Trump rescinds Biden order protecting gender clinics from investigation, signals new whistleblower protections
The Trump administration is rescinding a Biden-era directive protecting hospitals from investigations and signaled that beefed-up protections for medical whistleblowers would be forthcoming. The Health and Human Services Department (HHS) announced Friday it would be rescinding an executive order issued by former President Joe Biden in March 2022, which, among other things, gave hospitals the right not to comply with state-level investigations related to their provision of transgender medical treatments to minors. Trump’s directive eliminates these protections, and the rescission notice indicates that further safeguards for medical whistleblowers are anticipated in the future. “Under the Biden regime, the door for whistleblowers was closed,” said Dr. Eithan Haim, who was prosecuted by the Biden administration after he leaked documents to the media that revealed Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston was performing transgender medical procedures on minors, even after it said it had stopped. “It was a complete inversion of the role of HHS, the role of our legal framework, because the criminal entities were being protected and the individuals exposing criminal entities were now the ones being targeted.” RILEY GAINES FEATURED IN TRUMP HHS WEBSITE THAT BUILDS ON ‘TWO SEXES’ EXECUTIVE ORDER Haim was indicted last year by Biden’s Department of Justice for blowing the whistle on Texas Children’s Hospital, after it continued to provide transgender medical treatments to minors even though the hospital had publicly indicated it had stopped such services in order to comply with new state guidance. Several days after President Donald Trump was sworn in, the charges against Haim were dropped. Under Biden’s March 2022 directive, titled, “HHS Notice and Guidance on Gender Affirming Care, Civil Rights and Patient Privacy,” hospitals were permitted, but not required, to comply with investigations seeking information on their provision of transgender treatments. But, according to HHS’s rescission notice, such guidance lacked “adequate legal basis under federal privacy laws.” The notice added that, “by its own terms,” Biden’s March 2022 directive “permits” the release of personal health information tied to transgender procedures when it is needed to comply with other laws. TRANS STAR OF HIT HBO SERIES SAYS RENEWED PASSPORT NOW SAYS MALE AFTER TRUMP ORDER “Covered entities should no longer rely on the rescinded 2022 OCR Notice and Guidance,” stated HHS’ rescission notice. It added that “in consultation with the Attorney General” the agency will also be “expeditiously” issuing new guidance to protect whistleblowers who take action in accordance with Trump’s efforts to protect children “from chemical and surgical mutilation.” Haim said that under Trump’s new leadership, the U.S. legal system is being restored “to a place of equal protection under law, particularly as it relates to people who are trying to follow [Trump’s] executive order, or any other federal laws.” “The key thing with this new directive is that, as a healthcare provider, if a hospital or other doctors are participating in misconduct, if they’re lying about something, if they are intervening on patients in a way that is harmful to those patients – especially kids – as a doctor, it’s not only something you should do, it’s something you have to do,” Haim pointed out. In addition to compelling hospitals and gender clinics to begin rigorous compliance with investigations, the Trump administration’s Friday directive also removed gender dysphoria from being considered a disability under the federal Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. It also rescinded orders from the Biden administration indicating it was discrimination for federally funded health programs to refuse to treat someone on the basis of their gender identity. Fox News Digital reached out to HHS for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.
