Closing summary
Our live coverage is ending now. In the meantime, you can find all of our live US politics coverage here. Here is a summary of the key developments from the last few hours:
After delivering a brutal ideological assault on Europe, accusing its leaders of suppressing free speech, JD Vance met with the leader of Germany’s far-right Alternative für Deutschland party, breaking a taboo in German politics as the Trump administration continues to court and promote far-right populist parties across Europe.
Donald Trump signed an executive order cutting off federal funding for schools and universities that require students be vaccinated against Covid-19 to attend classes. He signed another order today establishing an “Energy Dominance Council” led by the interior secretary, Doug Burgum, and energy secretary, Chris Wright.
News of massive federal layoffs continued today, including reports from within the Internal Revenue Service, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Departments of Agriculture and Veterans Affairs. The Trump administration agreed to postpone mass layoffs at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, pending a legal battle in DC district court.
The newly formed, so-called “department of government efficiency” published classified information on its website today, the Huffington Post reports. The news came as a federal judge extended a temporary order blocking the department from accessing treasury records that contain sensitive personal data such as social security and bank account numbers for millions of Americans.
Also on Friday, a treasury department watchdog announced it would undertake an audit of the security controls for the federal government’s payment system, after Elon Musk’s “department of government efficiency” gained access to it.
The deputy White House chief of staff Taylor Budowich said that Associated Press journalists will no longer be allowed on Air Force One or in the Oval Office until the news agency begins referring to the Gulf of Mexico as “the Gulf of America”.
A coalition of 17 Democratic attorneys general issued a statement condemning JD Vance’s recent remarks that judges were not allowed to control the president’s “legitimate power”. Vance’s comments came after several federal judges issued rulings temporarily blocking some of Donald Trump’s most contentious executive orders.
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A federal judge ordered lawyers for eight inspectors general to withdraw their motion seeking a temporary restraining order over the watchdogs’ firings during a hearing today.
Judge Ana C Reyes of the US district court for the District of Columbia expressed frustration that the plaintiffs waited 21 days after the firings to file suit requesting emergency same-day relief. Both sides ultimately agreed to an expedited hearing schedule.
“Why on earth this could not have been handled with a five-minute phone call is beyond my comprehension,” Reyes said.
She and her clerk had been “working around the clock on really monumental, time-sensitive issues”, such as a lawsuit challenging Trump’s ban on transgender people in the military, she said.
More than 30 lawsuits against the Trump administration are pending in federal court in Washington.
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A treasury department watchdog announced today that it would undertake an audit of the security controls for the federal government’s payment system, after Elon Musk’s so-called “department of government efficiency” gained access to it.
“Given the breadth of this effort, the audit will likely not be completed until August; however, we recognize the danger that improper access or inadequate controls can pose to the integrity of sensitive payment systems. As such, if critical issues come to light before that time, we will issue interim updates and reports,” the department’s deputy inspector general, Loren J Sciurba, wrote in a letter that was obtained by the Associated Press.
The acting counsel to the inspector general, AJ Altemus, said the investigation had been initiated before Democratic senators asked for such an examination: “Our work is independently initiated” and standards dictate that the audit “must be non-partisan and objective. These standards remain unchanged.”
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Singer-songwriter Victoria Canal will proceed with a performance at the Kennedy Center on Saturday, but says she will donate all the proceeds to Trans Equality Now.
Her decision comes just days after the center appointed Donald Trump as its new chair, prompting numerous performers to cancel their appearances, particularly after the president fired the center’s board of directors.
“I am a proud queer, Latina, disabled woman and ally to the unprotected and vulnerable trans community in the United States,” Canal said in a statement issued through her manager. “I figured if the new guys want to eliminate DEI, I’ll let them decide to cancel the show if they want to – otherwise, see you February 15th.”
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The Trump administration has agreed to postpone mass layoffs at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, pending a legal battle in DC district court.
