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Donald Trump said he had a “highly productive” call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday. He provided a lengthy synopsis of their conversation on Truth Social.
The president said negotiations to end the war in Ukraine can now begin immediately and even teased that they could visit each other’s respective countries and later told reporters that a first meeting might take place in Saudi Arabia.
In domestic news, a federal judge has ruled that the administration can proceed with Elon Musk’s federal worker buyout program, which is part of Trump’s plan to downsize the government through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
U.S. District Judge George O’Toole rejected a request from unions representing over 800,000 federal employees for an order to block the program’s implementation. The unions have called the administration’s “deferred resignation” offer unlawful.
Meanwhile, the Senate confirmed Tulsi Gabbard as Trump’s director of national intelligence. Despite stiff opposition to her controversial nomination, senators approved the former Democrat in a 52 to 48 vote.
A confirmation vote on Robert F Kennedy Jr.’s nomination as head of health for the new administration will take place early Thursday.
If your bank rips you off, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau gets your money back — say goodbye to that
Musk had just posted “CFPB RIP,” seemingly an indication that the bureau was on the billionaire’s hit list.
“I’m genuinely curious @elonmusk,” Scott wrote. “I’ve used the CFPB after my bank was giving me the run around and I had a bunch of fraud charges that they wouldn’t refund me, after telling me they found them as fraudulent. Within a week I had my money back. So explain to me how this doesn’t benefit us as American citizens?”
Oliver O’Connell13 February 2025 02:00
Elon Musk savaged as SpaceX gets new $40m defense contract amid his cutting of federal spending
Elon Musk prompted yet another heavy backlash online after it was revealed that his rocket company SpaceX was still receiving multi-million dollar contracts from the U.S. government amid his crusade to slash trillions of federal funding.
“You’ll never believe who is still getting new government contracts while all the contracts at the Department of Education and USAID and other agencies are being nuked from orbit,” attorney and researcher Will Stancil wrote on X.
Stancil shared a screenshot that appeared to confirm that Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) was awarded a NASA contract worth just shy of $39 million on Tuesday.
Rhian Lubin13 February 2025 01:51
Full story: Trump confirmed as chairman of Kennedy Center as part of plan to end ‘woke’ performances
The board of Washington’s John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts voted on Wednesday to confirm President Trump as its chairman.
“It is a Great Honor to be Chairman of The Kennedy Center, especially with this amazing Board of Trustees,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “We will make The Kennedy Center a very special and exciting place!”
Josh Marcus has the full story.
Oliver O’Connell13 February 2025 01:30
Trump website monitoring ‘government waste’ is a placeholder about a made-up architectural firm
A Trump administration website dedicated to “tracking government waste” links to a blank, placeholder web design template for a fictional architecture firm.
So far, however, the site has remained almost indistinguishable from a sample WordPress page, 404media reported, noting the irony that the template speaks about the architecture firm having a “diverse” clientele, meaning it likely wouldn’t comply with White House orders striking diversity, equity, and inclusion work from the federal government.
Rhian Lubin13 February 2025 01:15
Karoline Leavitt: Nobody has right to ask Donald Trump questions
Donald Trump’s press secretary warned that “nobody has the right to ask the president questions” after the White House blocked an Associated Press (AP) journalist from an event over the news agency’s continued use of the “Gulf of Mexico” in its coverage. The organisation said it was given an ultimatum over its editorial decision to refer to the oceanic basin by its original name “while acknowledging the new name Trump has chosen” — the Gulf of America. AP’s Executive Editor Julie Pace said the decision violates the constitution’s First Amendment.
Oliver O’Connell13 February 2025 01:00
Inside the committee that will look at the nation’s biggest secrets
The task force, called the “Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets,” will be led by controversial Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna – a staunch ally of President Donald Trump.
Ariana Baio takes a look at what they hope to achieve and when you might hear anything from them.
Oliver O’Connell13 February 2025 00:45
Judge won’t stop Trump’s federal worker resignation plan
A federal judge has dissolved a restraining order that blocked Donald Trump’s administration from offering “deferred resignations” to tens of thousands of government employees, opening the door for the administration to resume the so-called “buyout” plan in the president’s efforts to gut the federal workforce.
A temporary order from Massachusetts District Judge George O’Toole had blocked the administration from making an offer that officials claimed would place them on paid leave through September 30 with no expectation of working in that time.
A lawsuit from unions representing roughly 800,000 workers argued that they were forced into an “arbitrary, unlawful, short-fused ultimatum,” with a looming deadline to respond to an email blasted to virtually every federal employee.
Alex Woodward has the details.
Alex Woodward13 February 2025 00:30
Courts may try to use the Administrative Procedure Act to slow Trump down — what is it?
Many of the Republican’s signature actions so far have faced court challenges, and it doesn’t take long in these complaints to find mention of the 1946 Administrative Procedure Act.
Josh Marcus has the details.
Oliver O’Connell13 February 2025 00:00
Full story: Trump’s Justice Department is suing New York over immigration policies
“New York has chosen to prioritize illegal aliens over American citizens. It stops and it stops today,” Bondi said during a press conference in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday.
Oliver O’Connell12 February 2025 23:45
DOGE staffer accused of racist posts was ‘mistakenly’ given power to alter federal payments system
Senior Treasury officials said Marko Elez was “mistakenly” and “briefly” granted “read/write” privileges to the secure system on February 5, according to sworn declarations reviewed by Politico.
Oliver O’Connell12 February 2025 23:30