New York attorney general calls on state health care providers to continue gender-affirming care

(WASHINGTON) — Dozens of Department of Education employees received letters as business hours closed Friday placing them on administrative leave, according to a copy of one letter obtained by ABC News.

While no specific reason was given, some employees told ABC News they believe the only common thread among them is that they attended a voluntary training called the “Diversity Change-Agent Training Program.”

The letter states that the administrative leave notice is not for disciplinary purposes. Rather, it’s being issued under President Donald Trump’s executive order on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and “further guidance” from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, according to the letter.

Per the letter, employees will receive full pay and benefits through the end of the administrative leave. They are not required to do work-related tasks during this time, nor are they required to come into the office. Employees who were placed on leave also had their government email access suspended as they received the letters. There’s no set time for the leave period, according to the letter.

The letters have caused a frenzy throughout the department, as some employees had been locked out of their accounts and had to check their private email addresses for the notice, according to Sheria Smith, president of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 252.

Smith told ABC News more than 50 employees in “extremely diverse roles” within the department received the email notices to their government email addresses or their private email accounts after regular business hours over the weekend.

ABC News spoke with three Department of Education employees who received the letters and described their leave as “paid administrative hell” since Friday evening.

“It’s very, very, unsettling,” one department employee of over 20 years, who works in Washington, D.C., told ABC News. “I don’t get it. What’s my crime? What have I done?”

Smith said the positions of Department of Education employees placed on leave run the gamut, from senior civil rights attorneys to attorneys for borrower defense to press specialists. She said she feared more letters would be sent in the coming days.

An attorney who works for the department in Washington, D.C., said they were put on leave from their “dream job.” The employee has two children and received the notice after putting them to bed on Friday night, they said. The person said Friday was tough and the news was shocking to receive, but now they’re feeling “different levels” of sadness.

“My mood felt a little bit different just waking up knowing that I wasn’t going to be working,” the employee told ABC News.

“But I just feel like there’s a lot of information that I’m trying to process and, with small kids, it’s like you’re trying to balance a lot,” the employee added.

The letters came as the Trump administration worked to scrub the federal government’s DEI policies and programs. The president issued an executive order during his first week in office calling on agencies to “combat” private-sector DEI programs.

Trump’s rhetoric — including threatening for months to shutter the Department of Education — has created fear throughout the department, according to Smith.

“People took these jobs because they care about the mission,” Smith told ABC News. “And so it absolutely impacts us. You know, the very thing that brought us to these jobs we’re unable to do.”

The department employee with two small children has worked for the department for just over four years and comes from a family of educators. The employee said education is the “great equalizer,” and the Department of Education benefits everyone.

“I believe in the department,” the department attorney said, adding: “I always wanted to work here.”

In a statement to ABC News, Department of Education Deputy Assistant Secretary for Communications Madi Biedermann said the president was elected to enact “unprecedented reform” that is merit-based and efficient at serving the interests of the American people.

“We are evaluating staffing in line with the commitment to prioritizing meaningful learning ahead of divisive ideology in schools and putting student outcomes above special interests,” Biedermann wrote.

ABC News has reached out to the White House for comment.

Meanwhile, the three department employees who spoke to ABC News said they’re completely stumped on why they were issued administrative leave notices. The department employee with decades of experience in Washington also said it’s puzzling, in part, because during Trump’s first term, managers were evaluated on upholding DEI standards via a department performance rating system.

“We were expected to do DEI,” the employee said. “That’s what Trump and [then-Education Secretary] Betsy DeVos wanted us to do. They wanted to do that. They put it in our [performance] plans. We did not put that in our plans. And not only that, it is in every manager’s plan in the department, not just people that are on administrative leave.”

“Every single person in the Department of Education that’s a supervisor or a manager right now has [DEI] in their performance plan — that is programmed in by the department,” the employee added.

The administrative leave notices may have been tied to a two-day “Diversity Change-Agent Training Program,” a facilitator-led training, according to training document slides obtained by ABC News. The training took place over two days dating as far back as March 2019, under DeVos and during Trump’s first term, according to a February 2019 email obtained by ABC News with the subject “Diversity Change Agent Course.”

The training program aimed to create specific action plans to “drive diversity and inclusion” and increase creativity and innovation. The program also challenged employees to achieve greater results by championing the diversity of its workforce while creating and sustaining an inclusive environment, according to the training document slides.

