Resident physicians at the University of Minnesota have filed for union recognition.

Organizers say a supermajority of the university’s group of nearly 1,000 residents and fellows voted in favor of unionizing.

In their announcement Monday, residents said they want to address long hours, difficult working conditions and low pay.

Dr. Mayrose Porter, a resident OB-GYN at the University of Minnesota, said she’s struggled with understaffed shifts and low pay. On some of her late-night shifts, she said, the only food she has access to is a vending machine.

“There’s no way to get around the fact that medicine is difficult … and that involves difficult training,” she said. “However, I think that there’s a lot of spaces within that that don’t need to be as difficult as they are.”

The residents would join SEIU’s Committee of Interns and Residents. Earlier this month, 200 Hennepin Health residents announced their intent to join the same union.

Organizers say many residents make around Minneapolis’ minimum wage: $15.97 an hour. They can work up to 80 hours a week.

Porter said the residency system doesn’t give doctors much room to advocate for better conditions. Since residents are assigned positions, they don’t get to compare pay, benefits and locations like employees or students in other fields can.

“You really don’t have any bargaining power,” she said. “I love working for the University of Minnesota, I was so happy to match here. And I can also recognize that there are other places that had better benefits, that had better pay, that had better quality-of-life aspects.”

Porter says unionizing could create a place to bring up concerns about work.

Residents are able to unionize following changes to Minnesota’s Public Employment Labor Relations Act in 2024, which adjusted bargaining units across the University of Minnesota.

The next step is for the state’s Bureau of Mediation Services to recognize the union. A U spokesperson said in a statement that the administration will be in touch with the organizers and the bureau.

“The University values our relationship with labor-represented employees and honors its obligations under the Public Employment Labor Relations Act,” the statement said.

Organizers say they want U administrators and President Rebecca Cunningham to start contract negotiations as soon as possible.

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By LISA MASCARO

WASHINGTON (AP) — Angry over the crush of court rulings against the Trump administration, Republicans in Congress are trying to slap back at the federal judiciary with proposals to limit the reach of its rulings, cut funding and even impeach judges, tightening the GOP’s grip on government.

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House GOP leaders say all options are under consideration as they rush to rein in judges who are halting President Donald Trump’s actions at a rapid pace. In many cases, the courts are questioning whether the firings of federal workers, freezing of federal funds and shuttering of long-running federal offices are unlawful actions by the executive branch and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.

In perhaps the most high-profile case, Judge James E. Boasberg ordered planeloads of deported immigrants to be turned around, raising the ire of Trump, who called for his impeachment, and billionaire Musk, who is funneling campaign cash to House Republicans backing impeachment efforts. The president calls the judges “lunatics.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson said Tuesday that “desperate times call for desperate measures” without mentioning impeachment.

“We do have authority over the federal courts, as you know,” the Republican speaker said. “We can eliminate an entire district court. We have power of funding over the courts, and all these other things.”

Not yet 100 days into the new administration, the unusual attack on the federal judiciary is the start of what is expected to be a protracted battle between the co-equal branches of government, unmatched in modern memory. As the White House tests the judiciary, trying to bend it to Trump’s demands, the Congress, controlled by the president’s own Republican Party, appears ready to back him up.

It all comes as the Supreme Court last summer granted the executive broad immunity from prosecution, setting the stage for the challenges to come. But Chief Justice John Roberts warned more recently that “impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision.”

Democrats are warning against what they view as an assault on the judicial branch, which so far has been the only check against Trump and DOGE’s far-reaching federal actions. Threats against the federal judges, already on the rise, remain of high concern.

“It is outrageous to even think of defunding the courts,” said Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, reacting to the House speaker’s claims. “The courts are the bulwark against Trump, and the Republicans can’t stand it.”

House GOP leaders met Tuesday with Rep. Jim Jordan, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, which will hold a hearing on the issue next week. The House is also expected to vote on a bill from Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., that would limit the geographic reach of certain federal rulings, to prevent temporary restraining orders from being enacted nationwide.

Jordan said he also spoke Saturday with Trump during college wrestling championships in Philadelphia.

“All options are on the table,” Jordan said late Monday. “We want to get the facts. Gather the facts.”

Since Trump took office, and with Musk, on a mission to dramatically reduce the size and scope of the federal government, the administration’s tech-inspired move-fast-and-break-things ethos has run up against the constraints of federal law.

An onslaught of court cases has been filed by employee groups, democracy organizations and advocacy groups trying to keep federal programs — from the U.S. Agency for International Development to the Education Department — from being dismantled.

