The U.S. government has begun firing thousands of people at multiple agencies as Donald Trump and Elon Musk accelerated their purge of America’s federal bureaucracy.
The Department of Veterans Affairs, which provides healthcare for veterans, said it had let go of more than 1,000 employees who were in their probationary period, while the U.S. Forest Service is set to terminate more than 3,000. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been instructed to fire 1,300 staffers.
Termination emails have reportedly been sent to workers across the government, mostly to recently hired employees still on probation, at agencies such as the Department of Education, the Small Business Administration, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and the General Services Administration.
Meanwhile, Vice President JD Vance is due to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the Munich Security Conference on Friday and has indicated he could threaten Vladimir Putin with sanctions or even military action if he won’t agree to a peace deal with Ukraine that guarantees Kyiv’s long-term independence.
On Thursday, Trump announced that the U.S. will levy significant import taxes on any country that imposes its own taxes on American goods, starting a process that experts say could lead to a global trade war.
Key points
- Donald Trump and Elon Musk overseeing thousands as federal layoffs
- CDC to lose 10% of staff under Trump's DOGE job cuts
- Zelensky to meet with Vance in Munich as U.S. prepares to get tough with Putin
- Trump announces sweeping ‘reciprocal’ tariffs that could kick off global trade war
- TikTok restored to Google Play and Apple after Trump pledge to save it
- Indian PM Modi hails Trump ‘mega-partnership’ as leaders agree energy deal
CDC to lose 10% of staff under Trump's DOGE job cuts
15:57
,
Oliver O'Connell
Nearly 1,300 probationary employees at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention—approximately one-tenth of the agency’s workforce—are being let go as part of the Trump administration’s effort to eliminate all probationary positions.
The Atlanta-based agency’s leadership was informed of the decision on Friday morning. The verbal notification came from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services during a meeting with CDC leaders, according to a federal official present at the meeting. The official, not authorized to discuss the matter, spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
The affected employees are set to receive four weeks of paid administrative leave, the official stated, noting that it remains unclear when individual workers will be notified.
The CDC, with a core budget of $9.2 billion, is responsible for protecting Americans from outbreaks and various public health threats. Prior to the cuts, the agency had about 13,000 employees, including over 2,000 staff members working in other countries.
India slashes bourbon whisky tariffs amid intensifying Trump criticism
15:52
,
Reuters
India has slashed tariffs on bourbon whisky to 100% from 150%, a move that will benefit imports of brands like Suntory's Jim Beam, after U.S. President Donald Trump's criticised “unfair” levies in the South Asian market.
Trump, who met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the White House this week, has railed against the climate for American businesses in India and unveiled a roadmap for reciprocal tariffs on countries that put duties on U.S. imports.
The tariff notification by the Indian government was dated February 13 but gathered media attention only on Friday. It said the basic customs duty on bourbon will be 50%, with an additional levy of 50%, bringing the total to 100%.
Previously, such imports were taxed at 150%.
There will be no change on imports of other liquor products, which are also taxed at 150%.
Call for Trump to declassify Lockerbie bombing files
15:50
,
Oliver O'Connell
A lawyer who represented British victims of the Lockerbie bombing is urging President Donald Trump to declassify US agency files on the tragedy.
Professor Peter Watson says the families of those killed deserve “transparency, truth, and answers”.
It comes after the president moved to declassify files relating to the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King Jr.
Katrine Bussey has the story.
Vance backs UK's Brexit voters amid anti-immigration rant at Munich conference
15:33
,
Oliver O'Connell
JD Vance has backed Brexit voters during a speech in Munich in which he attacked European leaders over migration and free speech.
The US vice president stunned gathered delegates as he lashed out at governments across the continent for ignoring voters’ concerns over migration and repressing free speech.
Mr Vance said he had witnessed Europe “retreat from some of its most fundamental values” and claimed that freedom is in danger across the continent.
Archie Mitchell reports for The Independent.
Dallas police officers won’t work on ICE raids
15:30
,
Oliver O'Connell
Dallas Police Department has told immigrant communities that they will not partake in any ICE deportation raids despite brash orders made by President Donald Trump.
Officers announced their decision to break against the ultra-conservative views of the Texas red state in a Facebook post after revealing they would be hosting five sessions with the community in a bid to dampen down deportation fears.
Madeline Sherratt reports.
Viral mug shot now part of White House decor
15:15
,
Oliver O'Connell
Earlier in the week, much was made of a decorating change in the Oval Office, with a portrait of President Ronald Reagan now prominently displayed beside the Resolute desk.
