Federal staff sue over Elon Musk’s risk to fireplace them in the event that they don’t clarify their accomplishments – reside | Trump administration
Take a look at our newest merchandise
Federal staff sue over Elon Musk’s risk to fireplace them if they do not clarify their accomplishments
Attorneys for federal staff stated on Monday in a lawsuit that billionaire Trump adviser Elon Musk had violated the regulation together with his weekend demand that staff clarify their accomplishments or danger being fired, the AP studies.
The up to date lawsuit, which was filed in federal court docket in California and was offered to the Related Press, is making an attempt to dam mass layoffs pursued by Musk and president Donald Trump, together with any linked to the e-mail distributed by the Workplace of Personnel Administration on Saturday.
The workplace, which capabilities as a human sources company for the federal authorities, stated staff wanted to element 5 issues that they did final week by finish of day on Monday.
“No OPM rule, regulation, coverage, or program has ever, in United States historical past, presupposed to require all federal staff to submit studies to OPM,” stated the amended criticism, which was filed on behalf of unions, companies veterans, and conservation organizations represented by the group State Democracy Defenders Fund. It known as the specter of mass firings “one of the large employment frauds within the historical past of this nation.”
Musk, who’s main the Trump administration’s efforts to overtake and downsize the federal authorities, continued to threaten federal staff on Monday morning at the same time as confusion unfold by means of the administration and a few high officers informed staff to not comply.
Key occasions
Additional to that, Reuters is now reporting that america intends to make use of its veto on the UN Safety Council if any amendments are made to the decision it put ahead, a State Division official stated on Monday.
The official, who briefed reporters on situation of anonymity, stated the Trump administration was targeted on getting the events to the battle in Ukraine to the desk, amid criticism over the US decision omitting any reference to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The official stated:
We’re going to veto a Russian modification if it involves us within the Safety Council. We’ll veto the Europeans’… amendments if they arrive to us within the Safety Council.
Zelenskyy’s feedback come because the UN Common Meeting are assembly to vote on two draft resolutions on Ukraine.
The US has pressured Ukraine to withdraw its European-backed decision demanding a direct withdrawal of Russian forces from Ukraine in favor of an American proposal that doesn’t point out Moscow’s invasion, AP studies.
The US believes “that is the second to decide to ending the battle. That is our alternative to construct actual momentum towards peace,” secretary of state Marco Rubio stated in a press release late on Friday.
He stated that “whereas challenges could come up, the objective of lasting peace stays achievable” and that the decision would “affirm that this battle is terrible, that the UN may also help finish it, and that peace is feasible”.
The Ukraine decision, co-sponsored by the EU-27, refers to “the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation” and recollects the necessity to implement all earlier meeting resolutions “adopted in response to the aggression in opposition to Ukraine”.
It singles out the Common Meeting’s demand that Russia “instantly, utterly and unconditionally withdraw all of its army forces from the territory of Ukraine inside its internationally acknowledged borders” and its demand to instantly halt all hostilities.
And it requires “a de-escalation, an early cessation of hostilities and a peaceable decision of the battle in opposition to Ukraine”.
The very transient US draft decision acknowledges “the tragic lack of life all through the Russia-Ukraine battle” and “implores a swift finish to the battle and additional urges a long-lasting peace between Ukraine and Russia.” It by no means mentions Moscow’s invasion.
Russia’s UN ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, informed reporters final week that the US decision was “an excellent transfer”.
Each resolutions will now be voted on in flip and we’ll convey you extra as we get it.
Ukraine and US working ‘productively’ on financial deal – Zelenskyy
Ukraine and the US are working productively on an financial deal on the centre of an effort to finish Russia’s battle on Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated on Monday.
The Ukrainian president made the comment in Kyiv throughout an handle by means of video hyperlink to the leaders of G7 nations, together with US president Donald Trump, throughout which he repeated that each Europe and Ukraine needs to be concerned in a peace course of.