Judges have issued various types of restraints on Trump’s actions. Trump’s first administration alone accounted for 66 percent of all the injunctions issued on presidential actions between 2001 and 2023, according to data from a Harvard Law Review piece circulated by Republicans.

The legislation from Issa had no support from Democrats when it was approved by the Judiciary Committee last month. A similar bill was introduced Monday by GOP Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri.

Rep. Jamie Raskin, of Maryland, the top Democrat on the Judiciary panel, said Trump is being hit with injunctions because he is “engaged in terrible, irresponsible and lawless violations of people’s rights.“

“We are winning in court,” Raskin said in a video address. “We’ve got make sure we defend the integrity of the judiciary.”

When it comes to actually impeaching the judges, however, top Republicans have stopped short of backing what would be a severe action.

Impeachments are rare in Congress, particularly of judges, but several rank-and-file House Republicans have proposed legislation to launch impeachment proceedings against various federal judges who have ruled in ways unfavorable to the Trump administration.

Musk has rewarded House Republicans who signed onto impeachment legislation with political donations, according to a person familiar with information first reported by the New York Times. The person was granted anonymity to discuss the matter.

Republicans are particularly focused on Boasberg, the chief judge of the district court in Washington, D.C., who Jordan said is in a “somewhat unique in that, you know, his decision was crazy.”

The judge is weighing whether the Trump administration defied his order after the planes of migrants landed in El Salvador, turned over to that country’s notorious mega-prison system. The Trump administration had invoked the Alien Enemies Act, a war-time authority used during World War II against Japanese Americans, for the deportations the judge said lacked due process.

Any impeachment effort would also require backing from the Senate, where GOP leaders also panned the effort.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., echoed the advice of Roberts in allowing normal legal procedures to play out.

“At the end of the day, there is a process, and there’s an appeals process, and you know, I suspect that’s ultimately how this will get handled,” Thune said.

Associated Press writers Leah Askarinam and Kevin Freking contributed to this report.

Niko Medved was introduced as the next coach of the Gophers men’s basketball team on Tuesday afternoon in Dinkytown.

He spoke for nearly 30 minutes during his introductory press conference that, in many ways, was the antithesis of the performance P.J. Fleck put on when he was introduced as the next coach of the Gophers football team nearly a decade ago.

No talk of being elite. No talk of running into the fire. No talk of eating difficult conversations for breakfast.

It was much more pragmatic approach from Medved, a Roseville native who oozed Minnesota Dad Energy while detailing a path that started with him serving as a student manager with the Gophers roughly 30 years ago, then came full circle this week when he was hired as the man in charge of leading the program into the future.

“Now is the time,” Medved said. “Now is the time more than ever that Minnesota is poised to take the next step.”

Is it? That might hinge on Medved’s ability to channel his inner Fleck.

It’s not going to be an easy task stepping into the spotlight with the Gophers struggling to stay relevant amid the changing landscape of college athletics. The lack of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) budget compared to some of their peers has made the transfer portal a nightmare to navigate.

Just ask Ben Johnson, the former U basketball coach who struggled to keep some of his best players from leaving for more money elsewhere.

In an interview with KFAN radio host Dan Barreiro last week, Richard Pitino offered some advice to whoever took over, and he’d be a pretty good person to listen to as another former coach of the Gophers men’s basketball team.

Though he covered many topics about the program itself, perhaps his most interesting point came when speaking about the importance of establishing a brand that can become recognizable to even the most casual fans.

If Medved needs an example of how to do that, he doesn’t have to look any further than Fleck.

Never mind that Fleck’s personality might rub people the wrong way. The man knows how to build a brand in a way that is authentic to who he is at his core. He has stayed true to himself since his introductory press conference and has established his “Row The Boat” slogan as a brand in the process.

All the catchphrases from Fleck that might illicit an eye roll here and there have been woven into the fabric of the program. The culture that Fleck has cultivated gets players to stick around, fans to show up, and maybe most importantly, boosters to write checks.

It would be wise for Medved to mold himself in Fleck’s image.

That doesn’t mean Medved needs to act like Fleck. He simply has to connect with people the same way Fleck does.

You have to get people to care. It’s the only way the Gophers are going to succeed in a game that’s seemingly rigged for them to fail.

The elephant in the room was something Medved addressed multiple times in his introductory press conference as it seemed like every other question led back to Name, Image, and Likeness in some way, shape or form.

“I believe there are plenty of people here who want to get behind and support this program,” Medved said. “It’s our job getting people to believe in what we’re doing and be like, ‘This is a program that I really want to get behind.’”

