Things Musk (and Trump) Did... Day 25 | Blog#42
The carnage continues as opacity thickens
Please keep a tab open to this post as it gets continuous updates and only one email goes out when I first publish the post, but not when I update it.
I usually make updates several times an hour. The newest items appear at the bottom.
Yesterday’s post
Swing-district Republicans are questioning Mike Johnson’s budget
Conservatives are no longer the only concern for House GOP leaders.
Speaker Mike Johnson has cleared a major hurdle toward unlocking the massive, party-line bill he’s pursuing to enact President Donald Trump’s vast domestic agenda. Now he’s got more jumping to do.
On Thursday, as Republican hard-liners celebrated a concession they won from party leaders to force deeper spending cuts as part of the GOP’s sweeping policy push, centrists expressed deep alarm about the trajectory of the massive legislation that will include border security, energy, defense and tax provisions.
The emerging fault lines are many: GOP members in high-tax blue states are concerned that the plan doesn’t leave enough room to expand the state and local tax deduction. And Senate Republicans and some House hard-liners aren’t ready to give up on a competing two-bill plan.
But Johnson’s most immediate problem comes from swing-district Republicans who believe that the steep spending cuts Johnson wants across Medicaid, food assistance and other safety-net programs for low-income Americans could cost them their seats — and Johnson his razor-thin GOP majority.
Continue reading at Politico
Fiscal hawks tweak House Republicans’ party-line framework
The House Budget Committee adopted an amendment that would shrink the amount of tax cuts Republicans can enact if they don't cut a total of $2 trillion in spending.
Members of the House Freedom Caucus succeeded in modifying the budget plan GOP leaders are using to set up their party-line package to deliver on President Donald Trump’s agenda.
The House Budget Committee voted 21-16 on Thursday to adopt an amendment that would shrink the amount of tax cuts Republicans can enact if they don’t slash $2 trillion in spending at the same time. House Republican leaders negotiated the amendment with members of the group of fiscal conservatives to lock in support for clearing the budget plan through committee and bolster their chances of adopting it on the floor.
Under the budget resolution — which was also adopted Thursday night in a partisan, 21-16 vote — Republicans would be able to advance a package that includes tax cuts that increase the deficit by $4.5 trillion while cutting at least $1.5 trillion from mandatory programs over the coming decade.
The amendment, offered by Rep. Lloyd Smucker (R-Pa.), added language essentially capping the cost of the tax cuts at $4 trillion, with a dollar-for-dollar increase in that ceiling if Republicans cut more spending, up to a total of $2 trillion in cuts
Continue reading at Politico
Capitol agenda: Johnson's next battles
The speaker muscled his budget plan through committee. But he has major headaches ahead on a budget floor vote and appropriations negotiations.
Speaker Mike Johnson muscled his budget blueprint through committee. That will likely be the easy part.
Late Thursday the House Budget Committee approved a resolution in a party-line vote that will allow Republicans in the chamber to move forward on their one-bill strategy to pass President Donald Trump's agenda on the border, energy and tax cuts. Conservatives had threatened a potential revolt over demands for more spending cuts but came around after leaders offered an amendment that would shrink the amount of tax cuts Republicans can pursue if they don't cut $2 trillion in spending.
While that change appeased hard-liners for now, other serious fault lines remain. The most politically vulnerable Republicans are concerned the cuts will have to come out of Medicaid, food assistance and other programs for low-income Americans — a prospect they fear could cost them their seats. And other GOP members from high-tax blue states are worried there’s no room to adjust the SALT deduction.
Johnson’s razor-thin majority means he has almost no margin for error when he plans to bring the budget outlining broad parameters on President Donald Trump’s agenda to the floor later this month. Senate Republicans are throwing the speaker a lifeline by waiting to confirm Rep. Elise Stefanik as UN ambassador. But they’re still squeezing him by moving forward on their two-bill plan versus Johnson’s one.
Continue reading at Politico
The Odd Couples of Trump’s Washington
MAGA 2.0 has brought together unlikely teammates. But the honeymoon might not last.
This Valentine’s Day, Trumpworld seems on the verge of a messy breakup — or, more likely, many of them.
In January, everyone was in a celebratory mood during Inauguration festivities, from RFK Jr.’s MAHA moms to New Right “cruel kids” to the whole extended Trump clan, exes and all. All the Instagrams and unbanned TikToks underscored a cohesive lovefest, papering over conflicts of bygone eras. But just beneath the surface, trouble was already brewing: Within just a couple of weeks of Trump’s election win, Vivek Ramaswamy, former co-chief of the Department of Government Efficiency, was out, exiled after he went on a rant on X about the need for high-skilled immigrants, inflaming a very different part of Trump’s base that Ramaswamy had little connection to.
That clash, though, was just a preview. Very public Inauguration merry-making aside, the MAGA coalition has long been a rickety hodgepodge of groups with views that often don’t fit neatly into any partisan or ideological box. Its members, as a result, frequently clash with each other. (Remember Steve Bannon vs. Javanka from Trump’s first administration, or Reince Priebus vs. Anthony Scaramucci?) That fighting doesn’t stop with just Trump’s inner circle and Cabinet members; Trump’s ascent and his, ahem, unique governing style has also pitted Republicans in Congress and the rest of Washington against each other. And then there are the people who just don’t like each other, for all the normal venal and trifling reasons that arise when two combative personalities are in the same room. Already, Bannon is waging war on Elon Musk, and the Treasury secretary and likely Commerce secretary have to get past a very rocky start to work together.
Continue reading at Politico Magazine
In-person work doubled over the past year, survey finds
The office is back: The share of people who reported working mostly in-person doubled in 2024 from the previous year, according to a survey from McKinsey released Friday morning.
Why it matters: With hiring slowing, and workers feeling stuck, employers are using their newly strengthened upper hand to finally get what they want: butts in seats.
Where it stands: "There is a perception among senior leaders that productivity is better accomplished in office," says Brooke Weddle, a senior partner at McKinsey. (Research paints a more complicated picture.)
Executives are keen to return to office (RTO), Weddle says, noting that in one recent 24-hour period she heard from three different leaders at three companies about it.
Continue reading at Axios
Scoop: Trump's immigration arrests appear to lag Biden's
U.S. agents arrested more than 21,000 unauthorized immigrants in November as President Biden's term wound down — a pace the Trump administration doesn't appear to be matching in its first month despite its crackdown, an Axios review of new data finds.
Why it matters: Trump's border czar, Tom Homan, says about 14,000 immigrants have been arrested in the three-plus weeks since President Trump took office.
One possible reason Trump's arrest rate isn't matching Biden's: The publicity surrounding the new president's tough talk on immigration has fueled a dramatic dip in the number of people trying to enter the U.S. illegally on the southern border.
Homan said this week that illegal border crossings have dropped 92% since Trump took office Jan. 20.
Continue reading at Axios
Why Valentine's Day candy costs more this year
High cocoa prices have made the cost of Valentine's Day chocolates more bittersweet this year.
Why it matters: Chocolate treats are expected to increase 10 to 20% for the holiday and throughout 2025, David Branch, sector manager at Wells Fargo Agri-Food Institute, tells Axios.
The hike comes as the price of cocoa beans has more than 143% since January 2024, Brach said.
The big picture: Record cocoa prices are driven by declining cocoa production from disruptive weather amplified by climate change and crop disease in West Africa.
"Chocolate is going to be more expensive, as nearly all major candy manufacturers have indicated they will have to raise their prices," Brach told Axios.
Continue reading at Axios
Focus group: Arizona swing voters to Trump, Musk: Keep it coming
Every Arizona swing voter in our latest Engagious/Sago focus groups said they approve of President Trump's actions since taking office — and most also support Elon Musk's efforts to slash government.
Why it matters: Public opinion can constrain presidents when Congress does not. But these 11 voters — all of whom backed Joe Biden in 2020 but switched to Trump last November — said they're good with Trump aggressively testing disruptive, expansionist expressions of presidential power that are piling up in court challenges.
It's needed to "get America back on track," one participant said.
What we're watching: One notable area of disagreement with Trump: The idea of the U.S. displacing Palestinians and taking over and redeveloping Gaza. These swing voters want Trump to stick with Americans' needs inside the U.S.
Continue reading at Axios
WHCA condemns ‘unacceptable’ escalation as White House bars AP from press conference
“The White House’s decision to bar Associated Press reporters from today’s press conference with President Trump and Prime Minister Modi is outrageous and a deeply disappointing escalation of an already unacceptable situation,” Eugene Daniels, the association’s president, wrote in a statement.
“Let me be clear: the White House is seeking to curtail the press freedoms enshrined in our Constitution, and has admitted publicly they are restricting access to events to punish a news outlet for not advancing the government’s preferred language.”
The Associated Press said they were warned about the removal on Tuesday by a White House official who said the administration took issue with the publication’s decision to use the term Gulf of Mexico instead of the Gulf of America following President Trump’s recent executive order issuing a name change.
Continue reading at The Hill
Trump canceled a report on American nature, but the authors are still trying to share it
The researchers behind a massive report on the state of nature in America are seeking to release it despite President Trump’s cancellation of the project, one of the report’s authors told The Hill.
Trump canceled the National Nature Assessment, which began its work under the Biden administration, shortly after he took office in January. It would have been due earlier this week.
“The idea was that we don’t have a good national inventory of the state of nature,” Howard Frumkin, a professor emeritus of environmental science at the University of Washington School of Public Health who was lead author on the report’s chapter on the relationship between nature and public health, told The Hill in an interview.
Continue reading at The Hill
Democrats call out Trump actions on Tesla, Musk
High-level policy discussions that could benefit Tesla and its biggest shareholder Elon Musk are underscoring the political complexities of the world’s richest man playing a central role in the Trump White House.
They are also giving ammunition for Democrats to go on the attack against Musk, who at breathtaking speed is remaking a federal government by offering buyouts to federal workers and seeking to dismantle various agencies in the name of saving the government money.
Democrats on Thursday were firing shots after several news outlets reported that the State Department planned a $400 million purchase of armored Tesla Cybertrucks based on a procurement forecast published in December — after President Trump won the election but before his inauguration.
Continue reading at The Hill
Republicans put healthcare cuts front and center to advance agenda
Republicans are eyeing changes to how much the federal government, as opposed to states, will contribute to Medicaid expenditures, an amount called the federal medical assistance percentage, or FMAP.
Republicans see Medicaid as a program rife with fraud and abuse and have long sought to rein in its spending.
The joint federal-state program provides health coverage for more than 70 million people, with the federal government covering anywhere from 50 to about 75 percent of the costs for traditional Medicaid but 90 percent for states that expanded coverage under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
The House Budget Committee on Thursday considered a plan that would instruct the Energy and Commerce Committee – which has jurisdiction over Medicaid – to find $880 billion in savings over the next 10 years.
