Things Musk (and Trump) Did... Day 39 | Blog#42
Fleecing a people while they're down
Yesterday’s post
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Yesterday’s news worth repeating
How RFK Jr. could restrict abortion medication access
Kennedy pledged to study the abortion drug mifepristone on President Trump’s request during his confirmation hearings, citing “safety issues.” He did not offer further explanation of what those issues were.
“President Trump has asked me to study the safety of mifepristone,” Kennedy said during the hearings last month. “He has not yet taken a stand on how to regulate it. Whatever he does, I will implement those policies.”
If the administration does seek to restrict access to the drug, health policy experts do not think Kennedy will attempt to remove it from the market, but say he could instead try to direct agencies within HHS to limit who can take mifepristone and how it can be administered.
“If you are trying to make a product harder to access … you are going to institute restrictions that reduce the ease in which people can access the product,” said Caleb Alexander, a physician and professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health with research focus on drug utilization and safety.
Continue reading at The Hill
Note from Rima: the same tactic applies to vaccines, as seen here:
Trump team weighs pulling funding for Moderna's bird flu shot despite outbreak
The Trump administration confirmed it's reviewing whether to pull $590 million in funding that Moderna received in the final days of the Biden administration to develop an mRNA vaccine for bird flu in people.
The big picture: Moderna shares were trading down 5% Thursday morning on news of the review, part of a bigger examination of spending on messenger RNA-based vaccines based on the same technology used in COVID-19 shots, per Bloomberg.
The funds awarded in January from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority were aimed at creating a line of defense against H5N1 in people that matches the strains circulating in cows and birds.
What they're saying: "While it is crucial that the U.S. Department and Health and Human Services support pandemic preparedness, four years of the Biden administration's failed oversight have made it necessary to review agreements for vaccine production," an HHS spokesperson told Axios.
Moderna didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
Continue reading at Axios
Trump’s visit with UK’s Starmer offers sobering preview for Ukraine
Trump lauded Britain’s leader but gave little ground, a day ahead of his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer flattered President Donald Trump with a basket of gifts on his first visit to the White House on Thursday, including commitments to spend more money on defense, lavish praise and a letter from King Charles III inviting Trump to a state dinner.
Trump was exceedingly pleased. But that didn’t mean Starmer got anything in return.
Trump appeared unmoved by Starmer’s desperate appeal for a stronger U.S. commitment to protecting Ukraine, if and when its war with Russia ends. Starmer, conscious that Trump has rejected pleas to provide “security guarantees” for Ukraine, has been asking for something less: a U.S. commitment to “backstop” European efforts to help defend Ukraine from any future invasion by Russia.
Trump said no to all of it.
Continue reading at Politico
Republicans say states are pulling a fast one on Medicaid
GOP lawmakers are considering a plan to limit federal matching funds for the health insurance program to pay for tax cuts.
Republicans in Congress see a way around the $880 billion budget shortfall they need to fill to extend President Donald Trump’s tax cuts set to expire at the end of the year.
States aren’t going to like it.
To qualify for federal Medicaid dollars, states must also kick in their own matching funds. GOP lawmakers want to stop states from taxing insurers and health care providers to raise that money, a maneuver that would leave states with a $612 billion hole in their budgets over the next decade.
Republican leaders, who are under pressure from some of their rank and file to protect Medicaid, say getting rid of the taxes would not be a funding cut, but elimination of a loophole. They argue that states are inflating Medicaid costs because they kick back the taxes to providers and insurers through higher payment rates — and also sometimes spend the money on items unrelated to Medicaid.
“States and providers scheme so that the provider gets an enormous flow of federal dollars with no state cost exposure,” said Brian Blase, who served in President Donald Trump’s first administration and has pitched restrictions on the state taxes at his think tank, the Paragon Health Institute.
House Energy and Commerce Chair Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.), who’s in charge of finding the $880 billion in savings by the time Republicans plan to vote on their budget bill in April, told POLITICO that he’s looking closely at the state taxes.
Continue reading at Politico
POLITICO Pulse
What’s next for Medicaid?
THE MEDICAID QUESTION — Republicans in Congress are looking to Medicaid to help finance their sweeping party-line bill driving President Donald Trump’s agenda — a perpetually thorny endeavor.
Previous attempts to cut from the program have driven backlash from moderate Republicans and GOP governors, including during Republicans’ failed attempts to repeal Obamacare. The House Energy and Commerce Committee has been tasked with slashing $880 billion, meaning they’ll likely have to turn to the program for savings. In a CNN interview Wednesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson drew a red line on some of the steepest potential cuts to Medicaid.
Those are per-capita caps — which would turn the joint federal-state program from an open-ended entitlement to one capping federal payments based on population — and changes to the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage, or FMAP — a move that would cut into the share of federal payment. I caught up with former Pulse author Ben Leonard to discuss Republicans’ path forward.
Republicans’ planned cuts to Medicaid have shifted in recent days. What’s the significance of Johnson’s comments?
I had heard from key Republicans on the Hill that per capita caps might not be able to get the votes to become law, but Johnson’s comments on those were by far the clearest red line on specific policy details we’ve seen so far. It eliminates one of the biggest potential buckets for savings — and also a proposal that would draw intense political backlash.
What’s left on the table?
Johnson made an affirmative case for work requirements in the interview. That’s long been considered one of the most politically viable options. One proposal that has also been floated by Energy and Commerce Chair Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.) would examine the taxes states levy on doctors and hospitals to help pay for their share of Medicaid expenditures rather than tap their general funds. Democrats have been open to changes there in the past.
Continue reading at Politico Pulse newsletter
How 7 states could thwart GOP plans to overhaul Medicaid
Republicans have a bigger tent than they did in 2017. So does the health care program.
Republicans are facing a nationwide backlash over the fate of Medicaid — but the potential program cuts are most threatening in seven conservative-leaning states where voters have cast ballots to expand the entitlement in recent years.
It’s a growing problem as Republicans hunt for enough savings to pay for the White House’s proposed tax cuts.
Republican Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota, which has enrolled more than 24,000 people in Medicaid since voters expanded the insurance program for low-income people in 2022, told POLITICO he’s been arguing against some of his own party’s proposals. One would reduce significantly how much funding for the program comes from the federal government.
“That’s not a cost cutting measure — that’s a cost transfer,” he said. “And when you’ve got partnerships with the states, you shouldn’t be doing that without having them involved in the discussion.”
Republicans face similar skepticism across red and purple swaths of the country where voters have used ballot initiatives to expand Medicaid since Congress last targeted the safety net health insurance program in 2017 – not only in South Dakota, but also in Idaho, Nebraska, Maine, Oklahoma, Missouri and Utah. President Donald Trump won all of those states except Maine. And even there, he won an electoral vote by defeating Kamala Harris in the state’s 2nd Congressional District, where nearly a third of people are enrolled in Medicaid.
Continue reading at Politico
Note from Rima: pulling a fast one, AKA bait and switch.
Republicans fear their big budget win is a 2026 time bomb
House Republicans notched a major legislative victory this week when they passed their budget resolution. Now comes the hard part: Crafting a fiscal package that doesn't doom them in the 2026 election.
Why it matters: Some Republicans already see signs that the backlash to the Trump administration's "efficiency" efforts is spilling over into opposition to their legislative plans.
One Republican moderate, speaking on the condition of anonymity to give candid thoughts about political concerns surrounding their party's marquee legislation, told Axios: "It could be trouble."
"We saw what happened in 2018," the lawmaker said, referring to the midterm year in which voter anger over the GOP's legislative efforts helped Democrats flip more than 40 House seats.
Driving the news: The House voted Tuesday to adopt House Republicans' budget resolution, with all but one House Republican voting in favor of the measure and every Democrat opposing it.
The resolution — a first step toward the hulking budget reconciliation bill Republicans hope to pass — allows $4.5 trillion in tax cuts, offset by $2 trillion in spending cuts.
The vote came after a tortured process in which House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) strained to bring together right-wing hardliners who want greater spending cuts and centrists fearful of cuts to programs like Medicaid.
State of play: After the vote, some vulnerable Republicans were quick to distance themselves from the notion that the budget measure does anything more than provide a conceptual framework for the final bill.
Continue reading at Axios
The states that could feel DOGE cuts the most
President Trump and Elon Musk's campaign to shrink the federal government will be felt far outside the nation's capital — in deep red states as well as blue.
Why it matters: Some GOP lawmakers are already hearing from constituents and raising the alarm about the haphazard way federal employees are getting canned.
Zoom in: Federal civilian jobs make up 21% of all nonfarm employment in Washington, D.C. — far more than any state, according to government data analyzed by Pew Research Center.
The cuts will undoubtedly affect D.C., but more than 80% of federal workers live outside of the metro area, according to Partnership for Public Service.
Of the 10 states with the greatest percentage of federal employment, six voted for President Trump and five voted for then-Vice President Harris. (Maine and Utah are tied for 10th.)
Alaska has the fourth-highest share of federal workers. Republican Lisa Murkowski, one of the state's senators, has been outspoken about her concerns with DOGE.
Zoom out: When looking at the total number of federal workers, Washington, D.C., has the most overall, at 162,000. When looking by state, California has the most, with more than 147,000 as of last March, per Pew's data.
California is followed by Virginia, Maryland, Texas and Florida.
Continue reading at Axios
Mexico extradites drug lord Caro Quintero and 28 others to U.S.
Mexico extradited 29 people accused of being involved in drug cartels to the U.S. on Thursday, the Department of Justice announced.
The big picture: The move is a part of President Trump's vow to crack down on cartels for what he called in an executive order a "campaign of violence and terror" that saw him designate eight drug cartels as global terrorist organizations last week.