Yesterday, though, eagle-eyed observers noted that a more historically significant portrait (of sorts) had been hung on a wall just outside the Oval.
As Donald Trump sat down with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, possibly the most famous mug shot of modern times was visible through a doorway behind Secretary of State Marco Rubio and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles.
Here’s James Liddell’s report:
Trump tariffs: Banks are flying gold from London to New York
15:10
,
Oliver O'Connell
Deep under London’s Threadneedle Street lies an intricate network of tunnels holding the world’s second-largest depository of gold.
The Bank of England’s nine heavily fortified vaults hold hundreds of tonnes of the precious metal valued at more than £200 billion ($252 billion).
But now, they are slowly being emptied over fears that President Donald Trump is about to start a global trade war.
James Liddell reports.
What's on Trump's agenda today?
15:07
,
Oliver O'Connell
Donald Trump has a relatively quiet schedule today — though things tend to look calmer in print.
The president will be signing more executive orders in the Oval Office at 1 p.m. ET (more details of those when we have them) and will likely take questions from the assembled pool reporters.
At 2 p.m. Trump is scheduled to depart the White House for Mar-a-Lago, where he is expected to spend the whole of the holiday weekend (Monday is Presidents’ Day). The president should be in his gilded “Winter White House” by 5 p.m. ET.
The Independent’s White House correspondent, Andrew Feinberg, will be traveling with Trump as part of the out-of-town pool today.
HUD to lay off half its workforce, union head says
14:56
,
Oliver O'Connell
The US Department of Housing and Urban Development's union president told Bloomberg Law that the agency plans to lay off 50 percent of its workforce.
Antonio Gaines, president of AFGE National Council 222, said the department will reduce staffing in the offices responsible for enforcing civil rights laws, gathering data on the housing market, and funding community rebuilding after disasters. However, Gaines noted that the Federal Housing Administration, which provides mortgage insurance for loans, will not be affected.
HUD offers assistance in housing and community development. According to its website, the agency employs 9,600 individuals.
Can Hakeem Jeffries be the leader the Democrats want?
14:50
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Joe Sommerlad
A March 14 government funding deadline is bearing down on Congress.
Democrats, in the minority in both chambers, still retain the possibility of exacting concessions from Republicans.
The question is, will they use their leverage or play “adults in the room” once more?
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Thursday called out his Republican rivals – again – for supposedly walking away from talks with Democrats in both chambers and the Senate GOP.
Can he be the leader his party needs in the post-Biden era?
John Bowden takes a look.
Starmer discusses trip to US with Trump - but no mention of Ukraine
14:33
,
Alex Ross
U.K. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer spoke to Donald Trump on Thursday night to discuss “his forthcoming visit to the U.S.”, Downing Street has said.
Sir Keir discussed the visit when he met Mark Burnett, Washington’s special envoy to the U.K., No 10 revealed.
A spokesperson said: “Mr Burnett and the Prime Minister agreed on the unique and special nature of the UK-US relationship, the strength of our alliance and the warmth of the connection between the two countries.”
However, the readout of the call between the two leaders made no mention of Ukraine.
Earlier today, Sir Keir reaffirmed Ukraine is on an “irreversible path” to becoming a member of the NATO alliance, as Britain, its European allies, and Kyiv all insist they should not be left out in the cold as negotiations to end the war begin.
US defense secretary Pete Hegseth has indicated European NATO allies should give more aid to Ukraine, and cast doubt on whether Kyiv could join the alliance in the future.
Voices: The truth is, Trump isn’t as good at deal-making as he thinks he is
14:30
,
Joe Sommerlad
Despite positioning himself as an elite dealmaker, Trump has done precisely what he warns against in his latest dealings with Putin – and it would be comical if it didn’t potentially have such catastrophic consequences, writes Guy Walters.
Ukraine must be allowed to join Nato, says PM
14:23
,
Jane Dalton
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer told Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky that Ukraine must be allowed to join NATO.
Both Donald Trump and US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth this week undermined Ukraine's hopes of joining, a process that the alliance said was “irreversible” less than a year ago, or of recovering its territory captured by Russia, which currently occupies close to 20 percent, including Crimea.
“I don't see any way that a country in Russia's position could allow ... them to join NATO,” Trump said on Thursday.
“I don't see that happening.”
Bessent says U.S. looking at currency manipulation as part of tariffs package
14:20
,
Oliver O'Connell
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Friday that the Trump administration is looking beyond tariffs and non-tariff barriers to examine currency manipulation as it studies the issue ahead of an April deadline.