Continue reading at The Hill
Axios Future of Health Care
1 big thing: The Medicaid money bag
House Republicans finally previewed what level of spending cuts they'll be looking for to pay for tax cuts later this year, and there's a big target on Medicaid.
The big picture: Republicans may be looking for Medicaid spending reductions to the tune of nearly $900 billion over the next decade. While some options have come up more than others, there are actually quite a few different levers they could pull to get there.
The question is which — if any — end up being politically palatable enough to eventually make it through both the House and the Senate.
Between the lines: Many of us have watched this play out before — eight years ago, to be precise. Big Medicaid cuts were a hugely controversial piece of the GOP's Affordable Care Act repeal and replace effort, which ultimately failed.
Continue reading at Axios
2. This is ultimately a fight with providers
Most — if not all — roads to big Medicaid savings for the federal government lead to hospitals' and other providers' wallets.
Why it matters: Some hospitals are making a lot of money (and running Super Bowl ads), while others are struggling and on the brink of failure. Regardless, the hospital industry is a formidable presence in Washington, which could create big headaches for lawmakers seeking to enact reforms that hospitals don't like.
Where it stands: Industry statements started hitting my inbox yesterday shortly after House Republicans released their budget resolution, which called for $880 billion in spending reductions within the jurisdiction of the committee that covers Medicaid.
"While some have suggested dramatic reductions in the Medicaid program as part of a reconciliation vehicle, we would urge Congress to reject that approach," the American Hospital Association warned.
Continue reading at Axios
3. A more direct hit to hospitals
Here's a little-known fact, outside of the health nerds circle: Some providers actually get pretty high payment rates now for seeing Medicaid enrollees.
Between the lines: What's been a brewing think-tank fight over Medicaid payments to hospitals and doctors could soon spill onto the main political stage should Republicans decide this is the most politically palatable route of attack.
Context: State-directed Medicaid payments have ballooned in size and allow some providers to now get paid similarly for seeing Medicaid and commercially insured patients.
That's been great for states, hospitals and arguably Medicaid patients, but not so great for the federal budget.
It's also a relatively new phenomenon; CMS first allowed states to begin directing managed care organizations to pay providers under certain circumstances in 2016.
Continue reading at Axios
4. The easy (?) money route
OK this has gotten long, so one last, brief thing: The easiest way to "save" hundreds of billions of dollars may be to simply axe some of the Biden administration's health regulations.
Repeals of these regs are included in a list of reconciliation policy options that circulated last month.
What we're watching: Even if they want to repeal these rules on the merits, some Republicans may view counting them as savings as cheating.
Continue reading at Axios
Despite court orders, Trump administration freezes numerous funds
Despite recent court rulings calling for an end to the Trump administration’s sweeping pause on federal grants, numerous recipients are not getting their promised cash from the government.
The administration is still not forking over money for congressionally funded programs ranging from electric vehicle charging to abandoned mine cleanup to wildfire mitigation.
Both recipients of and advocates for these funding programs say the freeze will have significant impacts, delaying — or even fully obstructing — many infrastructure projects.
Continue reading at The Hill
Senior Republican senator ‘puzzled and disturbed’ by Hegseth’s Ukraine remarks
Senate Armed Services Chair Roger Wicker is breaking with the line from the Trump White House.
MUNICH — U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made a “rookie mistake” when he said a return to Ukraine’s pre-war borders was “unrealistic,” Senate Armed Services Chair Roger Wicker said Friday.
Hegseth on Thursday pulled back some of the comments he made about Ukraine a day earlier, where he said that NATO membership for Kyiv was off the table and that the country could not return to its internationally recognized borders.
“Hegseth is going to be a great defense secretary, although he wasn’t my choice for the job,” the Mississippi Republican told POLITICO on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference. “But he made a rookie mistake in Brussels and he’s walked back some of what he said but not that line."
Continue reading at Politico
Putin is capable of attacking NATO country ‘next year,’ Zelenskyy warns
Ukrainian leader implores the West to “stop this crazy guy.”
Russia is preparing to station up to 150,000 troops in Belarus this year that could be used against NATO countries, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday in Munich.
“This year, Russia will prepare 15 divisions for training and strengthening the situation in the Belarusian direction. It will be 100,000-150,000 people," Zelenskyy said.
"And I am not sure that this group will go on the offensive against Ukraine. But it will go on the offensive," Zelenskyy said. "I am not intimidating anyone. They can simply go on the offensive into Ukraine, just like they went in 2022 … or they will go to Poland or the Baltic countries.”
Continue reading at Politico
Russia denies Ukrainian claim it struck Chernobyl reactor shell as radiation levels remain normal
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A Russian drone with a high-explosive warhead hit the protective containment shell of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the Kyiv region during the night, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday, but a senior Russian official rejected blame for the strike.
Radiation levels at the plant have not increased, Zelenskyy and a U.N. agency said. The International Atomic Energy Agency said the strike did not breach the plant’s inner containment shell.
The IAEA did not attribute blame, saying only its team stationed at the site heard an explosion and were informed that a drone had struck the shell.
Continue reading at the Associated Press
Playbook: Trump’s ‘electroshock’ for Europe
POLITICO EXCLUSIVE: At the POLITICO Pub at the Munich Security Conference this morning, Senate Armed Services Chair Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) told POLITICO’s Jonathan Martin that he was “puzzled and disturbed” by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s comments ruling out Ukraine joining NATO as part of a peace process.
Just posted: Hegseth “made a rookie mistake in Brussels, and he’s walked back some of what he said but not that line,” Wicker told POLITICO on the sidelines at MSC. “I don’t know who wrote the speech — it is the kind of thing Tucker Carlson could have written, and Carlson is a fool.” (More on Hegseth’s comments below.)
A NEW WORLD ORDER: The most important story in Washington today isn’t actually happening in Washington at all: Right now, some of the most influential policymakers in the Western world have gathered at the Hotel Bayerischer Hof for the Munich Security Conference. Over a whirlwind three days, America’s longtime European partners will try to get their sea legs as Hurricane Trump tosses the continent around like a cork floating in the ocean.
Snap back to reality: “Europe’s leaders started adjusting to their cold new world without American protection on Thursday — and began to push back against Donald Trump’s peace plan for Ukraine,” POLITICO’s Tim Ross, Jacopo Barigazzi, Hans von der Burchard and Clea Caulcutt write this morning. “In Brussels, Berlin, Paris and London, a growing chorus of voices — some calm, others angry — warned the U.S. president that conceding to the demands of Russian leader Vladimir Putin for territory would amount to ‘appeasement.’”
Fear and loathing: “A majority of European countries do not want to lose face and are still not thinking in terms of the new Trump framework,” a European official tells POLITICO’s Laura Kayali and Jacopo Barigazzi, adding that it probably stems from a “mix of fear and denial.”
But it’s more than just Ukraine: “Trump’s designs on Gaza and Greenland were examples of the ‘extreme strategic uncertainty’ the world was now living in,” French President Emmanuel Macron tells the FT. “It demanded a radical rethink of how the EU and its member states operate. ‘It is an electroshock. We need asymmetric shocks, we need external shocks. It is an exogenous shock for Europeans.’”
Continue reading at Politico Playbook newsletter
Johnson’s next battles
IN TODAY’S EDITION:
Johnson’s tough road ahead on Trump’s agenda
Leadership disconnect on spending talks
Crowded Minnesota Senate field
Speaker Mike Johnson muscled his budget blueprint through committee. That will likely be the easy part.
Late Thursday the House Budget Committee approved a resolution in a party-line vote that will allow Republicans in the chamber to move forward on their one-bill strategy to pass President Donald Trump‘s agenda on the border, energy and tax cuts. Conservatives had threatened a potential revolt over demands for more spending cuts but came around after leaders offered an amendment that would shrink the amount of tax cuts Republicans can pursue if they don’t cut $2 trillion in spending.
While that change appeased hard-liners for now, other serious fault lines remain, our Meredith Lee Hill reports. The most politically vulnerable Republicans are concerned the cuts will have to come out of Medicaid, food assistance and other programs for low-income Americans — a prospect they fear could cost them their seats. And other GOP members from high-tax blue states are worried there’s no room to adjust the SALT deduction.
Johnson’s razor-thin majority means he has almost no margin for error when he plans to bring the budget to the floor later this month. Senate Republicans are throwing the speaker a lifeline by waiting to confirm Rep. Elise Stefanik as U.N. ambassador, our Jordain Carney reports. But they’re still squeezing him by moving forward on their two-bill plan versus Johnson’s one.
The Senate could take a first procedural step on its budget blueprint as soon as Tuesday night — a timeline Majority Leader John Thune hasn’t set in stone but hasn’t ruled out, either.
Meanwhile, Johnson and Hakeem Jeffries are stoking tensions over the government funding fight. Johnson has accused Democrats of sending counter-offers they know are “not deliverable.” Jeffries, the minority leader, fired back Thursday that Democrats are “engaging in good faith” and “House Republicans have chosen to walk away.”
The people actually at the negotiating table see it differently. Top Senate appropriator Susan Collins told reporters Thursday “that’s not true,” adding that “there are definitely talks going on.” Rep. Rosa DeLauro, House Democrats’ top appropriator, said Thursday that “we are close on a number of things.”
Continue reading at Politico Inside Congress
Democratic senator: ‘DOGE is now at the IRS’
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) said Thursday that Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) staffers are now examining the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), warning against access to U.S. taxpayer data.
Democrats have sounded the alarm over DOGE and its leader, Elon Musk, attempting to overhaul the U.S. Agency for International Development and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and to gain access into the Treasury Department’s payment systems.
“My office is hearing that DOGE is now at the IRS. That means Musk’s henchmen are in a position to dig through a trove of data about every taxpayer in America,” Wyden wrote in a Thursday post on the social platform X, which Musk owns.
Continue reading at The Hill
Killer Russian drone strikes Chernobyl nuclear reactor cover, Ukraine says
“Radiation levels inside and outside remain normal and stable,” says International Atomic Energy Agency.
KYIV — A Russian attack drone struck the massive sarcophagus protecting the destroyed Chernobyl nuclear reactor, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a statement Friday.
The 108-meter-high arched steel structure covered the reactor in 2016 to halt nuclear contamination from the 1986 nuclear meltdown near Pripyat in Northern Ukraine, which caused a deadly environmental catastrophe across the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. It replaced an older shelter Ukraine constructed in the 1990s.
"The fire has been extinguished. Radiation levels have not increased and are being constantly monitored. The damage to the shelter is significant,” Zelenskyy said after the strike.
Continue reading at Politico Europe
‘Hallelujah’: Orbán predicts Trump-Putin talks will ‘reintegrate’ Russia into Europe
“That’s what we’ve been waiting for,” Hungarian prime minister says.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán suggested Friday that talks between U.S. President Donald Trump and Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin could lead to Russia’s reintegration into Europe’s economic, security and energy systems.