During a hearing today, the administration also agreed not to delete or change any data or records at the agency, or redistribute the bureau’s funding until the case advances next month.
“We have very credible information that they are intending to lay off basically the entire agency,” Deepak Gupta, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said. “Don’t destroy the agency’s data, which is the institutional memory of the agency.”
The administration has already ordered the CFPB, which was created to protect consumers after the 2008 financial crisis, to stop nearly all its work, and closed its building.
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New Yorkers protested outside the Stonewall Inn today, a day after the national park service eliminated all references to transgender people from its website for the national monument yesterday. Demonstrators held aloft signs reading “There’s no Stonewall without the T” and “Not going anywhere” while others used chalk to write “transgender” on the marker for the national monument.
The move came as federal agencies across the country seek to comply with an executive order Donald Trump signed on his first day in office, calling for the US government to define sex as only male or female.
The Stonewall national monument commemorates a 1969 riot outside New York City’s historic Stonewall Inn, led by trans women of color, that ignited the contemporary gay rights movement.
Earlier this week, the homepage for the monument said: “Before the 1960s, almost everything about living openly as a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer (LGBTQ+) person was illegal.”
On Thursday, it said: “Before the 1960s, almost everything about living openly as a lesbian, gay, bisexual (LGB) person was illegal.”
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Judge extends order blocking Doge from accessing sensitive treasury department records
A federal judge has extended a temporary order blocking Elon Musk’s “department of government efficiency” (Doge) from accessing treasury department records that contain sensitive personal data such as social security and bank account numbers for millions of Americans.
The order was first issued Saturday, and then extended today after district judge Jeannette Vargas heard arguments in the case, which was filed by New York attorney general Letitia James and 18 other state attorneys general.
“No one elected Elon Musk and his minions and no one has allowed him to have access to this information,” James said in a news conference ahead of the proceeding.
The order will be extended until the judge rules on the plaintiffs’ request for a preliminary injunction.
The case alleges the Trump administration allowed Musk’s team access to the treasury department’s central payment system in violation of federal law. The payment system handles tax refunds, social security benefits, veterans’ benefits and much more, sending out trillions of dollars every year while containing an expansive network of Americans’ personal and financial data.
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Doge website published classifed information – report
The newly formed “department of government efficiency” published classified information to its website today, the Huffington Post reports.
The website, which is run by Elon Musk’s team of young engineers, includes a feature for viewing statistics from most government departments. Although the website purports to exclude data from intelligence agencies, it does include statistics from the National Reconnaissance Office, which operates spy satellites – including hundreds built by Musk’s SpaceX company. The office’s budgets and head counts are classified.
Later, a programming error on the website allowed anyone to post whatever they wanted, the Washington Post reports.
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And yet more federal layoffs are coming, this time at the Department of Agriculture, secretary Brooke Rollins told reporters today.
“To date, I think we’ve canceled almost 1,000 trainings that were DEI, diversity, equity and inclusion, gender-ideology focused,” Rollins said. “We’ve also begun the process of canceling a significant number of contracts.”
Rollins discussed implementing Trump’s mandate to make “government agencies more efficient and aligned with his vision” and said the department had welcomed Elon Musk’s so-called “department of government efficiency” “with open arms”.
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More news of federal layoffs continues to roll in, this time from the Department of Health and Human Services – which Trump ally Robert F Kennedy Jr was confirmed to lead yesterday.
According to an internal memo obtained by the Washington Post, the department is in the process of firing about 5,200 health workers. The Associated Press confirmed the news, citing a recording of a staff meeting.
The news comes just hours after the AP reported that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – which is housed within HHS – will lose about 10% of its employees, following a Trump administration order to fire all hires still in their probationary periods. That amounts to about 1,300 employees.
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Amid Donald Trump’s rampant efforts to downsize the civilian federal workforce, the president’s new veterans affairs secretary Doug Collins has announced plans to lay off at least 1,000 employees. He promised the layoffs (and subsequent $98 million cut in the department’s budget) will not affect veteran care or benefits.