“We're also looking at currency manipulation,” Bessent said in an interview on Fox Business. “The U.S. has a strong dollar policy, but because we have a strong dollar policy, it doesn't mean that other countries get to have a weak currency policy.”
Yesterday, President Donald Trump directed his economic team to develop plans for reciprocal tariffs on every country that taxes U.S. imports, raising the risk of a global trade war.
Trump's memo stopped short of imposing additional tariffs but instructed his administration to calculate duties that match those imposed by other countries and to counteract non-tariff barriers by April 1.
“We're going to come up with what is the equivalent of ... what I would call a reciprocal index: country by country, the outstanding tariffs, non-tariff, the trade barriers and currency manipulation,” Bessent told FBN.
Trump's planned tariffs could be very substantial if other countries did not reduce their tariffs, he added, with the ultimate tariff policies dependent on how trading partners respond.
With reporting by Reuters
Ford CEO warns Trump tariffs could ‘blow a hole’ in US auto industry
14:10
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Joe Sommerlad
Jim Farley, CEO of the Ford Motor Company, has warned that Trump’s tariffs threaten to “blow a hole” in the U.S. auto manufacturing industry.
Farley spoke out this week about the 25 percent across-the-board trade tariffs looming for Mexican and Canadian imports to the U.S., including for steel and aluminum, and warned that it could trigger major job losses in Trump-voting states.
Canada is the biggest source of U.S. imported steel, which is key to the American auto industry, and the tariffs importers like Ford will have to pay will significantly hurt American consumer prices and competition with foreign vehicles.
“Let’s be real honest: Long term, a 25 percent tariff across the Mexico and Canada borders would blow a hole in the U.S. industry that we’ve never seen,” Farley warned at a conference in New York.
“Frankly, it gives free rein to South Korean, Japanese and European companies that are bringing 1.5 million to 2 million vehicles into the U.S. that wouldn’t be subject to those Mexican and Canadian tariffs. It would be one of the biggest windfalls for those companies ever.”
Rhian Lubin reports.
Trump fires service academy boards blaming ‘woke leftist ideologies’
13:50
,
Joe Sommerlad
The president revealed this week that he had fired the boards of visitors at four service academies, arguing that they had been “infiltrated by woke leftist ideologies.”
The commander-in-chief removed the board members from the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, the Military Academy in West Point, New York, the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado, as well as the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut, The Military Times noted.
“Our Service Academies have been infiltrated by Woke Leftist Ideologues over the last four years,” Trump claimed on Truth Social on February 10.
“I have ordered the immediate dismissal of the Board of Visitors for the Army, Air Force, Navy, and Coast Guard.
“We will have the strongest Military in History, and that begins by appointing new individuals to these Boards. We must make the Military Academies GREAT AGAIN!”
The boards consist of appointees by presidents and lawmakers who meet on a regular basis to share advice on student morale, curriculum, academic methods and other needs such as funding and equipment.
Gustaf Kilander reports.
Trump is ushering in a new age of political corruption, experts warn
13:30
,
Joe Sommerlad
From telling the Justice Department to stop enforcing the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act to firing the head of the Office of Government Ethics, the new president’s actions have already raised alarms, writes Andrew Feinberg.
Trump lays into McConnell after senator continues rebellion
13:10
,
Joe Sommerlad
In case you missed this one yesterday, the president tore into longtime GOP leader Mitch McConnell after he was the sole Republican senator to vote no on Robert F Kennedy J.’s nomination to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.
Trump said McConnell, who served as leader of the Senate Republican Conference for almost two decades before stepping down in November, is “not equipped mentally” and accused him of letting “the Republican Party go to hell.”
“If I didn't come along, the Republican Party wouldn't even exist right now,” Trump said of the 82-year-old senator.
“Mitch McConnell never really had it. He had an ability to raise money because of his position as leader, which anybody could do.”
Katie Hawkinson has more.
AOC says Trump’s border czar should ‘learn to read’
12:50
,
Joe Sommerlad
Ooof. A brutal response to Tom Homan’s not particularly veiled threat here from New York Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
"MaYbe shE's goiNg to be in TroUble nOw"
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) February 14, 2025
Maybe he can learn to read. The Constitution would be a good place to start https://t.co/vQ69UDyQnT
Vance says Germany should work with the far-right AfD and not ignore ‘the will of the people’
12:30
,
Joe Sommerlad
The U.S. Vice President has said he will implore Berlin to work with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) to curb migration, despite an unofficial ban on collaborating with the group.