“If I were to comment on it in one word, I would say ‘Hallelujah.’ That’s what we’ve been waiting for,” Orbán said in his regular Friday morning interview with state broadcaster Kossuth Radio, commenting on Trump’s stunning move to try conclude the war in Ukraine.
Continue reading at Politico Europe
How Trump blindsided Europe as he schmoozed with Putin
Top European officials had no clue Donald Trump was about to announce a peace plan for Ukraine, after a world-changing call to the Kremlin.
LONDON — Europe just found out what some have known for a while: Donald Trump doesn’t ask first.
The U.S. president ripped up Western consensus by calling Vladimir Putin to open peace talks over Ukraine, offering a sweet basket of concessions to the Russian leader before negotiations had even begun.
And it seems he didn’t bother to consult America’s allies in the European Union or the U.K. over what he was about to do.
It’s a situation that lays bare the painful extent to which Europe — and the EU in particular — is now on its own, and seen in Washington, at best, as irrelevant. The transatlantic alliance, which was the foundation of European security since 1945, has been cut back to the brittlest of bones.
Continue reading at Politico Europe
Where unmarried Americans live
Searching for a partner? Consider Baltimore, the Bronx or Washington, D.C. — three areas with especially high shares of unmarried 20-and-older residents.
Why it matters: More Americans are delaying or foregoing marriage for a host of reasons, but it remains a bedrock of U.S. socioeconomic life and a strong predictor of happiness.
By the numbers: Baltimore, the Bronx and Washington, D.C. have the highest rates of unmarried 20-and-older residents among U.S. counties with at least 250,000 such residents overall.
74% of Baltimore's approximately 440,800 20-and-up residents are unmarried, compared to the national figure of 49.1%, per the latest census data.
71.9% of the 1.03 million Bronx residents in that age group, meanwhile, are unmarried — as are 69.3% of Washington, D.C.'s 529,000 residents 20 and up.
Continue reading at Axios
Money becomes more precarious
Money is the bedrock of our capitalist system, but recent moves from the Trump administration have made that foundation feel a bit squishier.
Why it matters: When the public loses faith in money objects, that unmoors us and can make things feel dangerously uncertain.
Driving the news: When New York City Comptroller Brad Lander checked one of the city's 26 bank accounts on Wednesday, he noticed $80.5 million had disappeared, clawed back by its sender, FEMA, seemingly on the orders of Elon Musk. (Musk alleged the money was earmarked to pay for hotel stays for migrants, which he said violated President Trump's executive orders.)
On Feb. 4 the money was in the account. By Feb. 12 it was gone.
The money was paid into the account via ACH transfer, a protocol that allows transactions to be reversed within five business days for one of three specific reasons: It was a duplicate transaction, it was sent to the wrong account by mistake, or there was an incorrect payment amount that needs to be corrected and resent.
Continue reading at Axios
EU braces for turbulent diplomacy as US demands ‘rebalancing’ of relations
Relations between the US and Europe entered uncharted territory after a week of diplomatic shocks that saw the Trump administration cutting Kyiv and Brussels out of bilateral US-Russia talks to end the Ukraine war and setting a hard line on NATO defence spending. It set the stage for stormy talks between allies at the Munich Security Conference this weekend.
European leaders are bracing for tense talks with a US team, led by US Vice President JD Vance, at the 2025 Munich Security Conference.
Vance and US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth embarked on a diplomatic blitz of Europe this week to deliver a stern warning from their boss, President Donald Trump. The message from Washington was stark: Europe must step up and contribute more to its own security as part of a rebalancing of transatlantic relations.
Ahead of meetings at NATO headquarters in Brussels this week, the new Pentagon chief hammered home the message, repeated oftentimes by Trump, that it was Europe’s responsibility to stop the Russian “war machine” and demanding that NATO countries increase their defence spending by 5 percent of GDP.
Continue reading at France 24
France 24 in English Live
Tina Smith retirement tees up rare open Senate seat battle royale
U.S. Sen. Tina Smith's announcement that she won't run again in 2026 could tee up a high-profile battle royale featuring some of Minnesota's biggest political stars.
The big picture: Open statewide seats are rare — the last time a U.S. Senate seat was open in Minnesota was 2008 — and there's a deep bench of state Democrats itching for a shot at a bigger gig.
An incumbent-less field also makes the November race more competitive, improving Republicans' chances of breaking a statewide losing streak dating back to 2006.
State of play: Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, who shares a consultant with Smith, was first out of the gate by announcing on Instagram that she intends to run for the seat shortly after the news broke.
Gov. Tim Walz, who was already mulling whether to run for a third term as governor, hasn't ruled out a bid of his own, a source familiar with his thinking confirmed to Axios.
Between the lines: A fallout between the two allies following Walz's vice presidential campaign had already raised questions about whether they would run as a ticket again if Walz decided to seek a third term as governor.
Continue reading at Axios
Which states get more federal money than they send
Only 13 U.S. states send more money to federal government coffers than they receive, a recent analysis found.
Why it matters: The Trump administration's push for states to be more financially independent brushes up against the reality that many depend on federal money for everything from disaster relief to food aid.
Driving the news: Massachusetts (-$4,846), New Jersey (-$4,344) and Washington (-$3,494) had the lowest balance of payments per capita as of 2022, discounting COVID-19 relief spending, according to a 2024 Rockefeller Institute of Government report.
New Mexico ($14,781), Maryland ($12,265) and Virginia ($11,577) had the highest.
How it works: Each state's balance of payments reflect how much federal money is distributed there (in the form of programs like Medicaid and SNAP, for example) versus how much money residents and businesses send to the federal government (via income or employment taxes, for instance).
A negative figure means a state sends more to the federal government than it receives, while a positive figure means it gets more than it gives.
Continue reading at Axios
Note from Rima: Forest service workers were fired yesterday. See yesterday’s post in addition to this one.
The view from the U.K.
US retail spending plunged last month, falling for the first time since August
WashingtonCNN —
American shoppers pulled back on their spending last month for the first time since August as stubborn inflation continued to bite and harsh weather curbed economic activity.
Retail sales plunged 0.9% in January from the prior month, the Commerce Department said Friday. That’s down sharply from December’s upwardly revised 0.7% gain and well below economists’ expectations of a 0.4% decline. The figures are adjusted for seasonal swings but not inflation.
Shoppers reined in their spending across multiple categories last month. Specialty stores and auto dealers were hit hardest, with spending falling 4.6% and 3%, respectively.
A key measure that excludes volatile components, referred to as the “control group,” was down 1.2% in January. Spending at restaurants, bars and department stores remained in positive territory last month.
Continue reading at CNN
Economist Jared Bernstein
Von der Leyen proposes triggering clause to massively boost defense spending
European Commission president announces plan at Munich Security Conference.
European Union countries will be able to significantly increase their spending on defense under a plan announced on Friday by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, von der Leyen said she wanted to trigger an emergency clause that would allow governments greater leeway so that military expenditure would not show up in the tightly controlled budget deficit limits.
“I will propose to activate the escape clause for defense investments," she said. "This will allow member states to substantially increase their defense expenditure.”
Continue reading at Politico Europe
JD Vance attacks Europe over migration, free speech
JD Vance stunned the audience with his broadside on the way Europe is run.
MUNICH — U.S. Vice President JD Vance launched a blistering attack on European governments on Friday, chastising them for ignoring the will of their people, who he insisted were being censored and repressed from expressing their populist views and practicing their faiths.
The remarks were a surprising departure from the normal defense-related speeches at the annual Munich Security Conference.
Vance’s comments brought the event to a standstill.
Rather than talk about defense budgets and Russia, Vance instead said he was witnessing “the retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental values.”
The speech focused largely on culture war issues and populism, with Vance accusing European governments and the European Union of being “commissars” more interested in stifling free speech than in providing security for their citizens.
Continue reading at Politico Europe
Elon Musk’s Kid Keeps Saying Weird Stuff About Trump
Little X appeared to tell Trump "shush your mouth" in the Oval Office.
When Elon Musk appeared in the Oval Office of the White House next to President Donald Trump on Tuesday, everyone’s eyes were naturally focused on the absolutely bonkers things coming out of their mouths. But after a couple of days, social media users have started to fixate on the short human who was doing some very odd things.
In a video clip that’s gone viral, Musk’s 4-year-old child named X Æ A-Xii, often shorted to just X, appears to tell President Trump, “I want you to shush your mouth.” Trump appears to listen to X as he’s saying it but then looks back at the senior Musk, who’s been talking the whole time.
Continue reading at Gizmodo
Trump spares California — for now
THE BUZZ: AVOIDING COURTROOMS — California Democrats tried to turn their state into a safe haven for undocumented immigrants during Donald Trump’s first term. But since returning to office, the president hasn’t challenged the Golden State’s immigrant legal protections to clear the way for mass deportations.
It can’t have hurt that California hasn’t gone as far as New York or Illinois on key laws that have landed the other big, blue states in court.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi sued New York this week over its law that provides driver’s licenses to undocumented residents, and she singled out a provision that Califiornia’s own driver’s licence law doesn’t include. New York alerts undocumented people when their DMV data is accessed by the Department of Homeland Security.
“It’s tipping off an illegal alien, and it’s unconstitutional, and that’s why we filed this lawsuit,” Bondi said when announcing the legal action.
California began giving “AB 60 licenses” to undocumented residents in 2015, named for the law that created the IDs. Its motor vehicles department shares with DHS the names, addresses and other information about people who hold California licenses, though it doesn’t alert license holders about it or disclose whether they’re undocumented.
Illinois, meanwhile, faces a separate suit from the Trump administration over its laws limiting state and local law enforcement’s cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. California passed SB 54 in 2017, which does that, too.
Continue reading at Politico Playbook California
Scoop: FTC chair endorses Trump's ability to fire commissioners
The new chair of the Federal Trade Commission is putting his commissioners on notice that he thinks President Trump has the right to fire them if he wants to.
Why it matters: Andrew Ferguson, who replaced Lina Kahn on Jan. 20, is the first head of an independent agency to embrace a controversial legal theory that could dramatically reshape the federal bureaucracy.
It will alarm progressive activists and Democratic lawmakers who are concerned that Trump wants to purge independent agencies like the FTC and the National Labor Relations Board.
Driving the news: Ferguson is filing a motion on Friday to formally change the FTC's legal position.
He is seizing on a letter sent to Congress this week by the acting solicitor general that the Trump Justice Department will seek to overturn a 90-year old Supreme Court decision known as "Humphrey's Executor."
Continue reading at Axios
Democrats' shutdown strategy: Let the GOP implode first
House Democrats are largely keeping quiet on what they will demand from Republicans to help stave off a government shutdown as the GOP struggles to get its ducks in a row.
Why it matters: Republicans will almost certainly need Democratic votes to keep the government open — key leverage that Democrats' grassroots are demanding they use to rein in Elon Musk and DOGE.