‘Nightmare’: Blue state resident rails against bullet train construction in her own backyard
As the Trump administration investigates California’s bullet train project, which has come under scrutiny for very little progress in 17 years, a small area where construction is underway has made life a “nightmare” for some people north of Fresno. Dalia Pena, who resides in Madera County, California, said that the construction of an overpass for cars has not only created a major eyesore in her backyard, but the construction has also been a loud disruption, including vibrations, for the once-quiet neighborhood. “They were out here doing construction at 6 o’clock on Saturday mornings,” Pena told Fox News Digital during a phone interview, detailing how the first drilling noises were extremely prevalent. While she said the noise has gotten a little better, it’s unclear if it will get worse before construction is complete. She also added that construction has made it difficult to use the pool in her backyard because of the proximity of the worksite. TRUMP ADMIN PUTS ‘DISASTROUS’ HIGH-SPEED RAIL PROJECT IN DEEP BLUE STATE ON NOTICE “I feel like it’s gonna get worse,” she said, adding that she’s concerned about safety. In addition, a survey Pena had done at her residence indicated encroachment on her property, according to a copy obtained and reviewed by Fox News Digital. “The authority doesn’t hold them accountable,” she said of the contractors when it comes to construction noise and dust, as well as the behavior of workers themselves. The California High-Speed Rail Authority said that they gave proper public notice to residents with prior meetings, as the construction is expected to be done by the fall, according to Fox 26. Pena attended a February 2024 meeting about the Road 26 closure, according to a sign-in document obtained by Fox News Digital, but said she was not adequately informed of earlier meetings about the construction itself, given its closeness to the property. SEAN DUFFY: AMERICA’S AIR TRAFFIC SYSTEMS NEED AN URGENT UPGRADE The authority told Fox 26 that they have been in contact with Pena. “Yes, that is true. However, when I bring an issue to their attention, they don’t respond to me,” she said, saying she routinely needs to follow up to have them “follow through.” “They’re giving me the runaround, honestly,” Pena said. “At no point were we offered anything.” She is now asking California Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Trump administration to step in on the “waste of taxpayer dollars,” but she noted there is a deeper issue with how this is impacting residents. “I agree that they need to be investigated,” Pena said. Last week, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy visited Union Station in Los Angeles to rail against the project and initiated a compliance audit. CALIFORNIA SHERIFF PUTS ACCUSED HARDENED CRIMINALS TO WORK AT TAXPAYERS’ BENEFIT “It’s been 17 years and $16 billion and no rail has been built,” Duffy said at a news conference. Meanwhile, Congressman Kevin Kiley told Fox News Digital that the project has served as a money pit for federal and state taxpayers alike. “I’m not sure why anyone would be in favor of what’s going on in California. We’re wasting taxpayer money in a really, just on an epic scale and not getting anything in return for it,” Kiley said. Fox News Digital reached out to the authority for comment, but they did not respond in time for publication.
‘Medical ethics have prevailed’: UVA hospital to phase out youth transgender treatments after Trump order
The University of Virginia Health Hospital will end its service providing transgender treatments to new patients as young as 11, falling in line with President Donald Trump’s order after being at risk of losing federal funding. The medical center, an academic healthcare facility associated with the University of Virginia (UVA), has been offering transgender medical care to minors aged 11 to 25, including providing children with puberty blockers that delay sex-related physical changes and cross-sex hormones, like testosterone and estrogen. However, in compliance with a recent executive order from the White House banning such treatments on children, the Board of Visitors passed a resolution that the center will no longer provide the services to new patients. JUDGE BLOCKS DOGE FROM ACCESSING EDUCATION DEPARTMENT RECORDS “Common sense and medical ethics have prevailed,” Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, R-Va., wrote in a post on X. “I’m grateful to the University of Virginia Board of Visitors for its action today to stop harmful transgender treatments for minors and to transfer existing patients to other providers,” Younkin added. NEW HAMPSHIRE FOLLOWS TRUMP’S TRANSGENDER SPORTS EXECUTIVE ORDER DESPITE LAWSUIT FROM TWO TRANS ATHLETES Under the new resolution, the UVA Hospital will no longer provide new patients who are minors with services related to sex, contraception, and referrals for gender-affirming surgeries and voice therapy, according to its website. Additionally, transgender individuals seeking medical care at the hospital will be referred to alternate private healthcare providers. Trump signed an executive order in January to restrict “chemical and surgical” sex-change procedures for minors and threatened to cut off “federal financial participation in institutions which seek to provide these barbaric medical procedures that should have never been allowed to take place!” UVA Hospital affiliates currently receive over $100 million in federal funding each year from the National Institute of Health (NIH) and “a loss of such federal funding would jeopardize the financial viability of the University,” according to the new resolution. The UVA School of Medicine’s funding increased from $155.1 million in 2022 to $174.2 million in 2023, the UVA reported in February, citing the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research.
Secret Service agent who attempted to shield JFK from assassination dead at 93
The Secret Service agent who heroically jumped into action to try to shield President John F. Kennedy during his assassination in 1963, Clint Hill, has died at the age of 93. “It is with a broken heart that I must announce the passing of my remarkable husband, Clint Hill,” Hill’s wife, Lisa McCubbin Hill, posted to Instagram, confirming his death. “He died peacefully at home, in my arms, on February 21, 2025.” Hill died Friday at his home in California, the Associated Press reported. Hill was a 31-year-old Secret Service agent assigned to first lady Jackie Kennedy’s security detail when he traveled with the first couple to Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963. FBI UNCOVERS THOUSANDS OF UNDISCLOSED RECORDS CONNECTED TO JFK’S ASSASSINATION The young agent was captured on camera in famous photos jumping on the back of the vehicle carrying the president and first lady after gunfire broke out, killing the nation’s 35th president. As the first lady made her way out of the convertible amid the chaos, she was seen crawling toward Hill in the devastating photos. “On November 22, 1963, three shots were fired in Dallas,” Hill posted to X on the 61st anniversary of the assassination in 2024. “The horrific images are still vivid. I was a 31-year-old unknown Secret Service agent, suddenly thrust into history. At 92, I have come to terms with my place in history. I tried. I was unsuccessful, but at least I tried.” The former Secret Service agent wrote a handful of memoirs reflecting on his relationship with the Kennedys in the years following JFK’s death, including reporting that he was consumed by guilt after the death. DEADLINE LOOMS FOR RELEASE OF JFK ASSASSINATION FILES “Guilt and anguish consumed me. All I could think about was Dallas,” he wrote in the memoir “My Travels with Mrs. Kennedy.” “I was running as fast as I could, my arm reaching for the handholds on the trunk but it was like my legs were in quicksand,” he wrote. “Mrs. Kennedy climbing out of the back seat, her terrified eyes looking but not seeing me, like I wasn’t there.” TRUMP SIGNS ORDER TO DECLASSIFY FILES ON JFK, RFK AND MLK ASSASSINATIONS Following the announcement of Hill’s death, tributes poured in from those in the media who knew him, the Secret Service, as well as others offering their condolences. “Clint Hill was a dedicated public servant and mentor to so many,” Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi posted to X accompanied by a statement on his passing. “His courage and dedication will never be forgotten. We extend our deepest condolences to his family and loved ones.” “From the moment we met, there was an undeniable spark between us,” his wife added on Instagram Monday afternoon. “We had that once-in-a-lifetime love that everyone hopes for—a relationship filled with passion, respect, admiration, and the pure joy of being together.” “I am eternally grateful for every day and every moment of the past 15 years we shared,” she wrote. “To us, forever. Rest in Peace my Sweet Prince.”
DeSantis declines to endorse Trump pick Byron Donalds for Florida governor, touts wife Casey DeSantis
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Monday that he would not necessarily support President Donald Trump’s pick to replace him, Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., and acknowledged the rumor of his wife, Casey DeSantis, potentially running next year. Donalds has not formally announced plans to run for governor of Florida in the 2026 race, but Trump said in a TRUTH Social post Thursday that Donalds had his “complete and total endorsement” if he so chooses. DeSantis, meanwhile, has been rumored to be floating the idea of his wife running for governor to donors. At a press conference in Tampa on Monday in which he discussed the creation of Florida’s own Department of Government Efficiency, DeSantis declined to back a Donalds gubernatorial bid at this stage. “Donald Trump just got into office. I want these congressmen focused on enacting his agenda,” DeSantis said. “They haven’t done very much yet. They’re not putting his executive orders into place. We’ll see what they do on the spending, but we have such a narrow majority that to be trying to campaign other places and missing these votes I think is not something that’s advisable at all.” RON DESANTIS: FLORIDA WAS DOGE BEFORE IT WAS COOL “We’ve achieved victories in Florida. We need to start achieving those victories up there, so I think people look at it and say, you know you got a guy like Byron, he just hasn’t been a part of any of the victories that we’ve had here over these last years,” DeSantis continued. “He’s just not been a part of it. He’s been in other states campaigning doing that, and that’s fine, but OK, well then deliver results up there. That’s what I want to see. I want to see them delivering results for the people of Florida. We deliver it here all the time for the people of Florida, and that’s what we need to be doing.” DeSantis said he’s going to be raising money for the 2026 race and is looking for someone “that’s going to be able to continue and build off that success that we’ve had here in Florida.” “I think a lot of people think somehow the battle’s been won, and you don’t have to worry about it. We could revert very quickly. That could happen. 