In his interview with The Wall Street Journal ahead of his address to the Munich Security Conference, Vance criticised European leaders for their handling of migration issues, after Trump’s hardline stance propelled him back into the White House.
“It’s really about censorship and about migration, about this fear that President Trump and I have, that European leaders are kind of terrified of their own people,” Vance said.
“I think, unfortunately, the will of voters has been ignored by a lot of our European friends.”
Here’s more from Tom Watling.
Fourteen states sue DOGE and ‘agent of chaos’ Elon Musk
12:10
,
Joe Sommerlad
Trump, Musk and DOGE are being sued by a collective of 14 states arguing that the authority the White House has bestowed on the tech billionaire and his pet project is unconstitutional.
“The founders of this country would be outraged that 250 years after our nation overthrew a king, the people of this country – many of whom have fought and died to protect our freedoms – are now subject to the whims of a single unelected billionaire,” Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes said in a statement after the lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.
The lawsuit argues that Trump has “delegated virtually unchecked authority to Mr Musk without proper legal authorization from Congress, and without meaningful supervision of his activities. As a result, [Musk] has transformed a minor position that was formerly responsible for managing government websites into a designated agent of chaos without limitation and in violation of the separation of powers.”
There is “no greater threat to democracy than the accumulation of state power in the hands of a single, unelected individual,” the lawsuit argues.
The coalition of states – all with Democratic attorneys general and led by New Mexico – argues that Musk’s expansive role as the head of DOGE violates the Appointments Clause of the Constitution because he has not been confirmed by the Senate.
Mary Papenfuss has more.
Trump and Musk overseeing thousands as federal layoffs
11:50
,
Joe Sommerlad
The U.S. government began firing thousands of people at multiple agencies yesterday as Donald Trump and Elon Musk accelerated their purge of America’s federal bureaucracy, union sources and employees familiar with the moves have told Reuters.
The Department of Veterans Affairs, which provides healthcare for veterans, said it had let go of more than 1,000 employees who were in their probationary period while the U.S. Forest Service was set to fire more than 3,000.
Termination emails have been sent in the past 48 hours to workers across the government, mostly recently hired employees still on probation, at agencies such as the Department of Education, the Small Business Administration, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and the General Services Administration, which manages many federal buildings.
Trump and Musk’s overhaul of the federal government appeared to be widening as Musk aides arrived for the first time at the federal tax-collecting agency, the Internal Revenue Service, and U.S. embassies were told to prepare for staff cuts.
Trump has defended the effort, saying the federal government is too bloated and that too much money is lost to waste and fraud. The federal government has some $36 trillion in debt and ran a $1.8 trillion deficit last year, and there is bipartisan agreement on the need for government reform.
But critics have questioned the blunt force approach of Musk, who has amassed extraordinary influence in Trump’s presidency.
Here’s Ariana Baio on the chaos of it all.
Judge orders Trump administration to lift funding freeze on US aid
11:30
,
Joe Sommerlad
In another setback for Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Judge Amir Ali issued the above order yesterday in a lawsuit brought by companies that receive U.S. funding for their programs.
Here’s Rhian Lubin to explain.
RFK Jr thanks God and appears on Fox after being confirmed as Trump’s health secretary
11:10
,
Joe Sommerlad
The former independent presidential candidate and sometime conspiracy theorist had this bizarre proclamation to make at his swearing-in ceremony yesterday after being confirmed by the Senate:
RFK JR: God sent me President Trump. He's kept every promise he's made to me. I'm so grateful to you, Mr. President. A lot of people told me that I couldn't trust President Trump pic.twitter.com/xMo9IXGqde
— Acyn (@Acyn) February 13, 2025
He subsequently gave an interview to Laura Ingraham on Fox News in which he discussed his plans for the Department of Health and Human Services, abortion drugs and school lunches as part of his bid to “Make America Healthy Again.”
Ingraham: Do you have list of people that need to be removed and quickly?
— Acyn (@Acyn) February 14, 2025
RFK JR: I have a list in my head pic.twitter.com/4fyv2wldx7
RFK JR on abortion drugs: President Trump hasn’t made a decision about that issue yet.. He’s asked me to study the safety.. pic.twitter.com/mDNZnjoYEn
— Acyn (@Acyn) February 14, 2025
RFK JR: We want to do a number of things but not take away choice from people. The one place that I would say that we really need to change policies is food stamps and school lunches. We shouldn't be subsidizing people to eat poison. pic.twitter.com/TQX90F3PnJ
— Acyn (@Acyn) February 14, 2025
Trump wants to halve U.S. defense spending and let Russia back into G7
10:50
,
Joe Sommerlad
With that important meeting in mind, here’s more of the president’s comments on Putin and the Ukraine war yesterday.