“I take Secretary Collins at his word when he says there will be no impact to the delivery of care, benefits, and services for veterans with this plan,” said Rep. Mike Bost, the Republican chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.
The ranking Democrat, Rep. Mark Takano, said the firings show a shocking disregard. The terminated include disabled veterans, military spouses and medical researchers.
Second federal judge pauses Trump's order restricting healthcare for trans youth
A second federal judge has paused Donald Trump’s order restricting healthcare for transgender youth.
The temporary restraining order came from the US district court judge Lauren King in Seattle just a day after a federal judge in Baltimore also temporarily blocked the president’s executive order.
Democratic attorneys general from Washington state, Oregon and Minnesota filed the Seattle lawsuit, arguing that the order discriminates against transgender people.
The presidential order halted federal support for gender-affirming care for trans youth under 19, including by ending funding to institutions that offer such care and excluding the care from government-run insurance coverage.
Gender-affirming healthcare includes a range of therapies – from emotional support to vocal coaching, puberty blockers and sometimes hormones and surgery. The treatments are considered the standard of care and are endorsed by all US medical associations.
Since Trump returned to office last month, he has signed a series of executive orders targeting trans Americans, including by banning trans athletes from women’s sports, declaring the government will only recognize the male and female sexes and transferring incarcerated trans women to men’s facilities; a US judge temporarily blocked federal prisons from implementing the order to move trans people. Many of the orders have been framed as “defending women”.
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Donald Trump and Elon Musk will jointly appear on Fox News next week with host Sean Hannity. It will be the pair’s first televised interview together.
In recent months, Trump has formed a close relationship with Musk, resulting in his appointment to lead the newly formed, so-called “department of government efficiency”. On Tuesday, Musk took questions from reporters alongside the president in an Oval Office ceremony regarding the closure of government offices. Musk spent $250m on the president’s re-election campaign.
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IRS to cut thousands of jobs amid tax season - report
The Internal Revenue Service will lay off thousands of probationary employees, beginning potentially next week, the New York Times reports.
The firings are in line with orders from the Office of Personnel Management, which acts as the federal government’s human resources department, to let go of employees new in their positions, who have fewer job protections.
The layoffs come amid the annual tax season, as Americans file returns ahead of the 15 April deadline. The Times notes the layoffs seem to contradict comments to Bloomberg News from Treasury secretary Scott Bessent last week, who said any layoffs at the IRS would come after that deadline.
At his speech today to a high-profile security conference in Germany, JD Vance made a number of claims that offer a window into how he views the United States’s relationship with the world.
The problem is, several of them stretch the truth, as the Guardian’s Daniel Boffey and Alexandra Topping report:
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Donald Trump has green-lit the first new export of liquified natural gas since Joe Biden paused approvals early last year amid concerns over their impact on climate change, Reuters reports.
The decision allows Louisiana’s Commonwealth LNG to export gas to markets in Asia and Europe. Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump also said 600m acres (243m hectares) of offshore waters controlled by the federal government will reopen to oil and gas drilling, reversing a ban imposed by Biden.
Here’s more about Biden’s steps against natural gas:
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Trump says he's spoken to Starmer and meeting could happen in a few weeks
Donald Trump revealed to reporters that he had spoken to Keir Starmer, and that they may meet in the next few weeks, Reuters reports.
We first heard about the call, which came as something of a surprise to the British prime minister and his aides, earlier today:
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Trump signs executive orders on Covid-19 mandates and 'energy dominance council'
Donald Trump has convened the press in the Oval Office to sign an executive order cutting off federal funding for schools and universities that require students be vaccinated against Covid-19 to attend classes.
In addition to that order, the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said the president had signed another order establishing an “Energy Dominance Council” led by the interior secretary, Doug Burgum, and energy secretary, Chris Wright. Leavitt made a point to note that the Associated Press was not in attendance.