Trump’s important deal with Ukraine has gave the impression to be extracting concessions by way of a deal permitting the US to take advantage of the nation’s huge mineral wealth. Zelenskyy rejected an preliminary proposal for a $500bn minerals deal and stated he didn’t recognise the sum demanded by the White Home as obvious “payback” for earlier US army help, the place for each $1 of any future army assist Kyiv has to pay again $2 – an rate of interest, Zelenskyy famous, of 100%. What’s extra, the US’s opening supply got here with out safety ensures for Ukraine.
Zelenskyy stated in a press convention on Sunday:
I don’t need one thing that 10 generations of Ukrainians should pay again.
US treasury secretary Scott Bessent – who delivered the unique proposal to Zelenskyy – informed Fox Information yesterday he was “fairly hopeful” an settlement can be struck this week, and Zelenskyy’s chief of employees Andrii Yermak stated on social media that the continuing dialog was “constructive”, including: “We’re making progress.”
My colleague Jane Clinton is masking all the newest on Ukraine right here:
Elon Musk known as the co-leader of Germany’s far-right Different für Deutschland (AfD) to congratulate her on the celebration’s efficiency in Sunday’s election after it doubled its assist from the final election, my colleagues Deborah Cole and Helen Sullivan report.
Alice Weidel hinted she had slept by means of an in a single day try to achieve her by the Trump adviser and Tesla CEO, who had repeatedly intervened within the German marketing campaign on her behalf.
“After I turned on my phone this morning or somewhat checked out it, I had missed calls from the US together with from Elon Musk who personally congratulated [me],” she informed reporters.
The celebration was endorsed by Musk and the US vice-president, JD Vance, in the course of the election marketing campaign. Musk, who had described the AfD in January because the “finest hope for the longer term” in Germany, shared a submit exhibiting the celebration’s good points since 2021, with the caption “Holy shit!”.
Trump administration eliminating 2,000 USAid positions in US, discover says
The Trump administration stated it was putting all however a handful of USAid personnel world wide on paid administrative go away and eliminating about 2,000 of these positions within the US, because the fast dismantling of the group seems to maneuver into its closing phases.
“As of 11:59 p.m. EST on Sunday, February 23, 2025, all USAid direct rent personnel, aside from designated personnel answerable for mission-critical capabilities, core management and/or specifically designated applications, can be positioned on administrative go away globally,” reads the discover despatched to company staff and posted on-line on Sunday.
“Concurrently”, the discover added, the company is “starting to implement a Discount-in-Drive” affecting about 2,000 USAid personnel within the US.
The White Home didn’t instantly reply to request for remark.
Billionaire Elon Musk has boasted that he’s “feeding USAID into the wooden chipper” as his so-called “division of presidency effectivity” has led an effort to intestine the primary supply mechanism for American overseas help, a crucial software of US “tender energy” for successful affect overseas.
On Friday, a federal choose cleared the way in which for the Trump administration to place hundreds of USAid staff on go away, a setback for presidency worker unions which can be suing over what they’ve known as an effort to dismantle it.
The total story is right here:
Federal staff sue over Elon Musk’s risk to fireplace them if they do not clarify their accomplishments
Attorneys for federal staff stated on Monday in a lawsuit that billionaire Trump adviser Elon Musk had violated the regulation together with his weekend demand that staff clarify their accomplishments or danger being fired, the AP studies.
The up to date lawsuit, which was filed in federal court docket in California and was offered to the Related Press, is making an attempt to dam mass layoffs pursued by Musk and president Donald Trump, together with any linked to the e-mail distributed by the Workplace of Personnel Administration on Saturday.
The workplace, which capabilities as a human sources company for the federal authorities, stated staff wanted to element 5 issues that they did final week by finish of day on Monday.
“No OPM rule, regulation, coverage, or program has ever, in United States historical past, presupposed to require all federal staff to submit studies to OPM,” stated the amended criticism, which was filed on behalf of unions, companies veterans, and conservation organizations represented by the group State Democracy Defenders Fund. It known as the specter of mass firings “one of the large employment frauds within the historical past of this nation.”
Musk, who’s main the Trump administration’s efforts to overtake and downsize the federal authorities, continued to threaten federal staff on Monday morning at the same time as confusion unfold by means of the administration and a few high officers informed staff to not comply.
The US Transportation Division informed staff they need to reply to a requirement by Donald Trump’s adviser Elon Musk to listing their accomplishments prior to now week by 11.59 pm ET on Monday.