Driving the news: The 29 people taken in U.S. custody Thursday face charges in various districts relating to racketeering, drug-trafficking, murder, illegal use of firearms, money laundering and other crimes, per the DOJ.
They include leaders and managers of drug cartels recently designated as "Foreign Terrorist Organizations" and "Specially Designated Global Terrorists," like the Sinaloa Cartel.
Among them is infamous drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero, who was wanted in the U.S. for allegedly being involved in the kidnapping and killing of an undercover DEA agent.
"These defendants are collectively alleged to have been responsible for the importation into the United States of massive quantities of poison, including cocaine, methamphetamine, fentanyl, and heroin, as well as associated acts of violence," the DOJ said.
Continue reading at Axios
Democrats grasp to avoid government shutdown
Senate Democrats are quietly discussing how to avoid a government shutdown by adjusting some of their demands on President Trump and Elon Musk's spending freezes and mass firings.
Why it matters: A shutdown could make life even worse for federal workers, and appearing to want a shutdown is bad politics for Democrats.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has been meeting with senators all week to discuss government funding, including a meeting with moderates on Thursday, sources tell Axios.
In those private conversations, Schumer has made two basic requests: keep your powder dry on discussing government funding and don't talk about wanting a government shutdown, Axios is told.
Zoom in: Appropriators are looking for creative ways to try to regulate the Trump-Musk cost-cutting machine without resorting to any explicit language that would scare Republicans off a deal to fund the government before March 14.
Continue reading at Axios
Experts cite legal gaps in Trump's minerals deal with Ukraine
Ukraine concerned by lack of security guarantees
Investment fund would hold revenue from resources
Details of fund agreement still to be negotiated
US seeks alternative for Chinese resources
THE HAGUE, Feb 27 (Reuters) - A framework agreement outlining U.S. access to revenues from Ukraine's natural resources in exchange for security guarantees has legal gaps that must be filled in future negotiations, four experts told Reuters a day before the countries' leaders meet in Washington.
A draft of the deal seen by Reuters outlines the creation of a joint U.S.-Ukraine-managed "Reconstruction Investment Fund." It contains reassuring language, but the United States does not offer Kyiv the security guarantees it craves.
It is expected to be signed on Friday when U.S. President Donald Trump meets Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
The deal envisages the Ukrainian government contributing 50% of future monetisation of any state-owned natural resource assets to the fund. But it provides no amounts, timeline or details about the fund's management.
Continue reading at Reuters
Ukraine announces minerals deal with US, no security guarantee
(map of Ukrainian geological Survey)
Ukraine said on Wednesday that it had reached a framework agreement with the United States on jointly developing Ukraine’s natural resources including rare earths, critical minerals, oil and gas.
Kyiv sees the deal as vital to keeping Donald Trump engaged, after the U.S. president sided with Russia in the war during his first weeks in office. According to the agreement, Kyiv would hand some of the revenue from its mineral resources to the United States, but it has received no U.S. security guarantees in return.
Where are federal jobs affected by DOGE cuts? A look at congressional districts across the US
Civilian federal jobs are being cut by the thousands, as Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency continues to shrink the government workforce at the behest of President Donald Trump.
That’s brought a lot of churn and uncertainty in the nation’s capital, where 20% of the country’s more than 2 million civilian — or nonmilitary — federal workers are located.
It’s also affecting workers and communities outside the Washington, D.C. area, where about 80% of that workforce is based. Those cuts mean that members of Congress are now facing potential angst among the out-of-work federal employees in their districts across the country.
The precise locations of all of the thousands of federal employees now out of work isn’t yet known, but a look at the areas with the highest concentrations of civilian U.S. government jobs gives a glimpse at some places that could be most affected.
See the map of the federal workforce at the Associated Press
Justice Department releases first phase of Epstein files
“The first phase of files released today sheds light on Epstein’s extensive network and begins to provide the public with long overdue accountability,” Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote in a statement.
Information contained inside 341 pages was posted to the DOJ website for public review. Two hundred and thirty-six pages consisted of flight logs, 95 pages included redacted contact information, 7 pages featured a masseuse list and three pages were listed as evidence.
FBI Director Kash Patel shared his support for the move to release the Epstein files, citing a push toward transparency in separate comments.
“There will be no cover-ups, no missing documents, and no stone left unturned — and anyone from the prior or current Bureau who undermines this will be swiftly pursued. If there are gaps, we will find them,” Patel said.
Continue reading at The Hill
Hegseth confirms report on Trump easing rules on military raids, airstrikes
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed Friday that he received President Trump’s approval to repeal restrictions on military raids and airstrikes, signaling a stark shift away from regulations imposed during the previous administration.
The Pentagon leader said CBS News was “correct” in its reporting of a directive signed earlier this month in Germany that would ease restraints and executive oversight on foreign American airstrikes.
Hegseth formally approved the change in a meeting with senior U.S. military leaders from the U.S. Africa Command.
Continue reading at The Hill
Ex-Biden staffer: Campaign was ‘gaslighting’ public with ‘denial’ of age, ability concerns
Michael LaRosa, who served as press secretary for former first lady Jill Biden from 2021 to 2022, told Puck News senior political correspondent Tara Palmeri on Wednesday that the portrayal in “Original Sin,” a new book from CNN anchor Jake Tapper and Axios reporter Alex Thompson, of how the campaign addressed concerns about Biden’s age is at least somewhat accurate.
“There are some things that are true, I mean, like the gaslighting. There was a lot of denial of the polling,” LaRosa said at the event for the Sine Institute of Policy and Politics at American University, in comments highlighted by Mediaite.
Continue reading at The Hill
Microsoft shutting down Skype in May
Microsoft is officially retiring Skype, the platform once popular for making calls and messaging, and redirecting users to Teams, the tech giant announced Friday.
The application will officially close down in May, as Microsoft seeks “to streamline our free consumer communications offerings so we can more easily adapt to customer needs,” said Jeff Teper, president of collaborative apps and platforms at Microsoft.
Continue reading at The Hill
Trump says he plans to add White House ballroom, pave part of the Rose Garden
President Trump in a new interview said he is planning to add a ballroom to the White House and to pave part the Rose Garden, similar to a patio at his Mar-a-Lago property in Florida.
Trump detailed his plans for the changes to the White House spaces during an interview with The Spectator.
“So one of the things I’m going to do is build a beautiful, magnificent ballroom at the White House. Beautiful ballroom. There’s a picture of a ballroom that I have and that you show, but. And it keeps my real-estate juices flowing,” Trump said. “But they’ve always wanted a ballroom, you know, they only have the East Room, which is really very small.”
Continue reading at The Hill
James Cameron: Trump reelection ‘like watching a car crash over and over’
Oscar-winning filmmaker James Cameron said Thursday he is “sickened” by President Trump’s reelection, adding it is “like watching a car crash over and over and over.”
Speaking on “The F—ing News” podcast, as highlighted by Variety, the Titanic and Avatar director said his New Zealand citizenship is “imminent,”
Cameron, who was born in Canada and has been based in New Zealand for the past 14 years, said he would not live in the U.S. again.
“I see a turn away from everything decent,” Cameron said of the U.S. under the Trump administration.
Continue reading at The Hill
‘Whatever She Tells You She Is Going to Do, Assume She Will Do the Opposite’
For now, Victoria Spartz and Mike Johnson have struck a delicate truce. But if others are thinking about crossing her, they should look at her tumultuous rise in politics.
On Tuesday evening, as Speaker Mike Johnson faced mounting GOP opposition to his budget resolution that would set in motion President Donald Trump’s sweeping domestic policy agenda, Indiana Republican Rep. Victoria Spartz huddled at the back of the chamber with other GOP holdouts.
At one point, Rep. Guy Reschenthaler and Rep. Tom Emmer backed Spartz and her fellow rebel Rep. Thomas Massie against a wall.
Earlier that morning, Spartz had told reporters there was nothing anyone could do to prevent her, a longtime fiscal hawk, from opposing the multitrillion-dollar budget, including even a call from Trump himself. “I don’t change my mind,” she said.
But within minutes of that moment at the back of the chamber — and sometime after a special cloakroom call from Trump — Spartz indeed flipped. On the call, Trump reportedly yelled at her loudly enough for others in the room to overhear, calling her a “fake Republican” who was derailing his agenda and reminding her he was the president. (In a post on X, Spartz disputed that account, specifically that Trump raised his voice.)
Continue reading at Politico Magazine
Doug Ford’s landslide win sets stage for Trump fight
Ontario premier uses victory speech to rally Canadians for trade war.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford romped to a third-consecutive landslide Thursday night in a snap election he argued was necessary in order to win a mandate to fight a trade war with the United States.
“Donald Trump thinks he can break us,” Ford said during his victory speech. “He is underestimating the resilience of the Canadian people, the Canadian spirit. Make no mistake, Canada won’t start a fight with the U.S., but you better believe we’re ready to win one.”
Ford racked up 80 seats out of 124 in the Ontario legislature and picked up 43 percent of the vote.
Continue reading at Politico
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Trump to sign executive order making English official language
The U.S. government has never declared English the official language, even though it has been the most widely spoken language in the country.
President Donald Trump is set to sign an executive order that will make English the official language of the U.S.
The order, first reported by The Wall Street Journal on Friday and confirmed by a White House official who was not authorized to speak publicly, marks the first time the U.S. will have an official language at the federal level.
Continue reading at Politico
Trump taps hard-liner Hung Cao for Navy No. 2 role
The former congressional candidate has called for a military of alpha males and females willing “to rip out their own guts, eat them and ask for seconds.”
