Things Trump (Musk, really) Did... Day 14
It feels like a year has gone by but it's only been 2 weeks!
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Developments from late last night to start:
Musk says Trump has "agreed" to shut USAID down
Musk's comments early Monday followed reports that representatives for Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which the billionaire is spearheading, had visited USAID's D.C. headquarters and accessed classified spaces and American citizens' data.
Continue reading at Axios
Hard-liner rebellion forces House GOP leaders to scramble for deeper cuts
Budget Committee conservatives rejected the minimum targets outlined at least week’s Republican retreat.
House Republican leaders want committees to land deeper spending cuts in their party-line bill to enact President Donald Trump’s domestic agenda, as they scramble to address a rebellion from key Budget Committee members who think Speaker Mike Johnson’s initial plan falls short.
Key hard-liners and others on the Budget panel are pushing to outline at least $1 trillion in spending cuts in the blueprint that the committee is supposed to debate this week, according to three people familiar with the private discussions who were granted anonymity to describe them.
Continue reading at Politico
It’s France vs. the rest on buying US weapons
During Monday’s informal summit, EU leaders will talk about European defense — but Donald Trump’s shadow will loom large.
BRUSSELS — When EU leaders gather Monday in Brussels to discuss the future of European defense, it will be France against (almost) everyone else.
Paris is holding firm to its position that European taxpayer money should be spent on military systems designed and made in Europe.
But many other countries warn that excluding U.S. arms-makers from EU subsidies would enrage U.S. President Donald Trump, several diplomats argued.
Continue reading at Politico
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Brussels vows ‘firm’ response to threatened Trump tariffs as EU braces for trade war
European Commission says the bloc “regrets” new U.S. tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China.
BRUSSELS — The European Union is warning U.S. President Donald Trump the bloc will retaliate if he imposes tariffs on EU goods.
The European Commission, the EU’s executive body, said it “regrets” Trump’s decision to impose blanket tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China on Saturday. The U.S. president has vowed to take similar measures against the EU.
“Our trade and investment relationship with the U.S. is the biggest in the world. There is a lot at stake,” a Commission spokesperson said on Sunday. “Tariffs create unnecessary economic disruption and drive inflation. They are hurtful to all sides.”
Continue reading at Politico
An intense, new trade war unfolds
Happy Monday...
I’m just going to blurt out bullet points here. More organized thinking to follow.
—As you probably know right now—the media have done a good job tracking this—the Trump admin plans to activate sweeping tariffs of 25% on all Canadian and Mexican imports, and 10% on all Chinese imports (Canadian energy, tariffed at 10%, gets a carveout).
—These are our 3 biggest trading partners, and because most of the cost of tariffs are passed-through to consumers, there’s been a lot of useful analysis of inflationary price effects. My guesstimate is $1,500 more per household, with noticeable increases in, among others, grocery (especially fresh produce), gas, electronics, car prices.
Continue reading on Jared Bernstein’s blog
Trump, Sheinbaum agree to pause U.S.-Mexico tariffs for a month
The U.S. and Mexico have agreed to a month-long pause on the implementation of tariffs, President Trump and Mexico's president Claudia Sheinbaum said in social media posts Monday.
Why it matters: The deal temporarily averts a 25% levy with huge economic implications for both countries.
It also marks the second time in this presidency Trump vowed a massive and disruptive tariff on a long-time ally, only to quickly freeze it after gaining what appeared to be limited concessions.
By the numbers: U.S. stock markets slashed their losses on the news of a deal, which includes Mexico sending 10,000 troops to the border to help control the flow of drugs.
Continue reading on Axios
RFK Jr.’s HHS bid hits wall of Democratic resistance
DEMS IN ARRAY AGAINST KENNEDY — Robert F. Kennedy Jr., nominated to lead HHS, will likely need at least 50 Republicans to back him if he wants to head the health agency as Democrats unite against him, I report.
The Senate Finance Committee will vote Tuesday on the recommendation of Kennedy’s confirmation to lead federal health agencies, the committee announced Sunday.
But from the opening statement of Senate Finance ranking member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) to the most junior Democrats on the Senate’s health panel, Kennedy took a beating, mainly for his views about vaccines, during two days of confirmation hearings.
“I will be voting against your nomination because your views are dangerous to our state and to our country,” said Maryland Democrat Angela Alsobrooks after Kennedy defended his view that Black people should receive different vaccinations than white people.
Continue reading on Politico Pulse
Ousted EEOC commissioner speaks out on removal
ON THE OUTS: President Donald Trump fired Democrats Jocelyn Samuels and Charlotte Burrows from their posts atop the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission last week, effectively bringing the panel to a standstill without at least three members necessary for a working quorum.