Another department employee, who took the 2019 training and works remotely out of the New York offices, called the notice “bizarre,” especially since the 2019 training occurred during the president’s first term.

“The whole thing is bizarre,” the department employee told ABC News. “Betsy DeVos — and [Trump’s] prior administration — was a decent champion of these programs, and they didn’t come with any warning to me to say, ‘Hey, taking this training might lead to an adverse personnel action one day,’ right? So it’s just strange how they can retroactively apply something.”

The department employees on leave who spoke to ABC News said they have no official DEI responsibilities in their roles. All three department employees who spoke with ABC News also confirmed the only DEI-like program that would potentially be barred under Trump’s executive order would be the change-agent training sessions.

However, to their knowledge, the three employees on leave said there’s no official list or way of matching the employees on administrative leave with the training programs. Even though they’re convinced these trainings link them to the Trump administration’s definition of DEI, the employees haven’t confirmed why they’re on leave, according to the ones who spoke to ABC News.

The employee who works out of New York has more than a dozen years of experience in administering federal programs. Multiple other employees on administrative leave that this employee spoke to over the weekend said they also took the 2019 training, according to the employee.

“That’s the only thing we can think of that any of us did,” the employee said.

After reaching out to other colleagues with the same titles, the employee in New York said, they “pieced it together.” This employee said they took at least three training programs like the diversity change-agent training program since the initial training.

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After prevailing in a state that went for Republican Donald Trump, Democratic Gov.-elect Josh Stein said that his service as North Carolina’s attorney general gave voters confidence and called the Tar Heel state a “bright spot” for Democrats on election night.

Stein told ABC’s “This Week” co-anchor Jonathan Karl that Kamala Harris ran a “strong campaign,” but was hindered by a condensed timeline and “tough national mood.”

“It was an unfortunate night for Democrats across this country, but North Carolina was a bright spot,” Stein said. ” And we’re proud of what we accomplished here.”

Fresh off his gubernatorial victory, Stein pointed to Democrats winning North Carolina’s secretary of state and attorney general races. As North Carolina’s current attorney general, he defeated Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, whose campaign was plagued by allegations of past racist, homophobic and anti-Semitic comments.

Stein outperformed Harris in North Carolina, winning 55% of the vote to Harris’ 48%. In the statehouse, Democrats won enough seats to stave off a Republican supermajority. Stein heavily outraised his opponent and used social media to highlight Robinson’s incendiary remarks.

While Democrats have won eight of the last nine gubernatorial races in the Tar Heel state, Barack Obama was the last Democrat to take North Carolina in 2008.

Asked to explain his swing state victory, Stein said his campaign was about “fighting for every person.”

“Voters had a really clear choice,” said Stein. “Our vision was positive and forward-looking.”

He pointed to a focus on public safety, education and personal freedoms, including voting rights and reproductive rights. Stein also said his position as attorney general lent a familiarity with voters.

“I think the fact that I had a track record of delivering for the people of North Carolina as their attorney general helped give them confidence in knowing that I wasn’t just speaking words, but that I would work hard every day to deliver,” Stein said.

Stein has promised to govern in a bipartisan way. In his victory speech, he spoke about the importance of working across the aisle since “no person or party has a monopoly on good ideas.”

He spoke about Hurricane Helene recovery efforts across North Carolina and his recent visit to Washington to advocate for relief funding alongside Republican legislators. Stein said he is “eager” to work with the Trump administration to provide relief.

Pressed on his biggest fear in a second Trump term, Stein pointed to the president-elect’s selection of hardliner Kash Patel to lead the FBI. Patel is one of Trump’s fiercest defenders and has said he would turn the FBI into a museum for the “Deep State.”

“I want somebody who respects the rule of law,” Stein said. “And [Patel’s] nomination for the FBI does not give me confidence that that’s a top priority,”

Asked about Trump’s promise of mass deportations, Stein said that it’s “not a priority” to deport law-abiding citizens.

“They are instrumental to our communities, they are instrumental to our economy,” he said.

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(WASHINGTON) — From a multimillion-dollar law firm payout to six-figure endorsements and book deals, President Donald Trump’s nominee for health and human services secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., raked in at least $12 million in total income in the past two years, new personal financial disclosure forms show.