USDOT has a workforce of about 57,000 individuals that features the Federal Aviation Administration, Nationwide Freeway Site visitors Security Administration and Federal Railroad Administration regulating firms together with Boeing and Tesla.
The division’s electronic mail to staff on Monday stated they need to embrace about 5 bullet factors of accomplishments however exclude categorized info. In response to criticism of the order, Musk wrote on X: “This electronic mail is a primary pulse test.”
Another companies have informed staff to not reply, even the FBI which is now headed by fierce Trump loyalist Kash Patel. Patel instructed company employees to “please pause any responses,” in an electronic mail obtained by Politico.
Management on the Pentagon, State Division, Justice Division, FBI, NIH, Power Division, DHS, HHS, Workplace of the DNI, NOAA and NSA have all informed staff they need to not or didn’t want to reply to the e-mail as but.
Decide blocks Musk’s Doge crew from accessing Training Division and OPM knowledge
A federal choose has blocked the federal government downsizing crew created by Donald Trump and spearheaded by billionaire Elon Musk from accessing delicate knowledge maintained by the US Training Division and the US Workplace of Personnel Administration, Reuters studies.
US district choose Deborah Boardman in Greenbelt, Maryland issued the short-term restraining order on the behest of a coalition of labor unions who argued the companies wrongly granted Musk’s so-called “division of presidency effectivity” entry to data containing private info on hundreds of thousands of People.
The choose stated the plaintiffs had established that each companies had seemingly violated federal regulation by granting Doge “sweeping entry” to delicate private info in violation of the Privateness Act of 1974.
That info included social safety numbers, dates of delivery, house addresses, earnings and belongings, citizenship standing and incapacity standing for present and former federal staff and scholar assist recipients.
The Trump administration had argued {that a} ruling blocking Doge from accessing the knowledge would impede the Republican president’s skill to fulfil his agenda by limiting what info his advisors can entry.
However Boardman stated her order prevents the disclosure of the plaintiffs’ delicate private info to Doge associates who, on the present file, wouldn’t have a must know the knowledge to carry out their duties.”
The White Home didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
Auto security company shedding employees at company that investigated Tesla crashes
The Nationwide Freeway Site visitors Security Administration laid off 4% of its employees as a part of a government-wide trimming of probationary staff, a spokesperson stated on Monday.
The company has pending investigations into lethal crashes involving Tesla vehicles. Elon Musk is CEO of the automaker and president Donald Trump’s senior adviser on a campaign to shrink the federal authorities.
NHTSA stated beneath former president Joe Biden the company grew by 30% and continues to be significantly bigger after the job cuts earlier this month. Its workforce was about 800 earlier than the job cuts.
Along with investigations into Tesla’s partially automated automobiles, NHTSA has mandated that Tesla and different automakers utilizing self-driving know-how report crash knowledge on automobiles, a requirement that Tesla has criticized and that watchdogs concern could possibly be eradicated.
Right here’s just a little extra on Dan Bongino, the Maga podcaster Donald Trump has named as deputy director of the FBI and who will oversee the bureau alongside newly appointed director Kash Patel.
The president introduced the appointment on Sunday night time in a submit on his Reality Social platform, praising Bongino as “a person of unimaginable love and keenness for our nation”. He known as the announcement “nice information for regulation enforcement and American justice”.
Bongino, 49, is a former police officer and Secret Service agent who served on the presidential particulars for then-presidents Barack Obama and George W Bush, earlier than turning into a well-liked rightwing determine. He turned one of many main personalities within the Maga political motion to unfold false details about the 2020 election. In response to NPR, Bongino turns into the twentieth ex-Fox Information host, journalist or commentator to be given a senior job within the new Trump administration.
The deputy director serves because the FBI’s second-in-command and is historically a profession agent answerable for the bureau’s day-to-day regulation enforcement operations. The function doesn’t request Senate affirmation.
Marco Rubio’s former basic counsel, Gregg Nunziata, took to X to criticize the choice:
Kash Patel ought to have been a redline. Bongino is what you get when R Senators fail to do their jobs and say no to Patel. The Trump Admin is popping federal regulation enforcement over to unqualified, unprincipled, partisan henchmen. It’s unacceptable and conservatives must say so.
