Federal agencies must develop plans to eliminate employee positions, according to a memo distributed by President Donald Trump ’s administration that sets in motion what could become a sweeping realignment of American government.
Meanwhile, Trump held the first meeting with his Cabinet secretaries Wednesday, with Elon Musk in attendance, highlighting his influence over the administration.
Here's the latest:
Justice Department nominee doesn’t commit to not firing attorneys over their political views
Harmeet Dhillon, nominee for the Justice Department’s assistant attorney general for civil rights, said she “cannot commit to any particular personnel decision” when asked if she would vow to not fire or reassign career attorneys in the division over who they voted for or their views on the 2020 election, which Trump has falsely claimed was stolen from him.
But she said it is her “general practice to not react to people based solely on their political views.”
Dhillon, who has represented Trump multiple times in court, also dodged questions asking what she would do if the president asked her to do something she believed was illegal or unconstitutional.
“In all of those years in multiple cases in multiple jurisdictions, the president has never asked me to do anything I found objectionable, immoral, unlawful or illegal, so I really can’t fathom the circumstances you’re describing,” she told the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary during an initial hearing Wednesday.
Trump thinks they’l
l sell ‘a lot’ of ‘gold cards’ with a path to citizenship
The president said he plans to start selling the so-called “gold cards” for $5 million, and they’ll include a path to citizenship.
Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnik said that would replace the EB-5 program offered to investors who spent about $1 million on a company that employs at least 10 people.
“If we sell a million, that’s $5 trillion dollars,” Trump said, adding he wants to use that money to pay off the country’s debt.
“I think we will sell a lot because I think there’s really a thirst,” Trump said. “No other country can do this because people don’t want to go to other countries. They want to come here. Everybody wants to come here, especially since Nov. 5.”
Justice Department nominee pressed on birthright citizenship
Aaron Reitz, nominee for assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s legal policy office, was pressed multiple times over previous comments that birthright citizenship is “not a thing” during an initial Senate committee hearing Wednesday hearing.
“There are reasonable debates to be had about the meaning and application and scope about what is commonly called birthright citizenship,” he said.
Trump has attempted to eliminate birthright citizenship, upending more than a century of precedent.
Assistant attorney general nominee speaks about DEI, anti-Semitism on college campuses
Conservative attorney Harmeet Dhillon, Trump’s nominee for the Justice Department’s assistant attorney general for civil rights, slammed diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and anti-Semitism on college campuses during an initial Senate hearing Wednesday morning.
“The president and Attorney General Bondi have made clear that diversity, equity and inclusion as it’s been applied to use racial quotas to deny people equal access to education, employment, even potentially housing and other aspects of civil life are inappropriate,” she said. “So we’ll certainly be taking a look at all of those and enforcing the law equally for all Americans.”
When urged to “root out” DEI on college campuses and asked if “reverse racism is still racism,” Dhillon responded by saying, “I don’t even use the term ‘reverse racism.’ It’s just racism.”
Dhillon also committed to “defending people of faith equally” when asked multiple times about harassment of typically religiously affiliated anti-abortion centers commonly referred to as pregnancy crisis centers.
Trump says a deal on earth minerals with Ukraine can bring the US ‘great wealth’
The president suggested that a deal can help make up for all the military aid the Biden administration sent to Ukraine over the years — while potentially generating a lot more revenue.
Trump said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is “coming to sign the dealt and it’s a great thing. It’s a great deal for Ukraine too.”
Trump told members of his Cabinet they should be looking to make deep cuts at their agencies
In one example, the president said Lee Zeldin, head of the Environmental Protection Agency, should cut 65% of employees at the agency.
Trump says, so far, he’s ‘impressed’ with all of his Cabinet
He noted that only a month has passed since he took the White House anew but, “Right now, I’m impressed with everybody” in his Cabinet.
The president singled out for praise Secretary of State Marco Rubio. But he talked at length about billionaire Elon Musk and his mass federal firings, saying “we’re cutting down government.”
“We’re cutting down the size of government,” Trump said. “We have to.”
Trump says Zelenskyy will visit White House to sign critical minerals deal
Trump made the announcement Wednesday at start of his first Cabinet meeting.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the framework of the economic deal with the United States is ready but it doesn’t yet offer U.S. security guarantees Kyiv views as vital for its war against the Russian invasion.
Since returning to office last month, Trump let Ukraine know that he wanted something in return for tens of billions of dollars in U.S. help fending off the Russian forces that launched a full-scale invasion just over three years ago on Feb. 24, 2022.