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Vance snubs German chancellor and meets with far-right party
JD Vance had no time to meet with Germany’s chancellor Olaf Scholz during his travel to the country, but did find an opportunity to sit down with the leader of the far-right AfD party, according to media reports.
It was German broadcaster ZDF that broke news of the vice-president’s encounter with the AfD chief Alice Weidel, which lasted for about 30 minutes and saw them discuss the war in Ukraine and politics in Berlin. As for Scholz, Politico reports that Vance’s spokesperson cited a “scheduling conflict” the prevented them from meeting. But a former US official, referring to team Vance’s thinking, put it this way:
We don’t need to see him, he won’t be chancellor long.
Vance’s speech to the Munich security forum earlier in the day included a line seen as indicating his support for the AfD, which is expected to make gains in elections later this month. Follow our live blog for more:
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Top White House official says Associated Press will be barred from Oval Office and Air Force One
Deputy White House chief of staff Taylor Budowich indicated that Associated Press journalists will no longer be allowed on Air Force One or in the Oval Office until it begins referring to the Gulf of Mexico as “the Gulf of America”.
On X, Budowich writes:
The Associated Press continues to ignore the lawful geographic name change of the Gulf of America. This decision is not just divisive, but it also exposes the Associated Press’ commitment to misinformation. While their right to irresponsible and dishonest reporting is protected by the First Amendment, it does not ensure their privilege of unfettered access to limited spaces, like the Oval Office and Air Force One. Going forward, that space will now be opened up to the many thousands of reporters who have been barred from covering these intimate areas of the administration. Associate Press journalists and photographers will retain their credentials to the White House complex.
Journalists from the authoritative news agency were stopped from attending two White House events earlier this week, apparently over the agency’s refusal to use the term in its widely followed style guide. Here’s the agency’s rationale for not making the change:
President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. The body of water has shared borders between the U.S. and Mexico. Trump’s order only carries authority within the United States. Mexico, as well as other countries and international bodies, do not have to recognize the name change.
The Gulf of Mexico has carried that name for more than 400 years. The Associated Press will refer to it by its original name while acknowledging the new name Trump has chosen. As a global news agency that disseminates news around the world, the AP must ensure that place names and geography are easily recognizable to all audiences.
Here’s more on the dispute:
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The White House advises that Donald Trump will sign his executive order on Covid-19 vaccines in the Oval Office at some point this afternoon, and that the press is invited.
That will present the opportunity for another wide-ranging question-and-answer session with the president, which he has made almost a daily occurence.
Trump to sign executive order barring federal funding for schools with Covid vaccine mandates
Donald Trump will soon sign an executive order cutting off federal funding for schools and universities that require students receive a Covid-19 vaccine to attend class in person, a White House official said.
The president is scheduled to sign executive orders right about now, without press in attendance, though that could change.
The order satisfies a campaign promise from Trump, and will also direct Robert F Kennedy Jr, the newly sworn in secretary of health and human services, to “provide a plan to end coercive Covid-19 vaccine mandates”, according to Breitbart News, which first reported on the order.
Shortly after taking office, Trump ordered officials to reinstate a small number of military personnel who had been fired for refusing to take the vaccine. Here’s a look back at that:
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Here’s more from the Guardian’s Joanna Walters about the Trump administration’s decision to drop charges against New York mayor Eric Adams, which has prompted a cascade of resignations at the justice department:
Manhattan’s top federal prosecutor and five high-ranking justice department officials have resigned amid a scandal over orders from above to drop corruption charges against New York City’s mayor, Eric Adams, in exchange for his cooperating with Donald Trump’s administration over immigration crackdowns.
The senior prosecutor, interim US attorney for the southern district of New York Danielle Sassoon, and the acting US deputy attorney general, Emil Bove, formerly a personal lawyer to Trump, then exchanged stinging letters over the order from Bove to drop the federal criminal case against Adams.