Kennedy boasted a vast amount of wealth across various investment funds, bank accounts and real estate properties totaling between $8.6 million to $33.4 million. However, he also reported a staggering amount of liabilities — between $3.4 million and $12.7 million — which could put him in the red on paper.

Kennedy’s liabilities include up to $1.2 million in credit card debt to American Express at a 23% revolving interest rate and three 30-year mortgages worth up to $10.5 million, according to the filing.

The exact values of his total assets and liabilities are unclear because federal financial disclosures are reported in ranges.

A major chunk of Kennedy’s income since 2023 was his nearly $9 million payout from his law firm Kennedy & Madonna LLP, which is now called Madonna & Madonna LLP after Kennedy resigned last week.

His main source of income from the past year stemmed from hefty referral fees from multiple law firms, arrangements which Kennedy noted in his ethics agreement that he will terminate upon his confirmation. However, he stated he plans to retain a contingency fee interest in cases that do not involve the U.S. government.

In his ethics agreement, Kennedy disclosed that among the cases he has referred to the Wisner Baum law firm are claims filed under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP), from which he said he will divest his interest.

Kennedy, who has been a vocal supporter of cryptocurrency and has spoken at multiple Bitcoin conventions, also reported owning between $1 million to $5 million in Fidelity’s Bitcoin fund, the filing shows.

Kennedy also disclosed smaller holdings in biotech companies Dragonfly Therapeutics and CRISPR Therapeutics AG, as well as in other companies like Progressive Corp, Amazon and Apple, from which he said he plans to divest after his confirmation.

Credit card debt potentially doubled in 6 months

Kennedy’s credit card debt potentially doubled in just six months, a comparison of his liabilities in his new disclosure filing and his disclosure from last year suggest.

In July 2024, Kennedy, as a presidential candidate, disclosed having credit card debts to American Express worth $360,004 to $715,000, at roughly 23% revolving interest rate.

In his latest disclosure submitted in late December 2024 and publicly released today, Kennedy’s American Express debts snowballed into between $610,000 and $1.2 million.

It’s unclear how much, exactly, his credit card debt increased in the past few months because liabilities are reported in ranges, but the latest disclosure shows his debts have potentially grown exponentially.

Money from book deals

Kennedy is set to earn millions from multiple book deals, including up to $4 million in advances for books titled “Unsettled Science” and “A Defense for Israel.” Kennedy also earned $1,000 for an advance for a book titled “Vax-UnVax: Let the Science Speak.”

According to his disclosure, two of the three books have already been written prior to his nomination, and he does not plan to engage in “writing, editing, marketing, or promotional services” while serving as HHS Secretary.

Kennedy earned little income from the fourteen books he has already published – such as “American Values: Lessons I Learned from my Family” and “Vaccine Villains: What the American Public Should Know about the Industry” — making less than $200 from each title, according to the disclosure form.

Money from endorsements

Kennedy earned $100,000 from his endorsement of a boxing ball game called Boxbollen in a video he posted on his social media accounts last month, though he returned $50,000 after cancelling the contract following his nomination as health and human services secretary.

“Mr. Kennedy had a pre-existing contract prior to his nomination, after posting the video – he realized it was best to delete it and cancel the contract,” a source close to Kennedy told ABC News in November.

Kennedy also earned $200,000 in speaking fees during three days in November, speaking at the Rockbridge Fall Summit in Las Vegas — organized by a conservative donor network co-founded by Vice President JD Vance – and Genius Network Annual Event in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Hollywood money

Kennedy also disclosed dozens of sources of compensation from his wife Cheryl Hines, an actress best known for her role on HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm.”

In addition to that show, Hines earns residual payments from multiple films and television shows including “Friends,” “Herbie,” “Waitress,” “The Conners,” “The Flight Attendant” and “A Bad Moms Christmas.”

Hines also received a $600,000 advance payment for her memoir “My Shade of Crazy.”

Oil rights, properties in Chicago

As was disclosed in his previous financial disclosure from his 2024 presidential bid, Kennedy had previously owned oil and gas rights in Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida but sold them in the past year, netting roughly $55,000 from the sales, according to the filing.

He also reported owning commercial properties in Chicago worth between $700,000 and $1.5 million.

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