While Trump was expected to quickly fire General Counsel Karla Gilbride from the agency, his ousting of both commissioners worried employment law advocates and left a vacuum in the federal government’s ability to enforce laws preventing employment discrimination.
Morning Shift spoke with Samuels, who Trump appointed to the commission in 2020, about what the change-up means for the agency’s mission.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Did you anticipate your removal from the EEOC?
There had been a lot of chatter about the theoretical possibility that this administration would try to remove commissioners of independent agencies. And certain regulated entities who challenge enforcement actions taken by independent agencies have increasingly been including claims that the agencies are unconstitutionally structured, and therefore that the enforcement action is invalid.
Continue reading on Politico Weekly Shift
House budget troubles, cont’d
HAVE YOU SEEN YOUR BUDGET? It’s officially the first week of February, and lots of eyes in the coming days will be on the House Budget Committee.
This is the week, you’ll recall, that the committee is supposed to consider a budget resolution that would pave the way for the “one big, beautiful” fiscal package, packed with President Donald Trump’s priorities, that House Republicans hope to pass in the next several months.
Speaker Mike Johnson has said that he wants that budget resolution to be fully through both the House and the Senate by the end of the month, which would allow the GOP to fully begin the reconciliation process and dig further into the weeds on matters like tax policy, border security and energy policy.
But wouldn’t you know it: Johnson and other GOP leaders are already having trouble keeping their restless conference in line.
Deficit hardliners on the Budget Committee have forced Johnson and his team to prod other committees to find more spending cuts, as our Meredith Lee Hill reported on Sunday evening, after finding the original blueprint that GOP leaders laid out last week at a policy retreat in Florida last week not nearly aggressive enough.
Continue reading on Politico Weekly Tax
Trump admin zeros in on school choice, dismantling DEI
MAKING MOVES: The Trump administration says doing away with diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and bolstering school choice programs are key components of its plan to recoup learning loss from the pandemic. It’s already taken several steps toward these goals.
Over the weekend: The administration placed Education Department officials on administrative leave because they had previously attended diversity training.
— Several employees began receiving leave notices late Friday and reported them to their local union president at the American Federation of Government Employees, confirmed Brittany Holder, deputy communications director at AFGE, which represents federal workers at the agency.
— A memo reviewed by POLITICO that was sent Friday informed agency workers that they had been placed on leave because of the president’s executive order on DEI and further guidance from the Office of Personnel Management.
‘Unacceptable’ scores: At a press conference on Friday, Trump administration officials called the recently released scores from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, also known as the Nation’s Report Card, “unacceptable.”
— The latest scores show that both fourth and eighth graders have lost ground in reading — not just compared to the 2019 assessment, but also the last round of testing, which was conducted during the pandemic. Math scores were flat for eighth graders and up slightly for fourth graders, compared to the last assessment in 2022.
— “This is completely unacceptable to the president, and he continues to take aggressive actions to address this education problem in our country,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Friday.
Continue reading on Politico Weekly Education
Tariffs, tariffs and tariffs
QUICK FIX
— Donald Trump’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose sweeping tariffs on U.S. trading partners brings his executive authority into uncharted territory.
— A broad range of industry groups representing some of the largest U.S. companies are sounding the alarm over Trump’s latest trade move.
— And the U.S.’ largest trading partners are launching plans to retaliate.
It’s Monday, Feb. 3. Welcome to Morning Trade. Register here for another installment of Playbook’s First 100 Days breakfast series Tuesday at 9 a.m., which will feature:
White House bureau chief Dasha Burns interviewing White House trade counselor Peter Navarro.
Economics correspondent Victoria Guida interviewing Rep. Adrian Smith, chair of the House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee.
Senior trade reporter Doug Palmer interviewing Rep. Linda Sánchez, the top Democrat on the trade subcommittee.
Continue reading on Politico Weekly Trade
Hegseth’s goal for fewer civilian professors at military academies faces roadblocks
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s goal to get “woke” civilian professors out of military academies and replace them with military personnel would be a tall order.
Experts note that recruiting problems are top of mind at the Pentagon, casting doubt on pulling more military personnel into the academies, where around 50 percent current of instructors are civilians.
“We need more uniformed members going back into West Point, the Air Force Academy, the Naval Academy as a tour to teach with their wisdom of what they’ve learned in uniform instead of just more civilian professors that came from the same left-wing, woke universities that they left and then try to push that into service academies,” Hegseth said at his confirmation hearing.
Continue reading at The Hill
Mexican president says tariffs will be put on hold for a month
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Monday that her country had reached a series of agreements with President Donald Trump and that tariffs will be put on hold for one month, starting now.
A White House official confirmed the one-month delay.
Sheinbaum, in a post on X, said the agreement calls for Mexico to immediately reinforce its northern border with 10,000 National Guard members to prevent drug trafficking from Mexico to the US, particularly fentanyl.