Assistant attorney general nominee questioned on election integrity
Harmeet Dhillon, a conservative attorney who’s represented Trump and is now his nominee for the Justice Department’s assistant attorney general for civil rights, was questioned over election integrity during a Wednesday morning Senate hearing.
Sen. Marsha Blackburn, a Republican from Tennessee, asked Dhillon about her views on voter roll challenges, which Democrats and voting rights advocates have called unfounded attempts to sow distrust in the voting process and disenfranchise voters as states are already required to maintain their rolls.
Dhillon responded by applauding Tennessee for “cleaning up your voter rolls” and said she’s “100% in favor of clean voter rolls.”
She also said requiring proof of citizenship “would be a tremendous boost to voter confidence in the integrity of elections in the states if there is an insurance that only citizens are voting, similarly that they’re only voting once.”
Trump’s convenes the first Cabinet meeting of his second term
Trump convened the meeting along with billionaire Elon Musk, who is not a Cabinet member.
Many of Trump’s top picks have been confirmed by the Senate. Musk, a senior adviser who’s leading an effort shrink the federal government, didn’t require confirmation.
“We’re gonna solve a lot of problems,” Trump said at the top of the meeting.
Trump invited Musk to speak first at the meeting, saying his cost-cutting work “seems to be of great interest to everyone.” He said there were many Americans who have “such admiration” for the mass firings and government cuts Musk is leading.
Musk, as he has in the past, described himself as simple “tech support” for the government, saying “it’s ironic, but it’s true.”
Cabinet members were asked if they were happy with Musk a few minutes into the meeting. Musk started to answer the question. But Trump interjected and said he might want to let Cabinet members answer, before joking that if anyone disagreed, he might “throw them out.”
Trump posts a video promoting his proposal for redeveloping the Gaza Strip
The video posted to the president’s Truth Social account late Tuesday shows photographs of what appears to be decimated Gaza streets and neighborhoods replaced with images of beach hotels, dancing women and shops selling gold over a pulsating soundtrack.
Trump’s proposal to develop Gaza’s Mediterranean coast into a Riviera replete with luxury casinos and resorts has met with significant criticism in the Middle East.
The song lyrics, in English, appear intended to appeal to Palestinians, many thousands of which would be displaced by the plan and are absolutely opposed to it, but there was no immediate way to gauge reaction.
“Donald’s coming to set you free,” the song says.
The video closes with a photoshopped image of Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reclining poolside and sipping brightly colored drinks.
Trump administration sets stage for large-scale federal worker layoffs in new memo
Federal agencies must develop plans to eliminate employee positions, according to a memo distributed by Trump’s administration that sets in motion what could become a sweeping realignment of American government.
The memo expands the Republican president’s effort to downsize the federal workforce, which he’s described as bloated and impediment to his agenda. Thousands of probationary employees have already been fired, and now his administration is turning its attention to career officials with civil service protection.
Agencies are directed to submit by March 13 their plans for what is known as a reduction in force, which would not only lay off employees but eliminate the position altogether. The result could be extensive changes in how government functions.
▶ Read more about the government layoffs
US sanctions Iranian drone procurement firms in China and Hong Kong
The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets sanctioned the six companies which are accused of helping procure drone parts for sanctioned Iranian firm Pishtazan Kavosh Gostar Boshra and its subsidiary Narin Sepehr Mobin Isatis.
Treasury says the entities sanctioned Wednesday operate as front companies for the benefit of the Iranian firms.
“Iran continues to try to find new ways to procure the key components it needs to bolster its UAV weapons program through new front companies and third-country suppliers,” said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in a news release.
President Trump earlier this month issued a memorandum which calls for the U.S. to “drive Iran’s export of oil to zero.” It also states Iran “can never be allowed to acquire or develop nuclear weapons.”
Not known for political coverage, Wired takes a leading role in tracking Elon Musk’s team
Shortly after becoming Wired’s global editorial director in 2023, Katie Drummond acted on an early morning idea. With a presidential election coming, the tech-focused news outlet needed a team to report on technology’s intersection with politics.
She couldn’t have predicted how much the decision would pay off.
Wired has attracted broad attention for its aggressive coverage of the Trump administration, particularly Elon Musk’s efforts at reducing federal employment. It has identified and traced the backgrounds of Musk’s young team and how they are burrowing their way into government operations.
“I think we were very well positioned to jump on that coverage,” Drummond said.
▶ Read more about Wired and Elon Musk
UK prime minister heads to Washington with defense spending pledge to help sway Trump over Ukraine
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s trip Wednesday comes after announcing a big increase in the British defense budget, an investment he hopes will help persuade President Trump to maintain support for Ukraine as Washington pushes to end the war.
