Donald Trump’s administration remains mired in chaos after Elon Musk issued a new ultimatum on Monday night giving federal workers one more chance to reply to his email threatening their jobs after multiple agency heads told their staff to ignore him.
With just hours to go before the proclaimed midnight deadline for his first ultimatum, the mercurial billionaire renewed his demand for government employees to tell him the five things they accomplished last week – or be fired.
The latest warning came shortly after the Trump administration’s Office of Personnel (OPM) – effectively the federal government's central Human Resources department – told agencies that responding to Musk’s edict was “voluntary.”
By then several agencies had already told employees to ignore the demand.
Musk apparently left himself a path to back off from his latest ultimatum by saying it was “subject to the discretion of the President,” creating even more chaos and confusion for workers.
Trump was joined at the White House on Monday by French President Emmanuel Macron, with the two men offering a show of unity over the Russian invasion of Ukraine and both expressing their desire to see the three-year conflict brought to an end.
Key Points
- Chaos reigns as Elon Musk issues ominous new firing ultimatum to federal workers
- Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron show unity in push for end to Ukraine war
- Who’s really in charge of DOGE? Government lawyers ‘don’t know’
- One in three contracts canceled by DOGE won’t save Trump’s government any money
- Trump is getting some of the highest approval ratings of his career, poll finds
Defiant French journalists make certain AP Paris reporter asks first question at Trump-Macron press conference
10:40
,
Joe Sommerlad
Let’s get back to Trump and Macron’s meeting yesterday, where French reporters in attendance pushed to have a Paris-based Associated Press (AP) reporter ask the first question at their press conference, defying the White House’s decision to shut the organization out of official events.
Earlier this month, the White House began denying the AP’s access to Trump and other officials at Air Force One, the White House briefing room and other events because it hasn’t complied with the Trump administration’s unilateral renaming of the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America, with the AP’s influential stylebook noting the administration’s policies aren’t recognized internationally.
The Trump administration ban prompted the AP to sue Trump officials last week, citing a violation of the First Amendment.
A federal judge on Monday refused to immediately order the White House to restore the wire service’s access, though arguments will continue in the case.
Here’s more from Josh Marcus.
One in three contracts canceled by DOGE won’t save Trump’s government any money
10:20
,
Joe Sommerlad
A significant portion of federal contracts touted by the Trump administration as cost-saving cancellations are projected to yield no financial benefit, according to the administration’s own figures.
Musk’s team recently released a list of 1,125 contracts terminated across the federal government.
However, data from DOGE’s “Wall of Receipts” indicates that over a third of these cancellations – 417 in total – are expected to produce no savings.
Here’s more.
Who’s really in charge of DOGE? Government lawyers ‘don’t know’
10:00
,
Joe Sommerlad
Trump’s administration doesn’t know, or won’t say, even in a courtroom when confronted by a judge, who is running the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, which Elon Musk and his team of engineers are using to wreak havoc across federal agencies.
During a hearing in Washington, D.C. on DOGE’s access to Department of Treasury records on Monday, government lawyers couldn’t answer whether an administrator for the agency even exists.
“Is there an administrator of DOGE at the present time?” asked Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly.
“I don’t know the answer to that,” Department of Justice trial counsel Bradley Humphreys replied.
The question is the latest failed attempt to get, on the record, a clear understanding of the role of the world’s wealthiest man within the Trump administration, which is deploying Musk to gut federal agencies of thousands of workers and block the transfer of congressionally approved funds in a crusade against “waste” and “fraud” with little evidence to show for it.
Alex Woodward has more.
Trump and Macron show unity in push for end to Ukraine war
09:40
,
Joe Sommerlad
The American and French presidents appeared to largely sing from the same hymnal in Washington yesterday as Macron made a hastily arranged visit to shore up transatlantic ties placed at risk by the Trump administration’s apparent switch in allegiances from Ukraine to Russia.
Here’s a full report from Andrew Feinberg.
Truth Social: Trump promotes Ramaswamy gubernatorial bid and plots Keystone XL Pipeline revival
09:20
,
Joe Sommerlad
Over on the president’s social media platform, the commander-in-chief promoted the gubernatorial ambitions of his former Republican rival Vivek Ramaswamy, who suddenly looks very smart indeed to have gotten off the DOGE elevator early.