That will start and stop with Medved. He has to be the person who can make up for all of the other shortcomings. That’s what the Gophers hired him to be.

You got a glimpse of how Medved will go about his business when brought up his “Team Together” slogan that will be coming with him.

“It’s going to take everybody to be successful,” Medved said. “I’ve seen Minnesotans come together and support something unlike anything. I’ve seen it done here before. I believe we can do that again.”

That sounds nothing like Fleck, and that’s kind of the point.

The authenticity with which Medved speaks will be his biggest superpower. He’s a Minnesotan himself, so he knows Minnesotans better than most. He knows what resonates with them, and he will have to use that to his advantage.

“I can’t wait to pour my heart and soul into this,” Medved said. “You can count on me to do that.”

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By MICHAEL PHILLIS, ALEXA ST. JOHN and MATTHEW DALY

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency illegally canceled grants worth more than $1.5 billion focused on improving the environment in minority communities hit hard by pollution, Senate Democrats say.

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Hundreds of grants were awarded by former President Joe Biden’s administration under a 2022 law that directed the EPA to spend $3 billion on grants to help low-income and minority communities improve their air, water and protect against climate change. Those environmental justice efforts were a major priority under Biden.

President Donald Trump’s administration, however, has cut funding, grants and people focused on environmental justice. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced March 10 that that he was canceling more than 400 “DEI and Environmental Justice grants” totaling $1.7 billion. In a post on X, Zeldin said the cuts were the fourth — and biggest — round of EPA/Department of Government Efficiency cuts.

All nine Democrats on the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works signed the letter to Zeldin dated Monday. It demands information from the EPA about the terminated grants and eliminated environmental justice employees, and asks the agency to explain its plans to “combat pollution specifically in marginalized communities.”

“The vast majority of the targeted grant awards were made using funds appropriated by Congress with a statutory mandate that they be distributed to disadvantaged communities,” according to the senators’ letter.

The senators also accused the EPA of violating court orders and rules for terminating grants.

An EPA statement said the terminations will not stop.

“We have received the letter and will respond through appropriate channels. As the Trump administration reins in wasteful spending of taxpayer dollars, EPA will continue terminating assistance agreements in line with terms and conditions,” the statement said.

An internal EPA list of the roughly 400 grantees that was shared with The Associated Press detailed the cuts.

They included a wide swath of recipients for clean air and water initiatives. The Childhood Lead Action Project was granted $500,000 for a lead poisoning prevention program. Detroiters Working for Environmental Justice was granted $474,000 for a community air quality system, while the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection was granted $1 million for a pilot project in communities affected by PFAS contamination in drinking water, as examples.

To carry out the spending in the Inflation Reduction Act, the agency funded several environmental justice grant programs during the Biden administration. Community Change Grants, for example, focused on community-driven projects for places “facing legacy pollution, climate change, and persistent disinvestment,” per the EPA.

“Unsurprisingly, the illegal termination of these grants puts communities at risk and does nothing to lower costs for families,” said Delaware Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester, a Democrat.

Trump signed an executive order overturning decades worth of environmental justice policies and purging DEI efforts from the government. Zeldin has in turn dismantled the Biden administration’s climate program and environmental justice work.

“EPA continues to work diligently to implement President Trump’s executive orders,” Zeldin has said.

For example, the agency directed a bank to freeze $14 billion in funding spent during the Biden administration on a green bank to finance climate-friendly projects — a program authorized by Congress. Zeldin accused the nonprofits administering the program of mismanagement and self-dealing and terminated the grants. That move was paused by a federal judge who said the government’s accusations of fraud were “vague and unsubstantiated.”

Senate Democrats are pushing back against the Trump administration’s effort to withhold congressionally authorized spending, called impoundment. They argue Zeldin is violating a promise he made during his Senate confirmation hearing to follow the law.

“The illegal termination of these EPA grants not only violates congressional appropriations law, contractual agreements, and multiple court orders, but it also undermines essential programs aimed at eliminating childhood lead poisoning, reducing toxic air pollution, and mitigating health risks from heat and wildfires,” said Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, the top Democrat on the committee.

The Washington Post was first to report on the letter.

Last year, the EPA changed the terms and conditions for its grants, eliminating its ability to do policy-based cancellations. An internal EPA Office of General Counsel email obtained by Senate Democrats and provided to The AP says that even though EPA officials knew some grants had this updated language, they were terminated anyway.

Phillis reported from St. Louis and St. John reported from Detroit.

The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of AP’s environmental coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment