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The U.S. government has begun firing thousands of people at multiple agencies as Donald Trump and Elon Musk accelerated their purge of America’s federal bureaucracy.
The Department of Veterans Affairs said it had let go of more than 1,000 employees in their probationary period, while the U.S. Forest Service is set to terminate more than 3,000. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been instructed to fire 1,300 staffers.
Termination emails have reportedly been sent to workers across the government at agencies such as the Department of Education, the Small Business Administration, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and the General Services Administration.
Meanwhile, Vice President JD Vance met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the Munich Security Conference on Friday to discuss how to bring Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine to a close. Vance told reporters: “We want the killing to stop, but we want to achieve a durable, lasting peace.”
President Trump signed two more executive orders in the Oval Office on Friday lunchtime. One halting federal funding for schools that mandate vaccination against Covid-19, and another establishing the Energy Dominance Council led by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Energy Secretary Chris Wright.
Two-thirds of Americans still believe climate change is impacting the Earth, despite what Trump contends
As the Trump administration works to dismantle and erase any mention of climate change on a federal level, a new report has found that the majority of Americans believe the Earth’s warming is affecting weather across the country.
Two-thirds of those recently surveyed by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication and the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication said they think global warming is impacting U.S. weather. Those who believe global warming is happening outnumber those who believe it is not by a ratio of more than five to one, the survey also found.
Julia Musto has the details.
Oliver O’Connell14 February 2025 23:10
Judge pauses Trump’s effort to dismantle CFPB
A federal judge has temporarily paused President Donald Trump’s effort to dismantle the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB), ordering it not to “delete, destroy, remove, or impair any data” or other CFPB records, or fire any employees.
A hearing on a longer-lasting preliminary injunction is scheduled for March 4.
Read the full court order here
And here’s why the CFPB is so important to the American public:
Oliver O’Connell14 February 2025 23:05
DOJ leader Emil Bove pushed other lawyers to drop Eric Adams case. Why didn’t he just do it himself?
Federal prosecutors faced an ultimatum on Friday, agree to dismiss the charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams’s criminal case – or else.
Emil Bove III, the No. 2 in the Justice Department and President Donald Trump’s former criminal defense attorney, issued the directive after being stonewalled a day earlier on the same request. He had pushed for dropping the bribery case, but Manhattan federal prosecutors resigned instead of signing it themselves. That led to the Friday showdown.
What is unclear is why Bove, a lawyer, didn’t just sign them himself.
While it is uncommon for the acting deputy attorney general to do so, nothing prevents him from taking action.
Ariana Baio has the story.
Oliver O’Connell14 February 2025 22:55
Trump administration terminates 388 EPA staff
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Friday said it has terminated 388 employees hired over the last two years to align its workforce with President Donald Trump’s “energy dominance” policy agenda.
The agency said it did a “thorough review” of its probationary staff, which are employees who have worked in their roles for less than two years.
“EPA has terminated 388 probationary employees after a thorough review of agency functions in accordance with President Trump’s executive orders,” EPA spokesperson Molly Vaseliou said in a statement.
Reuters14 February 2025 22:45
Trump and Musk to make joint appearance with Hannity
Donald Trump and Elon Musk are set to make a joint appearance on Sean Hannity’s Fox News show on Tuesday evening, the network has announced.
It’s the first televised sit-down together for the president and the billionaire “first buddy” and comes as Musk leads Trump’s effort to slash the size and scope of the government, with efforts to freeze spending and fire federal workers proceeding in earnest.
We’ll be covering it live on Tuesday…
Oliver O’Connell14 February 2025 22:40
Joe Rogan is still complaining about Kamala Harris not going on his podcast
“They just got scared. They could have put her in. I would have held her hand. We would have had a conversation. Not that I need to hold, you know, the vice president’s hand,” Rogan said on his podcast this week, four months after the scrapped interview.
Oliver O’Connell14 February 2025 22:30
New VA secretary plans 1,000-plus layoffs, promises no harm to veteran care or benefits
Top Republicans say they trust Doug Collins. Democrats have no such faith that cutting $98 million through dismissals won’t harm veterans.
“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.
America under Trump is not coming to help, senators warn Europe
Historically, the Munich Security Conference is a highly anticipated event for senators, who are attending this year as part of the bipartisan “CODEL McCain” delegation, named after the late Senator John McCain, under the leadership of U.S. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC).
McCain looms large over the Munich conference. In 2017, when Donald Trump first took office, McCain spoke about international cooperation at the conference, as if to push back on Trump’s brand of America First isolationism.
Oliver O’Connell14 February 2025 22:00
Watch: Trump asked why he blames for Russia’s war on Ukraine
Oliver O’Connell14 February 2025 21:42
Trump praises Vance’s speech in Munich
During the executive order signing event in the Oval Office, a reporter asked Donald Trump about JD Vance’s speech about migration and freedom of speech ruffling feathers in Europe.
The president said it was a “very good speech, actually very brilliant.”
“In Europe … they’re losing their wonderful right of freedom of speech,” he added.
Here’s more on the vice president’s speech:
Oliver O’Connell14 February 2025 21:34