Continue reading at Politico
Conservative ire threatens to jeopardize key vote on Trump agenda bill
Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) plan to hold a key vote for the GOP’s sweeping agenda bill this week is in jeopardy as hard-line conservatives voice opposition to the level of spending cuts in the legislation, multiple sources told The Hill.
Johnson told reporters last week — during the conference’s retreat in Florida — that the House Budget Committee would mark up a budget resolution for the party’s bill full of President Trump’s priorities this week, kicking off the budget reconciliation process, which will allow Republicans to work around Democratic opposition.
Continue reading at The Hill
Schumer says he didn’t know Trump would ‘screw up so soon’
Weighing in on the Trump administration’s actions of the past week, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said he didn’t know President Trump would “screw up so soon.”
The comment, published Monday by Semafor, followed an issued-then-rescinded Office of Management and Budget (OMB) memo that called for a federal loan and grant pause, which caused a political uproar, and the weekend announcement of weighty tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China, which also resulted in mass frustration.
“There’s a long way to go. This is going to be a pattern,” he added.
Continue reading on The Hill
Trump taps Bessent to lead consumer bureau as GOP plots big changes
President Trump has tapped Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent as the acting chief of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).
“I look forward to working with the CFPB to advance President Trump’s agenda to lower costs for the American people and accelerate economic growth,” Bessent said in a statement on Monday.
Trump designated Bessent as acting director on Friday, not long before Rohit Chopra, who served as the agency’s director since 2021, announced his departure the following day.
Continue reading on The Hill
NPR and PBS first target in MTG’s DOGE crosshairs
The House DOGE Subcommittee is setting its sights on NPR and PBS for alleged liberal bias.
The new House subcommittee designed to complement the work of Elon Musk has named its first target: the nonprofit news media.
The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee’s “Delivering on Government Efficiency” Subcommittee — or DOGE, mimicking its Musk-run analogue, the Department of Government Efficiency — is asking the leaders of PBS and NPR to testify next month.
Continue reading at Politico
Hakeem Jeffries wants funding freeze 'choked off' in spending deal
Democrats are set to have substantial leverage ahead of a March shutdown deadline.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries issued a key demand Monday as a March 14 government funding deadline approaches, saying President Donald Trump's recent federal spending freeze "must be choked off" as part of any bipartisan deal to keep the government open, "if not sooner."
The ultimatum, detailed in a letter to House Democrats, is a signal that Jeffries will use Democrats' leverage in the narrowly divided House to push back on the Trump administration. Historically, Republicans have found it difficult to stick together on government funding bills, with the Senate filibuster giving Democrats additional clout.
Continue reading at Politico
Jeffries lays out war plan for Democrats to take on Trump
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) on Monday unveiled a 10-part plan for House Democrats' efforts to counter many of President Trump's moves to upend the federal bureaucracy.
Why it matters: There has been rising tension between Democratic lawmakers and the party's grassroots over how to combat the new administration's most inflammatory moves from the minority.
Driving the news: In a "dear colleague" letter to House Democrats, Jeffries vowed to use a March 14 federal funding deadline as leverage to prevent Trump from freezing or diverting congressionally appropriated funds.
Continue reading on Axios
Kinzinger to House Dems: ‘Get out there and do something’ about Musk
Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) on Monday told House Democrats to “get out there and do something” about tech billionaire Elon Musk after employees at the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) headquarters in Washington were told to work from home.
“All these agencies where employees are being locked out of, how about you send members of Congress with those employees to walk them into work, or just send members [of] Congress to go into the building and investigate what these people are doing, dare them to stop you because they can’t,” Kinzinger said in a video posted on the social platform X.
Continue reading on The Hill
USAID to be merged into State Department, 3 U.S. officials say
USAID, the United States Agency for International Development, will be merged into the State Department with significant cuts in the workforce, but it will remain a humanitarian aid entity, three U.S. officials told CBS News.
Officials in President Trump's administration are expected to announce the moves in the coming days. Discussions about the extent of the funding reductions remained fluid on Monday.
Mr. Trump made Secretary of State Marco Rubio the acting administrator of USAID, sources said, and Rubio himself soon confirmed it to reporters traveling with him in El Salvador. ABC News earlier reported his status as chief. Rubio said he has designated his acting authority to handle day-to-day responsibilities to someone else, although he didn't say whom.
Continue reading at CBS News
Rubio announces he’s acting director of USAID as Musk and Trump work to dismantle agency
CNN —
Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Monday that he is acting administrator the US Agency for International Development after Elon Musk, the world’s richest man charged with overhauling the federal government, said President Donald Trump had signed off on shutting the agency down.
In Washington, USAID’s headquarters was closed for the day, with employees told in an email to remain at home.