President Donald Trump has nominated Hung Cao for Navy undersecretary, a combat veteran and hard-line congressional candidate who has pushed for a military of “alpha males and alpha females.”
Trump called Cao “the embodiment of the American Dream,” when announcing his choice on Truth Social. “With Hung’s experience both in combat and in the Pentagon, he will get the job done.”
Cao, a refugee from Vietnam who immigrated to the U.S. as a child, served 25 years in the Navy, including deployments in Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia. Cao also had noncombat assignments in collaboration with the Navy at the Homeland Security Department and FBI.
Continue reading at Politico
Will Trump ‘rub it in’ in his first big address?
Trump is moving fast to redefine American government. In this episode of the Deep Dive podcast, POLITICO’s subject matter experts ask if Trump’s rapid-fire approach is moving too fast for his own good, if a shutdown is coming and what you should expect from next week’s joint address.
“Move fast and break things.” It’s an old motto from Silicon Valley. But these days, speed and disruption are also the coin of the realm in Washington. President Donald Trump is moving fast to redefine the government and America’s place in the world; and many of his critics have voiced their concerns that something might get broken in the process.
This past week, Trump entertained France and Britain’s heads of state, Emmanuel Macron and Keir Starmer — both of them courting his favor; he took a bite out of restructuring our relationship with Ukraine; and he promised some added tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China.
In domestic policy, Speaker Mike Johnson finally advanced a budget resolution that is a crucial step to passing Trump’s agenda through reconciliation.
And coming next week, the growing crisis over a possible government shutdown. That is, once everyone digests the deluge of news that the President makes during his Joint Address to Congress on Tuesday.
Continue reading at Politico
Capitol agenda: Signs point to a long stopgap
Trump says he wants "a clean, temporary government funding Bill" through Sept. 30, but just how clean does he want it?
Signs are increasingly pointing to a full-year government funding patch as Congress barrels toward the March 14 shutdown deadline without a deal on overall spending totals.
President Donald Trump endorsed “a clean, temporary government funding Bill … to the end of September” in a social media post Thursday night. That backing came after Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune discussed the idea with Trump during a meeting Wednesday at the White House, two people familiar with the conversation told our colleague Meredith Lee Hill.
Trump gave his sign-off in that meeting, but the public support will be critical for some fiscal hard-liners who are generally critical of stopgaps, known as continuing resolutions or CRs.
GOP leaders quietly tasked top Senate appropriator Susan Collins with preparing a stopgap through September, she confirmed to Lisa earlier Thursday, though the Maine Republican insisted at the time it was just "one option."
Continue reading at Politico
EU to Trump on tariffs: Go ahead, make our day.
Brussels threatens to use its trade bazooka after President Donald Trump says the European Union was created to “screw” America.
BRUSSELS — The European Union said on Thursday it was ready to deploy its strongest trade weapon against the U.S. after President Donald Trump threatened to impose sweeping tariffs and scorned the EU as having been created to “screw” America.
“We have an Anti-Coercion Instrument, and we will have to use it,” Agriculture Commissioner Christophe Hansen said in Paris after meeting with his French counterpart Annie Genevard at the Salon de l’Agriculture farming exhibition.
Designed following the first Trump administration from 2017 to 2021, the bloc's “trade bazooka” provides for broad retaliation in response to trade discrimination, such as quotas and tariffs or restrictions on foreign investment.
The commissioner’s comments came a day after Trump threatened to hit the EU with sweeping 25-percent tariffs "on cars and all other things," provoking fury across the Atlantic — with politicians saying the time had come for Brussels to retaliate.
“We will not let ourselves be bullied, not with tariffs nor with threats about our legislation,” said Bernd Lange, a usually mild-mannered German Social Democrat who chairs the European Parliament’s international trade committee.
Continue reading at Politico
Trump is ‘no longer an ally,’ former French President Hollande says
Hollande didn’t fault his successor Macron’s attempts to woo Trump but expressed skepticism at the tactic’s efficiency.
PARIS — Former French President François Hollande said the United States government under President Donald Trump is "no longer an ally."
"[Trump] is no longer an ally, he is consorting with our adversaries," Hollande, current President Emmanuel Macron's predecessor, said in a blunt interview with Le Monde published Friday. "Even if the American people remain our friends, the Trump administration itself is no longer our ally."
Hollande, who now sits in the French parliament as a member of the center-left Socialist Party, said Trump's decision to call Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a "dictator" (which he walked back on Thursday); his plans to hold direct talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin; and the U.S. vote against a draft U.N. resolution condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine all signal a potential "divorce" on the horizon between Europe and the United States.
Continue reading at Politico Europe
EU, India agree to finalize free-trade pact this year, von der Leyen says
Accord would be “the largest deal of this kind,” Commission president says on visit to New Delhi.
India and the European Union will push to finalize a free-trade agreement this year, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Friday.
In a keynote speech during her two-day visit to New Delhi, von der Leyen said a closer alliance with India would be “a cornerstone of Europe’s policy in the years and decades to come,” built on enhanced cooperation on trade, technology, security and defense.
“A free trade agreement between the EU and India would be the largest deal of this kind anywhere in the world. I am well aware it will not be easy. But I also know that timing and determination counts, and that this partnership comes at the right moment for both of us,” von der Leyen said after talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“This is why we have agreed with Prime Minister Modi to push to get it done during this year. And you can count on my full commitment to make sure we can deliver.”
Continue reading at Politico Europe
China accuses US of ‘blackmail’ after Trump warns of increased tariffs
China’s officials condemned President Trump for his decision to add a 10 percent tariff on Chinese imports over the country’s alleged complicity in the international smuggling of fentanyl, a deadly synthetic drug.
“The fentanyl issue is just an excuse the U.S. uses to impose tariffs on, pressure and blackmail China, and they punish us for helping them. This will not solve their concerns. It is only counterproductive and will deal a heavy blow to the dialogue and cooperation with China on counternarcotics,” a Commerce Ministry spokesperson said in a Friday statement, declaring the tariffs violate the World Trade Organization rules.
He confirmed China would push back with countermeasures and steps “necessary to firmly defend” its interests.
Continue reading at The Hill
How Keir Starmer buttered up Donald Trump
Inside the months of quiet, grinding preparation that went into the British prime minister’s all-smiles first trip to the Trump White House — and why it could all still unravel.
WASHINGTON — “These visits are like a first date,” said one senior U.K. official, as they nervously awaited Keir Starmer’s first White House talks with Donald Trump. “You go and just hope you might get married someday.”
Not yet — but the U.K. prime minister and U.S. president could’ve had people fooled. The sidelong smiles and gold curtains; even aides split into his-and-his blocks at their press conference. Vice President JD Vance sat across the aisle from Foreign Secretary David Lammy.
Trump praised Starmer’s “beautiful accent” and dangled the prospect of “very good” trade deal. Starmer literally spoke Trump’s language, saying of his second U.K. state visit: “This has never happened before. It's so incredible. It will be historic.” The deeply private PM even managed a laugh when the president, unprompted, lavished praise on his “beautiful, great” wife.
Beyond the bromance, however, Trump left many crucial unanswered questions — not least whether the U.S. will give the concrete security guarantees Britain wants for a postwar Ukraine, beyond having U.S. workers there as part of a minerals deal.
Continue reading at Politico Europe
Unlike Trump, Europe can’t afford to take Putin at his word
Vastly differing views of the Russian leader’s geopolitical ambitions are fueling the transatlantic divide.
When it comes to the war in Ukraine, America and Europe stand far apart on many things — not least on who’s to blame for the conflict that’s been raging for three years and how to end it.
At the heart of the dispute are vastly differing calculations of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s overall geopolitical intentions, and whether he’s scheming to reassert Russian influence over a swathe of Europe.
U.S. President Donald Trump regularly gives Putin the benefit of the doubt. But Europeans — especially those living near Russia or who have endured Soviet occupation — do not. They simply cannot afford to let their guard down, said Thomas Nilsson, head of Sweden’s military intelligence service, who talked to POLITICO on the margins of the Munich Security Conference.
According to the sober-minded Nilsson, Sweden has to prepare to face a hostile and unpredictable Russia, especially if Moscow gets its way in Ukraine: While the country has moved some of its military assets away from the Baltics for now, “the moment the war fighting in Ukraine stops or reduces, we’re sure the Russians will come back to our neighborhood,” he said. “They’re already talking about building bases along a new front line with Finland and also up to the Arctic.”
Meanwhile, Russia’s hybrid operations against Sweden haven’t ceased at all: Disinformation campaigns and cyber aggression continue, while recent incidents of cable breakages under the Baltic Sea are being investigated to establish whether the damage was intentional. So far, sabotage hasn’t been confirmed. Still, “we have to raise our awareness on the hybrid field. We see patterns,” Nilsson said.
Continue reading at Politico Europe
Trump's new world order: Strongmen make the rules
The international order forged after World War II is imploding, squeezed on all sides by the return of strongmen, nationalism and spheres of influence — with President Trump leading the charge.
Why it matters: Trump is openly scornful of international institutions and traditional alliances. Instead, he sees great opportunity in a world dominated by superpowers and dictated through dealmaking.
Between the lines: Trump's approach is based, according to U.S. officials, in "realism" — and the belief that "shared values," international norms and other squishy concepts can never replace "hard power."
"The postwar global order is not just obsolete," Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared at his confirmation hearing last month. "It is now a weapon being used against us."
Where the U.S. once helped enforce global norms, such as on trade, Trump is undercutting them.