100%,” DeSantis, who Trump endorsed in the 2018 gubernatorial race, said. “And so it really needs to be, ‘OK, are you going to be somebody that’s going to fight for people, especially when it’s not easy? Have you been willing to get in and get involved in these big battles that we’ve had and have won over these many years?’ And if you’re not willing to do that, then I think we are going to see this state revert, so I would not take anything for granted.” “We’ve had hundreds of thousands of people move here specifically because of the policies that we have, and I think that’s something that you should not take for granted,” DeSantis said. “This is not necessarily something that just goes on auto pilot.” KAMALA HARRIS TAKES VEILED JABS AT TRUMP, ELON MUSK IN 1ST MAJOR SPEECH SINCE ELECTION DEFEAT Asked about his wife potentially running, DeSantis gave no confirmation Monday but spoke highly of her political acumen and conservatism. “People ask me all the time about our wonderful first lady, who has done a fantastic job as first lady of Florida,” DeSantis said of the first lady. “I will tell you this, you’re talking about somebody like her. I won by the biggest margin that any Republican has ever won a governor’s race here in Florida. She would do better than me.” “She’s somebody that has the intestinal fortitude and the dedication to conservative principles that, you know, anything that we’ve accomplished she’d be able to take to the next level,” DeSantis said. He added that the late legendary American broadcaster Rush Limbaugh once told him at a dinner in Palm Beach during his first year as governor, “The only person I would rather have as my governor than you, is her.” On Thursday, Trump wrote on his social media platform in part, “Byron Donalds would be a truly Great and Powerful Governor for Florida and, should he decide to run, will have my Complete and Total Endorsement. RUN, BYRON, RUN!” In response, Donalds shared a screenshot of the president’s message. “President Trump is Making America Great Again. I’m committed to working with him to Keep Florida Great. Announcement coming soon!” the congressman said. At the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) afterward, Donalds did not formally announce a gubernatorial bid but said it had been an “interesting 12 hours” and to “stay tuned.”
Federal judge halts planned move of trans inmates to facilities for their biological sex
A federal judge in the District of Columbia Monday issued a temporary restraining order halting the Trump administration’s plans to move transgender inmates to facilities corresponding to their biological sex. “[P]ending further Order of this Court, Defendants shall maintain and continue the plaintiff’s housing status and medical care as they existed immediately prior to January 20, 2025,” wrote Royce C. Lamberth, a Reagan-appointed U.S. district court judge. Lamberth noted a “likelihood of success on the merits of the plaintiffs’ Eighth Amendment claim” but said the court “still takes no position” on other claims made in a lawsuit filed last week. The Eighth Amendment bars “cruel and unusual” punishment of prisoners. MAINE’S TRANS ATHLETE POLICY ‘SO EXTREME,’ COULD COST STATE MILLIONS, GOP LAWMAKER SAYS The lawsuit filed Friday, Jane Doe v. Pamela Bondi, alleges that President Donald Trump’s executive order, “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government,” signed in January, “targets transgender individuals and attempts to strip them of established legal protections.” The anonymous names of the dozen inmates in the lawsuit filed Friday are: Jane Doe, Mary Doe, Sara Doe, Emily Doe, Zoe Doe, Tori Doe, Olivia Doe, Susan Doe, Lois Doe, Sophia Doe, Sally Doe and Wendy Doe. The inmates, all of whom are transgender women, “will not be safe” if transferred to men’s facilities, the lawsuit states, and the inmates will be at risk of “sexual harassment, assault, and rape.” The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, also alleged Sara Doe “may be forced to shower in full view of men who are incarcerated, and her breasts and female genitalia will be exposed.” Similar charges were made throughout the lawsuit for the other trans inmates. Trump’s executive order prohibits taxpayer dollars “expended for any medical procedure, treatment, or drug for the purpose of conforming an inmate’s appearance to that of the opposite sex.” “The medical standard of care for treatment of gender dysphoria is to allow a transgender person to live in a sex different than their birth sex through medications, surgical care, and social transition,” the lawsuit claims. USDA LAUNCHES REVIEW AT UNIVERSITY OF MAINE OVER TRANSGENDER SPORTS POLICY AFTER TRUMP-GOV. MILLS BLOWUP The trans inmates were warned by BOP officials last week that the DOJ had