Though Starmer is likely to tout the trans-Atlantic “special relationship” that’s endured since World War II, he faces an uncertain reception. Trump has upended decades of U.S. foreign policy during his first weeks in office.
Ukraine and its European allies are scrambling to respond after the Trump administration engaged directly with Moscow on ending the war in Ukraine. Starmer’s visit to the White House on Thursday is part of European efforts — following a trip to Washington by French President Emmanuel Macron earlier this week — to ensure Kyiv gets a voice in negotiations, and that the U.S. still backs Europe in dealing with an aggressive Russia on its doorstep.
▶ Read more about British Prime Minister Keir Starmer
The Trump administration announces a plan to combat surging egg prices
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins rolled out the five-part plan Wednesday but acknowledged it could take some time before consumers see an effect at the checkout counter.
The plan calls for $500 million investment to help farmers bolster biosecurity measures, $400 million in aid for farmers whose flocks have been impacted by avian flu, $100 million to research and potentially develop vaccines and therapeutics for U.S. chicken flocks and explore rolling back what the administration sees as restrictive animal welfare rules in some states.
The administration is also in talks to import about 70 million to 100 million eggs from other countries in the coming months, Rollins said.
Rollins said the administration is anticipating egg prices could still further climb heading toward the Easter holiday, a time when demand has been historically high.
Cabinet picks with hearings Wednesday would have influence over access to reproductive health care
Three of Trump’s Cabinet picks — Dean John Sauer, the nominee for Solicitor General; Harmeet Dhillon, nominee for the Justice Department’s assistant attorney general for civil rights; and Aaron Reitz, nominee for assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s legal policy office — face initial hearings Wednesday and, if confirmed, would have influence over reproductive health care access nationwide.
All three also have long anti-abortion histories.
Sauer has been involved in several significant anti-abortion cases, including challenging a St. Louis reproductive equity fund and has argued against the FDA approval of the abortion pill mifepristone.
Dhillon has called herself a “lawyer for the pro-life movement” in 2022 and has represented anti-abortion groups. She said last year that laws that protect abortion providers from prosecution for treating out-of-state patients are unconstitutional.
Reitz has repeatedly called himself pro-life and said life begins at conception. His legal career has included challenging medication abortion access, and he’s served as a fellow for the anti-abortion coalition Alliance Defending Freedom, which was behind attempts to undo FDA approval of mifepristone.
Elon Musk will attend President Trump’s first Cabinet meeting Wednesday
Musk’s attendance highlights his influence over the administration.
“Elon is working with the Cabinet secretaries and their staff every single day to identify waste and fraud and abuse at these respective agencies,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters. “All of the Cabinet secretaries take the advice and direction of DOGE.”
Leavitt said members of Trump’s Cabinet would provide updates on their work at the meeting, which is scheduled for 11 a.m. ET.
Emergency fundraisers offer a lifeline to groups who’ve lost foreign aid
Though they know they can never replace all the money lost due to the Trump administration’s freeze on foreign assistance, nonprofits are fundraising to help organizations struggling with the cuts.
Unlock Aid, which advocates for U.S. Agency for International Development reforms, started the Foreign Aid Bridge Fund last week. It will take donations and make grants to groups around the world to try to avert some of the worst impacts of the policy change.
Other groups including Founders Pledge and The Life You Can Save have also launched fundraising campaigns. The Network for Empowered Aid Response, a coalition of civil society organizations from developing countries, has opened a fund, though it’s not accepting donations from individuals. GlobalGiving, a nonprofit that fundraises for grassroots international organizations, was one of the first to launch a campaign to support impacted groups.
▶ Read more about fundraisers for foreign aid
What’s going on with the Kennedy Center under Trump?
Until a few weeks ago, the biggest news to come out of the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., was its annual celebration of notable American artists.
That has changed since the return of Donald Trump.
In the first month of his second term, the president has ousted the arts institution’s leadership, filled the board of trustees with his supporters and announced he had been elected the board’s chair — unanimously. Some artists have responded by canceling appearances.
In a statement this month to The Wall Street Journal, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said: “The Kennedy Center learned the hard way that if you go woke, you will go broke. President Trump and the members of his newly-appointed board are devoted to rebuilding the Kennedy Center into a thriving and highly respected institution where all Americans, and visitors from around the world, can enjoy the arts with respect to America’s great history and traditions.”
▶ Read more about the Kennedy Center under Trump’s leadership
House Democrat introduces bill to reinstate veterans fired from federal government under Trump
The bill from freshman Democratic congressman Derek Tran, an Army veteran and former employment lawyer, would require that any veterans terminated without reason from the federal government since the start of President Trump’s term be reinstated.