Continue reading at Axios
Key measure shows cooler inflation in January
Inflation pulled back in January amid robust growth in Americans' incomes, the Commerce Department said on Friday.
Why it matters: The deceleration in price pressures offers some comfort that inflation is not reigniting and that Americans' purchasing power is increasing.
The backdrop, though, is jittery consumers and businesses that are dialing up inflation forecasts and downgrading expectations for the economy, as President Trump ramps up tariff plans.
State of play: The PCE price index is cooler than a separate inflation measure, the Consumer Price Index, suggested earlier this month.
While CPI gets the most headlines, the PCE price index is the gauge preferred and watched most closely by Federal Reserve officials, because of its wide scope and comprehensive methodology.
Continue reading at Axios
Economic blackout targets retailers from Amazon to Walmart
A grassroots movement's "economic blackout" calls on consumers nationwide to avoid shopping at major retailers Friday in protest of corporate greed.
Why it matters: The 24-hour boycott, organized by The People's Union USA, asks consumers to not spend in stores or shop online to "disrupt the economy for one day."
The initiative is a response to big name retailers rolling back their diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts.
What is the Feb. 28 economic blackout?
The big picture: The blackout calls on consumers to avoid all unnecessary purchases, either in-person or online, from midnight Thursday through midnight Friday.
"No Amazon, No Walmart, No Best Buy," The People's Union USA website reads. "Nowhere!"
How it works: The initiative also urges participants not to spend money on fast food, on gas or at major retailers and to not use credit or debit cards for "non essential spending."
Who is blackout organizer The People's Union USA?
Zoom in: The People's Union USA calls itself a "grassroots movement dedicated to economic resistance, government accountability, and corporate reform."
The movement was founded by John Schwarz, who describes his movement as raising awareness about the ways the "system is rigged" against everyday Americans.
Continue reading at Axios
How to see 7 planets align in "great planetary parade" Friday
Look to the sky Friday night for the rare chance to see seven planets lined up.
The big picture: Saturn, Mercury, Neptune, Venus, Uranus, Jupiter and Mars will appear together in a "planetary alignment" or "parade of planets" shortly after sunset Friday, according to the astronomy website and app Star Walk.
Feb. 28 is considered the best day to see the alignment worldwide.
What is a planetary parade?
Zoom in: A planetary alignment is when planets appear close together.
There are different kinds of planetary alignments, according to Star Walk.
Mini alignments include three planets, small alignments four planets and large alignments have five or six planets, according to Star Walk.
A great or full planetary alignment, which is extremely rare, includes all planets.
What time will the planets align tonight?
To see the seven-planet alignment, find a place with a dark sky without light pollution and with a clear view of the horizon.
Continue reading at Axios
Exclusive: US intel shows Russia and China are attempting to recruit disgruntled federal employees, sources say
CNN —
Foreign adversaries including Russia and China have recently directed their intelligence services to ramp up recruiting of US federal employees working in national security, targeting those who have been fired or feel they could be soon, according to four people familiar with recent US intelligence on the issue.
The intelligence indicates that foreign adversaries are eager to exploit the Trump administration’s efforts to conduct mass layoffs across the federal workforce – a plan laid out by the Office of Personnel Management earlier this week.
Russia and China are focusing their efforts on recently fired employees with security clearances and probationary employees at risk of being terminated, who may have valuable information about US critical infrastructure and vital government bureaucracy, two of the sources said. At least two countries have already set up recruitment websites and begun aggressively targeting federal employees on LinkedIn, two of the sources said.
The adversaries think the employees “are at their most vulnerable right now,” another of the sources said. “Out of a job, bitter about being fired, etc.”
“It doesn’t take a lot of imagination to see that these cast aside federal workers with a wealth of institutional knowledge represent staggeringly attractive targets to the intelligence services of our competitors and adversaries,” a third source familiar with the recent US assessments told CNN.
CNN has reached out to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence as well as the embassies of China and Russia in Washington for comment.
Continue reading at CNN.com
Mattis joins ex-Pentagon chiefs in call for hearings on ‘reckless’ Trump military firings
Five former defense secretaries have called on Congress to immediately hold hearings on President Trump’s “reckless” firing of senior military leaders, including the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
In a letter sent Thursday, the group condemns Trump’s move, which they say seeks to politicize the historically apolitical U.S. military, and urges lawmakers to halt any confirmation of the successors to those dismissed.
“Mr. Trump’s dismissals raise troubling questions about the administration’s desire to politicize the military and to remove legal constraints on the President’s power,” writes William Perry, Leon Panetta, Chuck Hagel, James Mattis and Lloyd Austin. “We, like many Americans — including many troops — are therefore left to conclude that these leaders are being fired for purely partisan reasons.”
Continue reading at The Hill
Trump-Zelenskyy Oval Office meeting grows heated, as Vance berates Zelenskyy
An Oval Office meeting with President Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy grew contentious Friday, as Mr. Trump threatened Zelenskyy to make a deal with Russia, or "we're out," and Vance accused the Ukrainian leader of being "disrespectful," according to pool reporters.
The heated exchanges came ahead of what was an anticipated rare minerals deal signing between the two countries, and as Mr. Trump pressures Ukraine to end the war Russia began.
Earlier in the meeting, Mr. Trump said he and Zelenskyy would sign the agreement at a joint news conference after lunch. Mr. Trump said the U.S. would be "digging, digging and digging" to access Ukraine's rare minerals, in a deal Mr. Trump has described as payback to the U.S. taxpayers for their financial assistance in Ukraine.
Continue reading/viewing at CBS News
Trump to Zelenskyy: “Come back when you’re ready for peace”
Trump and Vance attack Zelenskyy in remarkable Oval Office exchange
The president and vice president each had harsh words for the Ukrainian president.
President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance turned on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a remarkably tense exchange in the Oval Office on Friday, accusing him of failing to express sufficient gratitude for U.S. involvement and overplaying what they said was a weak diplomatic hand.
“You’ve done enough talking. You’re not winning this,” Trump said, raising his voice to Zelenskyy. “You have a damn good chance of coming out okay because of us.”
“I think it’s disrespectful for you to come into the Oval Office, litigating in front of the American media,” Vance told Zelenskyy.
Continue reading at Politico
Trump ends talks with Zelensky, accuses him of not being ‘ready for peace’
President Trump said Friday that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky “disrespected” the United States during a fiery Oval Office meeting and that he was “not ready for peace.”
“We had a very meaningful meeting in the White House today. Much was learned that could never be understood without conversation under such fire and pressure,” Trump posted on Truth Social after the meeting.
“It’s amazing what comes out through emotion, and I have determined that President Zelenskyy is not ready for Peace if America is involved, because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations,” Trump continued. “I don’t want advantage, I want PEACE. He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he is ready for Peace.”
Continue reading at The Hill
Washington Post loses 75K subscribers after Bezos-ordered Op-Ed pivot
The Washington Post has reportedly lost tens of thousands of subscribers in an apparent reaction to a decision by the outlet’s billionaire owner to change the editorial focus of its Opinion Pages.
The Post has lost 75,000 digital subscribers since its owner and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos announced changes were coming to the Post Opinion section, NPR reported on Friday citing internal subscriber figures.
Bezos on Wednesday wrote to Post staff saying its opinion section would moving forward only focus on “free markets and personal liberties,” and adding the newspaper will no longer publish op-eds that are not supportive of those ideals.
“There was a time when a newspaper, especially one that was a local monopoly, might have seen it as a service to bring to the reader’s doorstep every morning a broad-based opinion section that sought to cover all views,” Bezos said. “Today, the internet does that job.”
Continue reading at The Hill
Social Security notifies employees of ‘significant workforce reductions’
The Social Security Administration (SSA) is notifying employees of “significant workforce reductions” on the way as it prepares for what it describes as an “agency-wide organizational restructuring” amid reports that thousands of workers could be let go.
The agency said this week that offices that perform functions that aren’t “mandated by statute may be prioritized for reduction-in-force actions that could include abolishment of organizations and positions, directed reassignments, and reductions in staffing.”
“The agency may reassign employees from non-mission critical positions to mission critical direct service positions (e.g., field offices, teleservice centers, processing centers),” the SSA said. “Reassignments may be involuntary and may require retraining for new workloads.”
Continue reading at The Hill
Russia asks for resumption of direct flights to, from US
Russia’s top diplomat made a request Friday for the U.S. to reopen its air space to direct flights between the countries, as President Trump has sought to warm relations with Moscow as he pushes for a ceasefire in Ukraine.
The request came during a meeting Thursday between Alexander Darchiev, director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s North America director, and Sonata Coulter, a U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State.
Continue reading at The Hill
Education Department removes access to certain student loan plan applications
The Education Department says it has temporarily taken down access to applications for income-driven repayment (IDR) student loan plans in response to a court order.
“A federal Circuit Court of Appeals issued an injunction preventing the U.S. Department of Education from implementing the SAVE Plan and parts of other income-driven repayment (IDR) plans. The Department is reviewing repayment applications to conform with the 8th Circuit’s ruling,” a department spokesperson said.
“As a result, the IDR and online loan consolidation applications are currently unavailable. In the meantime, borrowers can still submit a paper loan consolidation application. The Department updated information for borrowers on StudentAid.gov, including the page about court actions related to SAVE,” they added.
Continue reading at The Hill
Russian state media briefly enters Oval Office during Zelenskyy meeting
The White House did not address how the unapproved reporter was able to gain access to the Oval Office.
The White House last week announced that “all journalists deserve a seat” in the Oval Office press pool. For a fleeting moment on Friday, that included the Russian state media.