A decade after Russia was expelled from the Group of Eight for invading and illegally annexing Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula, the president says he wants to reverse the decision and permit Russia to rejoin the group of the world’s major industrialized democracies, while also slashing America’s defense budget by 50 percent.
“I’d love to have them back, I think it was a mistake to throw them out,” said Trump, who blamed then-president Barack Obama for the collective decision by the world’s largest industrialized economies to exclude Russia from what had become the Group of Seven, or G7, after the fall of the Soviet Union, when Russia was invited to join in an attempt to integrate it more tightly with the global economy.
The American made the shocking declaration in the Oval Office during a marathon question-and-answer session with reporters, telling the assembled press that he blamed his predecessor, former president Joe Biden, for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to order a large-scale invasion of Ukraine nearly three years ago.
He falsely suggested that Biden had provoked the war by supporting a path to Nato membership for Kyiv even though Nato membership has been on the table for Ukraine since 2008, when then-president George W Bush said he “strongly supported” Ukraine as a future candidate to join the defensive alliance.
Andrew Feinberg has this report.
Volodymyr Zelensky to meet with JD Vance in Munich today as U.S. prepares to get tough with Vladimir Putin
10:30
,
Joe Sommerlad
Ukraine’s President will meet with the U.S. Vice President on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference in Germany today to discuss the Trump administration’s stance on Russia’s invasion of his homeland, a disaster that is approaching its third anniversary.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Vance has said that the administration could threaten Vladimir Putin with sanctions or even military action (!) if he won’t agree to a peace deal with Ukraine that guarantees Kyiv’s long-term independence.
U.S. and Russian representatives are also set to sit down together in Munich on Friday, although a Ukrainian official has denied his country’s participation.
Trump himself told reporters yesterday that Ukraine had been invited to the meeting, saying: “Not sure exactly who’s going to be there from any country, but high-level people from Russia, from Ukraine and from the United States.”
But Dmytro Lytvyn, an advisor to Zelensky, said there was nothing on the table from Ukraine.
“No talks with the Russians are planned in Munich,” he said, according to The Kyiv Independent (no relation).
“Ukraine’s position remains unchanged. Ukraine must first speak with America. Europe must be part of any serious conversation for a genuine and lasting peace.
“Only a coordinated, unified position should be on the table for talks with the Russians. We don’t meet with Russians at an empty table.”
Here’s Vance meeting with Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte this morning as the Veep makes an early start:
Watch: Trump blames Covid for ruining his ‘close relationship’ with China
10:10
,
Joe Sommerlad
Trump talks Russia and berates reporter: ‘I can’t understand a word’
09:50
,
Joe Sommerlad
Taking questions alongside Modi, the president expressed noticeably more sympathy for Vladimir Putin than he did for Volodymyr Zelensky, Nato or America’s European allies, a worrying development for the immediate future of Ukraine and the continent.
REPORTER: Today you talked about having 3 way talks with Xi and Putin. What do you say to European leaders who say you're more keen to speak to America's adversaries than allies?
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 13, 2025
TRUMP: We told the European Union and NATO people you have to pay more money, because it's unfair… pic.twitter.com/FN1q6don33
REPORTER: You have suggested several things Ukraine should give up. What should Russia give up?
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 13, 2025
TRUMP: Ah, Russia has gotten themselves into something that I think they wish they didn't. If I was president it would not have happened. pic.twitter.com/RdO8RGNN3L
Before that, there was this awkward exchange with an Indian reporter, whose accent Trump claimed not to be able to understand.
Trump: I can’t understand a word you’re saying pic.twitter.com/FJVpvhqRDE
— Acyn (@Acyn) February 13, 2025
Modi hails Trump ‘mega-partnership’ as leaders agree energy deal
09:30
,
Joe Sommerlad
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi was at the White House yesterday for the new president’s latest bilateral.
A great deal of backslapping went on as Modi borrowed Trump’s signature slogan to hail their “mega-partnership” and announced his country had agreed to buy more American fossil fuels and combat aircraft and ease tariffs on imported goods.
Here’s a full report from Stuti Mishra.