Logos and photos of its aid work have been stripped from building walls. And its website and social media accounts have gone dark, replaced with a reduced version of its webpage on the State Department’s website.
“It is the apocalypse at USAID,” one USAID official said
Continue reading at CNN
Ocasio-Cortez: Musk ‘raiding US classified information is a grave threat to national security’
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) on Sunday said she was alarmed by reports that tech billionaire Elon Musk was able to gain access to U.S. classified information, saying it poses a “grave threat” to the country’s national security.
“This is a five alarm fire,” Ocasio-Cortez said in a post on the social platform X, which Musk owns. “The people elected Donald Trump to be President – not Elon Musk.”
“Having an unelected billionaire, with his own foreign debts and motives, raiding US classified information is a grave threat to national security,” she continued.
Continue reading at The Hill
Playbook PM: Trump tables Mexico tariffs as Canada takes cover
BREAKING: “Trump says newly created US sovereign wealth fund could buy TikTok,” by Reuters’ Trevor Hunnicutt
LET’S MAKE A DEAL: Mexico staved off President Donald Trump’s tariffs for now, while Canada continues to fight back ahead of their midnight imposition, capping a tumultuous morning in North American diplomacy and markets.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Trump said they’d struck an agreement to delay American tariffs for a month, in exchange for Mexico sending 10,000 National Guard members to the border to crack down on fentanyl trafficking. Both countries will continue negotiating over security and trade. The leaders characterized their conversation as “respectful” and “friendly.” (There are some instructive differences between their announcements: Only Sheinbaum said the U.S. would also crack down on guns going to Mexico, while only Trump said the Mexican soldiers would also stop immigrants.) Details from Victoria Guida and Megan Messerly
Trump allies trumpeted the news as a victory in which Mexico had caved, though Mexico has in fact taken similar actions in recent years.
Continue reading at Politico (the rest of this newsletter deals with Canada)
Where USAID funds are disbursed around the world
The Trump administration has targeted the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) for potential shut down, the latest in its broad and escalating push to radically reshape the federal government.
Why it matters: USAID is the U.S. government's lead humanitarian aid arm and administers a wide array of programs around the world focused on fighting disease, reducing poverty and providing relief to people impacted by conflicts and natural disasters.
The U.S. government is the world's single largest humanitarian donor, per the United Nations.
The big picture: In the 2023 fiscal year, USAID disbursed roughly $44 billion of aid across 160 countries and regions around the world, per the agency's foreign assistance dashboard.
Ukraine was the top recipient of foreign assistance funds in FY 2023, with over $16 billion issued. Israel received more than $2.2 billion in disbursements, while Ethiopia and Jordan each received over $1 billion.
Continue reading at Axios
EPA tells 1,000 employees they could be fired ‘immediately’
More than 1,000 employees at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) were notified last week that they may be subject to immediate firing, according to an email obtained by The Hill.
The email, sent Wednesday by EPA mission support official Kimberly Patrick, notifies impacted employees that they are “likely on a probationary/trial period.”
“As a probationary/trial period employee, the agency has the right to immediately terminate you,” the email says.
Continue reading at The Hill
Second judge prepares to block Trump’s federal grant freeze
A second federal judge signaled she will block the Trump administration from implementing an across-the-board pause on federal grants later Monday.
U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan at the conclusion of a 90-minute hearing in Washington, D.C., expressed concern the plan is still in force despite the rescission of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) memo.
Continue reading at The Hill
Warren presses Treasury secretary over Musk access to payments system
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday demanding to know what access Elon Musk was given to the federal payments system and what safeguards were implemented to protect Americans’ private data and prevent abuses.
Continue reading at The Hill
What is the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, the government's $5 trillion checkbook
An obscure Treasury Department office that manages trillions of dollars in payments for the entire government is the latest flashpoint in President Trump and Elon Musk's war on federal spending.
Why it matters: Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, multiple outlets reported, now has access to the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, which is essentially a checkbook for the entire federal government.
Despite Trump's endorsement, DOGE is not an official government agency.
State of play: The Bureau of the Fiscal Service is meant to "promote the financial integrity and operational efficiency of the federal government through exceptional accounting, financing, collections, payments and shared services."
Continue reading at Axios
Chuck Grassley asks Trump for a tariff carveout
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) on Monday asked President Trump for an exemption for farmers on the sweeping tariffs he imposed over the weekend.
Why it matters: Republican lawmakers from agricultural states may find themselves in a tough spot as they try to avoid going against their party leader, while still protecting their constituents.
American Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall said in a statement over the weekend that "farmers and rural communities will bear the brunt of retaliation" from the tariffs.
Driving the news: Grassley is one of the only farm-state GOP senators so far to ask for a tariff exemption.