A staffer from TASS, a Russian outlet that often promotes glorified coverage of Russian leader Vladimir Putin, was briefly in the room for President Donald Trump’s bilateral meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. American media mainstays Reuters and the Associated Press were not granted access.
According to the White House, the Russian reporter’s presence was unplanned.
Continue reading at Politico
Trump and Vance attack Zelenskyy in remarkable Oval Office exchange
The president and vice president each had harsh words for the Ukrainian president.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy came to Washington optimistic that signing President Donald Trump’s desired minerals deal would stabilize their relationship and keep the U.S. on his side.
Turns out he was walking into an ambush.
Trump and Vice President JD Vance both turned on the embattled wartime leader during a remarkably tense exchange in the Oval Office on Friday, accusing Zelenskyy of failing to express sufficient gratitude for U.S. involvement and overplaying what they said was a weak diplomatic hand.
“You’ve done enough talking. You’re not winning this,” Trump said, raising his voice to Zelenskyy. “You have a damn good chance of coming out okay because of us.”
The fireworks started more than 40 minutes into what had been a cordial conversation about the economic agreement the two countries planned to sign and vague assurances from Trump about the U.S. standing with Ukraine if and when its war with Russia ends.
Continue reading at Politico
Trump-Zelensky summit explodes: "He can come back when he is ready for peace"
The main event of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's visit to the White House was supposed to be the signing of a minerals deal, but it quickly devolved into a heated argument with President Trump and Vice President Vance.
The latest: After an explosive Oval Office meeting in front of the press, Trump released a statement saying that he had determined Zelensky is "not ready for Peace if America is involved." The joint press conference between the two leaders was canceled.
"He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he is ready for Peace," Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Zelensky departed the White House a little more than two hours after he arrived.
Driving the news: The Trump-Zelensky meeting in the Oval Office started with statements from both leaders and then questions from the press.
After around 40 minutes, a reporter asked Trump why he engaged with Russian President Vladimir Putin and distanced himself from Ukraine.
Trump replied that if he didn't show a balanced approach, he wouldn't be able to get a deal. "You want me to say really terrible things about Putin and then say, 'hi, Vladimir. How are we doing on the deal?' It doesn't work that way," Trump said.
Trump then said Zelensky has "tremendous hatred" towards Putin and "it is very tough for me to make a deal with that kind of hate." He added: "I understand that, but I can tell you the other side isn't exactly in love with him, either." As Trump was speaking, Zelensky moved in his chair and looked more and more upset.
Continue reading at Axios
Trump on Oval Office spat with Zelensky: ‘This is going to be great television’
President Trump predicted that his Oval Office spat with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will make for good entertainment after the two leaders went off on each other in front of reporters and cameras.
Trump, Zelensky, as well as Vice President Vance opened up their meeting to journalists for nearly one hour, but it quickly devolved after Zelensky questioned Vance over what he meant about reaching a diplomatic agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Trump also chimed in, chiding Zelensky for not being grateful for U.S. weapons shipments and for Zelensky suggesting that the U.S. had still not felt the full ramifications of the war.
The arguing, which lasted a few minutes, ended when Trump announced they were no longer taking questions.
“I think we’ve seen enough. This is going to be great television, I will say that,” Trump said, telling reporters to leave the room.
Continue reading at The Hill
Democrats hit the airwaves to bash Republicans on Medicaid
House Majority PAC will run TV and digital ads targeting vulnerable GOP congressional incumbents.
Democrats are taking to the airwaves to attack Republicans on potential Medicaid cuts, with ads in at least four states featuring a chainsaw-wielding Elon Musk.
In the TV and digital ads, part of a seven-figure buy from House Majority PAC, the flagship Democratic super PAC, Democrats harp on President Donald Trump and Republicans’ campaign pitch in 2024, when “they claimed they’d lower costs.”
“Instead, Trump and Speaker [Mike] Johnson are set to kick millions off of health insurance. They deny it, but look what they just did,” the narrator continues. “Passing their big budget bill that opens the door to $880 billion in Medicaid cuts, threatening 70 million Americans who rely on Medicaid, half of them children.”
The ads will target vulnerable GOP congressional members in California, Michigan, Arizona and Pennsylvania. The ads will start airing next week, HMP communications director C.J. Warnke confirmed.
Continue reading at Politico
Ocasio-Cortez asks DOJ: Am I under investigation?
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) wants to know if she’s in legal hot water.
In a highly unusual letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi, Ocasio-Cortez noted that she’s been a target of repeated criticism from Tom Homan, President Trump’s “border czar,” after she hosted a webinar designed to inform immigrants of their legal rights in potential confrontations with deportation agents.
Ocasio-Cortez has fiercely defended her actions, saying they were well within her First Amendment rights to free speech — an assertion she amplified to Bondi. But she still wants “clarity on whether the Department of Justice (DOJ) has yielded to political pressure and attempts to weaponize the agency against elected officials whose speech they disagree with.”
“It has been 14 days since Mr. Homan first threatened to weaponize your agency, but I have not yet heard any referral from the federal government,” she wrote. “Homan’s actions undercut core Constitutional rights and further transparency is necessary.”
Continue reading at The Hill
Trump says he had dinner with Bezos week of Washington Post changes
President Trump said in an interview with The Spectator that he had dinner Wednesday night with Amazon founder and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos.
Why it matters: The dinner between Trump and Bezos happened the night Bezos announced changes to the Washington Post opinion section. It's another sign of Trump and Bezos' growing closeness.
Driving the news: The president said in an interview that they were "bitter enemies" in his first term, but said he "likes these guys" referring to Bezos and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
"I never even understood it," Trump said. "I didn't know him. I didn't know Zuckerberg. I didn't know Jeff, I didn't. When you look at the inauguration, it was a 'who's-who' of every single one of them. Every single guy was there."
In July 2024, Bezos privately urged Trump to choose Doug Burgum as his vice president in a phone call, signaling that Bezos was engaging politically with Trump earlier than originally thought.
Continue reading at Axios
RFK Jr. kills policy on public comment for health regulations
The Department of Health and Human Services is reversing a decades-old policy of soliciting public comment before it issues regulations affecting government benefits and grants, including NIH funding.
Why it matters: Health care is one of the most regulated industries, and the "notice and comment" process gives hospitals, health plans, patient groups and other stakeholders a chance to share feedback with the executive branch.
The policy change also raises new questions about HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy's vows to increase transparency and accountability at the department.
State of play: An HHS policy statement issued on Friday states that it's immediately rescinding a policy from 1971 that required public comment for rules on public property, loans, grants, public benefits or contracts.
The Administrative Procedure Act allows exemptions from rulemaking requirements for these topics, but HHS in 1971 waived that exemption and adopted a policy requiring it to use the APA's public comment exemptions "sparingly."
Continue reading at Axios
Republican lawmaker on Trump-Zelensky meeting: ‘A bad day for America’s foreign policy’
Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) characterized Friday’s contentious meeting between President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as a “bad day” for U.S. foreign policy.
“A bad day for America’s foreign policy. Ukraine wants independence, free markets and rule of law. It wants to be part of the West. Russia hates us and our Western values. We should be clear that we stand for freedom,” Bacon said in a Friday text message to The Hill.
Continue reading at The Hill
Russia says it is sending new US ambassador in latest sign of thaw
Russian officials appointed a new ambassador to the U.S. this week, announcing their intention to send Alexander Darchiev to Washington to help mend the troubled relationship between the two global leaders.
Darchiev, tapped to serve as the director of the Foreign Ministry Department of North America, met with U.S. deputy assistant Secretary of State Sonata Coulter on Thursday in Istanbul. The exchange comes as relations between the U.S. and Russia have thawed after sanctions imposed on the Eastern European nation following the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
“Joint measures were agreed upon to ensure the unfettered mutual financing of Russian and US diplomatic missions’ operations and to establish appropriate conditions for diplomats to fulfil their official duties,” the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Thursday in a press release.
Continue reading at The Hill
Beshear, Shapiro and Whitmer will address House Democrats' retreat
They're all from states President Donald Trump won in 2024.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer are all scheduled to present on "their approaches to governing a state that President Trump carried in 2024," said the letter from Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar (Calif.). The three governors have all been seen as rising political stars who could mount presidential bids in 2028.
The annual "issues conference" is set to take place from March 12 to 14 at the Lansdowne Resort in Leesburg, Virginia, just outside of Washington. It will provide a venue for the party faithful to huddle as they chart their path back to power.
In addition to the governors, Democrats are set to hear from bipartisan pollsters John Anzalone and Sarah Longwell, as well as party campaign and messaging arms. A recently formed task force is also scheduled to talk about their work on rapid response and litigation against Trump and his administration, among other presentations on the agenda.
One potential wrinkle for the conference: the looming federal funding deadline March 14. It wouldn't be the first time that a government funding deadline has disrupted the conference, and the conference has been postponed or delayed in previous years because of schedule conflicts.
Continue reading at Politico
GOP-led committee launches probe to root out 'political' hires
House Oversight Chair James Comer's effort is the latest example of congressional Republicans' willingness to help the administration reduce the federal workforce.
As President Donald Trump and Elon Musk move to fire broad swaths of the federal workforce, the top Republican on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is launching an investigation into who officials in the previous administration hired in the waning days of Joe Biden's presidency.
Committee Chair James Comer's effort — which spans 24 departments and agencies, seeks to root out partisan staff who joined the executive branch as the former president was leaving the White House. The Kentucky Republican is requesting the names of all hires between Jan. 1, 2024 and Jan. 20, 2025, and the names of all political appointees during the Biden administration who have remained in the executive branch, among other information.