The events unfolding late on Thursday were a stunning escalation in a days-long standoff over the Trump administration prioritizing political aims over criminal culpability and also coincided with Adams talking to the so-called “border czar”, Tom Homan, about allowing federal immigration agents to set up an office at a city jail in violation of sanctuary city laws.
Sassoon, a Republican with conservative credentials, resigned on Thursday accusing the Department of Justice of acceding to a “quid pro quo” – dropping the case to ensure Adams’s help with Trump’s immigration agenda. She stood up for the federal criminal indictment that came down against Adams last year as his mayoralty spiraled into crisis with allegations that he accepted illegal campaign contributions and lavish travel perks worth more than $100,000 while serving in his previous job as Brooklyn borough president. He has pleaded not guilty. Trump has said he would consider a pardon for Adams.
Reuters is reporting that a federal prosecutor has agreed to file a motion to dismiss the criminal corruption charges against the New York City mayor, Eric Adams.
According to Reuters, which is citing “sources briefed on the matter”, the decision was made in bid to spare other career staff from potentially being fired by the acting deputy attorney general.
Reuters also reports that the decision came amid pressure from the acting deputy attorney general Emil Bove, who imposed a one-hour deadline on all public integrity attorneys on Friday to decide among themselves who would file the motion.
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Another prosecutor involved in the corruption case against the New York City mayor, Eric Adams, resigned on Friday, the seventh federal prosecutor resignation related to the justice department’s efforts to dismiss the charges against Adams.
In a resignation letter to the acting deputy attorney general Emil Bove, Hagan Scotten, an assistant US attorney, who was the lead prosecutor on the federal corruption case against Adams, wrote that any federal prosecutor “would know that our laws and traditions do not allow using the prosecutorial power to influence other citizens, much less elected officials”.
He added: “If no lawyer within earshot of the President is willing to give him that advice, then I expect you will eventually find someone who is enough of a fool, or enough of a coward, to file your motion. But it was never going to be me.”
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Two Senate Democrats have written to Donald Trump requesting the reinstatement of the inspector general for the US Agency for International Development (USAid), calling his firing illegal.
The Democratic senators Jeanne Shaheen and Gary Peters expressed their concerns in a letter to Trump, stating that the firing of the inspector general Paul Martin without justification seemed to be an act of retaliation, according to the Associated Press.
Shaheen and Peters say the law requires 30 days’ notice to Congress and a reason.
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Democratic attorneys general condemn Vance's judiciary remarks
A coalition of 17 Democratic attorneys general have issued a statement condemning vice-president JD Vance’s recent remarks that judges are not allowed to control the president’s “legitimate power”.
Vance’s comments came after several federal judges issued rulings temporarily blocking some of Donald Trump’s most contentious executive orders.
“The vice-president’s statement is as wrong as it is reckless. As chief law enforcement officers representing the people of 17 states, we unequivocally reject the vice-president’s attempt to spread this dangerous lie” the statement from the attorneys general reads.
“Judges do not ‘control’ executive power. Judges stop the unlawful and unconstitutional exercise of power” it adds.
The statement continues, and states that “as Attorneys General, we will carefully scrutinize each and every action taken by this administration. If the constitution or federal law is violated, we will not hesitate to act.”
The signatories include the Attorneys General of California, Connecticut, Arizona, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Maine, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington.
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The Democratic Georgia senator Jon Ossoff has criticized the Trump administration’s decision to cut nearly 10% of the employees at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In a statement, Ossoff said:
President Trump’s indefensible, indiscriminate firing of more than 1,000 CDC personnel in a single day leaves Americans exposed to disease and devastates careers and livelihoods for the world’s most talented doctors and scientists, many of them here in Georgia.
The CDC, located in Atlanta, Georgia, was notified on Friday morning that it would lose approximately 10% of its workforce due to the Trump administration’s order to terminate all employees still in their probationary period, as reported by the Associated Press.