Continue reading at The Hill
Trump on Musk: ‘If there’s a problem, we won’t let him near it’
Trump was asked why is it important for Musk to have access to payment systems at Treasury after Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) officials have demanded access to the systems that officials use to disburse funds.
“He’s got access only to letting people go that he thinks are no good, if we agree with him and it’s only if we agree with him,” Trump said in response in the Oval Office.
He added that Musk “can’t do and won’t do anything without our approval.”
“We’ll give him the approval when appropriate, where not appropriate, we won’t. But he reports in, and it’s something that he feels very strongly about,” the president said. “If there’s conflict, then we won’t let him get near it.”
Continue reading at The Hill
Lindsey Graham and the Freedom Caucus join forces
Graham is ready and waiting if Johnson’s plan for the Trump agenda blows up.
Speaker Mike Johnson already has to worry about a clutch of hard-line conservative ideologues inside the House Republican ranks as he tries to pass the heart of President Donald Trump’s legislative agenda.
He also needs to keep an eye on one garrulous, shape-shifting, veteran Republican from the other side of the Capitol.
South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham has been back-channeling with some members of the hard-right House Freedom Caucus — picking their brains and giving them advice on trillions of dollars in overall spending cuts — as he prepares in his role as Budget Committee chair to pave the way for a party-line border, energy and defense bill.
Continue reading at Politico
Protests begin in Southern California amid ‘Day Without Immigrants’ movement
Protesters have gathered in downtown Los Angeles for the second straight day as a nationwide “Day Without Immigrants” movement got underway Monday.
The group of about 100 people waving Mexican flags and carrying pro-immigration signs gathered at City Hall before starting their march in the area of West 1st Street and North Spring Street around 11 a.m.
Continue reading/watch live on KTLA.com
FBI agents who investigate UFOs worried they could be pushed out in possible purge
The existence of the FBI’s informal working group on the issue has not been disclosed publicly before.
FBI agents who are part of a secretive group investigating the surge of “unidentified anomalous phenomena,” what the government uses to refer to UFOs, are worried that they could lose their jobs in a possible FBI purge targeting officials who worked on Jan. 6 cases, according to four people familiar with the matter.
Some of the FBI agents who work in the group also worked on Jan. 6 cases, according to the people. All agents across the bureau have been ordered to fill out a questionnaire about their work on the Capitol attack. There are worries that the move could lead to a Trump-ordered purge at the agency, said the people, some of whom were granted anonymity to discuss personnel matters.
Continue reading at Politico
Ontario will end provincial contract with Musk’s Starlink amid Trump tariffs
Ontario’s premier said he’s “ripping up” the contract between his province and Elon Musk’s Starlink internet service, following President Trump’s decision to target Canada with 25 percent tariffs, which are set to go into effect Tuesday.
“Ontario won’t do business with people hellbent on destroying our economy,” Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Monday in a post on the social platform X.
Continue reading at The Hill
LA billionaire offers a hand — and applies some pressure — in wildfire recovery
Rick Caruso, a former mayoral candidate, has seen his profile rise in the wake of the LA wildfires, but insists “this isn’t about politics at all.”
LOS ANGELES — Rick Caruso, the billionaire developer whose searing criticism of the region’s wildfire response has catapulted him to national prominence, announced on Monday the launch of a new non-profit to accelerate rebuilding after the region’s devastating wildfires.
Caruso, a one-time mayoral hopeful, described the effort, dubbed Steadfast LA, as a high-powered brain trust for local, state and federal governments as it undertakes the massive task of recovery after last month’s devastating series of wildfires. The group that includes Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos would propose solutions to the myriad obstacles to rebuilding — and plans to publicly call out the government if its response is not moving swiftly enough.
Continue reading at Politico
Trump brushes back Musk as Democrats plot DOGE resistance
Congressional Democrats vowed to intervene Monday to prevent Elon Musk from shutting down the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
The big picture: Trump, who has yet to make an official statement on USAID's future, appeared to damper Musk's ambitious plans, telling reporters the billionaire can't take action without "our approval."
Musk, head of the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), "can't do and won't do anything without our approval," Trump said Monday at the White House. "We'll give him the approval where appropriate. Where not appropriate, we won't."
"Where we think there's a conflict or there's a problem, we won't let him go near it," Trump added.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was out of the country when Musk announced USAID was shutting down, said Monday he's now the agency's acting director.
Continue reading at Axios
What the kompromat, Susan Collins?
Democrats promise bill to block ‘unlawful meddling’ in Treasury systems after Musk allies gain access
Democrats have been sounding the alarm over reports that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by billionaire tech investor Elon Musk, was given access to the Treasury Department’s sensitive payment systems.
“We must protect people’s Social Security payments, their Medicare payments, tax refunds, from any possible tampering by DOGE or any other unauthorized entities,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) told reporters at a press conference on Monday.