Musk’s ‘Doge’ declare about USAid funds for India units off political firestorm
Hannah Ellis-Petersen
Elon Musk’s so-called “division of presidency effectivity” has been accused of setting off a political firestorm in India after it claimed that the US authorities had been sending hundreds of thousands of {dollars} to assist the Indian elections.
In an inventory printed on Musk’s social media platform X final week, Doge, a particular group that Donald Trump created, claimed {that a} $21m grant distributed by USAid – the US company for worldwide growth – to assist “voter turnout in India” had been cancelled, as a part of the president’s sweeping cuts to overseas assist.
Nonetheless, data accessed by the Indian Categorical newspaper have discovered that no such funds had been ever distributed in India and USAid employees have additionally denied the existence of such a programme.
As a substitute, paperwork present that USAid had allotted $21m for a non-profit selling political engagement in neighbouring Bangladesh, amid a draconian crackdown on the political opposition within the nation.
Nonetheless, the declare was seized upon with gusto by Trump, as he sought to discredit USAid and its international growth programmes and justify gutting the company. Musk too has boasted that Doge is “feeding USAid into the wooden chipper”.
The total story is right here:
Friedrich Merz, whose mainstream conservative celebration has received Germany’s nationwide election, has vowed to do every part in his energy to proceed an excellent transatlantic relationship with the US, even when the Trump administration seems to have waning curiosity in Europe, the AP studies.
“If those that actually don’t simply make ‘America First,’ however nearly ‘America Alone’ their motto prevail, then will probably be tough,” he informed reporters on Monday in his first post-election information convention. “However I stay hopeful that we’ll achieve sustaining the transatlantic relationship.”
He warned that if the great relationship “is destroyed, it won’t solely be to the detriment of Europe, it can even be to the detriment of America.”
The election occurred in opposition to a background of rising uncertainty over the way forward for Ukraine and Europe’s alliance with the US. In per week that left European leaders reeling, Trump launched a surprising assault on Volodymyr Zelesnkyy whom he known as “a dictator” after the Ukrainian president known as him out for repeating disinformation and blaming Ukraine for Russia’s invasion. That had adopted a disaster assembly of European leaders after the US took the seismic step of holding bilateral talks with Russia in Riyadh on ending the battle in Ukraine and on future cooperation between the 2 nations, with neither Ukraine nor Europe provided a seat on the desk.
European leaders have been left scrambling to make the continent related to the Trump administration, with the French president, Emmanuel Macron, holding talks with Trump on the White Home immediately and British prime minister Keir Starmer following swimsuit on Thursday.
Merz stated his high precedence is to unify Europe within the face of challenges coming from the US and Russia. Each US vice-president JD Vance and Trump ally Elon Musk overtly supported the far proper AfD, which got here second within the nationwide election, and Vance left the Munich Safety Convention surprised as he launched an ideological assault on Europe, together with his remarks condemned by the EU and Germany and praised on Russian state TV.
Merz stated he stays “hopeful that the People will see it as in their very own pursuits to be concerned in Europe as properly.”
Nonetheless, he warned that it will be unacceptable “if the People strike a take care of Russia over the heads of the Europeans, over the heads of Ukraine.”
For extra on the aftermath of the German election head to our Europe reside weblog:
Donald Trump will meet the French president, Emmanuel Macron, on the White Home immediately, on the third anniversary of Russia’s unlawful invasion of Ukraine and in a second of deep uncertainty about the way forward for the transatlantic alliance.
Within the first go to to the White Home by a European chief since Trump’s inauguration and amid alarm in Europe over Trump’s hardening stance towards Ukraine and overtures to Moscow on the three-year battle, Macron will use the assembly to attempt to persuade the US president to not rush to a ceasefire take care of Russian president Vladimir Putin, to maintain Europe concerned, and to take care of a point of army involvement in Ukraine – and certainly throughout Europe.
In a name on Sunday, Macron and the British prime minister, Keir Starmer, who can even meet Trump on the White Home on Thursday, agreed to “present management in assist of Ukraine” and on the significance of Ukraine being on the centre of any peace negotiations.