VIVEK RAMASWAMY is running for Governor of the Great State of Ohio. I know him well, competed against him, and he is something SPECIAL. He's Young, Strong, and Smart! Vivek is also a very good person, who truly loves our Country. He will be a GREAT Governor of Ohio, will never…
— Trump Posts on (@trump_repost) February 25, 2025
He also suddenly revived his interest in the Keystone XL Pipeline, which was intended to run from Alberta, Canada, into Nebraska until it was blocked by the Biden administration but which Trump now sees as part of his “drill, baby, drill” fossil fuels agenda.
Our Country's doing really well, and today, I was just thinking, that the company building the Keystone XL Pipeline that was viciously jettisoned by the incompetent Biden Administration should come back to America, and get it built — NOW! I know they were treated very badly by…
— Trump Posts on (@trump_repost) February 25, 2025
France is America's oldest ally. Our cherished partnership has been a force for FREEDOM, PROSPERITY, and PEACE from the very beginning... pic.twitter.com/JMPlv2vlPD
— Trump Posts on (@trump_repost) February 24, 2025
— Trump Posts on (@trump_repost) February 24, 2025
We're helping Ukraine like nobody has ever helped Ukraine before... pic.twitter.com/Rh5P1pfQ4k
— Trump Posts on (@trump_repost) February 24, 2025
‘It’s bedlam!’ Chaos reigns as Elon Musk issues ominous new firing ultimatum after agencies told responding to him is ‘voluntary’
09:00
,
Joe Sommerlad
Elon Musk issued a new ultimatum on Monday night giving federal workers one more chance to reply to his email threatening their jobs after multiple agency heads told their staff to ignore him.
With just hours to go before the proclaimed midnight deadline for his first ultimatum, the mercurial billionaire renewed his demand for government employees to tell him the five things they accomplished last week – or be fired.
The latest warning came shortly after the Trump administration’s Office of Personnel (OPM) – effectively the federal government's central Human Resources department – told agencies that responding to Musk’s edict was “voluntary.”
By then several agencies had already told employees to ignore the demand.
The Department of Health and Human Services warned that anyone who wanted to respond should “assume that what you write will be read by malign foreign actors and tailor your response accordingly.”
Musk apparently left himself a path to back off from his latest ultimatum by saying it was “subject to the discretion of the President,” creating even more chaos and confusion for workers.
Subject to the discretion of the President, they will be given another chance.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 25, 2025
Failure to respond a second time will result in termination. https://t.co/04xzgScXfj
But Donald Trump did not appear inclined to block the ultimatum, telling reporters during his Oval Office meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron yesterday that Musk’s initial ultimatum was “genius” and warning that employees who did not respond would be “semi-fired” or “fired.”
It wasn’t clear what he meant by “semi-fired.”
Here’s Io Dodds to attempt to make sense of the mayhem.
Jailed Sam Bankman-Fried expresses sympathy with government workers
08:40
,
Joe Sommerlad
The founder of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange, currently serving 25 years behind bars for fraud, conspiracy and money laundering, has expressed sympathy for federal employees targeted by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in a lengthy 10-post thread on X, Musk’s own platform.
Here’s what he had to say about their situation before pivoting to reflecting more general on employer-employee relations:
2) Firing people is one of the hardest things to do in the world. It sucks for everyone involved.
— SBF (@SBF_FTX) February 25, 2025
My experience:
a) it is usually not the employee’s fault that they got fired
b) it is usually correct to let them go anyway
Here’s more from James Liddell.
LA traffic officer confronted at home by ICE agents who were ‘hesitant’ about showing warrant
08:00
,
Mike Bedigan
Federal agents involved in a supposed widespread immigration crackdown in Los Angeles County reportedly were reluctant to show a warrant to a city traffic officer for a family member they believed to be an undocumented migrant.
The crackdown didn't amount to much, according to sources who spoke to the Los Angeles Times — only 12 individuals were reportedly picked up and detained at the Metropolitan Detention Center in LA, despite federal officials requesting enough space to house 120.
Graig Graziosi has more:
Clarence Thomas wants to ‘explicitly overturn’ protections against protest-free zones at abortion clinics
06:00
,
Mike Bedigan
Conservative Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas said he would “explicitly overturn” 25-year-old precedent that legalizes protest-free buffer zones outside abortion clinics to prevent anti-abortion preachers and protesters from obstructing patients’ access to care.
