German (DE) 
English (US) 
Spanish (ES) 
French (FR) 
Hindi (IN) 
Italian (IT) 
Russian (RU) 
6 hours ago
More than 20 staffers of Elon Musk’s so-called “department of government efficiency” (Doge) stepped down on Tuesday, saying in a joint letter they refused to use their expertise to “dismantle critical public services”.
The mass resignations are the latest rebuke to the billionaire entrepreneur’s hard-handed approach to slashing jobs and resources from federal government agencies. Musk had demanded federal workers email his office with five things they did the week prior to justify their positions.
Donald Trump defended Musk from a mounting backlash in his own administration after some cabinet members – including the FBI director, Kash Patel, and Tulsi Gabbard, the national intelligence director – told their employees to ignore the demand and refrain from emailing a response.
Here are the biggest stories in US politics on Tuesday, 25 February.
More than 20 Doge staffers resign over Musk bid to 'dismantle critical public services'
More than 20 civil service employees resigned on Tuesday from Elon Musk’s so-called “department of government efficiency” (Doge), saying they were refusing to use their technical expertise to “dismantle critical public services”. They warned that many of those enlisted by Musk to help him slash the size of the federal government under Donald Trump’s administration were political ideologues who did not have the necessary skills or experience for the task ahead of them.
Doge’s cost-cutting is saving much less than Musk claims
Musk’s cost-cutting bonanza appears to be having less impact than the world’s richest man claims, with a review finding that almost 40% of the federal contracts scrapped so far won’t save the American taxpayer a penny.
Trump says Zelenskyy to visit White House to sign minerals deal
Trump has said that Volodymyr Zelenskyy is likely to visit the White House on Friday to sign a rare earth minerals deal to pay for US military aid to defend against Russia’s full-scale invasion. His remarks followed days of tense negotiations between the US and Ukraine, in which Zelenskyy alleged the US was pressuring him to sign a deal worth more than $500bn that would force “10 generations” of Ukrainians to pay it back. Some media outlets reported Tuesday a deal had been reached, citing unnamed sources.
House passes Republicans’ tax-slashing budget plan that will cut Medicaid funding
The Republican-controlled House of Representatives pushed through Trump’s budget plan, with $4.5tn in tax breaks and $2tn in spending cuts despite fierce opposition from Democrats and discomfort among some Republican lawmakers. There had been concerns on both sides of the aisle that the blueprint would fail over the inclusion of $1tn in Medicaid cuts, but it passed the House with 217 votes to 215.
White House says it will decide which news outlets cover Trump
The White House said it will take control over which reporters are allowed into the presidential press pool to cover Trump. The White House Correspondents’ Association, made up of members of the media, traditionally coordinates a rotating pool of more than a dozen journalists who are allowed close access to the president. The announcement came a day after the Trump administration won a temporary ruling allowing it to bar the Associated Press, which had resisted Trump’s demand to rename the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America”.
USAid workers to be ‘escorted’ back to collect belongings amid Trump shutdown bid
Workers at the US Agency for International Development (USAid) have been invited back to their office “to retrieve their personal belongings” as the Trump administration continues its bid to shut down the foreign aid agency. An email seen by the Guardian described how staff in Washington would be allowed to briefly return on Thursday or Friday, and would be granted “approximately 15 minutes” to gather their items.
US orders permanent visa bans on trans athletes based on sex markers
Exclusive: The US state department has ordered officials worldwide to deny visas to transgender athletes attempting to come to the US for sports competitions and to issue permanent visa bans against those deemed to misrepresent their birth sex on visa applications.
Ex-US officials urge science funding to keep up with China
Chuck Hagel, the former US defense secretary, and other former US national security officials, including two senior figures from Trump’s first term, warned that China was outpacing the US in critical technology fields and urged Congress to increase funding for federal scientific research.
Trump tasks son’s hunting pal with keeping the US food supply safe
Kyle Diamantas will become the acting federal government official overseeing the vast majority of the US’s food supply. Diamantas is a Florida attorney who reportedly is a hunting buddy of Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest child.
US officials absent from global climate forums
Exclusive: US officials have missed recent international climate forums, sparking concerns about a significant shift from Trump’s first term, a review of meeting records and interviews with meeting attendees by the Centre for Climate Reporting and the Guardian show.
What else happened today:
-
US consumer confidence plummeted in February, according to data revealed Tuesday, the biggest monthly decline in nearly four years.
-
The US supreme court threw out the conviction and death penalty for Richard Glossip, an Oklahoma man who has steadfastly maintained his innocence and averted multiple attempts by the state to execute him.
-
Apple shareholders voted down an attempt to pressure the company into yielding to Trump’s push to scrub corporate programs designed to diversify its workforce.
Comments