19 h. ago Federal workers brace for more firings after judge lifts block on Trump administration job cuts – US politics live

Trump administration expected to continue its mass downsizing of the federal workforce amid warnings of unlawful terminations and a ‘monumental’ billMass firings could cause ‘monumental’ bill, say expertsWe expect Britain’s prime minister Keir Starmer to soon visit Donald Trump, at a moment when the American president is upending much of America’s foreign policy with his embrace of Russia’s position in the war in Ukraine. The Guardian’s Patrick Wintour looks at whether Starmer’s visit might reassure a rattled Europe:In November 1940, Winston Churchill sent a telegram to Franklin Roosevelt expressing relief both at the US president’s re-election and the victory of his anti-appeasement policy. “Things are afoot which will be remembered as long as the English language is spoken in any quarter of the globe, and in expressing the comfort I feel that the people of the United States have once again cast these great burdens upon you, I must now avow my sure faith that the lights by which we...

Politics

19 h. ago ‘Like a cruel auction’: what Ukrainians think of Trump’s peace talks with Putin

Ukrainians inside the country and abroad express their hopelessness, anger and defiance at negotiations between Washington and MoscowEurope live – latest updates“I don’t think that this ‘peace process’ is for Ukrainians’ sake. It is laughable that they pretend it is,” said Iryna, 26, a lawyer from Kyiv.Iryna was among thousands of Ukrainians who got in touch with the Guardian to share how they felt about the Trump administration-led peace talks with Russia, which exclude Ukraine. Continue reading...

Politics

30 h. ago US politics briefing: Trump administration warns Kyiv and picks up court win in mass firings case

From the Trump administration’s latest moves abroad and in the US – here are the key US politics stories from Thursday at a glanceThursday saw a judge rule that the Trump administration can continue the mass firing of US federal workers, rejecting a bid by labor unions to stop the US president dramatically cutting the jobs of many of the 2.3 million people employed by the government. The IRS began laying off roughly 7,000 workers on Thursday.In his 16-page order, US district judge Christopher Cooper started by saying that Trump’s executive actions had “caused, some say by design, disruption and even chaos in widespread quarters of American society”. Continue reading...

Events

32 h. ago Elon Musk praises Doge efforts to cut federal workforce after judge ruling – live

Musk claims Trump administration is ‘finding savings’ amid mass terminations; federal judge won’t block administration from laying off federal workersJudge rules Trump administration can continue mass firings of federal workersDonald Trump signed another round of executive orders onboard Air Force One last night, among them one aimed at ending federal benefits for people in the country illegally.The order seeks to end “all taxpayer-funded benefits for illegal aliens”, according to the White House, although it was not clear which benefits will be targeted. Continue reading...

Events

33 h. ago Trump administration can move forward with mass firings of federal workers, judge rules – live

Federal judge won’t block administration from laying off thousands of federal workers, a move that is shrinking and upending US governmentJudge rules Trump administration can continue mass firings of federal workersDonald Trump signed another round of executive orders onboard Air Force One last night, among them one aimed at ending federal benefits for people in the country illegally.The order seeks to end “all taxpayer-funded benefits for illegal aliens”, according to the White House, although it was not clear which benefits will be targeted. Continue reading...

Events

34 h. ago Trump administration can move forward with mass firings of federal works, judge rules – live

Federal judge won’t block administration from laying off thousands of federal workers, a move that is shrinking and upending US governmentJudge rules Trump administration can continue mass firings of federal workersDonald Trump signed another round of executive orders onboard Air Force One last night, among them one aimed at ending federal benefits for people in the country illegally.The order seeks to end “all taxpayer-funded benefits for illegal aliens”, according to the White House, although it was not clear which benefits will be targeted. Continue reading...

Events

34 h. ago Trump administration can continue mass firings of federal workers, judge rules

US judge rejects bid by group of labor unions to halt president’s government overhaul through Musk-led ‘Doge’The Trump administration can for now continue its mass firings of federal employees, a federal judge ruled on Thursday, rejecting a bid by a group of labor unions to halt Donald Trump’s dramatic downsizing of the roughly 2.3 million-strong federal workforce.The ruling by the US district judge Christopher Cooper in Washington DC federal court is temporary while the litigation plays out. But it is a win for the Trump administration as it seeks to purge the federal workforce and slash what it deems wasteful and fraudulent government spending. Continue reading...

Politics

54 h. ago Trump defense chief orders Pentagon to make cuts as IRS workers face mass layoffs – as it happened

This blog is now closing. You can read our latest story hereAs Donald Trump’s administration continues to fire thousands of federal workers and radically slash federal spending, some Republicans are growing unnerved, Axios reports.As the cuts start to hit GOP lawmakers’ districts and states, some have told Axios there is a larger conflict brewing over the constitutional issue of whether the president can bypass Congress on such decisions.I think you’re going to see a clash when they start abolishing [agencies]. Say like USAid, right? We authorized that. That’s a creature of Congress. If they try to do something like that, then you’re going to get into a constitutional argument or crisis.Before making cuts rashly, the administration should be studying and staffing to see what the consequences are. Measure twice before cutting. They have had to backtrack multiple times.We all want efficiencies, there is a way to do it, and the way these people have been treated has been awful in many ...