Rep. Joe Morelle (D-N.Y.), a close ally of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), said the funding deadline is "an opportunity" to "end the illegal and unconstitutional things" DOGE has been doing.
State of play: House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is reportedly eyeing a stopgap spending measure known as a continuing resolution that would keep the government funded until September at current levels.
Continue reading at Axios
Trump envoy Richard Grenell floats California governor bid — if Kamala Harris runs
Richard Grenell, a close ally to President Donald Trump, also explored a gubernatorial bid in California in 2021.
One of President Donald Trump’s top aides said Friday that if former Vice President Kamala Harris enters the race for California governor, he might too.
“If Kamala Harris runs for governor, I believe that she has such baggage and hundreds of millions of dollars in educating the voters of how terrible she is, that it’s a new day in California, and that the Republican actually has a shot, and I wouldn’t say no,” Richard Grenell told reporters Friday in Munich.
Continue reading at Politico
Cuomo’s $8M war chest looms over New York City’s mayoral race
The ex-governor stands to raise more in new money, but transferring his gubernatorial cash would provide a huge boost.
ALBANY, New York — There’s a number already looming large over New York City’s mayoral race: $7,709,232.
That’s how much money former Gov. Andrew Cuomo had in his state campaign account last month. Should he decide to run, it could give him a significant financial jump start: The eight most prominent challengers to Mayor Eric Adams have received a combined $4.6 million in contributions over the course of their campaigns.
Continue reading at Politico
Eric Adams joins forces with Trump border czar after DOJ orders case dropped
Already engulfed in a political firestorm, New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) appeared on "Fox & Friends" alongside Trump administration border czar Tom Homan Friday morning.
Why it matters: Adams, who is facing calls for his removal from his fellow Democrats after receiving a legal lifeline from Trump's Department of Justice, publicly solidified his alignment with the new administration and pledged collaboration on its immigration crackdown.
Driving the news: Appearing together on "Fox & Friends" Friday, Adams and Homan touted their partnership.
Adams said the executive order would work toward "getting dangerous people off our streets."
Continue reading at Axios
RFK Jr. says he has ‘generic list’ of HHS staffers who ‘should move out’
“I have a list in my head … we have a generic list of the kind of people that — if you’ve been involved in good science, you have got nothing to worry about,” Kennedy said during an appearance on Fox News’s “The Ingraham Angle” Thursday night.
“If you care about public health, you’ve got nothing to worry about. If you’re in there working for the pharmaceutical industry, then I’d say you should move out and work for the pharmaceutical industry,” he added.
Amid reports of staff bracing for potentially broad cuts affecting HHS, which employs roughly 90,000 employees across its health agencies, Kennedy pushed back on the idea of tens of thousands of cuts but signaled he would push for some removals.
The new HHS head mentioned those involved in past nutrition guidelines and those he alleged were “involved in the amyloid plaque scandals that derailed Alzheimer’s treatment for 20 years” as examples of the types of individuals he would want to “move.”
Continue reading at The Hill
Vance: If US survived Greta Thunberg, Europe ‘can survive a few months of Elon Musk’
In a speech at the Munich Security Conference, Vance accused European leaders of suppressing free speech and marginalizing populist voices in their political systems. And he offered a tongue-in-cheek response to those in Europe who have taken issue with Musk, the tech billionaire and ally of President Trump, getting involved in their politics.
“I believe that dismissing people, dismissing their concerns, or worse yet, shutting down media, shutting down elections or shutting people out of the political process protects nothing. In fact, it is the most surefire way to destroy democracy,” Vance said.
“And speaking up and expressing opinions isn’t election interference, even when people express views outside your own country, and even when those people are very influential,” he continued. “And trust me, I say this with all humor: If American democracy can survive 10 years of Greta Thunberg’s scolding, you guys can survive a few months of Elon Musk.”
Continue reading at The Hill
Politico National Security Newsletter:
Vance gives Europe another wake up call
MUNICH — Europe’s had a lot of “wake up call” moments since the rise of President DONALD TRUMP began a decade ago. Is today the day the continent stops hitting the snooze button?
For years, European officials have been describing major geopolitical shocks to the system — Trump’s first election, the war in Ukraine and Trump’s return — as a wake up call for Europe to take its own security seriously. It was a common refrain in speeches at elite gatherings like Davos and the Munich Security Conference. Followed by the inevitable complaints that these rousing calls to action weren’t actually followed by any action.
That could, maybe, finally … possibly change after the Trump team’s raucous debut to European allies this weekend.
Vice President JD VANCE made it clear today that Europe shouldn’t count on the U.S. as a partner if it fails to address migration and “threats” to free speech. In moments that particularly rankled Europeans, Vance compared EU leaders to Soviet commissars because they had criticized far-right leaders and said point-blank: “If you’re running in fear of your own voters, there is nothing America can do for you.”
That came on the heels of Defense Secretary PETE HEGSETH’s polemical comments in Brussels on Wednesday suggesting, among other things, that the U.S. could look to reduce its military presence in Europe and rule out allowing Ukraine to join NATO as part of a peace deal to end the war with Russia.
At this point, European officials are hoping the fiery MAGA messaging hitting Munich actually jolts the continent out of its rut of laggard defense spending and flimsy geopolitical power.
“How nervous am I about the U.S. right now? Honestly, I’m worried about Europe,” said GABRIELIUS LANDSBERGIS, former Lithuanian foreign minister. “We cannot stay focused solely on what is happening with the U.S., what President Trump or others on his team have said. We are three steps behind anyway. The question is, what are we going to do about it?”
Continue reading at Politico National Security Daily
Watch: Vance, Zelensky give remarks at meeting in Munich
Vice President Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky gave remarks during a bilateral meeting Friday outside of the Munich Security Conference.
Their comments follow Vance’s assurance during a recent interview that President Trump has an “extremely broad” range of options from economic tools to military tools, that he could use of leverage in talks with Russia to end the Ukraine war. The president spoke with Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this week to begin peace negotiations.
Watch at The Hill
Homan: If Adams doesn’t ‘come through, I’ll be back in New York City’
Homan and Adams made a joint appearance on Fox News’s “Fox & Friends,” after Adams agreed to allow federal immigration officials to operate at Rikers Island — a decision signaling a change in the Big Apple’s sanctuary city policies. The duo also vowed to work together to solve New York’s “migrant problem.”
“If he doesn’t come through, I’ll be back in New York City, and we will be sitting on the couch,” Homan told the Fox News panel, referring to the embattled mayor. “I’ll be in his office saying, ‘Where the hell is the agreement we came to? We’re going to deliver for the safety of the people of this city.'”
Continue reading at The Hill
Eric Adams rules out switching to GOP in NYC mayor’s race
Adams told NBC New York in an interview Thursday that he “100 percent” will be seeking the Democratic nomination for a second term as mayor in June. This came after The New York Times reported Adams spoke about possibly running in the GOP primary with Bronx Republican Party Chair Mike Rendino.
Continue reading at The Hill
One-third of Americans have more credit card debt than emergency savings: Survey
2024 and 2023 saw a higher percentage, at 36% each year
Inflation was on the rise in January
73% of Americans are saving less due to rising prices
A new survey from Bankrate revealed that 33 percent of U.S. adults have more credit card debt than emergency savings. That number is down from 36 percent in 2024 and 2023.
Bankrate’s 2025 Emergency Savings Report found that this year’s percentage is still higher than in 2022 when only 22 percent of Americans had more credit card debt than emergency savings.
When you break it down into age groups, millennials were most likely to have more debt than savings, with 42 percent falling into that category. Despite this, nearly three in four Americans (or 73 percent) are saving less money for emergency situations due to rising prices.
Continue reading at The Hill
Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin to cut 10 percent of workforce
The company is eliminating roles in engineering, research and development, and program and project management, as well as “thinning out our layers of management,” Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp said.
“Our primary focus in 2025 and beyond is to scale our manufacturing output and launch cadence with speed, decisiveness, and efficiency for our customers,” Limp said.
“We grew and hired incredibly fast in the last few years, and with that growth came more bureaucracy and less focus than we needed,” he continued. “It also became clear that the makeup of our organization must change to ensure our roles are best aligned with executing these priorities.”
Continue reading at The Hill
Louisiana no longer promoting mass vaccinations
In a letter released Thursday, Louisiana Surgeon General Ralph Abraham and Deputy Surgeon General Wyche Coleman cited the promotion of vaccine use as one of several “COVID missteps” that necessitate the rebuilding of public trust.
“There are some appropriate examples of government recommendations, such as encouraging routine screenings like colonoscopies or Pap smears and facilitating access, especially for the poor,” the letter stated.
“But promotion of specific pharmaceutical products rises to a different level, especially when the manufacturer is exempt from liability for harms caused by the drug, as is the case for many vaccines.”
Continue reading at The Hill
Zelensky: US ‘didn’t want us in NATO’ even before Trump
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday the U.S. did not want Ukraine to join NATO even before the Trump administration began changing the country’s approach toward the Russia-Ukraine war.
“The U.S. never saw us in NATO, they just spoke about it. They really didn’t want us in NATO,” Zelensky said at the Munich Security Conference.
He went on to say that if Ukraine is not able to join the actual alliance, “we’ll make NATO in Ukraine.”
Continue reading at The Hill
Trump’s framed mug shot hangs outside Oval Office
Here are the DOJ officials who resigned over order to drop Adams case
Several Department of Justice (DOJ) officials resigned from their posts after receiving a directive to drop federal corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D).
U.S. Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove sent out a Monday memo ordering prosecutors to forgo its case against Adams citing integrity issues with the case and an interference with his ability to serve as mayor.
Bove said the department “reached this conclusion without assessing the strength of the evidence or the legal theories on which the case is based.”
Here are a list of DOJ officials who resigned following the mandate:
Continue reading at The Hill
Another Adams prosecutor quits, challenges Bove to find a ‘fool’ to drop case
Scotten, who has led the probe into Adams from the beginning in 2021, said he can understand a chief executive who has a background in business and politics viewing the “dismissal-with-leverage” as a good deal, but any assistant U.S. attorney knows U.S. laws and traditions “do not allow using the prosecutorial power to influence other citizens, much less elected officials, in this way.”
“If no lawyer within earshot of the President is willing to give him that advice, then I expect you will eventually find someone who is enough of a fool, or enough of a coward, to file your motion,” he said. “But it was never going to be me.”
Continue reading at The Hill
Interior Department fires 2,300 employees after OPM directive
An internal message reviewed by The Hill on Friday indicates the department let go of 2,300 employees who were on probationary status — meaning they started relatively recently.
The Interior Department has a broad mandate, overseeing national parks, tribal affairs, endangered species and conservation of and energy production on federally owned lands and in federal waters.
It’s not immediately clear how many of the now-fired employees worked in any particular program. However, The Washington Post reported the National Park Service was firing 1,000 people but restoring previously rescinded job offers to 5,000 temporary workers.
