Trump Administration Live Updates: Some Agency Officials Push Back Against Musk’s Ultimatum to Workers
Where Things Stand
Musk’s ultimatum: Even as Elon Musk ordered workers across the federal government to summarize in an email their accomplishments for the week or be removed from their positions, officials at some agencies — including the F.B.I., the State Department and the office coordinating America’s intelligence agencies — have told their employees not to respond. Those statements in effect countermanded Mr. Musk’s order in some sectors of the government, a move that challenges Mr. Musk’s broad authority from President Trump to scrutinize the federal bureaucracy. Read more ›
Leaders visit Trump: President Emmanuel Macron of France and Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain are scheduled to meet with Mr. Trump in Washington this week, part of an effort to make sure that Europe is not excluded from peace talks with Russia to end the war in Ukraine. Mr. Trump has tried to normalize relations with Russia in the past two weeks, alienating his allies in Europe and throwing into question long-standing alliances. Mr. Macron arrives at the White House on Monday and Mr. Starmer is scheduled to meet Mr. Trump later this week. Read more ›
F.B.I. appointment: Dan Bongino, a former New York City police officer and Secret Service agent, was named the next deputy director of the agency. The role of deputy director does not require Senate confirmation. Mr. Bongino is a loyal supporter of Mr. Trump who has turned right-wing pundit and podcaster in recent years. His appointment means that the top two people at the F.B.I. are fiercely loyal to Mr. Trump, at an agency known for its independence. Read more ›
A federal judge in Maryland granted a temporary restraining order on Monday blocking members of Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency team and anyone “working on the DOGE agenda at the Department of Education” from accessing sensitive data there until March 10. A union representing teachers had sued to block Musk’s affiliates from looking at databases at the agency that contain social security numbers and other personal information. The judge agreed that such access would violate privacy laws.
Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts sent a letter to Howard Lutnick, the commerce secretary, expressing concern that members of Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency could gain access to a trove of sensitive data held by the Commerce Department.
“The department is perhaps the largest repository of trade secrets and other forms of sensitive and confidential data on Mr. Musk’s competitors and business partners,” Ms. Warren wrote in the letter, which was published on Monday.
President Trump has posted on social media thanking Apple and its chief executive, Tim Cook, after the company said on Monday that it planned to spend $500 billion in the United States over the next four years, hire 20,000 people and open a new factory in Texas. Trump said the move shows that the company had “faith in what we are doing.” The announcement came after Cook met with Trump last week.
Dan Bongino, a former New York City police officer and Secret Service agent turned right-wing pundit and podcaster, will be the next deputy director of the F.B.I., President Trump said on Sunday night.
Mr. Trump, making the announcement on his social media site, said the newly installed F.B.I. director, Kash Patel, had named Mr. Bongino to the No. 2 post at the country’s most powerful law enforcement agency. The role of deputy director does not require Senate confirmation, meaning two steadfast Trump loyalists will effectively be at the uppermost reaches of an agency known for its tradition of independence.
The military transported about 15 immigration detainees from Texas to the U.S. base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, on Sunday, bringing in new migrants who have been designated for deportation days after it cleared the base of its first group of deportees.
No new migrants had been sent to the base since the Homeland Security Department cleared it of 178 Venezuelans on Thursday.
Trump administration appointees in charge of the U.S. Agency for International Development sent employees an email on Sunday afternoon saying that they were firing 2,000 workers and putting up to thousands of foreign service officers and other direct hires around the world on paid leave starting that night.
The only exceptions to the leave would be people working on “mission-critical programs,” as well as “core leadership” and employees supporting “specially designated programs,” according to a copy of the email obtained by The New York Times.
Several Trump-appointed agency leaders urged federal workers not to comply with Elon Musk’s order to summarize their accomplishments for the past week or be removed from their positions, even as Mr. Musk doubled down on his demand over the weekend.
Their instructions in effect countermanded the order of Mr. Musk across much of the government, challenging the broad authority President Trump has given the world’s richest man to make drastic changes to the federal bureaucracy. The standoff serves as one of the first significant tests of how far Mr. Musk’s power will extend."
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