Macron will make the case for Europe to have a seat on the negotiating desk, and float proposals for a 30,000-strong European peacekeeping drive in Ukraine as soon as the preventing ends. Starmer has urged Trump to offer a US “backstop” to any such drive in Ukraine, saying it’s the solely option to deter Russia from attacking the nation once more, and Macron will emphasise this on the assembly. The US president has thus far refused to supply any postwar safety ensures to Ukraine.
Macron has stated agreeing to a foul take care of Russia would quantity to a capitulation of Ukraine and would sign weak point to the US’ foes, together with China and Iran. In an hour-long Q&A session on social media forward of his journey to the White Home, the French president stated:
I’ll inform him: deep down you can’t be weak within the face of President [Putin]. It’s not you, it’s not what you’re product of and it’s not in your pursuits.
Macron and Trump are attributable to maintain bilateral talks and a working lunch forward of a joint press convention at 2pm ET. We’ll convey you extra on what comes out of the assembly as we get it.
‘A real free-speech emergency’: alarm over Trump’s ‘chilling’ assaults on media
Adam Gabbatt
The Trump administration is waging a “disturbing” assault on the liberty of the press that quantities to a “true free-speech emergency”, media consultants have warned, because the Federal Communications Fee not too long ago launched an investigation right into a sequence of media organizations, together with the proprietor of NBC Information.
The FCC, led by Donald Trump appointee and Undertaking 2025 writer Brendan Carr, has ordered investigations into NPR and PBS within the first month since Trump took workplace, whereas additionally scrutinizing a CBS Information interview and a San Francisco radio station.
In a letter to Comcast, which owns NBC Information, Carr stated he had requested the FCC’s enforcement bureau to “open an investigation” into the company, stating: “I’m involved that Comcast and NBCUniversal could also be selling invidious types of DEI in a fashion that doesn’t adjust to FCC rules.”
It got here after Carr, who was appointed to FCC chair by Trump, stated he didn’t “see a purpose why Congress ought to proceed sending taxpayer {dollars}” to PBS and NPR, publicly funded organizations Trump has threatened to defund.
“It’s actually fairly disturbing,” stated Matthew Gertz, a senior fellow at Media Issues, a watchdog group.
What we’re seeing is absolutely an assault on freedom of speech and freedom of the press from all features of the Trump administration proper now.
You’ll be able to learn Adam’s full story right here.
Donald Trump’s sweeping overseas assist freeze has stalled a United Nations programme in Mexico aimed toward stopping imported fentanyl chemical compounds from reaching the nation’s drug cartels, in accordance with eight individuals accustomed to the scenario, Reuters studies.
It’s one in all a number of US counternarcotics efforts in Mexico derailed in latest weeks by the stop-work order.
The initiative offered Mexico’s navy with coaching and tools to enhance screening of cargo coming into and exiting the Port of Manzanillo, the nation’s busiest container port.
Two extra Mexican seaports — Lázaro Cárdenas and Veracruz — had been to be added this month, a rollout that’s now on maintain because of the funding cutoff, six of the individuals stated.
White Home deputy press secretary Anna Kelly didn’t reply emailed questions from the information company in regards to the administration’s determination to halt funding for the Mexican port programme. She did say that Trump is appearing to safe the border and lower federal spending.
A federal choose on Monday is ready to contemplate a request by the Related Press (AP) to revive full entry for the information company’s journalists after Donald Trump’s administration barred them for persevering with to confer with the Gulf of Mexico in protection.
US District Decide Trevor McFadden, a Trump appointee, is scheduled to listen to the AP’s movement for a brief restraining order in opposition to the administration at 3pm ET in Washington federal court docket.
The AP sued three senior Trump aides on Friday, arguing that the choice to dam its reporters from the Oval Workplace and Air Drive One violates the US Structure’s First Modification protections in opposition to authorities abridgment of speech by making an attempt to dictate the language they use in reporting the information.
The information company is looking for to instantly restore its entry to all areas out there to the White Home press pool.
The AP stated in January it will proceed to make use of the gulf’s long-established identify in tales whereas additionally acknowledging Trump’s efforts to vary it.