The move comes after the OPM instructed agency leaders to fire nearly all probationary employees, impacting as many as 200,000 people, as The Hill reported Thursday.
Continue reading at The Hill
Trump administration fires thousands of federal workers as purge deepens
The Trump administration over the past two days has fired thousands of federal workers with jobs reportedly ranging from wildfire prevention to medical research.
Why it matters: A mass firing on this scale is unprecedented — and will likely vastly reshape the way the federal government works, or doesn't, for many years to come.
State of play: The White House has not released a tally yet of how many employees were fired and did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Axios.
Agencies have been given until 8pm on Tuesday to fire probationary workers, according to a source familiar with the process, though they can make case-by-case exceptions.
There are around 200,000 probationary workers — those who have been at agencies for less than one to two years — across the government.
The firings come after around 75,000 workers accepted a deferred resignation offer engineered by Elon Musk's DOGE.
What's happening: Many of the firings are happening over email.
Those being let go are mostly probationary workers or "term-limited" folks with set timeframes. But some more permanent civil servants are also out.
Continue reading at Axios
White House limits AP access to Oval Office, Air Force One indefinitely
The White House says it will limit Associated Press journalists’ access to the Oval Office and Air Force One, an escalation of a brooding conflict between the Trump administration and the wire service this week.
“The Associated Press continues to ignore the lawful geographic name change of the Gulf of America,” White House deputy chief of staff Taylor Budowich wrote in a post Friday on the social platform X.
“This decision is not just divisive, but it also exposes the Associated Press’ commitment to misinformation. While their right to irresponsible and dishonest reporting is protected by the First Amendment, it does not ensure their privilege of unfettered access to limited spaces, like the Oval Office and Air Force One,” the spokesperson added.
Continue reading at The Hill
Thune: Michigan, Minnesota Senate seats likely pickup opportunities for GOP
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) suggested Friday that open Senate seats in Michigan and Minnesota could serve as potential pickup opportunities for Republicans in 2026.
“I think they are,” Thune said during an interview on Fox News’s “America’s Newsroom,” when asked if both states served as possible pickups for the GOP.
“I mean, those are open seats. Minnesota is arguably slightly harder than Michigan,” he continued. “Both are our states that we haven’t elected a Republican senator to from — in a long time. But I think that these are different times and people are looking for change in this country. And I think even states that have traditionally been blue states present opportunities for us.”
Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.) became the second Senate Democrat to announce she wouldn’t seek reelection next year, several weeks after Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) said he wouldn’t seek reelection in Michigan.
Continue reading at The Hill
Newsom threatens to veto bill limiting state prison ICE cooperation
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) plans to veto a bill that would prevent the state’s prison system from collaborating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), his office told The Hill on Friday.
“The Governor will veto AB 15 if it reaches his desk,” the office said.
Assembly Bill 15 states that when California’s jails and prisons voluntarily and unnecessarily transfer immigrants eligible to release from state or local custody to ICE for detention and deportation purposes, these community members face “double punishment and further trauma.”
“The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) shall not detain on the basis of a hold request, provide an immigration authority with release date information, or respond to a notification request, transfer to an immigration authority, or facilitate or assist with a transfer request any individual who is eligible for release,” the bill says.
Continue reading at The Hill
Trump administration slashes funding for ObamaCare outreach program
The Trump administration slashed funding for Affordable Care Act navigators, which help people sign up for ObamaCare coverage on the law’s exchanges, by 90 percent.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on Friday announced health insurance navigators will receive just $10 million per year over the next four years. Navigators received $98 million in 2024.
CMS said the cut will allow the exchanges to focus on more effective strategies to improve outcomes and to reduce premiums for people who don’t qualify for subsidies.
The health agency justified the cut by noting navigators enrolled only 0.6 percent of plan selections on the federal exchange during the open enrollment period — at a cost of $1,061 per enrollment.
Continue reading at The Hill
Bessent on Trump reciprocal tariffs threat: ‘This is not theater’
“As we’ve learned that with President Trump, you should take him at his word. This is not theater. The April 1 deadline is for a study that the Commerce Department is doing on global tariffs that apply to U.S. products, country-by-country,” Bessent said during a Friday interview on Fox Business’s “Mornings with Maria.”
“And also, we’re not just looking at tariffs, but we’re looking at nontariff barriers, the local content, things like that. And we’re also looking at currency manipulation,” he added.
Continue reading at The Hill
Thune: McConnell will be with Republicans on ‘big stuff ahead of us’
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) says he expects former Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) to vote with Senate Republicans on the “big stuff ahead of us,” after McConnell voted against three of President Trump’s most controversial Cabinet nominees.
“He’s got views on some of these nominees that maybe don’t track exactly with where I or other Republicans have come down, but we respect his positions on these, some of these noms, and I know that on a lot of big stuff ahead of us, he’s going to be with us. He’s a team player,” Thune told Fox News Digital.
Thune made his comments after McConnell voted against Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Trump’s choice to head the Department of Health and Human Services.
Continue reading at The Hill
Trump, Musk to sit for first joint interview on Hannity
Trump formally establishes new energy council
President Trump on Friday signed an executive order that formally established an energy council that he previously said would aim to achieve “ENERGY DOMINANCE.”
The text of the executive order was not immediately released.
However, in announcing the plans for the council last year, Trump said that it would “oversee the path to U.S. ENERGY DOMINANCE by cutting red tape, enhancing private sector investments across all sectors of the Economy, and by focusing on INNOVATION over longstanding, but totally unnecessary, regulation.”
Continue reading at The Hill
Trump signs executive order stripping funds from schools requiring COVID-19 vaccines
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the head of the Department of Education are directed to create a plan to end these mandates and end federal funding for entities that do not comply.
Plans for the executive action were first reported Friday by Breitbart.
The order helps Trump fulfill his campaign to end the mandates many schools enacted after the COVID-19 vaccines were developed and as cases were ravaging the country under his first presidency.
“I will not give one penny to any school that has a vaccine mandate or a mask mandate,” he said on the campaign trail last year.
Continue reading at The Hill
American citizen arrested in Russia for weed gummies, state media says
He is the latest in a long string of U.S. citizens detained by Moscow on drug charges.
An American was arrested in Russia last week after airport security found cannabis gummies in his luggage.
The 28-year-old man, who arrived from Istanbul, was detained at Moscow’s Vnukovo International Airport on Feb. 7, according to Russian state media, after a sniffer dog discovered the contraband.
Continue reading at Politico
Watchdogs probe DOGE’s access to Treasury payments system, Musk’s fraud allegations
The Government Accountability Office and Treasury Department inspector general both said they were probing access to the payment systems.
Two government watchdogs have opened inquiries related to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s decision to allow associates of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency team to access the federal government’s systems that control trillions of dollars of payments.
Loren Sciurba, Treasury’s acting inspector general, said in a letter to lawmakers on Thursday that the watchdog had started an audit of the “adequacy of controls” over sensitive payment systems over the past several months.
The IG will also examine “any allegations of improper or fraudulent payments” made by the Bureau of the Fiscal Service. Musk has claimed, without offering any evidence, that Treasury employees have knowingly approved payments to fraudulent organizations and terrorist groups. Sciurba said that the review of any alleged fraudulent payments would cover the two most recent fiscal years.
Continue reading at Politico
Mass layoffs, court challenges and buyouts: Making sense of Trump’s plans to shrink the federal workforce
Answering some of the most important questions surrounding DOGE’s rapid transformation of the federal workforce.
Widespread layoffs across the federal government are in full force and could soon accelerate, all spearheaded by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.
Musk, at the order of President Donald Trump, continues to use a broad brush to dismantle long standing departments of the federal government, including the effective shuttering of USAID and encouraging federal employees to take a buyout.
The changes have been met with swiftly filed lawsuits, with judges ordering foreign aid to be restored and a hold on placing USAID employees on leave, among others.
Now, a wider swath of departments is making cuts. Thousands of federal workers — many of which are probationary employees who have only held their job for a short period of time — have been let go from agencies across government, ranging from the Energy Department to the Forest Service.
Continue reading at Politico
Thousands of federal health jobs to be cut: reports
The Trump administration is planning to cut thousands of jobs at the Department of Health and Human Services as soon as today, with the focus on probationary employees with two years or less experience, according to multiple reports.
Why it matters: The cuts, which follow similar moves throughout the executive branch, would fall across agencies, including the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, potentially affecting drug reviews, disease surveillance and biomedical research.
Driving the news: Senior officials were told Friday morning that about 5,200 people on probationary employment, or recent hires, would be targeted, STAT reported.
At least 1,300 jobs could be affected at the CDC's Atlanta headquarters, representing roughly one-tenth of the agency's workforce, WSB-TV reported.
Continue reading at Axios
DOGE discussing Housing Department layoffs
New details on potential layoffs emerge as the Department of Government Efficiency takes on HUD.
Elon Musk and his team at the Department of Government Efficiency have arrived at the Department of Housing and Urban Development — eyeing potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in spending cuts and layoffs for thousands of federal employees as the agency combats a national homelessness crisis.
Aides from Elon Musk’s DOGE team have begun holding regular meetings at HUD to review the agency’s budget and workforce structure for potential cuts, two people familiar with the matter granted anonymity to speak freely told POLITICO.
Continue reading at Politico
Thompson: No SNAP cuts in reconciliation
The House Agriculture chair said there would be no cuts to food aid benefits for low-income Americans in reconciliation or the farm bill.
House Agriculture Chair G.T. Thompson said Friday that he doesn’t expect reductions of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits to end up in the fiscal blueprint being floated by House Republican leadership.
“We can achieve what we need to do by program integrity to make the program stronger and better and better serve people, and also making sure the states take some accountability with the program,” Thompson said in an interview Friday at USDA headquarters, where he was attending Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins’ first speech to staff and supporters. “So there are no cuts to benefits.”
Continue reading at Politico
Senate GOP mulls vote on budget blueprint next week
Senate Majority Leader John Thune hasn’t made a final decision on whether to vote on the budget resolution next week, but his members view it as increasingly likely.
Senators are bracing for a likely battle next week over the GOP’s budget blueprint that will allow Republicans in the coming weeks to draft and pass a sweeping border, energy and defense bill.
Majority Leader John Thune hasn’t made a formal decision yet about whether he’ll bring the Senate’s budget resolution up for a vote on the chamber floor. But several GOP senators view it as increasingly likely that they will act next week after the Senate Budget Committee adopted the measure on Wednesday.
Continue reading at Politico
Vulnerable House Republican warns against benefit cuts
Speaker Mike Johnson can afford to lose only one Republican and still adopt a party-line budget blueprint — and President Donald Trump's agenda is on the line.
Pennsylvania Rep. Rob Bresnahan is the latest swing-district Republican to issue a warning over deep spending cuts GOP leaders are targeting for key safety net programs in a bill to enact President Donald Trump's massive domestic agenda.
