenlandic lawmakers on Thursday agreed to form a new government, banding together to resist U.S. President Donald Trump’s efforts to annex the Arctic island, local media reported.

Four of the five parties elected to Greenland’s parliament earlier this month have agreed to form a coalition that will have 23 of 31 seats in the legislature. The agreement is set to be signed Friday, the newspaper Sermitsiaq reported, citing Jens-Frederik Nielsen, leader of the Demokraatit, the biggest party in parliament.

The agreement comes as Trump ramps up his effort to gain control of Greenland “one way or the other.” U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance is scheduled to arrive Friday in Greenland, where he will visit America’s Pituffik Space Base, which supports missile surveillance and missile defense operations.

Maine schools to defy trans sports order

School officials in Maine said Thursday they will not comply with a proposed agreement from President Donald Trump’s administration that would bar transgender athletes from participating in girls’ sports.

The U.S. Health and Human Services said earlier this month that the Maine Department of Education, Maine Principals’ Association and a high school are each in violation of Title IX because of the participation of transgender athletes.

The principals’ association, which oversees high school sports in the state and School Administrative District 51 both said they will not comply with the agreement.

The federal health department cited District 51’s Greely High School, in the Portland suburb of Cumberland, because of a report that a transgender student won a girls’ track competition. The district said in a letter to the community Thursday that it is not complying because it will instead “continue to follow state law and the Maine Human Rights Act.”

Coal plants can opt out of EPA rules

As part of a push to roll back dozens of environmental regulations, the Trump administration is offering coal-fired power plants and other industrial polluters a chance for exemptions from requirements to reduce emissions of toxic chemicals such as mercury, arsenic and benzene.

The Environmental Protection Agency has set up an electronic mailbox to allow regulated companies to request a presidential exemption under the Clean Air Act to a host of Biden-era rules.

Companies were asked to send an email by Monday seeking permission from President Donald Trump to bypass the new restrictions. The Clean Air Act enables the president to temporarily exempt industrial sites from new rules if the technology required to meet them is not widely available and if the continued activity is in the interest of national security.

Ousted Democrat FTC members sue Trump

Two Democratic former members of the Federal Trade Commission sued President Donald Trump on Thursday over his decision to fire them from the agency, accusing him of an illegal overreach of executive power.

Trump fired the Democratic commissioners, Rebecca Kelly Slaughter and Alvaro Bedoya, on March 18, upending the consumer protection agency, which is typically run by three members from the president’s party and two members from the opposing party.

In a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, lawyers for Slaughter and Bedoya argued that Trump’s dismissals of them were without cause and violated federal law.

— From news services