Confusion 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.
Chaos over Musk’s latest demand for federal workers
Labor unions and advocacy groups have asked a federal court to prevent retaliation against government employees, after Elon Musk issued an ultimatum demanding they detail in bullet points what they do at their jobs or face dismissal. The weekend email sent to millions of employees was the latest salvo in Musk’s campaign, authorized by Donald Trump, to dramatically downsize the federal government. Several federal departments have reportedly told their employees not to respond to the email.
Fears intensify as Trump taps podcaster as FBI deputy director
Fears over the future direction of the FBI have intensified after Donald Trump announced that a far-right podcaster, Dan Bongino, who has never served in the bureau, would become its next deputy director. Bongino is best known as a conservative commentator who has vocally supported Trump’s false claim that the 2020 presidential election was stolen.
Trump says Putin will accept European peacekeepers in Ukraine
Donald Trump has said the Russian leader, Vladimir Putin, would accept European peacekeepers in Ukraine as part of a potential deal to end the three-year war. Trump was speaking alongside French president Emmanuel Macron at the White House as the leaders sought to smooth over a transatlantic rift to achieve peace. But the meeting came as the US voted against a United Nations resolution condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, siding with countries such as North Korea, Belarus and Sudan over European allies.
Judge blocks Doge access to Americans’ personal data
A federal judge has temporarily blocked Elon Musk’s so-called “department of government efficiency” (Doge) from accessing the sensitive personal information of millions of Americans, dealing a quick blow to the second Trump administration’s controversial government downsizing goals.
Exclusive: Neo-Nazi group plots rebuild as Patel takes lead at FBI
An international neo-Nazi terrorist group with origins in the US appears to be quickly rebuilding its global and stateside ranks, according to information obtained by the Guardian from its digital accounts. The Base’s regrouping comes at a time when the Trump administration has made it a policy goal to move away from policing far-right extremism and during the appointment of Kash Patel – a Maga acolyte who lauds January 6 attackers and has peddled Qanon conspiracy theories – to helm the FBI.
‘Doge’ claim about USAid funds for India creates political firestorm
Elon Musk’s “department of government efficiency” has been accused of setting off a political firestorm in India after it claimed that the US government had been sending millions of dollars to support the Indian elections.
Apple announces $500bn in US investments over next four years
Apple announced it would spend $500bn in US investments in the next four years that would include a giant factory in Texas for artificial intelligence servers and add about 20,000 research and development jobs across the country. The move comes on the heels of reports that the Apple CEO, Tim Cook, met Donald Trump last week.
US judge allows Trump’s AP Oval Office ban to stand over Gulf of Mexico name dispute
A federal judge on Monday denied a request by the Associated Press to immediately restore full access to presidential events for the news agency’s journalists.
The US district judge Trevor McFadden declined to grant the AP’s request for a temporary injunction restoring its access to the Oval Office, Air Force One and events held at the White House. The Trump administration barred the outlet earlier this month for continuing to refer to the Gulf of Mexico in its coverage after the president renamed it the “Gulf of America”.
McFadden, a Trump appointee, said the restriction on “more private areas” used by Trump was different from prior instances in which courts have blocked government officials from revoking access to journalists.
What else happened today:
A federal judge blocked immigration agents from conducting enforcement operations in houses of worship for some religious groups, the Associated Press reported.
Trump said the US and Ukraine are “very close” to coming to terms on a rare earth minerals agreement, in comments made during a visit from French president Emmanuel Macron amid European concerns over the US position on Ukraine.
The Trump administration said it was placing all but a handful of USAid personnel around the world on paid administrative leave and eliminating about 2,000 of those positions in the US, as the rapid dismantling of the organization appears to move into its final phases.
A federal judge has blocked the government downsizing team Doge from accessing sensitive data maintained by the US education department and the US office of personnel management.
A federal judge has extended protections for trans women in prison. The judge had blocked the Federal Bureau of Prisons from carrying out Donald Trump’s executive order that would have transferred three incarcerated trans women into men’s facilities earlier this month. Those protections have now been extended to include nine additional women.