“I ran for Congress under a promise of always doing what is best for the people of Northeastern Pennsylvania,” said Bresnahan in a statement Friday. “If a bill is put in front of me that guts the benefits my neighbors rely on, I will not vote for it. Pennsylvania’s Eighth District chose me to advocate for them in Congress. These benefits are promises that were made to the people of NEPA and where I come from, people keep their word.”
Continue reading at Politico
Scoop: Senate Dems target Trump and DOGE on counterterrorism
Top Senate Democrats are demanding the Trump administration reveal whether its federal hiring freeze has impacted national security operations, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: Democrats on Capitol Hill are still trying to wrap their arms around the extent of President Trump's cuts into federal agencies in the opening weeks of his second term.
A trio of Senate Democrats wants to know whether the Treasury Department has frozen hiring or eliminated positions in its Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, according to a letter obtained by Axios.
Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.), the top Democrats on the banking and intelligence committees, signed onto the letter. So did Sen. Andy Kim (D-N.J.), the top Democrat on a national security subcommittee.
Treasury's Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence tracks terrorist financing and is responsible for enforcing a wide range of government sanctions.
Continue reading on Axios
Trump trade plan intensifies
The Trump trade war has blown past the realm of tariffs. The White House plans to hit back at any measure undertaken by trading partners that it believes disadvantages U.S. exporters.
Why it matters: The Trump administration is ushering in a new era in which trade policy is managed country by country, using sweeping tariffs as the tool to address what officials call unfair trade dynamics.
It will factor in trading partners' behavior that is outside the traditional confines of trade policy, including whether they fund their government with a value-added tax and how they manage their currency.
It risks blowback on the U.S. if the nation is seen around the world as meddling in other countries' domestic policies.
With such widespread tariffs, higher U.S. inflation is a risk.
Continue reading Axios
Former CFPB official warns 12 years of critical records at risk
The former chief technologist at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau warns that twelve years of critical records could be "irretrievably lost" in the DOGE purge of the agency, per an affidavit filed in federal court Friday.
Why it matters: The stability of the financial system is at stake, claims Erie Meyer, who served in his position at the agency until last week.
The data at risk includes consumer complaints and personal information, as well as data with details about big banks and other firms, including fintechs.
"Based on my experience and expertise," the document says, "I believe that the deletion of the CFPB's databases and contracts would cause irreversible damage, not only to the Bureau's mission but also to consumer protection and the financial system as a whole. "
The big picture: The Trump administration effectively shuttered all work last weekend at the CFPB, which is responsible from keeping Americans safe from financial fraud.
Continue reading at Axios
Homeowner pleads guilty to shooting Black teen Ralph Yarl who rang the wrong doorbell
An 86-year-old Kansas City man pleaded guilty Friday to a lesser charge in the 2023 shooting of Ralph Yarl, a Black honor student who rang the White man’s doorbell by mistake.
Andrew Lester was scheduled to stand trial next week on charges of first-degree assault and armed criminal action in the shooting of the then-16-year-old, who survived and has since graduated from high school.
Continue reading at CNN
House Republicans plot impeachment against judges blocking Trump, DOGE
A few House Republicans are pledging to bring up impeachment articles against federal judges who have blocked Trump administration actions, including those of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), backing up tech billionaire Elon Musk’s call for a “wave of judicial impeachments.”
Continue reading at The Hill
VA cutting 1,000 employees
The Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) has dismissed more than 1,000 new employees as part of a wave of federal government layoffs that began this week, sparking concerns the firings could impact benefits for former service members.
Those dismissed include non-”mission critical” probationary employees who have all served less than two years, according to a VA statement released late Thursday.
Continue reading at The Hill
Senate Democrat rips ‘indefensible, indiscriminate’ firings at CDC
Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) blasted the Trump administration over its decision to fire more than 1,000 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) employees in a single day.
“Indefensible, indiscriminate firing of more than 1,000 CDC personnel in a single day leaves Americans exposed to disease and devastates careers and livelihoods for the world’s most talented doctors and scientists,” Ossoff said in a statement.
Continue reading at The Hill
Mayoral election in New York, New York, 2025 (June 24 Democratic primary)
Ten candidates are running for the Democratic nomination for mayor of New York on June 24, 2025. Six have led in polling and fundraising: Eric Adams, Brad Lander, Zohran Mamdani, Zellnor Myrie, Jessica Ramos, and Scott Stringer.
City & State NY's Annie McDonough wrote "The 2025 mayoral race will be one of the first tests for how New York Democrats confront a rightward shift in a reliably blue city."[1] In the 2024 presidential election, Donald Trump made gains with traditionally Democratic-leaning groups across the city, and Kamala Harris (D) won the city by 37 points, down from Joe Biden's (D) 54-point win in 2020 and down from Hillary Clinton's (D) 63-point win in 2016.[2] Trump's performance was the best for a Republican candidate for president since George H.W. Bush (R) in 1988.[3]
Continue reading at Ballotpedia
Note from Rima: Ballotpedia is a non-profit that covers politics and elections. Good source of information for local and state politics.
Wright announces first new natural gas export approval of second Trump term
Energy Secretary Chris Wright issued the Trump administration’s first export authorization for a liquefied natural gas (LNG) project Friday, part of a broader push to promote fossil fuel development and reverse the Biden administration’s promotion of renewables.
The Commonwealth LNG project, located in Cameron Parish, La., will have a projected export capacity of 1.2 billion cubic feet per day, Wright said in a statement.
“Today marks one of many steps that DOE will be taking to assure our future as a reliable energy supplier to the world and resume regular order to our regulatory responsibilities over natural gas exports,” Wright said.
Continue reading at The Hill
Just 32 percent in US trust AI: Study
Only about a third of Americans trust artificial intelligence (AI), according to new data from the Edelman Trust Barometer.
Just 32 percent of people in the U.S. said they trust the rapidly developing technology, according to the annual global survey’s “Insights for the Technology Sector.”
American views on AI stand in sharp contrast to those of their Chinese counterparts, 72 percent of whom said they trust AI. Overall, the world is split on AI, with 49 percent saying they trust the technology.
Continue reading at The Hill
After Vance meeting, Zelensky says Ukraine values Trump’s ‘determination’
Zelensky said he had a “good” meeting with Vance, who was in Munich alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump’s Russia-Ukraine special envoy Keith Kellogg, and that Kyiv is prepared to move “quickly” to reach a peace agreement.
“Our teams will continue to work on the document. We addressed many key issues and look forward to welcoming General Kellogg to Ukraine for further meetings and a deeper assessment of the situation on the ground,” Zelensky said in a Friday post on the social platform X.
“We are ready to move as quickly as possible towards a real and guaranteed peace. We deeply value President Trump’s determination, which can help stop the war and secure justice and security guarantees for Ukraine,” Ukraine’s president added.
Continue reading at The Hill
Trump rolls back CFPB, USAID and DOE: Where things stand
Trump signed an order this week indicating agency heads initiate large scale “reductions in force,” also known as RIFs, as part of implementing initiatives spearheaded by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
The order targets a number of federal agencies, including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and Department of Education.
Here’s where Trump’s rollback of various agencies stand.
Continue reading at The Hill
Vance meets with leader of far-right German party
Vice President Vance met Friday with a leader of the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party, making him the highest-ranking U.S. official to do so.
The vice president met with Alice Weidel, head of AfD, on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, an official with Vance’s office said. Vance met with all leaders of major German political parties during his week in Europe, the official said.
Vance also met Friday with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier of the Social Democratic Party of Germany and Friedrich Merz of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany. He met with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz earlier in the week in Paris.
The meetings took place ahead of Germany’s national elections, which are scheduled for Feb. 23.
Continue reading at The Hill
Politico
Vance meets with leader of far-right German political party backed by Musk
The vice president met with the leaders of all four major German political parties — including Alice Weidel, leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany.
Vance met with the leaders of all four major German political parties, the person said — including Alice Weidel, the leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany, or AFD. He also met this week with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, and Chancellor Olaf Scholz earlier in the week in Paris.
It was not immediately clear what Vance and Weidel discussed. A spokesperson for Vance declined to comment on what Vance discussed with any of the leaders.
Musk — the world’s richest man, DOGE chief, and close adviser to President Donald Trump — has been publicly supporting AFD ahead of Germany’s snap election, which is in less than two weeks. Last month, the billionaire appeared virtually at an AFD rally, urging the crowd to “move on” from “past guilt.”
Continue reading at Politico
Vance brings a wrecking ball to diplomatic gathering in Munich
The U.S. vice president roasted the continent’s way of governing itself.
MUNICH — JD Vance’s fiery speech at the Munich Security Conference — part of his multi-day debut on the world stage as U.S. vice president — dominated the marathon high-level gabfest among hundreds of top foreign dignitaries and national security elites.
“No one is talking about anything else,” said a senior Eastern European official.
Vance railed against establishment politics, urged Europe to curb migration and compared EU leaders to Soviet commissars because they had criticized far-right leaders. The tongue-lashing cemented fears among Europe’s security elites that the United States was diverging from the transatlantic status quo at a rapid pace, and there was little they could do to stop it.
“This is a new United States and it’s clear the old one Europe’s been used to for decades is gone,” said one former senior U.S. diplomat. “It could be this is the one wake-up call that actually wakes Europe up.”
POLITICO spoke to 14 conference attendees at the forum, several of whom were granted anonymity to discuss their reactions to Vance’s speech candidly. Many reacted with a mixture of shock and anger.
From inside an overflow room — the main conference hall was jam-packed — attendees laughed sardonically when Vance mentioned “shared values.” Not once, but twice, people in the room said “that was some weird shit” — quoting George W. Bush’s reaction to Trump’s first inauguration speech in 2017.
Continue reading at Politico Europe
Republicans rush to soften Trump’s cuts
GOP lawmakers try to intervene with the Trump administration as local fallout grows.
Republican lawmakers are pushing back against sweeping cuts to the federal government launched by President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, as their downsizing crusade begins to hit GOP constituents.
A growing number of GOP lawmakers are trying to intervene with the Trump administration and are weighing legislation to circumvent the changes. But with the Department of Government Efficiency and the Office of Management and Budget moving at a rapid clip and flouting federal law to carve up the government, the lawmakers face monumental challenges in getting the White House to spare their constituents from the ax.
Idaho Republican Rep. Mike Simpson, a senior appropriator whose district is home to a number of national parks, said in an interview his staff is talking to the administration about how an OMB-directed, government-wide hiring freeze will affect the National Park Service. The park service fired 1,000 full-time staff Friday but said seasonal hiring is resuming, exempting 5,000 seasonal jobs from the hiring freeze.
Continue reading at Politico
Trump’s acting FEMA leader undercuts president’s claims about disaster money
A document filed in court by the acting FEMA administrator, Cameron Hamilton, undercuts the administration’s misinformation campaign on disaster aid.