On Monday, the Supreme Court turned down a challenge from anti-abortion activists who sought to eliminate protest-free zones outside clinics, landing a critical blow to an emboldened anti-abortion movement following Donald Trump’s election.
Read more from Alex Woodward here:
Elon Musk's admission about the productivity email DOGE sent to federal workers
05:34
,
Mike Bedigan
Elon Musk said that blanket emails sent to federal employees asking for a response about their weekly accomplishments or risk termination was a test to see if they “had a pulse.”
The tech billionaire, tasked by President Donald Trump with slashing bureaucracy and federal spending through his Department of Government Efficiency, wrote on his X platform Friday that all government staff would receive an email requesting specifics of what they had achieved last week.
Read more here:
Trump is getting some of the highest approval ratings of his career: poll
04:58
,
Josh Marcus
Donald Trump is enjoying strong support from voters at this stage in his administration.
Overall, he enjoys a 52 percent approval rating, according to a new Harvard CAPS / Harris poll.
That’s among the highest approval ratings he’s ever gotten across his time in office.
The share of respondents who said they think the country is moving in the right direction nearly doubled over the last month to 42 percent, while the share who said the economy is on the right track grew by 10 percent, reaching 38 percent total agreement.
'Another chance': Elon Musk revives mass email firing threat
04:30
,
Josh Marcus
Elon Musk is once again threatening federal workers if they don’t respond to a mass email describing what they accomplished over the last week.
On Friday, Musk made his initial warning, describing how government workers would need to lay out their accomplishments over the last week.
“Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation,” he claimed.
Multiple agencies told their employees to disregard the messages ahead of a Monday night deadline laid out, but the billionaire seems to still be attached to the idea.
“Subject to the discretion of the President, they will be given another chance,” he wrote on X on Monday night. “Failure to respond a second time will result in termination.”
Subject to the discretion of the President, they will be given another chance.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 25, 2025
Failure to respond a second time will result in termination. https://t.co/04xzgScXfj
Musk's deadline for email responses approaches...
04:30
,
Mike Bedigan
Elon Musk’s deadline for government employees to respond to an email asking what they accomplished over the last week (or risk losing their job) is approaching.
“Consistent with President @realDonaldTrump’s instructions, all federal employees will shortly receive an email requesting to understand what they got done last week,” Musk wrote Friday afternoon last week. “Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation.”
Musk set the deadline to respond as 11.59 p.m. on Monday.
However, less than 24 hours before the deadline, Musk hinted that the emails were simply a ruse to ensure federal employees were “capable of responding” to his correspondence and whether they “had a pulse.”
Watch: Government leaders challenge Musk's employee review demands
03:30
,
Mike Bedigan
Picture recap: Trump and Macron's playful Monday meeting
02:30
,
Mike Bedigan
Chinese hackers got into Republican email system during campaign and spied for months before being caught: report
01:30
,
Mike Bedigan
Chinese hackers gained access to the Republican National Committee’s email system during the 2024 presidential campaign in a serious security breach, according to a report.
As the committee was preparing to host the GOP’s national convention in Milwaukee last July, Microsoft reportedly reached out to top officials and warned them that hackers had access to the RNC’s email system for months, sources told the Wall Street Journal.
Rhian Lubin has more:
Who are the AfD? Germany’s new far-right opposition and Elon Musk’s latest infatuation
01:00
,
Mike Bedigan
Germany’s far-right AfD party have surged to an historic second place in national elections, securing an unprecedented influence in the country’s post-war political landscape.
The AfD doubled their share from 2021 to win 20.8 per cent of the vote in Sunday’s election, in a surge described by victor Friedrich Merz – whose conservative bloc won with just 28.5 per cent – as a “final warning” to democratic parties.
They have also caught the eye of Elon Musk, who backed the party and described them as “the last spark of hope for this country” during a surprise appearance at a political event in December.
Here’s what you need to know about the AfD:
Watch: HUD TVs hacked with AI video of Trump sucking Elon Musk's toes
00:30
,
Mike Bedigan
Trump and Musk’s DOGE efforts to cut spending ‘need to be done,’ says JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon
00:00
,
Mike Bedigan
The CEO of JPMorgan Chase, Jamie Dimon, said that cuts carried out by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency “need to be done.”