Politics

55 h. ago Trump defense chief orders Pentagon to make cuts as IRS workers face mass layoffs – live

Pete Hegseth orders leaders to develop plans to enact strict cuts while tax agency reportedly to lay off thousandsAs Donald Trump’s administration continues to fire thousands of federal workers and radically slash federal spending, some Republicans are growing unnerved, Axios reports.As the cuts start to hit GOP lawmakers’ districts and states, some have told Axios there is a larger conflict brewing over the constitutional issue of whether the president can bypass Congress on such decisions.I think you’re going to see a clash when they start abolishing [agencies]. Say like USAid, right? We authorized that. That’s a creature of Congress. If they try to do something like that, then you’re going to get into a constitutional argument or crisis.Before making cuts rashly, the administration should be studying and staffing to see what the consequences are. Measure twice before cutting. They have had to backtrack multiple times.We all want efficiencies, there is a way to do it, and the way ...

Politics

55 h. ago Trump defense chief reportedly orders Pentagon to make cuts as IRS faces mass layoffs – live

Pete Hegseth orders leaders to develop plans to enact strict cuts while tax agency reportedly to lay off thousandsAs Donald Trump’s administration continues to fire thousands of federal workers and radically slash federal spending, some Republicans are growing unnerved, Axios reports.As the cuts start to hit GOP lawmakers’ districts and states, some have told Axios there is a larger conflict brewing over the constitutional issue of whether the president can bypass Congress on such decisions.I think you’re going to see a clash when they start abolishing [agencies]. Say like USAid, right? We authorized that. That’s a creature of Congress. If they try to do something like that, then you’re going to get into a constitutional argument or crisis.Before making cuts rashly, the administration should be studying and staffing to see what the consequences are. Measure twice before cutting. They have had to backtrack multiple times.We all want efficiencies, there is a way to do it, and the way ...

Politics

56 h. ago Trump defense chief reportedly orders Pentagon to plan for sweeping budget cuts – US politics live

Pete Hegseth orders leaders to develop plans to cut 8% of budget in each of next five years, Washington Post reportsAs Donald Trump’s administration continues to fire thousands of federal workers and radically slash federal spending, some Republicans are growing unnerved, Axios reports.As the cuts start to hit GOP lawmakers’ districts and states, some have told Axios there is a larger conflict brewing over the constitutional issue of whether the president can bypass Congress on such decisions.I think you’re going to see a clash when they start abolishing [agencies]. Say like USAid, right? We authorized that. That’s a creature of Congress. If they try to do something like that, then you’re going to get into a constitutional argument or crisis.Before making cuts rashly, the administration should be studying and staffing to see what the consequences are. Measure twice before cutting. They have had to backtrack multiple times.We all want efficiencies, there is a way to do it, and the wa...

Politics

60 h. ago Trump administration reportedly orders Pentagon to plan for sweeping defense budget cuts – live

Hegseth orders senior leaders at the Pentagon to develop plans to cut 8% of the defense budget in each of the next five years, the Washington Post reportsAs Donald Trump’s administration continues to fire thousands of federal workers and radically slash federal spending, some Republicans are growing unnerved, Axios reports.As the cuts start to hit GOP lawmakers’ districts and states, some have told Axios there is a larger conflict brewing over the constitutional issue of whether the president can bypass Congress on such decisions.I think you’re going to see a clash when they start abolishing [agencies]. Say like USAid, right? We authorized that. That’s a creature of Congress. If they try to do something like that, then you’re going to get into a constitutional argument or crisis.Before making cuts rashly, the administration should be studying and staffing to see what the consequences are. Measure twice before cutting. They have had to backtrack multiple times.We all want efficiencie...

Politics

64 h. ago Musk boasts about ‘thrashing bureaucracy’ as Trump expands power grab over independent agencies – US politics live

Billionaire claims he is implementing ‘will of the people’; regulatory agencies now accountable to the White House in potential violation of constitutionMusk and Trump put on lovefest in Sean Hannity interviewFederal judge refuses to block Musk team’s access to US government dataAs Donald Trump’s administration continues to fire thousands of federal workers and radically slash federal spending, some Republicans are growing unnerved, Axios reports.As the cuts start to hit GOP lawmakers’ districts and states, some have told Axios there is a larger conflict brewing over the constitutional issue of whether the president can bypass Congress on such decisions.I think you’re going to see a clash when they start abolishing [agencies]. Say like USAid, right? We authorized that. That’s a creature of Congress. If they try to do something like that, then you’re going to get into a constitutional argument or crisis.Before making cuts rashly, the administration should be studying and staffing to ...

Politics

65 h. ago Musk boasts about ‘thrashing bureaucracy’ in cozy joint interview with Trump – US politics live

Billionaire claims he is implementing ‘will of the people’ as he and US president praise each other so much, Sean Hannity says it is like ‘interviewing two brothers’Musk and Trump put on lovefest in Sean Hannity interviewFederal judge refuses to block Musk team’s access to US government dataAs Donald Trump’s administration continues to fire thousands of federal workers and radically slash federal spending, some Republicans are growing unnerved, Axios reports.As the cuts start to hit GOP lawmakers’ districts and states, some have told Axios there is a larger conflict brewing over the constitutional issue of whether the president can bypass Congress on such decisions.I think you’re going to see a clash when they start abolishing [agencies]. Say like USAid, right? We authorized that. That’s a creature of Congress. If they try to do something like that, then you’re going to get into a constitutional argument or crisis.Before making cuts rashly, the administration should be studying and ...

Politics