The head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency undercut President Donald Trump’s false statements that the agency spent disaster aid on undocumented migrants, noting in court papers that the money came from a special fund that is separate from recovery efforts.
Cameron Hamilton, acting administrator of FEMA, wrote in a court filing this week that FEMA migrant aid is funded through a program intended “to provide temporary shelter and other services to aliens released from custody.”
Trump and his supporters, including Republicans in Congress and Hamilton himself, have spread misinformation in accusing the agency of diverting disaster aid to help migrants who illegally crossed the southwest border into the United States. Hamilton used his personal X account to amplify the false accusations months before Trump appointed him to run the agency.
He tacitly walked those claims back in Tuesday’s court filing by citing laws that Congress — including the Republican-controlled House — passed in 2023 and 2024 to create and fund the Shelter and Services Program, which offers hotel rooms to migrants who were released from federal custody after entering the U.S. illegally from Mexico.
Continue reading at Politico
Senate GOP mulls vote on budget blueprint next week
Senate Majority Leader John Thune hasn’t made a final decision on whether to vote on the budget resolution next week, but his members view it as increasingly likely.
Senators are bracing for a likely battle next week over the GOP’s budget blueprint that will allow Republicans in the coming weeks to draft and pass a sweeping border, energy and defense bill.
Majority Leader John Thune hasn’t made a formal decision yet about whether he’ll bring the Senate’s budget resolution up for a vote on the chamber floor. But several GOP senators view it as increasingly likely that they will act next week after the Senate Budget Committee adopted the measure on Wednesday.
Continue reading at Politico
OpenAI board unanimously rejects Elon Musk's takeover offer
OpenAI's board has unanimously rejected Elon Musk's $97.4 billion takeover offer, with chairman Bret Taylor calling it an "attempt to disrupt his competition."
Why it matters: This was expected, given that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman had previously said the company isn't for sale, but nonetheless was a sharp rebuke of the world's richest man.
What OpenAI is saying, per a letter sent to Musk's attorney:
"Earlier this week, you sent a letter on behalf of a consortium of corporate and financial entities offering to acquire all of the assets of OpenAI, Inc. ("OAI"), and to do so imminently, subject to numerous conditions. Two days ago, you filed a pleading in court adding new material conditions to the proposal. As a result of that filing, it is now apparent that your clients' much- publicized 'bid' is in fact not a bid at all.
In any event, your clients' proposal, even as first presented, is not in the best interests of OAI's mission and is rejected. The decision of the OAI board on this matter is unanimous."
Continue reading at Axios
Brain Circuit for Creativity Identified
— Imaging studies hint at why some neurologic diseases fuel artistic work
Creativity mapped to a specific brain circuit in healthy people, an analysis of neuroimaging studies suggested.
In a meta-analysis involving 36 studies and 857 healthy participants, 415 brain coordinates were activated by creative tasks, reported Michael Fox, MD, PhD, of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and co-authors.
The coordinates varied throughout studies. However, 86% of these studies reported coordinates that were part of a common brain circuit defined by negative functional connectivity to the right frontal pole, Fox and colleagues wrote in JAMA Network .
This result was consistent across creative domains. It was reproducible in an independent dataset and specific to creativity when compared with random gray matter coordinates or coordinates activated by working memory tasks.
Continue reading at MedPageToday
Note from Rima: A related personal story.
EPA fires nearly 400 workers after OPM order
The EPA told The Hill in a written statement that it has “terminated” 388 probationary employees — meaning workers who started working at the agency within the past year.
It said the firings came “after a thorough review of agency functions in accordance with President Trump’s executive orders.”
“EPA has followed standard protocols and procedures, ensuring impacted staff received notification of their status. President Trump was elected with a mandate to create a more effective and efficient federal government that serves all Americans, and we are doing just that,” the statement said.
Continue reading at The Hill
Trump administration delays implementation of Biden-era appliance efficiency rules
The Energy Department on Friday afternoon announced it would “postpone” Biden’s efficiency rules for lightbulbs, clothes washers and dryers, air conditioners, air compressors and gas-powered water heaters.
In addition, it said it would postpone efficiency requirements for commercial refrigeration.
The Biden administration argued that its efforts to make appliances more efficient were a win-win, saving consumers money on their energy bills while also reducing planet-warming emissions. However, Republicans, especially President Trump, have said the requirements are an attack on consumer choice.
Continue reading at The Hill
Insurance commissioner rejects State Farm’s request for 22% emergency rate hike
State Farm General’s request for an emergency 22% hike of its home insurance rates due to the L.A. fires was turned down Friday by California’s insurance commissioner, pending more information from the insurer that the increase is warranted.
Commissioner Ricardo Lara said the state’s largest home insurer has failed to prove it needs the increase or explain how the additional premium dollars would affect its prior decisions to stop writing new home policies in the state and not renew existing policyholders.
“My goal is to make sure policyholders do not have to pay more than is required. In light of the recent Los Angeles wildfires, State Farm’s customers need real answers about why they are being asked to pay more and what responsibility the company’s leadership is taking to get its financial house in order,” he wrote in a letter to State Farm posted on the insurance department’s website.
Continue reading at the Los Angeles Times
Authors of nixed nature report plan independent release
President Trump canceled the National Nature Assessment, which began its work under the Biden administration, shortly after he took office in January. It would have been due for submission to the White House earlier this week.
“The idea was that we don’t have a good national inventory of the state of nature,” Howard Frumkin, a professor emeritus of environmental science at the University of Washington School of Public Health who was lead author on the report’s chapter on the relationship between nature and public health, told The Hill in an interview.
“We know a lot about our economy, we know a lot about our transportation infrastructure and our kids’ academic achievement, but nature is such an important basis for the economy and for health and well-being, for cultural benefits, but we never have had a good inventory of the state of nature across the country, of trends that may be affecting it, positive or negative, where and how it’s delivering benefits,” Frumkin added.
Continue reading at The Hill
Infant mortality rate rises in states with abortion bans, study finds
Researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the University of California, Berkeley, and two other academic institutions looked at live birth data across all 50 states from 2013 until 2023.
They then determined there were 478 infant deaths across 14 states with complete abortion bans or bans after six weeks of pregnancy that they say wouldn’t have happened if the bans were not in place.
Abortion is almost completely banned in 12 states including Texas, Louisiana, Kentucky, Alabama, Idaho, Oklahoma, Tennessee and West Virginia with some exceptions for rape, incest, or when continuing a pregnancy endangers the life of the mother.
Continue reading at The Hill
Blumenthal presses Rubio for answers on $400M Telsa Cybertruck deal
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) urged Secretary of State Marco Rubio to explain the department’s plan to purchase $400 million in armored Tesla Cybertruck vehicles, calling out tech billionaire Elon Musk’s “glaring conflict of interests.”
In a letter to Rubio Thursday, Blumenthal sought information on the steps the State Department has taken to address concerns surrounding Musk’s involvement in the purchase.
“In the 15 months since it was released, the Cybertruck has been widely derided and subject to at least six separate recalls,” he said.
“Indeed, Tesla has reportedly had ‘disastrous’ sales numbers for the Cybertruck. It hardly seems like the type of reliable vehicle the State Department would choose for this contract absent a heavy thumb on the scale,” the letter reads.
Continue reading at The Hill
Senate Democrats try to regroup ahead of GOP budget barrage
Why it matters: Senate Budget Chair Lindsey Graham's (R-S.C.) budget package includes some $175 billion in border security spending, presenting a potential political minefield for Democratic senators.
But Schumer also wants to look for opportunities to force Republicans to play defense by offering his own amendments to make them squirm.
Senators want to discuss where they should stick together in opposition to the GOP and when they can allow their members to break ranks, according to people familiar with the matter.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) might call Graham's budget package to the floor next week, which would lead to a "vote-a-rama" — in which senators can offer amendments for some 50 hours to score political points.
Zoom out: Schumer has given his members broad leeway on some controversial issues around immigration, like the Laken Riley Act.
Democratic activists are demanding their elected lawmakers mount a more forceful response to President Trump's dismantling of the federal government.\
Continue reading at Axios
Prosecutors file motion to drop corruption charges against NYC Mayor Eric Adams
Federal prosecutors in New York have filed a motion to drop corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams, bringing to a close a days-long battle that has upended the Justice Department over the decision to abandon the case.
The motion to dismiss the five-count indictment was filed on the court's public docket on Friday and said, "The Acting Deputy Attorney General has determined, pursuant to an authorization by the Attorney General, that dismissal is necessary and appropriate, and has directed the same, based on the unique facts and circumstances of this case."
The judge overseeing the case must approve the motion before the charges are officially dropped.
Continue reading at CBS News
Trump suggests he might impose auto tariffs on April 2
The biggest foreign supplier of cars was Mexico ($49 billion), followed by Japan ($40 billion), South Korea ($37 billion), Canada ($28 billion) and Germany ($25 billion).
President Donald Trump said Friday that he could impose tariffs on auto imports beginning April 2, a move that would further strain trade relations with North American neighbors, Europe and the rest of the world.
Trump made the statement in response to a reporter’s questions about when he could follow through on a previous threat to impose auto duties.
“Maybe around April 2,” Trump said during an executive order signing ceremony in the Oval Office. That would be one day after a slew of trade reports on potential tariff actions are due at the White House under an executive order he signed on Inauguration Day.
Continue reading at Politico
Democratic AGs win second court ruling against Trump’s order on gender-affirming care
“If the Order stands, transgender children will die,” the AGs warned in their lawsuit.
A second federal judge has blocked enforcement of President Donald Trump’s executive order threatening the federal funding of hospitals that provide gender-affirming care to teenagers.
U.S. District Court Judge Lauren King in Seattle — a Joe Biden appointee — sided Friday with the Democratic attorneys general of Washington state, Oregon and Minnesota who had sued to restore access to health services for transgender patients 19 years and younger. The services were disrupted by the administration’s “Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation” executive order.
Continue reading at Politico
Judge temporarily halts mass firings at CFPB, preserves agency data
The order also blocks acting CFPB Director Russ Vought from taking steps to defund the agency.
A federal judge Friday temporarily stopped the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau from continuing mass firings of employees, throwing up an initial roadblock to President Donald Trump’s fast-moving efforts to dismantle the agency.
U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson blocked the CFPB from terminating additional employees after the Trump administration this week fired dozens of agency workers, including an entire team of people scrutinizing Big Tech companies’ financial products. The order blocks the CFPB from terminating any employee, other than for performance-related reasons or misconduct, or starting the process to lay off career agency employees.
Continue reading at Politico
Adams to sue over Trump’s clawback of $80 million in migrant grants
New York City mayor says legal action will begin next week as his ties to Trump are scrutinized.
NEW YORK — Mayor Eric Adams plans to take the Trump administration to court over its clawback of $80 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency funds intended to help New York City provide shelter and services to migrants, according to a letter Friday.
