74 m. ago Trump live updates: Elon Musk gives federal workers second chance to respond to email after pushback

Big tech billionaire grants extension to initial deadline as administration’s Office of Personnel tells agencies that answering mailout is ‘voluntary’, sowing confusion

Politics

78 m. ago Nearly 40% of contracts canceled by Doge are expected to produce no savings – live

Almost 40% of federal contracts canceled as part of Doge’s cost-cutting efforts aren’t expected to save government any money, Trump administration’s own data showsIt’s coming down to the wire for beleaguered House speaker Mike Johnson, who is trying to rally GOP holdouts behind his budget plan for enacting Donald Trump’s agenda before the showdown vote this evening.Amid Republican opposition threatening to derail his bill, Johnson was up late last night locked in talks with holdouts from across his party who remain skeptical of his outline plan for tax and spending cuts - as well as border security, energy and defense policy - via a single reconciliation bill. Continue reading...

Politics

2 h. ago Musk says failure to respond to achievements email will result in sacking – US politics live

US office for personal management, which manages federal workforce, says that responding to Musk is not mandatoryThe Kremlin appeared to contradict Donald Trump’s assertion that Russia was open to European peacekeepers being deployed in Ukraine, and referred reporters to an earlier statement that such a move would be unacceptable to Moscow.Russia has repeatedly said it opposes having Nato troops on the ground in Ukraine, with foreign minister Sergei Lavrov saying last week that Moscow would view that as a “direct threat” to Russia’s sovereignty, even if the troops operated there under a different flag, Reuters reports.There is a position on this matter that was expressed by the Russian foreign minister, Lavrov. I have nothing to add to this and nothing to comment on. I leave this without comment. Continue reading...

Politics

2 h. ago The Latest: Musk renews threat to fire federal workers despite pushback from various agencies

Elon Musk is vowing yet again to fire any federal workers who don’t respond to an email asking them to list five things they accomplished last week

Events

3 h. ago Karoline Leavitt scores major victory over haters in the press after judge declines to restore access to AP reporter over 'Gulf of America' row

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt scored an early victory in the Trump administration's fight a lawsuit brought by the Associated Press.

Events

3 h. ago Musk’s latest email threat to federal workers contradicted by Trump administration as chaos reigns: Live

Big tech billionaire earlier claimed mass mailout last week was mostly a ruse to see if government employees at DOGE-targeted agencies ‘had a pulse’

Events

4 h. ago Middle East latest: US suspension of funds leaves UN health operations in Gaza in limbo

A U.N. official says a Trump administration move to suspend funding to the World Health Organization has frozen $46 million for its operations in Gaza

Economics

5 h. ago Elon Musk issues new ultimatum to federal workers after 'what did you do last week' email

It comes despite the Trump administration telling staff tehy did not have to respond

Politics

6 h. ago Trump live: Chaos reigns as Musk threatens more workers by email but agencies told responding is ‘voluntary’

Big tech billionaire earlier claimed mass mailout last week was mostly a ruse to see if government employees at DOGE-targeted agencies ‘had a pulse’

Events

8 h. ago ‘It’s bedlam’: Musk renews federal agencies showdown with ominous new firing ultimatum

The DOGE boss jumps past his midnight deadline to fight another day

Politics

8 h. ago Trump live: Musk threatens more federal workers with termination over email after Macron visits White House

Musk claimed that mass emails last week were mostly a ruse to see if government employees at DOGE-targeted agencies ‘had a pulse’

Politics

9 h. ago Bedlam! Musk triggers new showdown with federal agencies with ominous new firing ultimatum

The DOGE boss jumps past his midnight deadline to fight another day

Politics

10 h. ago Bedlam: Musk in new showdown with federal agencies as he issues ominous new worker ultimatum

The DOGE boss jumps past his midnight deadline to fight another day

Politics

10 h. ago Trump live updates: Musk again threatens federal workers with termination over email after Macron visits White House

Musk claimed that mass emails last week were mostly a ruse to see if government employees at DOGE-targeted agencies ‘had a pulse’

Politics

10 h. ago What to know about air traffic control towers after a midair collision in Arizona prompts questions

Do more U.S. airports need control towers

Politics

10 h. ago Nearly 40% of contracts canceled by DOGE are expected to produce no savings

Nearly 40% of the federal contracts that the Trump administration claims to have canceled as part of its signature cost-cutting program aren’t expected to save any money

Politics

11 h. ago Trump administration briefing: chaos caused by Musk’s Doge; fears over far

From the latest in Musk’s fight to fire federal workers to concern over appointment of Dan Bongino – key US politics stories from Monday at a glanceConfusion continued on Monday over the demands made by Elon Musk of federal workers. Just hours after the US Office of Personnel Management (OPM) had directed agencies that responses to its email were optional, Musk again threatened federal workers. He wrote on X, the platform he owns: “Subject to the discretion of the president, they will be given another chance. Failure to respond a second time will result in termination.” President Donald Trump backed Musk earlier Monday, two days after OPM initially sent an email asking federal workers to list five things they accomplished last week. Several government agencies, including the FBI and state department, have told their employees not to respond.Here are the biggest stories in US politics on Monday, 24 February. Continue reading...

Politics

13 h. ago US personnel office walks back email ultimatum from Musk to workers

OPM says failure to respond to email will not be considered resignation but Trump ally digs in and threatens job lossesThe US government’s human resources office has walked back an ultimatum issued by Elon Musk that would have forced its workers to resign if they did not submit a bullet-point list of their recent accomplishments, in one of the first signs of internal pushback to the Tesla billionaire’s campaign to downsize the federal workforce.The demand, made in an email sent to million of government employees over the weekend and quickly sued over by a coalition of labor and advocacy groups, represented the latest salvo by the “department of government efficiency” (Doge), the Trump-sanctioned cost-cutting initiative Musk chairs. Continue reading...

Politics

14 h. ago Musk issues new ultimatum to federal workers after 'what did you do last week?' email sparked meltdown

Elon Musk plans to use a controversial method to judge federal workers' response to the DOGE chairman's 'what did you do last week?' email request to determine which employees to fire.

Politics

14 h. ago Federal workers free to ignore Elon Musk email ultimatum, US personnel office says – as it happened

This blog is now closed. Here’s our latest politics storyHere’s a little more 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 announced the appointment on Sunday night in a post on his Truth Social platform, praising Bongino as “a man of incredible love and passion for our country”. He called the announcement “great news for law enforcement and American justice”.Kash Patel should 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 turning federal law enforcement over to unqualified, unprincipled, partisan henchmen. It’s unacceptable and conservatives need to say so. Continue reading...

Politics