Dimon, a fellow billionaire, agreed with Musk that the U.S. government is “inefficient” but refused to give what he said was a “binary” response over whether he supports the way DOGE has gone about aggressively gutting federal agencies.
Read more here:
Judicial branch employees – which Trump does not oversee – got Musk’s email asking for their accomplishments
Monday 24 February 2025 23:45
,
Mike Bedigan
Elon Musk’s mandated email demanding federal employees detail what they accomplished last week was sent to some judiciary staff even though the executive branch has no authority over them.
After the billionaire said that failure to respond “will be taken as a resignation,” which he has since walked back following uproar, it has emerged that some judges were among those who received the email from the Office of Personnel Management.
Rhian Lubin has the full story:
Federal employee responses to Musk's email stunt to be 'processed by AI'
Monday 24 February 2025 23:30
,
Mike Bedigan
Responses to Elon Musk’s controversial email sent to federal workers asking work they have accomplished over the past week are expected to be sorted by an AI system, which will decide of their jobs are necessary or not, sources have told NBC.
According to the outlet, which cited three sources, information will go into an LLM (Large Language Model). The AI system will determine whether someone’s work is needed or not, the sources said.
DC AG's office muddles its grammar in post backing for Trump
Monday 24 February 2025 23:15
,
Mike Bedigan
In a post declaring their pride to represent president Trump, the Washington DC Attorney General’s Office accidentally misplaced an apostrophe...
— U.S. Attorney DC (@USAO_DC) February 24, 2025
ICYMI: Elon Musk makes an admission about the productivity email his group sent to federal workers
Monday 24 February 2025 22:45
,
Mike Bedigan
Elon Musk has said that blanket emails sent to federal employees asking for a response about their weekly accomplishments or risk termination was a test to see if they “had a pulse.”
The tech billionaire, tasked by President Donald Trump with slashing bureaucracy and federal spending through his Department of Government Efficiency, wrote on his X platform Friday that all government staff would receive an email requesting specifics of what they had achieved last week.
Here’s the story, in case you missed it:
Is the DOGE honeymoon over?
Monday 24 February 2025 22:30
,
Rhian Lubin
Americans’ support for Elon Musk and Department of Government Efficiency could be waning after a new poll indicates that the majority disapprove of his cost-cutting frenzy.
The billionaire stepped his purge of gutting the federal government up a gear over the weekend by sending out an ultimatum email to workers asking them to justify their roles or face termination, an aggressive tactic he deployed when he acquired Twitter, now X, in 2022. The upheaval, coupled with granting DOGE staffers unprecedented access to sensitive and confidential data belonging to Americans, appears to have gone too far, according to the results of a Washington Post–Ipsos poll.
When asked whether respondents approved or disapproved of the job that Musk is doing within the federal government, a net 34 percent approve compared to 49 that disapprove.
The poll, carried out on February 13 – 18, found that 52 percent disapprove of Musk shutting down federal programs that he deems unnecessary, compared to 26 who approve.
White House issues statement after legal 'victory' over The Associated Press
Monday 24 February 2025 22:20
,
Mike Bedigan
Following a judge’s decision to rejected a temporary restraining order that would restore The Associated Press' access to the Oval Office and Air Force One, the White House issued a statement.
“As we have said from the beginning, asking the President of the United States questions in the Oval Office and aboard Air Force One is a privilege granted to journalists, not a legal right,” the statement read.
“We stand by our decision to hold the Fake News accountable for their lies, and President Trump will continue to grant an unprecedented level of access to the press.
“This is the most transparent Administration in history.”
Don Lemon blasts ‘racist’ Megyn Kelly as he rants about conservative podcaster
Monday 24 February 2025 22:15
,
Mike Bedigan
Former CNN host Don Lemon lashed out at former Fox News host and conservative podcaster Megyn Kelly, calling her a "racist" on Monday morning.
Lemon made the comments during a recording of his Don Lemon Show podcast.
Graig Graziosi was listening:
Maryland judge stops ICE agents targeting houses of worship for immigration arrests
Monday 24 February 2025 22:05
,
Alex Woodward
A judge in Maryland is blocking ICE from targeting houses of worship for immigration arrests, after Quaker groups and a Shikh temple sued to overturn Trump’s policy that allowed agents to go into “sensitive” locations like churches, schools and childcare centers.
The judge in this case, however, has chosen not to issue a nationwide injunction. It only applies to the plaintiffs.