“The Law Department is currently drafting litigation papers with respect to this matter. We intend to initiate legal action by February 21, 2025,” the city’s corporation counsel Muriel Goode-Trufant wrote to City Comptroller Brad Lander, declining his request for outside counsel.
Continue reading at Politico
Former CIA Chief and Secretary of Defense, Leon Panetta on JD Vance meeting with the leader of the German far right party.
Trump officials fired nuclear staff not realizing they oversee the country’s weapons stockpile, sources say
Trump administration officials fired more than 300 staffers Thursday night at the National Nuclear Security Administration — the agency tasked with managing the nation’s nuclear stockpile — as part of broader Energy Department layoffs, according to four people with knowledge of the matter.
Sources told CNN the officials did not seem to know this agency oversees America’s nuclear weapons.
An Energy Department spokesperson disputed the number of personnel affected, telling CNN that “less than 50 people” were “dismissed” from NNSA, and that the dismissed staffers “held primarily administrative and clerical roles.”
The agency began rescinding the terminations Friday morning.
Continue reading at CNN
Bipartisan U.S. lawmakers meet with Ukraine's Zelensky
Video clip from the Lead with Jake Tapper, with Christianne Amanpour
WSJ: Trumps rake in millions after presidential win
Video clip from The Lead with Jake Tapper
Thousands of workers fired in federal purge
Thousands of workers fired in Trump, Musk federal purge
A source familiar with OPM said agency leaders have directed agencies to fire all probationary employees “with some exceptions.” It was not immediately clear what those exceptions were or the extent of discretion given to agencies.
The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), the largest federal employee union, pledged to fight the layoffs, saying they would hinder government performance.
Some of the agencies that have announced dismissals:
Interior Department firing 2,300 employees
Department of Veterans Affairs cutting 1,000 employees
Environmental Protection Agency firing nearly 400 workers
The Trump administration has also used two other methods to cull the workforce: an executive order from President Trump directing agencies to undertake a reduction in force and the “Fork in the Road” program offering federal workers a buyout.
Agencies across government, including OPM, have already begun carrying out their layoffs of probationary employees.
Continue reading at The Hill
Special counsel Jack Smith discloses ‘gift’ of $140,000 in free legal services
It’s not clear precisely why Smith sought outside legal advice.
Jack Smith, the special counsel who brought two criminal cases against President Donald Trump, received $140,000 in pro bono legal services from a prominent Washington law firm before he resigned last month.
Covington & Burling provided the legal representation, according to a disclosure POLITICO obtained that Smith submitted Jan. 10 in connection with his departure from the Justice Department.
A spokesperson for Covington declined comment. Two of the Covington lawyers representing Smith, Peter Koski and Lanny Breuer, did not respond to messages seeking comment.
It’s not clear precisely why Smith sought outside legal advice, but Trump repeatedly railed against Smith and his team, vowing to fire them and sometimes appearing to call for them to be criminally prosecuted.
Continue reading at Politico
Trump’s cuts hit red states, triggering GOP pushback
GOP lawmakers try to intervene with the Trump administration as local fallout grows.
A growing number of GOP lawmakers are trying to intervene with the Trump administration and are weighing legislation to circumvent the changes. But with the Department of Government Efficiency and the Office of Management and Budget moving at a rapid clip and flouting federal law to carve up the government, the lawmakers face monumental challenges in getting the White House to spare their constituents from the ax.
Idaho Republican Rep. Mike Simpson, a senior appropriator whose district is home to a number of National Park Service sites, said in an interview his staff is talking to the administration about how an OMB-directed, government-wide hiring freeze will affect the National Park Service. The park service fired 1,000 full-time staff Friday but said seasonal hiring is resuming, exempting 5,000 seasonal jobs from the hiring freeze.
Sen. Jerry Moran, another GOP appropriator who represents the agriculture-heavy state of Kansas, has told the White House that DOGE’s dismantling of USAID will impact constituents who have long relied on selling their crops to a government program that fights hunger abroad.
Continue reading at Politico
Note from Rima: Many more lawmakers with issues are featured here.
Justice Department in crisis over Eric Adams showdown
As numerous DOJ lawyers resigned in protest, the department filed a motion seeking to abandon the Adams case late Friday.
An air of crisis permeated the Justice Department Friday, following a wave of resignations by top prosecutors and aggressive demands by President Donald Trump’s appointees that career attorneys carry out instructions from the department’s new leadership or face dismissal.
For the second day in a row, the department’s acting No. 2 official, Emil Bove, pressured DOJ lawyers to file court papers seeking to drop the pending corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
Eventually, the pressure campaign succeeded: Two DOJ officials, Antoinette Bacon and Edward Sullivan, put their names on a motion submitted Friday evening seeking to end the case. In a highly unusual move, Bove also signed the motion personally.
But the events leading up that terse, four-page filing left a trail of resignations — and outrage — within the department.
Continue reading at Politico
White House threatens deportations in Valentine’s Day message
President Trump’s White House trolled the public by posting a pink card Friday across its social media accounts that included the commander-in-chief’s official portrait and a headshot of a stern-looking Tom Homan, his border czar.
The poem written in white letters says “Roses are red, Violets are blue, come here illegally and we’ll deport you.”
The post was accompanied by a “Happy Valentine’s Day” caption along with a red heart emoji.
Continue reading at The Hill
They’re not just suing to stop DOGE. They’re suing Elon Musk himself.
A pair of lawsuits say that, with all the power he has accumulated, Musk is violating the Constitution’s rules about the appointment of federal officers.
Elon Musk’s efforts to disrupt and dismantle the federal government at the behest of Donald Trump have already sparked a legion of lawsuits. Now the legal challengers are setting their sights on a new target: Musk himself.
Two new cases accuse the ultra-wealthy CEO of illegally amassing too much government power without the accountability typically required of high-level executive branch officials. They are seeking court orders that would force Musk to halt the cost-cutting and information-gathering activities he has been spearheading through his U.S. DOGE Service.
The lawsuits rest on a provision of the Constitution that says powerful federal officers must be “established by law,” must be formally appointed by the president and must be confirmed by the Senate. Musk, of course, has not been confirmed by the Senate, and his role is amorphous and ill-defined. He has been operating out of the White House as the head of the newly created DOGE enterprise, which stands for Department of Government Efficiency but is not a formal government department. It was established by a Trump executive order, not by Congress.
Continue reading at Politico
Trump's Truth Social reports lower 2024 revenue, $186 million loss
Trump Media & Technology Group, the parent company of Truth Social, on Friday reported just $3.6 million in sales for all of 2024 and an operating loss of $186 million.
Why it matters: President Trump's election doesn't seem to be helping the financial fortunes of his namesake company, which generated more revenue in 2023 than in 2024.
Yes, but: Truth Social's sales struggles aren't putting too much of a crimp in its stock price, which closed Friday at $30.39 per share.
Continue reading at Axios
Anger, chaos and confusion take hold as federal workers face mass layoffs
NEW YORK (AP) — Workers across the country responded with anger and confusion Friday as they grappled with the Trump administration ‘s aggressive effort to shrink the size of the federal workforce by ordering agencies to lay off probationary employees who have yet to qualify for civil service protections.
While much of the administration’s attention was focused on disrupting bureaucracy in Washington, the broad-based effort to slash the government workforce was impacting a far wider swath of workers. As layoff notices were sent out agency by agency, federal employees from Michigan to Florida were left reeling from being told that their services were no longer needed.
In a sign of how chaotic the firings have been, some who received layoff notices had already accepted the administration’s deferred resignation offer, under which they were supposed to be paid until Sept. 30 if they agreed to quit, raising questions about whether others who signed the deal would nonetheless be fired. On Friday evening, the Office of Personnel Management, which serves as a human resources department for the federal government, acknowledged that some employees may have received termination notices in error and said the buyouts agreements would be honored.
Continue reading at the Associated Press
Meet the latest — and oddest — 2028 Democratic prospect
FIRST TAKE — When Democrats fade into their happy place — 2028 — there’s a long roster of familiar governors, senators and other party officials that they run through for potential candidates. And in recent weeks, the buzz for another has taken off: Stephen A. Smith.
Yes, that Stephen A. Smith, the one who’s been at ESPN spewing takes, after takes, after takes, off and on since 2005.
It seems implausible on its face. But so did Donald Trump, three years out from the 2016 election. And some are now wondering if Smith — maybe, just maybe — could bring together the hobbled Democratic party’s splintered factions and channel a Trump type of energy and connection with disaffected voters.
Smith is no regular pundit.
[…]
Last week, Khanna took to X in praise of Smith. “.@stephenasmith is one of the most talented and authentic communicators of our age. He speaks against the status quo with conviction and knows what ordinary people are thinking. Dems should listen to him.”
Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) echoed that sentiment, responding to a post from Smith teasing a presidential run by saying, “Don’t underestimate this idea, @stephenasmith could win. In today’s politics the best, tougher messenger usually wins.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries was asked about the Smith boomlet on Thursday. “2028 is way off in the distance. House Democrats are engaged in hour by hour, day to day, week to week struggle on behalf of the American people,” Jeffries said, adding, “There’s a lot to like about Stephen A. Smith, including the fact that we are die hard Knicks fans.”
Continue reading this and many other items at Politico Nightly newsletter
Where US adults think the government is spending too much, according to AP-NORC polling
The polls from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research suggest that as President Donald Trump and adviser Elon Musk push for extensive cuts throughout the federal government, slashing funding for humanitarian aid and turning their attention to the Department of Education and the military, Americans may not agree with where Trump and Musk’s cuts should ultimately fall.
About two-thirds of Americans say the U.S. government is spending “too little” on Social Security and education, according to a January AP-NORC poll. Another 6 in 10, roughly, say too little money is going to assistance to the poor. A similar share say spending is too low for Medicare, the national health care insurance program for seniors, and most also say Medicaid is under-funded by the federal government. About half say border security is not receiving enough funding.
Continue reading at the Associated Press
From Rima: DOGEkipedia?
Republicans struggle with unified response to Trump’s plan for Ukraine peace talks
Lawmakers’ reactions underscore the challenge Republicans face as they try to make sense of the administration’s efforts to end the Ukraine war.
The Mississippi Republican said he was “disturbed” by Hegeth’s demands and argued the Pentagon chief risked undercutting future negotiations. He and other defense hawks are confronting concerns at the annual gathering of defense leaders in Munich that the Trump administration is weakening an ally’s hand in negotiations.
But some Republican lawmakers are taking a less confrontational tact.
“Me and even this administration have a lot of differences,” Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), a co-chair of the Congressional Ukraine Caucus, said at the POLITICO Pub in Munich. “Ukraine is a hill I would die on because I think it is so existential that we get this right. So I’m taking the approach that we get more bees with honey.”
Continue reading at Politico
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