Continue reading at The Hill
Lawmakers, legal experts warn shuttering USAID is unconstitutional
Over the weekend, agents of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) entered the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) facility. Staff started getting shut out of internal systems Sunday and were told not to come into the headquarters at the Ronald Reagan Building on Monday.
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, who leads DOGE, said his team took a “wood chipper” to USAID over the weekend. He has for days railed against USAID on his social media platform X and levied accusations of corruption against the independent agency that has provided humanitarian and development assistance to countries around the world for more than 60 years.
Continue reading at The Hill
Murphy says tax records ‘potentially compromised’ by Musk
Murphy joined CNN’s Jake Tapper on Monday, where he sounded the alarm about Musk’s growing influence over the federal government, and its payment systems in particular.
Musk allies working with DOGE were reportedly given access to the Treasury Department’s federal payment system over the weekend, causing an uproar by Democrats.
Tapper asked Murphy if he has an issue with DOGE accessing the system Treasury Department officials use to disburse funds.
“Of course I do,” the Connecticut Democrat replied. “First of all, every American needs to know that your information, your personal tax records, have been potentially compromised, that unelected billionaires and his Silicon Valley right-wing friends may have access to all of your personal information.”
Continue reading at The Hill
Trump wants rare earth elements from Ukraine in exchange for military aid
“We’re handing them money hand over fist. We’re giving them equipment,” Trump said Monday.
“We’re looking to do a deal with Ukraine, where they’re going to secure what we’re giving them with their rare earth and other things,” he told reporters in the Oval Office.
“I want to have security of rare earth,” he added, appearing to refer to rare earth elements, which refers to a specific group of materials that are only deposited in relatively small quantities and can be used in a variety of applications including electronics, health care and batteries.
Continue reading at The Hill
Top DOGE Democrat prepares for 'battlefield'
Rep. Melanie Stansbury wants to go head to head with Republicans on the DOGE Subcommittee.
Rep. Melanie Stansbury wants to lead her party’s fight against Elon Musk’s attempts to transform the entire federal government, an exercise that will largely be focused on messaging and rhetorical counter-programming.
The New Mexico Democrat is the new chair of the House Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency, also to be called DOGE — the congressional counterpart to Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency that goes by the same acronym.
Continue reading at Politico
Republicans eye bigger farm bailout amid Trump trade wars
The fund Trump tapped to send farmers $28 billion in 2018 is now dwindling.
Republican lawmakers are beginning to fear they’ll have to enact billions of dollars in new aid to rescue farmers harmed by President Donald Trump’s escalating trade wars with China, Canada and Mexico.
A USDA fund Trump tapped for a $28 billion farm bailout during his first-term tariff clash with China is now running low, lawmakers say. After upcoming payments are made, there will only be an estimated $4 billion left for the Trump administration to spend on any fallout from his newest trade battle, according to two people granted anonymity to describe internal conversations. Farmers are warning that their products will be harder to sell if the three countries retaliate with their own tariffs.
Continue reading at Politico
Senate handily confirms Chris Wright as Energy secretary
The Senate confirmed fracking CEO Chris Wright as Energy secretary in a bipartisan vote Monday evening.
Why it matters: Wright will immediately have to smooth out President Trump's efforts to slow down — or halt entirely — climate change-related spending.
He'll also now control the federal government's most important energy research.
Driving the news: Wright, an engineer and CEO of hydraulic fracturing company Liberty Energy, cleared the Senate 59 to 38.
Continue reading at Axios
Duffy tells DOT to prioritize areas with high birth rates
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy in a memo told the Department of Transportation (DOT) to prioritize communities that have higher birth and marriage rates.
“To the maximum extent permitted by law, DOT-supported or -assisted programs and activities, including without limitation, all DOT grants, loans, contracts, and DOT-supported or -assisted State contracts, shall prioritize projects and goals that … mitigate the unique impacts of DOT programs, policies, and activities on families and family-specific difficulties, such as the accessibility of transportation to families with young children, and give preference to communities with marriage and birth rates higher than the national average,” reads the undated memo, which says it is effective immediately.
Continue reading at The Hill
Canada’s rebel yell
DEAR AMERICA — You might have heard about all those Canadians booing the American anthem over the weekend. Some of you call it classless. Others wonder how a fan can lash out at the Star Spangled Banner and then, seconds later, cheer wildly for their favorite American player.
Welcome to this complicated moment for your typical Canadian.
Many of our compatriots feel spurned by a U.S. president bent on continent-wide economic retribution. They’re perplexed about the shifting demands behind Donald Trump’s tariff threat: border security and drug smuggling one day, trade deficits the next.