It would also require federal agencies to submit reports to Congress on the veteran dismissals and provide justifications for their actions.
“They sacrificed so much to protect our country, to defend our freedom,” said Tran, who represents parts of Orange County, California. “Now they’ve been kicked to the curb.”
The bill is unlikely to advance in the Republican-controlled House, but it serves as the latest example of how Democrats are trying to harness public backlash to Trump’s efforts to upend the federal government through the Department of Government Efficiency, which is led by billionaire adviser Elon Musk.
▶ Read more about Congress and DOGE
Apple is fixing an iPhone dictation glitch that suggests replacing the word ‘racist’ with ‘Trump’
The bug within the dictation feature on some iPhones briefly suggests the word “Trump” when a word with an R consonant is spoken.
The company is responding to the controversy after some iPhone owners posted videos on social media this week to detail how the glitch works.
When users activated the dictation feature and said the word “racist,” the word “Trump” appears in the text window before quickly being replaced by the correct word, according to various videos posted online.
“We are aware of an issue with the speech recognition model that powers Dictation and we are rolling out a fix today,” Apple said in a statement sent to The Associated Press on Wednesday.
▶ Read more about the iPhone dictation glitch
Trump directs government to consider possible tariffs on copper
Trump on Tuesday directed the government to consider possible tariffs on copper, the latest move by the White House to tax a wide array of imports and reshape global trade.
“It will have a big impact,” said Trump before signing the executive order to study copper imports.
On a call with reporters, White House trade adviser Peter Navarro portrayed the move as an effort to stop China’s build out of its copper sector and to address a broader national security vulnerability. There is also a desire to restore the domestic mining, smelting and refining of copper given potential military and technological needs.
Trump has long said his trade goals are to ensure that imports are equal in size to exports, so that the United States doesn’t run trade deficits. But America runs a surplus with copper and the administration sees a national security risk from the forecasts of supply and demand.
▶ Read more about Trump’s request for tariffs on copper
Federal employees may get more demands to justify their work at Elon Musk’s direction
The turmoil that enveloped the federal workforce over the last few days is unlikely to cease anytime soon as the U.S. government’s human resources agency considers how to fulfill Elon Musk ’s demands.
The Office of Personnel Management told agency leaders Monday that their employees did not have to comply with a Musk-inspired edict for workers to report their recent accomplishments or risk getting fired. But later that evening, OPM sent out another memo suggesting that there could be similar requests going forward — and workers might be sanctioned for noncompliance.
OPM originally sent employees an email over the weekend with the subject line “what did you do last week?” Recipients were asked to respond with “approx. 5 bullets of what you accomplished.”
President Donald Trump did little to clear up the situation while talking to reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday.
“It’s somewhat voluntary,” he said, but added that “if you don’t answer, I guess you get fired.”
▶ Read more about Musk’s demands for the federal workforce
House GOP’s passage of Trump’s ‘big’ budget resolution is a crucial step toward delivering his agenda
House Republicans Tuesday night sent a GOP budget blueprint to passage, a step toward delivering his “big, beautiful bill” with $4.5 trillion in tax breaks and $2 trillion in spending cuts despite a wall of opposition from Democrats and discomfort among Republicans.
House Speaker Mike Johnson had almost no votes to spare in his bare-bones GOP majority and fought on all fronts — against Democrats, uneasy rank-and-file Republicans and skeptical GOP senators — to advance the party’s signature legislative package. Trump made calls to wayward GOP lawmakers and invited Republicans to the White House.
The vote was 217-215, with a single Republican and all Democrats opposed, and the outcome was in jeopardy until the gavel.
▶ Read more about the passage of the budget resolution
Trump says he will offer ‘gold cards’ for $5 million path to citizenship, replacing investor visas
Trump said Tuesday that he plans to offer a “gold card” visa with a path to citizenship for $5 million, replacing a 35-year-old visa for investors.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the “Trump Gold Card” would replace EB-5 visas in two weeks. EB-5s were created by Congress in 1990 to generate foreign investment and are available to people who spend about $1 million on a company that employs at least 10 people.
Lutnick said the gold card — actually a green card, or permanent legal residency — would raise the price of admission for investors and do away with fraud and “nonsense” that he said characterize the EB-5 program. Like other green cards, it would include a path to citizenship.
Trump made no mention of the requirements for job creation. And, while the number of EB-5 visas is capped, Trump mused that the federal government could sell 10 million “gold cards” to reduce the deficit. He said it “could be great, maybe it will be fantastic.”
▶ Read more about Trump’s “gold visa” plan
The Associated Press