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A new survey found that a majority of Americans say it would be “too risky” to grant Donald Trump more power and expressed concerns about expanding presidential power.
The new survey of about 5,000 US adults, published by Pew Research on Friday, found that 65% of participants said that it would be “too risky” to give Trump more power to deal directly with many of the nation’s problems.
Only 33% agreed with the idea that “many of the country’s problems could be dealt with more effectively if Trump didn’t have to worry so much about Congress or the courts.”
And even more Americans – 78% – expressed concerns about expanding presidential power when asked about US presidents in general.
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The day so far
The Trump administration is pressing on with its plans to dramatically downsize the government’s workforce, by targeting employees in their probationary periods at a variety of agencies. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will reportedly lose 10% of their staff, while the department of housing and urban development is set for a 50% reduction in headcount. The largest federal workers union decried the layoffs as “politically driven”, while an advocacy group warned the dramatic workforce reductions could harm the ability of agencies to perform their jobs in the future. Across the pond, JD Vance took European countries to task in a speech sure to further rattle allies already concerned about the Trump administration’s shift in policy on Ukraine.
Here’s what else has happened today so far:
The treasury inspector general will investigate the security of payment systems accessed by Elon Musk’s “department of government efficiency”, though the report won’t be out until August.
The effects of the federal worker layoffs are still being understood, but among the areas set to be disrupted is cancer research.
A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to restore funding to USAid, and prove its compliance within five days.
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Donald Trump’s campaign to dismantle USAid faced a setback in court last night, after a judge blocked efforts to freeze funding to the agency and gave his administration five days to comply. Here’s more on the development, from the Associated Press:
A federal judge has ordered Donald Trump’s administration to temporarily lift a funding freeze that has shut down US humanitarian aid and development work around the world, and he has set a five-day deadline for the administration to prove it is complying.
The judge’s ruling late on Thursday cited the financial devastation that the near-overnight cutoff of payments has caused suppliers and non-profits that carry out much of US aid overseas.
The ruling was the first to challenge the Republican administration’s funding freeze. It comes amid a growing number of lawsuits by government employees’ groups, aid groups and government suppliers asking courts to roll back the administration’s fast-paced dismantling of the US Agency for International Development, or USAid, and US foreign assistance overall.
Trump and his aide Elon Musk say the six-decade-old aid agency and much of foreign assistance overall is out of line with the Republican president’s agenda.
Administration officials “have not offered any explanation for why a blanket suspension of all congressionally appropriated foreign aid, which set off a shockwave and upended” contracts with thousands of non-profit groups, businesses and others, “was a rational precursor to reviewing programs”, Judge Amir H Ali said in his ruling.
Treasury watchdog to investigate Musk's access of payment system
The treasury’s inspector general has launched an investigation after Democrats raised concerns about Elon Musk’s “department of government efficiency” accessing the department’s payment system, the Associated Press reports.
The inquiry, which will likely take until August to complete, will also look into Musk’s allegations that the treasury made fraudulent payments. Here’s more on the investigation, from the AP:
The audit will also review the past two years of the system’s transactions as it relates to Musk’s assertion of ‘alleged fraudulent payments’, according to a letter from Loren J Sciurba, treasury’s deputy inspector general, that was obtained by the Associated Press.
The audit marks part of the broader effort led by Democratic lawmakers and federal employee unions to provide transparency and accountability about Doge’s activities under President Donald Trump’s Republican administration. The Musk team has pushed for access to the government’s computer systems and sought to remove tens of thousands of federal workers.
‘We expect to begin our fieldwork immediately,’ Sciburba wrote. ‘Given the breadth of this effort, the audit will likely not be completed until August; however, we recognize the danger that improper access or inadequate controls can pose to the integrity of sensitive payment systems. As such, if critical issues come to light before that time, we will issue interim updates and reports.’