“We are concerned about job postings and hiring surges not based on actual agency mission needs, but based on political goals, including a desire to 'Trump-proof' agency staffs by placing personnel opposed to President Donald Trump’s agenda,” Comer wrote in separate letters to all the current agency and department heads. “The Committee requests documents and information to facilitate our oversight of the Biden-Harris Administration’s apparent attempt to impede President Trump’s agenda.”
The investigation touches just about every corner of the executive branch: from the Justice Department to the Government Services Administration, the Department of Labor to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. It also comes as the Trump administration and Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency are moving to dramatically alter the federal bureaucracy, dismissing probationary employees and directing mass reductions in staffing at agencies.
Continue reading at Politico
California lawmaker relaunches AI safety bill after national Big Tech pushback
State Sen. Scott Wiener had previously won support from Elon Musk but faced a fierce pushback from fellow Democrats and the AI industry over his prior attempt.
SAN FRANCISCO — The ambitious California lawmaker behind a divisive AI safety bill last year has relaunched a pared-down version focused on whistleblower protections, after his prior failed attempt ignited a national debate over how, and whether, to regulate the powerful technology.
State Sen. Scott Wiener, a San Francisco Democrat, filed the full details of his second attempt at reining in the potential harms of artificial intelligence late Thursday night, after his last bill was vetoed by Gov. Gavin Newsom amid pushback from certain Big Tech figures warning of consequences for innovation. The bill also pitted leading congressional Democrats like Nancy Pelosi, who opposed the bill, against others in tech like Elon Musk, who supported its efforts to ward off potential public risks.
Continue reading at Politico
DOJ demotes top prosecutors of Jan. 6 defendants, Trump allies
The veteran lawyers who were reassigned include those who prosecuted Steve Bannon, Peter Navarro and leaders of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers.
The Justice Department has demoted some of the most senior federal prosecutors who brought criminal charges against top allies of Donald Trump and handled some of the most significant cases stemming from the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021.
The demoted prosecutors include a group that sent to prison leaders of the far-right Proud Boys and Oath Keepers for spearheading the Jan. 6 attack.
Four people familiar with the development, which was first reported by Reuters, described the shake-up on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive personnel moves. They say interim U.S. Attorney Ed Martin is transferring the veteran prosecutors to pursue misdemeanor offenses in D.C. Superior Court, which handles violations of the local criminal code. That’s a significant step down for prosecutors who were responsible for some of the most high-profile criminal cases in recent memory. Typically, junior prosecutors begin in D.C. Superior Court before working their way up to overseeing federal court cases.
Spokespeople for Martin did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday.
Continue reading at Politico
Trump wants California’s water unleashed. DOGE is firing the people who can do it.
Sharp staffing cuts at the Bureau of Reclamation are causing panic among the farm districts that Trump says he wants to help.
SACRAMENTO, California — DOGE-ordered firings at the federal agency responsible for delivering water to farms and cities across California are getting in the way of President Donald Trump’s order to maximize the state’s water supplies.
The Bureau of Reclamation’s California office has lost 10 percent of its staff due to buyouts and orders by Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency to fire short-tenured employees, according to three people close to the office who were granted anonymity because they feared retaliation.
DOGE’s cuts are already hurting Reclamation’s ability to move water through a sprawling system of pumps, canals and reservoirs to roughly a third of the state’s farmland — and impeding the agency’s ability to ratchet up deliveries in line with Trump’s demand, the people said.
The sharp cuts being leveled on Reclamation mirror those being imposed by the Trump administration across the federal government as Musk’s team of aides and other agencies have sought to slash spending. But their impact on a dusty corner of the federal bureaucracy that has taken outsized importance in the president’s mind offers a case study in how DOGE’s bulldozer approach stands to upend one of the president’s dearest policy goals.
Continue reading at Politico
Medvedev cheers Trump for Zelensky’s ‘proper slap down’ in Oval Office
Top Russian official and former president Dmitry Medvedev celebrated what he called President Trump’s “proper slap down” of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office on Friday.
“The insolent pig finally got a proper slap down in the Oval Office,” Medvedev, the deputy chair of Moscow’s security council and former prime minister of Russia, said in a post on the social platform X.
“[Trump] is right: The Kiev regime is ‘gambling with WWIII,’” the Russian leader added.
Continue reading at The Hill
What Kaitlan Collins saw in the Oval Office
Karl Rove: Putin wins in Trump-Zelensky dispute
Republican strategist Karl Rove said Russian President Vladimir Putin is the only winner in the messy 10-minute public spat between President Trump, Vice President Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office Friday.
“It is going to be incredibly hard to walk back from the kind of animosity we saw in that room today and to walk back some of those statements,” Rove, a top White House aide during President George W. Bush’s administration, said during an appearance on Fox News immediately after the blowup. “It could have been done if cameras had not been running, but the only winner out of today is Vladimir Putin.”
He joins a chorus of political observers reacting to the shocking exchange in front of reporters.
Continue reading at The Hill
Rubio praises Trump after explosive Zelensky meeting
Secretary of State Marco Rubio praised President Trump after he and Vice President Vance got into a public spat with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office on Friday
“Thank you @POTUS for standing up for America in a way that no President has ever had the courage to do before. Thank you for putting America First. America is with you!” Rubio posted on social platform X. Rubio notably did not include a mention of Ukraine or Zelensky.
Earlier on Friday, Zelensky met with Trump, Vance and other officials in the Oval Office amid preparations around a potential minerals deal between the two countries.
Continue reading at The Hill
Democrats assail Trump, Vance over Zelensky meeting: ‘Russia’s best negotiators’
Democrats on Friday swiftly attacked President Trump and Vice President Vance over their hostile handling of an Oval Office meeting with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky that devolved into a shouting match between the three.
Taking to social media, House and Senate members lambasted Trump and Vance for seeming to align with Russian President Vladimir Putin in discussing how the U.S. would broker an end to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
The question-and-answer session with media took a rancorous turn after Zelensky questioned Vance about what “diplomacy” meant with Russia, given Moscow’s track record of breaking ceasefire agreements.
Vance called Zelensky “disrespectful” for trying to litigate the conflict in public, and soon Trump also began railing against Zelensky’s alleged lack of gratitude for U.S. support.
Continue reading at The Hill
Liz Cheney on Trump-Zelensky blowup: ‘History will remember this day’
Former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) strongly criticized President Trump for yelling at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during an Oval Office meeting Friday, saying, “History will remember this day.”
Trump and Vice President Vance got into a spat with the visiting Ukrainian leader in which Trump raised his voice and called Zelensky “disrespectful” in front of cameras.
“Generations of American patriots, from our revolution onward, have fought for the principles Zelenskyy is risking his life to defend. But today, Donald Trump and JD Vance attacked Zelenskyy and pressured him to surrender the freedom of his people to the KGB war criminal who invaded Ukraine,” Cheney wrote in a post on social platform X.
Continue reading at The Hill
Graham: Trump, Zelensky meeting an ‘absolute, utter disaster’
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who has been one of the most outspoken advocates for supporting the Ukraine war effort, said he was “devastated” by the heated exchange between President Trump, Vice President Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House Friday.
Graham, who had advocated for the United States to share Ukraine’s mineral wealth in return for its ongoing assistance to the war effort, said the meeting was an “absolute, utter disaster” and any prospect of a deal now appears to be dead.
“Devastated. Everything I … have been working for to try to get a new relationship with the United States around a critical minerals deal beneficial to both of us was completely obliterated today,” Graham said on Fox News’s “America Reports.”
Graham, who met with Zelensky on Friday morning along with Democratic Sens. Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), said he had urged the Ukrainian leader to “stay on message” and “be grateful, be thankful.”
Continue reading at The Hill
Macron’s told-you-so moment
Trump vindicated the French president on self-reliant defense. But with Putin looming, the hard work starts now for Europe.
France wasn’t wrong. It was just early.
In 1956, as U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower dramatically forced Britain and France to back down from a military intervention to regain control of the Suez Canal from Egypt, French distrust of America started to simmer.
While Eisenhower had helped lead the 1944 liberation of France from Nazi Germany, during Suez he worked with the United Nations behind European countries’ backs to impose a ceasefire, leaving Paris feeling humiliated and betrayed.
Almost 70 years later, Eisenhower’s Suez maneuvering is inextricably linked to current French President Emmanuel Macron’s long-running, so-far unsuccessful push to wean Europe off the American military support that has underwritten the continent’s security since World War II ended.
“The leaders of the Fourth Republic deduced that the Americans could not be counted on, and decided to start developing France’s own nuclear deterrent,” said Yannick Pincé, a historian at the Ecole Normale Supérieure’s Interdisciplinary Center for Strategic Issues in Paris.
“It was a traumatic experience for the French elite, that our allies could abandon us,” Pincé added.
The cornerstone Macronian concept of “strategic autonomy” — investment in a credible, self-sufficient European defense so the continent can militarily take care of itself without America — is now set for its moment under the microscope. Disruptive U.S. President Donald Trump has seriously undermined the transatlantic relationship and the NATO military alliance, while aligning with a bellicose Russia.
Though most of France’s European allies rely on America’s almighty military and nuclear umbrella, Vladimir Putin’s menacing specter on the EU border and Trump’s warmth toward the Russian dictator are sparking questions about U.S. dependability — and eliciting new answers.
Continue reading at Politico Europe
‘Free world needs a new leader’: Europe defends Zelenskyy after Trump attack
France, Germany and Poland all make prompt declarations of support, as Europe fears Trump’s alignment with Putin.
BRUSSELS ― European leaders on Friday rallied to defend Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after United States President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance subjected him to a tirade of withering and infantilizing abuse in the Oval Office.