A similar lawsuit is already underway from 27 religious groups representing thousands of congregations, though no ruling has been issued in that case yet.
Here’s that story:
Breaking: Judge rejects temporary restraining order against White House on AP access
Monday 24 February 2025 21:58
,
Mike Bedigan
A judge has rejected a temporary restraining order that would restore The Associated Press' access to the Oval Office and Air Force One.
The judge said news pool access, i.e. shared reporting within outlets, meant AP is continuing to get information.
However he warned that the case law in Washington D.C. is "uniformly unhelpful" to the White House trying to ban journalists from press events.
White House plans to bring back Title 42 to limit border crossings, report says
Monday 24 February 2025 21:45
,
Mike Bedigan
Donald Trump intends to invoke a public health order that was used to immediately expel asylum-seeking immigrants more than 3 million times throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
Administration officials have argued that the Public Health Service Act under Title 42 of U.S. code allows authorities to block immigrants from entering the country without due process for their asylum claims despite federal immigration laws and international accords.
Alex Woodward has the full story:
Who runs DOGE? The Trump administration doesn't seem to know
Monday 24 February 2025 21:30
,
Alex Woodward
During a hearing on DOGE’s access to Treasury records just now, the judge overseeing the case is trying to figure out who exactly runs the U.S. DOGE Service.
The White House had previously told the court that it’s not Elon Musk, who has no decision making authority whatsoever, and court filings have only mentioned a nameless “administrator” for the agency.
“Is there an administrator of DOGE at the present time?” asked Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly.
A lawyer for the administration said “I don’t know the answer to that.”
“Isn’t there some problem, if there’s no administrator, as to how USDS functions? … Who supervises them, who comes up with ideas?” the judge asked. “Who’s telling them what to do?”
We’re not getting any closer to answer.
Trump: 'DOGE has nothing to do with the Constitution'
Monday 24 February 2025 21:15
,
Mike Bedigan
Trump says he thinks the end of the Ukraine war is 'close'
Monday 24 February 2025 21:00
,
Mike Bedigan
During a joint press conference with Emmanuel Macron on Monday, Donald Trump expressed hope that the conflict in Ukraine could end within weeks.
Trump also said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would soon come to the U.S. to sign a deal to give the U.S. access to Ukraine's critical minerals to help repay some of the $180 billion in American aid that's been sent to Kyiv since the start of the war.
“It looks like we’re getting very close,” Trump told reporters at the start of his bilateral meeting with Macron.
He added that Zelenskyy could potentially visit Washington this week or next to sign the deal.
Putin says he has not discussed resolving war in Ukraine with Trump
Monday 24 February 2025 20:45
,
Mike Bedigan
Russian President Vladimir Putin says he has not discussed resolving the conflict in Ukraine in detail with Trump, the Associated Press has reported.
It comes after Trump posted on Truth Social that talks with Putin about the end of the war were “proceeding very well.”
In a press conference with Emmanuel Macron on Monday, the president also said Putin would accept European peacekeepers in Ukraine as part of a potential deal to end Russia's war there.
“Yeah, he will accept it," Trump said. “I have asked him that question. Look, if we do this deal, he’s not looking for World War.”
Trump: 'We're helping Ukraine like nobody has ever helped Ukraine before'
Monday 24 February 2025 20:35
,
Mike Bedigan
Trump: 'I want to be a peacemaker and a unifier'
Monday 24 February 2025 20:20
,
Mike Bedigan
Trump refuses to call Putin a dictator after Zelensky attack: ‘I don’t use those words lightly’
Monday 24 February 2025 20:05
,
Mike Bedigan
Donald Trump refused to call Vladimir Putin a dictator on the third anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, despite having previously described Volodymyr Zelensky with the same term.
While in the Oval Office with Emmanuel Macron at the White House to discuss the conflict, the US president said he did not use those words lightly and "we'll see how it all works out."
Mr Trump has falsely accused Mr Zelensky of being a dictator who "refuses to have elections."
Watch: Trump refuses to call Putin a dictator
Monday 24 February 2025 19:50
,
Mike Bedigan
Watch: Macron corrects Trump over funding
Monday 24 February 2025 19:35
,
Mike Bedigan
Watch: Trump plans to meet with Zelensky and Putin, backs European peacekeepers
Monday 24 February 2025 19:20