Tech billionaire Musk, who continues to control Tesla, X and SpaceX among other companies, claims to be finding waste, fraud and abuse while providing savings to taxpayers, many of his claims so far unsubstantiated. But there is a risk that his team’s aggressive efforts could lead to the failure of government computer systems and enable Musk and his partners to profit off private information maintained by the government.
Democratic senators Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Ron Wyden of Oregon led the push for the inspector general office’s inquiry.
Experts have warned that Musk’s access to payment systems used by the treasury and other departments poses a grave security threat, and undermine’s the government’s checks and balances. Here’s more on their fears:
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Vance takes Europe to task in speech to security summit
JD Vance scolded European leaders in a speech to a major security conference in Germany, accusing the American allies of restricting free speech, being overly tolerant of immigration and retreating from values shared with the United States.
The vice-president’s remarks are sure to cause controversy on the continent, which is reeling from Donald Trump’s announcement this week that his government would seek to broker peace in Ukraine through direct negotiations with Vladimir Putin. We have a live blog covering the latest news from Europe as well as Vance’s remarks, and you can read it here:
CDC to cut 10% of workforce after Trump layoff order
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will lose about 10% of its employees after the Trump administration ordered the firing of all hires still in their probationary period, the Associated Press reports.
That amounts to about 1,300 employees, according to the AP, which reports the order was communicated verbally to staff by the health and human services department, which oversees the agency tasked with fighting diseases such as Covid-19. Here’s more:
The Atlanta-based agency’s leadership was notified of the decision Friday morning. The verbal notice came from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in a meeting with CDC leaders, according to a federal official who was at the meeting. The official was not authorized to discuss it and spoke to The Associated Press on condition anonymity.
The affected employees are supposed to receive four weeks paid administrative leave, the official said, adding that it wasn’t clear when individual workers would receive notice.
With a $9.2 billion core budget, the CDC is charged with protecting Americans from outbreaks and other public health threats. Before the cuts, the agency had about 13,000 employees, including more than 2,000 staff work in other countries.
Historically CDC has been seen as a global leader on disease control and a reliable source of health information, boasting some of the top experts in the world.
The staff is heavy with scientists — 60% have master’s degrees or doctorates. Most of the workforce does not belong to a union.
It’s not only new employees who are subject to probation. Probationary periods also are applied to veteran staffers who, for example, were recently promoted to a new job in management.
The plans for dramatic layoffs at the department of housing and urban development came after its secretary, Scott Turner, announced a taskforce to support Elon Musk’s “department of government efficiency”.
“We will be very detailed and deliberate about every dollar spent in serving tribal, rural and urban communities across America,” Turner said. “With president Trump’s leadership, business as usual, the status quo is no longer the posture that we will take, and with the help of Doge, we will identify and eliminate all waste fraud and abuse.”
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Federal housing department to lay off half of workforce, including civil rights staff - report
The department of housing and urban development plans a 50% reduction in its workforce, a dramatic downsizing of the agency tasked with administering federal housing policy, Bloomberg Law reports.
An employee union official told the outlet that among those cut would be staff who handle civil rights issues, as well as those who compile data about the housing market. Here’s more:
Antonio Gaines, president of AFGE National Council 222, said the department will cut employees in the offices that enforce civil rights laws, compile data about the housing market, and pay to rebuild communities after disasters. The Federal Housing Administration, which provides mortgage insurance on loans, will be excluded, Gaines said.
The agency didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
HUD provides housing and community development assistance. The agency employs 9,600 people, according to its website.
President Donald Trump directed agency heads Feb. 11 to “undertake preparations to initiate large-scale reductions in force” that focus on firing workers who “perform functions not mandated by statute,” including “diversity, equity and inclusion programs.”
The Associated Press reports that Donald Trump’s move to lay off federal employees in their probationary period won’t save much money, but could jeopardize a host of government projects.