Continue reading at Politico
Which states may feel the brunt of Trump's tariffs
Businesses in some states — many near the country's northern and southern borders — may feel President Trump's tariffs on goods from Canada, Mexico and China most acutely, per a new estimate shared with Axios.
Why it matters: Trump and others view tariffs as political cudgels for extracting concessions from targeted countries. But they're also likely to make stuff more expensive as companies pass higher costs along to everyday Americans.
Catch up quick: Trump on Saturday imposed tariffs of 25% on Mexican and Canadian goods and 10% on Canadian energy imports, plus issued new 10% tariffs on Chinese imports.
Continue reading at Axios
Pam Bondi nomination advances in Senate
The Senate voted 52-46 Monday to limit debate on Pam Bondi's nomination for Attorney General,
Why it matters: President Trump is now on the cusp of installing a loyalist in the nation's highest law enforcement role, empowering a MAGA overhaul of the Justice Department that could include investigating his political enemies.
Continue reading at Axios
Trump Delays Some of His Tariffs
Economic anxiety was running high Monday as President Donald Trump's tariffs on the United States' three largest trading partners were set to take effect at 12:01 a.m Tuesday. Stocks dropped sharply to start the day but rebounded after Trump and Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum announced that tariffs would be delayed for a month while the two sides try to reach a deal. Trump later announced a 30-day pause on tariffs against Canada, too, but those against China are still set to hit tonight.
While economic fears were simmering, the president and Elon Musk continued their efforts to remake the federal government. Here's what you should know.
Continue reading at The Fiscal Times newsletter
Unions sue to block Musk team’s access to Treasury payments
The complaint accuses the Trump administration of illegally granting Musk team’s access in violation of federal laws.
Federal employee unions on Monday sued to stop Elon Musk’s team from accessing a sensitive government payment system that controls the flow of trillions of dollars of payments as top Democrats stepped up their attacks on what they said was the billionaire’s “hostile takeover” of the Treasury Department.
The lawsuit, which was filed days after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent agreed to a plan giving department officials allied with Musk access to the system, landed amid growing pushback to the Tesla’s founder’s slash and burn efforts to cut hundreds of billions in federal spending.
Continue reading at Politico
Musk steamrolls Washington with Trump’s blessing
Republicans on the Hill are also largely giving Musk and Trump the benefit of the doubt.
Elon Musk worked at breakneck speed over the weekend to wipe out the U.S. Agency for International Development. His allies got access to the Treasury’s payments system. His aides reportedly locked out government employees from their computer systems that hold sensitive data.
And President Donald Trump is OK with it — for now.
Continue reading at Politico
Peter Navarro accuses tariff critics of ‘dishonoring’ those who have died from fentanyl overdose
Navarro joined Fox News on Monday, where he was asked to weigh in on the 25 percent tariff placed on Canada and Mexico, and the 10 percent tariff on China as Americans grow increasingly concerned about the economic impact the tariffs would have on their lives.
“Anybody who’s talking about inflation right now is dishonoring … the men and women and children who have died at the hands of Chinese, Mexican, Canadian fentanyl coming across our borders,” Navarro said when pressed about the economic impact. “That’s what this is about.”
Continue reading at The Hill
Collins, Lankford back Gabbard for top Intel job ahead of committee vote
Two Republicans on the Senate Intelligence Committee said Monday they'll support Tulsi Gabbard, President Donald Trump's pick for director of national intelligence.
The backing by Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and James Lankford (R-Okla.) for Gabbard ahead of a committee vote Tuesday is a positive sign for the embattled nominee following a rocky confirmation hearing last week.
Continue reading at Politico
Commerce pick with crypto ties could sit on crypto task force
Howard Lutnick won't say whether he'll recuse himself from a new White House cryptocurrency task force.
Howard Lutnick, the billionaire President Donald Trump has nominated to run the Department of Commerce, won't say whether he'll recuse himself from the administration’s cryptocurrency working group despite acknowledging his maintains ties to the controversial crypto firm, Tether.
“I will follow applicable government ethics laws and regulations based on guidance from the Ethics Office of the Department of Commerce,” Lutnick said as part of a series of responses to written questions from lawmakers on the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, who had follow-up inquiries after the nominee's confirmation hearing before the panel last week.
Continue reading at Politico
California lawmakers approve $50M for Trump lawsuits, immigrant aid
The state’s Republican minority argued it’s foolish to be taking on Trump when California is trying to secure federal wildfire aid.
SACRAMENTO, California — California lawmakers on Monday approved a “Trump-proofing” bill package that includes $50 million in state funding to challenge President Donald Trump’s policies in court and provide legal aid for immigrants.
The proposals — which emerged from a special session Gov. Gavin Newsom called last year shortly after Trump’s election — easily passed on a party-line vote and now go to the governor for his signature.