The White Home banned AP reporters in response. The ban prevents the AP’s journalists from seeing and listening to Trump and different high White Home officers as they take newsworthy actions or reply in actual time to information occasions.
Trump halts medical analysis funding in obvious violation of choose’s order
Hannah Harris Inexperienced
The Trump administration has blocked an important step within the Nationwide Institutes of Well being (NIH) course of for funding medical analysis, seemingly in violation of a federal choose’s short-term restraining order on federal funding freezes.
The NIH has stopped submitting research sections – conferences by which scientists peer overview NIH grant funding proposals – to the Federal Register after the Trump administration paused well being company communications. By regulation, research sections should seem on the register 15 days prematurely of conferences.
“The concept is that the general public has the proper to know who’s giving recommendation to the federal authorities and after they’re assembly,” stated Jeremy Berg, a biochemist who has overseen NIH funding prior to now.
These conferences are integral within the funding course of for scientists at establishments across the nation researching just about all parts of illness and medication, together with drug growth, most cancers, coronary heart illness and getting old.
You’ll be able to learn the total report right here:
Authorities staff to be placed on administrative go away in the event that they fail to return to the workplace – Musk
Elon Musk stated on Monday that beginning this week, authorities staff could be placed on administrative go away in the event that they fail to return to the workplace.
Musk, who’s main a downsizing effort on the US authorities wrote on X:
Those that ignored President Trump’s government order to return to work have now obtained over a month’s warning.
Beginning this week, those that nonetheless fail to return to workplace can be positioned on administrative go away.
Confusion at US companies over whether or not to adjust to Elon Musk electronic mail demanding staff justify their jobs
Hiya and welcome to our US politics rolling protection.
Elon Musk’s electronic mail demanding all 2.3 million authorities staff justify their work has brought on confusion with a number of administration officers telling staff to not reply to the missive.
On Saturday the tech billionaire despatched an electronic mail titled: “What did you do final week?” requesting a bullet-point abstract of what that they had achieved of their working week. It gave staff a deadline of 11.59pm ET on Monday and was the newest transfer by Musk to slash the dimensions of federal authorities.
The Drug Enforcement Administration and the Federal Communications Fee have informed staff to conform. However many others, together with the departments of Protection, Homeland Safety, Training and Commerce, have ordered staff to not reply, Reuters reported.
The Division of Well being and Human Companies informed its staff to cooperate, then later informed them to carry off whereas it found out how you can “finest meet the intent” of Musk’s directive.
In the meantime, the president of the American Federation of Authorities Workers (AFGE) issued a press release criticising Elon Musk and the Trump Administration, for “their utter disdain” for federal staff.
He added it was “merciless and disrespectful” for employees to be pressured to justify their job duties to “this out-of-touch, privileged, unelected billionaire who has by no means carried out one single hour of trustworthy public service in his life.”
In different information:
-
French President Emmanuel Macron will meet with Donald Trump in Washington on Monday, saying he’ll current “proposals for motion” to counter the “Russian risk” in Europe and guarantee peace in Ukraine.
-
Conservative podcaster Dan Bongino has been appointed as FBI deputy director. Bongino, a former Secret Service agent and NYPD officer turned conservative radio host, places a second Trump ally on the high of the company. Trump introduced the appointment on Sunday night time in a submit on his Reality Social platform, praising Bongino as “a person of unimaginable love and keenness for our nation”.
-
The Trump administration on Sunday stated it was putting all however a handful of USAid personnel world wide on paid administrative go away and eliminating about 2,000 of these positions within the US, in accordance with a discover despatched to company staff and posted on-line.
-
Greater than 150,000 individuals from Canada have signed a parliamentary petition calling for his or her nation to strip Elon Musk’s Canadian citizenship due to the tech billionaire’s alliance with Donald Trump, who has spent his second US presidency repeatedly threatening to overcome its unbiased neighbor to the north and switch it into its 51st state.
![[2024] MSI Aegis R2 C14NUF9-829US (Intel Core i9-14900F, 128GB DDR5 RAM, 2X 2TB NVMe SSD, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Super, Windows 11) Gaming Desktop PC](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81i1KVslX4L._AC_SL1500_.jpg)