Among them: cancer research. Here’s more, from the AP:
The firing of probationary employees began earlier this week and has included the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Department of Education workers.
At least 39 were fired from the Education Department on Wednesday, according to a union that represents agency workers, including civil rights workers, special education specialists and student aid officials.
The layoffs also hit Department of Veterans Affairs researchers working on cancer treatment, opioid addiction, prosthetics and burn pit exposure, U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, a Democrat, said Thursday.
Murray said in a statement that she heard from VA researchers in her state who were told to stop their research immediately, “not because their work isn’t desperately needed, but because Trump and Elon have decided to fire these researchers on a whim.”
Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, a group that defends government workers, said the Agriculture Department’s Food Safety and Inspection Service would be hit especially hard by laying off probationary employees because it has trouble recruiting inspectors required to be present at all times at most slaughterhouses.
The civilian federal workforce , not including military personnel and postal workers, is made up of about 2.4 million people. While about 20% of the workers are in Washington D.C., and the neighboring states of Maryland and Virginia, more than 80% live outside the Capitol region.
Layoffs are unlikely to yield significant deficit savings. When the Congressional Budget Office looked at the issue, it found the government spent $271 billion annually compensating civilian federal workers, with about 60% of that total going to workers employed by the departments of Defense, Homeland Security and Veterans Affairs.
Major union and advocacy group condemn mass firing of probationary employees
The largest federal employee union as well as an advocacy group for the government workforce have condemned the Trump administration’s move to fire employees in their probationary period.
Everett Kelley, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, accused the Trump administration of targeting workers new in their positions simply because they want to get rid of them:
This administration has abused the probationary period to conduct a politically driven mass firing spree, targeting employees not because of performance, but because they were hired before Trump took office.
These firings are not about poor performance – there is no evidence these employees were anything but dedicated public servants. They are about power. They are about gutting the federal government, silencing workers, and forcing agencies into submission to a radical agenda that prioritizes cronyism over competence.
And Max Stier, president and CEO of the Partnership for Public Service, said that the move could be crippling to workforce’s future functionality:
The Trump administration’s decision to fire civil servants who have been in service for under a year is yet another profoundly damaging action. With just over 7% of federal employees under age 30, our government needs a new generation of workers with the necessary skills to better serve the needs of our modern society. By terminating employees simply because they are the most vulnerable, the Trump administration has just thrown away our down payment on the future. Many of those who lost their jobs today were newer hires made in areas of great need for our government, including AI, cybersecurity, and technology. It is ultimately our country that will pay a heavy price for this arbitrary dismantling of the civil service.
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Trump administration continues to gut federal workforce after Musk call to 'delete' agencies
Good morning, US politics blog readers. The Trump administration’s drive to downsize the federal workforce continues, with news that thousands of US government employees across the United States have been told they are being let go. The latest cuts target employees in their probationary periods at agencies that include the Department of Veterans Affairs, Small Business Administration and US Forest Service. That’s in addition to the 75,000 employees the White House said accepted its legally questionable offer of deferred resignations. All this is taking place after Elon Musk, who Trump has appointed as chair of his “department of government efficiency” said that his intention was to “delete entire agencies”. Federal worker unions have sued over his moves, while warning that the Trump-Musk drive to downsize government by going after the people who work there threatens to undermine programs Americans depend on. We’ll tell you more about that today.
Here’s what else is going on:
Trump is heading to Mar-a-Lago for the weekend this afternoon, but before he does, he’ll sign executive orders at 1pm. He often invites the press into the Oval Office to watch him do so.
Top federal prosecutors have resigned after receiving orders from the justice department to drop bribery charges against New York mayor Eric Adams. We expect to hear more about the fallout from the decision throughout the day.
JD Vance is scheduled to meet with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and deliver remarks at the Munich security conference, where America’s European allies are grasping for details of the Trump administration’s new policy on Ukraine. We have a live blog covering it all, and you can read it here.
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