European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said: “Today, it became clear that the free world needs a new leader. It’s up to us, Europeans, to take this challenge.”
In what may prove to a significant turning point in the tottering postwar Western alliance between Europe and the United States, the Europeans pushed back against Washington’s increasing alignment with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and Trump’s browbeating of Zelenskyy.
“There is an aggressor, which is Russia and a people who have suffered aggression, which is Ukraine,” said French President Emmanuel Macron, hitting back at Trump’s attempts to treat the two sides evenly. “You have to respect those who have been fighting since the beginning because they are fighting for their dignity, their independence, for their children, and for the security of Europe.”
Macron also noted that the U.S. was not the only country to support Kyiv, stressing that it was also backed by European countries, Canada and Japan.
Germany’s almost-certain next chancellor, Friedrich Merz, struck a similar tone addressing a tweet directly to “Dear Volodymyr” in which he vowed to stand with Ukraine “in good and in testing times.”
Continue reading at Politico
Trump's "disaster" Zelensky meeting stuns GOP hawks
President Trump's explosive Oval Office meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky shocked hawkish Republican lawmakers and led one prominent GOP backer of Ukraine to suggest that Zelensky should resign.
Why it matters: The meeting angered Democrats, who were horrified by Trump and Vice President Vance's conduct. It offended some Republicans, with most of them reserving their ire for Zelensky.
"He needs to either resign or change," Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told reporters outside the West Wing.
Zelesnky "has made it almost impossible to sell to the American people that he's a good investment."
Other Republicans shared their concern about the long-term fallout of the short-tempered meeting.
Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), in a text to Axios, said Friday was "a bad day for America's foreign policy."
"Ukraine wants independence, free markets and rule of law. It wants to be part of the West. Russia hates us and our Western values. We should be clear that we stand for freedom," he said.
Continue reading at Axios
"The free world needs a new leader": Allies defend Zelensky after Trump debacle
A parade of European leaders issued statements of solidarity with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky after his stunning confrontation with President Trump in the Oval Office on Friday.
Why it matters: Trump has plunged the U.S. into a state of unprecedented isolation on the world stage. Ukraine's fate is deeply uncertain, as the country is now at risk of losing its most important partner in the three-year fight against Russia's invasion.
Continue reading at Axios
White House official: No known end date for Musk’s tenure at DOGE
Questions have swirled around how long Musk can and will serve in DOGE, but those close to Trump say there’s no end in sight.
For six weeks, members of the Trump White House who have grown weary of Elon Musk’s disruptive style have taken solace in the fact that he serves as a temporary government employee, with a 130-day cap.
But a White House official now says there is no known end date on Musk’s tenure.
“No one here at the White House is tired of winning. The president has tasked Elon Musk with eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse in the federal government, a mission that will continue until completed,” said deputy press secretary Harrison Fields.
Musk’s “special government employee” designation as leader of the Department of Government Efficiency means he isn’t subject to the same financial disclosures as full-time government employees. But it also comes with a work limit: 130 days out of a 365-day year.
Continue reading at Politico
Musk slams a Starlink competitor amid questions about $2.4B FAA contract
Elon Musk’s promotion of his satellite company’s services came as his Department of Government Efficiency weighs potentially steep cuts at the FAA, which is overseeing the contract.
Elon Musk is ratcheting up his attacks on the company in charge of a $2.4 billion federal aviation contract — while promoting his own satellite business Starlink as a potential solution.
Musk’s broadsides against Verizon come at the same time that his White House-anointed budget cutters are weighing the future of the Federal Aviation Administration, heightening Democrats’ complaints that his role in President Donald Trump’s administration poses a grave conflict of interest.
For at least the second time this week, Musk took to his social media network X on Thursday to lay into Verizon for what he called subpar work on a new communications system for the FAA — even though Verizon’s system is still in the testing phases. And he pitched Starlink as at least an interim fix, saying his company was delivering its communications terminals “at NO COST to the taxpayer on an emergency basis.”
Continue reading at Politico
Ukraine ally Graham suggests Zelensky be replaced after Trump clash
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will have to "fundamentally change or go" after a contentious meeting with President Trump on Friday.
Why it matters: Graham has been outspoken in support of Ukraine and for ending Russia's war, but he said he doubts Zelensky can redeem Americans' perception of him after the meeting.
"I can't believe most Americans after what they saw today would want to be partners with Zelensky," Graham said. "Ukraine is an important ally."
"They have fought like tigers. I don't want [Russian President Vladimir] Putin to win. I want to help Ukraine, but it's hard to help people who seem unable to realize the moment they're in."
Catch up quick: The U.S. and Ukrainian leaders' meeting, which was supposed to involve signing a minerals deal, devolved into a heated argument in the Oval Office.
Prior to the meeting, Trump had softened his harsh tone on Zelensky. The Trump administration has been pushing for a ceasefire in the war between Ukraine and Russia, followed by peace negotiations.
Zelensky thanked Trump for the meeting in a post on X. "Ukraine needs just and lasting peace, and we are working exactly for that," the Ukrainian president wrote.
Continue reading at Axios
Zelensky says he doesn't think he did anything wrong after public spat with Trump
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he doesn't think he needs to apologize for his public spat with President Trump and Vice President Vance at the Oval Office.
"I am not sure we did something bad," he said in an interview with Bret Baier Friday evening.
Why it matters: The earlier shouting match in front of the cameras led to the explosion of a meeting between the two leaders, with Trump asking Zelensky to leave the White House.
It also took off the table, for now, the U.S.-Ukraine minerals agreement that was supposed to be signed on Friday.
The divide between the U.S. and Ukrainian leaders will likely lead to more changes in the Trump administration's policy towards Ukraine.
A U.S. official said Trump is considering several retaliatory steps, including stopping military assistance to Ukraine.
What they are saying: "I respect president Trump and the American people, but we have to be very honest and direct to understand each other," Zelensky said when asked whether he regrets the exchange with Trump and Vance.
Continue reading at Axios
Swalwell tells Rubio to ‘grow a pair’ after Trump-Zelensky squabble
Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) told Secretary of State Marco Rubio to “grow a pair” after the former senator defended President Trump after his heated meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Washington.
After Friday’s public spat between Zelensky, Trump and Vice President Vance, Rubio thanked the commander-in-chief for “standing up for America in a way that no President has ever had the courage to do before. Thank you for putting America First. America is with you!”
Swalwell, a frequent Trump critic, called out Rubio over his response to the huddle that quickly went off the rails.
“Bro, did you write this? We all saw you,” Swalwell wrote in a Friday post on the social platform X. “You tried to shrink in your chair. You looked at Trump like he was some crazy ass pops who was embarrassing you on your first date. Don’t bulls— us. Grow a pair.”
Continue reading at The Hill
Geraldo Rivera: Zelensky walked into Oval Office ‘ambush’
Media pundit Geraldo Rivera weighed in on the heated meeting between President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, saying during an interview that Kyiv’s leader walked into an Oval Office “ambush.”
“I just could not believe what I was seeing. It’s President Trump at his worst. President Trump as an ill-mannered bully insulting a war hero. This wasn’t an Oval Office photo-op. This was an ambush,” Rivera said during his Friday appearance on NewsNation.
“They wanted to have him in a place where they could humiliate him. And what role indeed, did the Vice President JD Vance play, you know — a disrespectful neophyte who chips in. You know, what was he even doing? Why did President Trump need him for the for the photo-op,” Rivera, a television personality, told NewsNation’s host Connell McShane.
Continue reading at The Hill
‘The insolent pig finally got a proper slap’: Russia celebrates Trump’s Zelenskyy takedown
A meeting between the American and Ukrainian presidents in the Oval Office blew up earlier Friday.
Russian leaders cheered after President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance dealt Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a brutal smackdown in the Oval Office Friday, reveling in the public breakdown of relations between the U.S. and Ukraine.
Trump turned on the wartime president during a meeting that he had previously touted as a historic moment in which Zelenskyy would sign a framework to a deal that would let the U.S. share revenue from Ukraine’s rare earth minerals.
Dmitry Medvedev — the former Russian prime minister and president and deputy chair of Russia’s Security Council — was quick to dance on the grave of the U.S.-Ukraine partnership.
“The insolent pig finally got a proper slap down in the Oval Office,” Medvedev wrote on X. “And @realDonaldTrump is right: The Kiev regime is ‘gambling with WWIII.’”
He also added in a message posted to his Telegram channel that Zelenskyy got “a fierce scolding in the Oval Office,” and called the embattled leader a “cocaine clown.”
“The ungrateful swine got a hard slap in the face from the owners of the pigsty,” Medvedev wrote. “That’s a good thing, but not enough,” he added repeating the popular Russian narrative likening the Ukrainian government to Nazis.
Continue reading at Politico
FBI returns property seized during Mar-a-Lago raid to Trump
The FBI is returning the property seized during the 2022 raid of Mar-a-Lago to President Trump, according to the White House.
“The FBI is giving the President his property back that was taken during the unlawful and illegal raids. We are taking possession of the boxes today and loading them onto Air Force One,” White House communications director Steven Cheung said in a statement on Friday.
Cheung added that some of the boxes were loaded onto the plane before Trump’s Friday flight back to Florida.
Continue reading at The Hill
Musk defends DOGE, slams AP in interview with Joe Rogan
Elon Musk defended DOGE's actions, name dropped alleged Jeffery Epstein clients and weighed in on the "Gulf of America" standoff between the Trump administration and the Associated Press in an appearance on the "Joe Rogan Experience" podcast.