Continue reading at Politico
The Senate's vibe shift on Tulsi Gabbard
Director of National Intelligence nominee Tulsi Gabbard has wind in her sails ahead of Tuesday's Senate Intel Committee vote.
Why it matters: Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) announced her support on Monday. She's a critical swing vote who worked against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
That leaves Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.) as the vote Gabbard allies are watching most carefully.
Between the lines: Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) — a close Trump ally who has been an advocate for nominees — told reporters he's feeling confident about Gabbard's chances. "Tulsi has done the work," he said.
Continue reading on Axios
Democrats flood the zone with acts of anti-Trump resistance
Democrats are bowing to grassroots pressure and unleashing a wave of angry spectacles to show they are doing something to fight the Trump administration's stunning attempts to reshape the federal government.
Why it matters: "I think what you're hearing ... from people is: We just can't do things as usual. We can't be like, 'Oh let's let the long arc of a congressional session happen as we hope to stop Elon Musk and Donald Trump,'" a senior House Democrat told Axios.
"That's not a thing. No one f***ing cares about that," the lawmaker said. "People want us to be doing more aggressive actions."
Continue reading on Axios
Senators warn Trump and Musk on government shutdown
Senate appropriators are putting President Trump and Elon Musk on notice that their threats to rewire Washington can have broader consequences, especially on funding the government by March 14.
Why it matters: Trump is a master at minting bargaining chips. But Senate appropriators know something about leverage and bending the federal government to their will.
They are warning that Trump's weekend activities, including his threat to shutter the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), could have spillover effects on funding the federal government.
What they are saying: "It will have a hard impact on our ability to trust each other, because at the end of the day, the appropriations process begins and ends with a handshake," Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) told Axios.
Continue reading on Axios
Senate tees up final vote on Pam Bondi AG nomination
The Senate on Monday teed up a final vote on Pam Bondi’s nomination to lead the Justice Department.
The chamber voted 52-46 to limit debate. Absent an agreement with Democrats, that puts a final confirmation vote on the docket for the early hours of Wednesday.
Continue reading at The Hill
DOGE’s access to federal data is ‘an absolute nightmare,’ legal experts warn
The latest moves at Treasury have already triggered a lawsuit, with a fight over the dissolution of USAID looming.
Elon Musk’s headlong rush to take control of crucial federal agencies and functions — and to dismantle some of them virtually overnight — has stoked widespread alarm in Washington about the aims of his Donald Trump-backed mission.
The opaque office’s early moves have violated the Privacy Act and cybersecurity laws, according to legal experts, and triggered a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s assault on government bureaucracy.
Continue reading at Politico
Republican blocks Senate resolution in support of USAID
Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho) blocked a resolution in the Senate that supported the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) as the agency undergoes turmoil via the Trump administration.
Continue reading at The Hill
War of attrition strains Ukraine’s army
Ukraine wants Donald Trump’s support, but has suffered thousands of casualties and desertions as it holds the line against Russia.
KYIV — Anastasia, a Ukrainian combat medic, volunteered to join the army in 2022. She had no military or medical experience but wanted to help wounded Ukrainian soldiers in rear hospitals and planned to stay far from combat.
Last fall, while on medical leave, she discovered that army command had transferred her to one of the hottest spots of Russia’s war against Ukraine, near Kurakhove in the eastern Donetsk region.
“I did not even have basic military training by the time I arrived. My former command forged my documents,” said Anastasia, who asked to be identified only by her first name. Military officials denied that such a thing could happen.
Continue reading at Politico
Trump administration finalizing plans to shutter Education Department
An executive order — which President Donald Trump is expected to sign sometime this month — was expected to lay out a two-part strategy for shuttering the agency.
The Trump administration is finalizing plans to dismantle the Education Department through an executive order that would build on the president’s campaign promise to hammer the longtime conservative target.
The order — which President Donald Trump is expected to sign sometime this month, according to a White House official — was expected to lay out a two-part strategy for shuttering the agency, according to two people familiar with the plans and granted anonymity to discuss them.
Continue reading at Politico
Bessent tells lawmakers Musk’s DOGE does not control Treasury payments system
The remarks came during a two-hour gathering between the Treasury secretary and GOP members of the House Financial Services Committee.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent privately reassured Republican lawmakers Monday that Elon Musk and his team do not have control over a sensitive government system that manages the flow of trillions of dollars in payments, according to five lawmakers in the room for a closed-door meeting on Capitol Hill.
Bessent’s comments came amid a growing controversy over Musk’s efforts to gain access to vast swaths of the federal government. Bessent sparked an uproar over the weekend by granting Musk’s government efficiency team access to the payments network following a dispute that led to the sudden resignation of Treasury’s top career official. Democrats have blasted the move as unprecedented political interference with how the federal government disburses funds.
Continue reading at Politico
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