The big picture: The pair, in their three-hour interview, railed against legacy media, discussed what the world would have been like if Twitter wasn't X and explained why DOGE is seen as a threat — though Musk said it doesn't go far in exposing corruption because doing so could get him "killed."
Musk: "DOGE is a threat to bureaucracy"
Musk said DOGE is the "first threat to bureaucracy" and the "revolution might actually succeed."
He railed against government-funded NGOs, calling them a "gigantic scam" and said people become "very wealthy" through the nonprofits.
Musk claimed without offering a name or any evidence that DOGE discovered $1.9 billion was given to an NGO that had no prior activity before receiving the funds
Continue reading at Axios
Immigrants in detention in Trump's early days hit new record
The number of immigrants held in detention under U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has hit the highest level in more than five years, new data show.
Why it matters: The detention surge comes as the Trump administration steps up immigration enforcement and seeks to expand the capacity to detain more immigrants amid a months-long backlog with immigration judges.
By the numbers: ICE is reporting that it has increased the number of immigrants in detention to 43,759 as of Feb. 23, according to new data collected by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) and reviewed by Axios.
That's the highest detention level since November 2019 during the first Trump administration.
The number of immigrants in detention reached as high as 55,654 in August 2019, with the help of temporary centers erected to house an increase of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Continue reading at Axios
Fuming Democrats struggle with Trump speech strategy
Democratic lawmakers, united in their fury over DOGE, are diverging on how to use President Trump's address to Congress next week as the effective launchpad for Resistance 2.0.
Why it matters: It's a question that has repeatedly splintered party members when faced with inflammatory speeches on Capitol Hill: Should they show up and protest from within, or boycott and counterprogram on the outside?
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) want members to attend and bring special guests who have been negatively affected by the administration.
"We ask that House Democrats attending the Joint Address bring a guest who has been harmed by the Trump administration's early actions," the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee (DPCC) told congressional offices in a memo obtained by Axios.
Zoom in: However, there are lawmakers in the House and Senate who believe a different form of resistance — nonparticipation — may be a better way to meet the moment.
Continue reading at Axios
Defense Health Agency head forced to abruptly retire
The head of the Defense Health Agency (DHA), the health system for millions of service members and their dependents, was forced to abruptly retire Friday, Reuters reported.
Army Lt. Gen. Telita Crosland, one of the most senior Black female officers in the Army who has served in her role since January 2023, “is beginning her retirement” as of Friday morning, according to a statement from Stephen Ferrara, the acting assistant secretary of defense for health affairs.
The statement offered no reasoning for Crosland’s quick departure, but two officials told Reuters that she was informed that she must retire and was not given a reason why.
The move comes exactly a week after President Trump fired six senior military officers, including the Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman and the first female head of the Navy.
Continue reading at The Hill
Groups frozen out of $20B in EPA cash fear bankruptcy
Some nonprofits are struggling to pay their employees as EPA tries to claw back the Inflation Reduction Act funding.
Eight nonprofits caught in a legal crossfire over $20 billion in Biden-era climate grants are racing toward a funding cliff.
The groups have been shut out of their accounts at Citibank since Feb. 18 because of a still-unexplained freeze imposed amid criticism from President Donald Trump’s administration.
On Tuesday, the standoff enters a new phase — groups will no longer have grant money to make investments or basic needs such as payroll and rent.
It’s the latest fallout from the Trump administration’s effort to claw back tens of billions of dollars from former President Joe Biden’s massive climate and clean energy agenda, including money that agencies had already legally contracted and even placed in bank accounts for recipients to spend. A senior federal prosecutor resigned last week after saying Justice Department officials had pressured her to launch a criminal investigation into the $20 billion in Environmental Protection Agency climate grants, despite a lack of evidence of wrongdoing.
Continue reading at Politico
World reacts to Zelenskiy-Trump Oval Office clash
CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER JUSTIN TRUDEAU ON X
"Russia illegally and unjustifiably invaded Ukraine. For three years now, Ukrainians have fought with courage and resilience. Their fight for democracy, freedom, and sovereignty is a fight that matters to us all. Canada will continue to stand with Ukraine and Ukrainians in achieving a just and lasting peace."
GERMAN CHANCELLOR OLAF SCHOLZ
"No one wants peace more than the citizens of Ukraine! That is why we are jointly seeking the path to a lasting and just peace. Ukraine can rely on Germany – and on Europe."
FRENCH PRESIDENT EMMANUEL MACRON TO REPORTERS IN PORTUGAL:
"Russia is the aggressor, and Ukraine is the aggressed people. I think we were all right to help Ukraine and sanction Russia three years ago, and to continue to do so. We, that is the United States of America, the Europeans, the Canadians, the Japanese and many others. And we must thank all those who have helped and respect those who have been fighting since the beginning. Because they are fighting for their dignity, their independence, their children and the security of Europe. These are simple things, but they're good to remember at times like these, that's all.
ITALIAN PRIME MINISTER GIORGIO MELONI
"Every division of the West makes us all weaker and favours those who would like to see the decline of our civilisation. Not of its power or influence, but of the principles that founded it, first and foremost freedom. A division would not benefit anyone. What is needed is an immediate summit between the United States, European states and allies to talk frankly about how we intend to deal with the great challenges of today, starting with Ukraine, which we have defended together in recent years, and those that we will be called upon to face in the future. This is the proposal that Italy intends to make to its partners in the coming hours."
SPOKESPERSON FOR BRITISH PRIME MINISTER KEIR STARMER
"He retains his unwavering support for Ukraine and is playing his part to find a path forward to a lasting peace, based on sovereignty and security for Ukraine."
AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER ANTHONY ALBANESE
"We will continue to stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes, because this is the struggle of a democratic nation versus an authoritarian regime led by Vladimir Putin, who clearly has imperialistic designs, not just on Ukraine, but throughout that region."
CANADIAN FOREIGN MINISTER MELANIE JOLY ON X
"Canada remains committed to providing the necessary assistance to ensure Ukraine's security, sovereignty, and resilience."
DENMARK'S FOREIGN MINISTER LARS LOKKE RASMUSSEN ON FACEBOOK
"It's a punch in the gut for Ukraine. ... There must be room for robust conversations - even between friends. But when it happens in front of rolling cameras like that, there is only one winner. And he sits in the Kremlin."
FORMER RUSSIAN PRESIDENT DMITRY MEDVEDEV, DEPUTY CHAIRMAN OF RUSSIA'S SECURITY COUNCIL, ON TELEGRAM
"A brutal dressing down in the Oval Office."
EUROPEAN COMMISSION PRESIDENT URSULA VON DER LEYEN ON X
"Your dignity honors the bravery of the Ukrainian people. Be strong, be brave, be fearless. You are never alone, dear President.
"We will continue working with you for a just and lasting peace."
More reactions at Reuters
Fact check: 33 times Zelensky thanked Americans and US leaders
“Have you said thank you once this entire meeting?” Vance asked.
Trump might have been referring to Zelensky’s posture toward Trump in particular, as Vance appeared to be. But as their heated exchange with Zelensky reverberates around the world, it’s worth noting that Zelensky has thanked the United States on numerous occasions since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022 – expressing gratitude to Trump and President Joe Biden, to members of Congress from both parties, to US defense companies and their employees, and to the American people.
After Zelensky left the White House on Friday, he wrote on X: “Thank you America, thank you for your support, thank you for this visit. Thank you @POTUS, Congress, and the American people. Ukraine needs just and lasting peace, and we are working exactly for that.”
Here are 33 previous examples of Zelensky thanking or expressing gratitude toward the United States, its officials or its people for their support. This is not a comprehensive list. Notably, we did not review Zelensky’s many domestic remarks in Ukrainian.
Federal workers told once again to justify their work to DOGE
The late-night email created more anxiety for public-sector employees.
Federal workers are again being asked to justify their jobs to the Department of Government Efficiency overseen by billionaire Elon Musk.
Public-sector employees across the government, who have been buffeted in recent weeks by large-scale firings orchestrated by DOGE, received emails late Friday with an ominous subject line: “What did you do last week? Part II.”
The emails from the Office of Personnel Management landed in the inboxes of people in many parts of the government, including the State Department, the Energy Department, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the IRS, the National Institutes of Health and the Veterans Administration.
The White House and OPM had no immediate comment.
Continue reading at Politico
Measles exposure at LAX amid growing cases across U.S. How to protect yourself
The infected traveler passed through Terminal B at Los Angeles International Airport on Feb. 19.
The largest number of cases and the first death from the disease since 2015 — an unvaccinated child— have occurred in rural west Texas.
Public health officials confirmed a measles case and exposure at Los Angeles International Airport this week, amid a growing number of cases in Texas and across the nation.
A non-Los Angeles resident who traveled to Los Angeles International Airport while infectious with the disease arrived on a Korean Air flight in Terminal B on Feb. 19, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health stated. The infected traveler was an infant returning home to Orange County after international travel, according to the Orange County Health Care Agency.
Continue reading at the Los Angeles Times
Jeffries says Trump, Zelensky relationship must be salvaged for ‘good of the free world’
“It has to be salvaged for the good of the free world if America is going to continue to play that role,” Jeffries said during a Friday appearance on CNN.
The House minority leader said Washington’s “leadership of the free world in the aftermath of World War Two — to create a rules based society all across the globe is in America’s national security interest — is designed to keep our people safe and secure and free of the type of global conflict that cost so many lives, including American lives during World War One and World War Two.”
“And so it certainly is the case that we’ll need to see some mature leadership from the Trump administration,” he told CNN host Wolf Blitzer.
Continue reading at The Hill
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Gene Hackman
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