notified the warden to transfer all of them to men’s facilities and that the transfers could happen as early as Monday, “and that their medical treatment would be cut off in the men’s facilities,” according to the lawsuit. “On or about February 21, 2025, BOP officials at [redacted] told Susan Doe, Lois Doe, and Olivia Doe that they were all being transferred to male facilities imminently,” the lawsuit said. This isn’t the first lawsuit lobbed against the Trump administration as it attempts to override “radical gender ideology” within the federal government. The first lawsuit against Trump’s “two sexes” executive order came from a transgender inmate receiving taxpayer-funded medical treatments just days after Trump signed the order. That inmate, anonymously identified as Maria Moe, is being represented by advocacy groups GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders and National Center for Lesbian Rights and Lowenstein Sandler LLP. Once Trump signed the executive order, Moe was transferred to a men’s prison facility, and BOP records changed the sex from “female” to “male,” the complaint says. TRANS INMATE’S LAWSUIT CHALLENGES TRUMP ‘TWO-SEXES’ ORDER CUTTING OFF TAX MONEY FOR GENDER THERAPY CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP While the latest lawsuit identifies BOP acting director William Lothrop as one of the defendants, Lothrop announced his retirement – among a slew of other BOP executives – and is expected to step down by the end of the month, the Washington Post reported. Fox News Digital’s requests for comment from the White House, BOP and Justice Department were not returned by time of publication.
GOP governor in top energy state outlines how production ‘held back’ by Biden will ‘open up’ under Trump
EXCLUSIVE: Dozens of governors gathered at a convention in Washington, D.C., over the past few days, and Fox News Digital spoke to Wyoming’s Republican governor about the importance of American energy independence, the energy outlook for the next four years and the impact of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). “I’ve been a really strong, vocal advocate for something that Donald Trump keeps talking about, which is let the states do it,” Gov. Mark Gordon told Fox News Digital at the National Governors Association’s Winter Meeting. “They can get things done faster. We’ve talked about this in energy, we’ve talked about it in so many other areas, education and so on. Let us run our own shops. Federalist notion, that’s what our country was founded on. That’s a good time to remember it, all these years later.” Energy production was a much-talked-about issue at the winter meetings, particularly Wyoming, which leads the nation in coal production, has the country’s largest uranium reserves and is in the top 10 of states for oil and gas production. ‘FULL-COURT PRESS’: FRESHMAN GOP LAWMAKER REVEALS BLUEPRINT TO FLIP SCRIPT ON GREEN ENERGY MANDATES Gordon touted his track record of working with other governors in western states, particularly New Mexico’s Democrat governor, with regard to energy production and pushing back on the Biden administration’s efforts to halt new energy projects. “We were frustrated to some degree by a couple of policies in some states on the coasts that were blocking our access to Asian markets, particularly for our coal, and then as the Biden administration came in, and they really shut down permitting, which, actually, this is one of the great things about one of these conventions. [Gov.] Michelle Lujan Grisham, a Democrat from New Mexico, and I went to the White House early on to say, by shutting down energy exploration on our federal lands, you’re not slowing down energy consumption,” Gordon explained. “What you are doing is moving it offshore to places like Venezuela, which is what the president was talking about today, when in Wyoming and in New Mexico, we’ve shown great leadership not only in energy but also in environmental issues. We both have low methane emission, natural gas. I think Wyoming has done the best job in putting out migration corridors. So we know that we can develop our minerals in a place where it’s important for wildlife to be able to move. We can do these things. Give it to the states.” BIDEN SENT $2 BILLION TO STACEY ABRAMS-LINKED GROUP IN GREEN ENERGY ‘SCHEME,’ EPA SAYS Gordon told Fox News Digital that after years of the country’s energy production being “held back,” he is optimistic things will “open up” over the next four years under President Donald Trump and said he is “happy” and “excited” about what he’s seen so far with energy. “We’re going to start to see growth and production again, but I think what’s really exciting is you have an administration that’s dedicated to putting in place policies that we can make permanent, that recognize that states do it best, recognize that ‘and’ is a much better conjunction than ‘or,’ that we can develop energy, and we can protect the environment, and we can do great things going forward. So, from my standpoint, this is an exciting time and I know my fellow governors and I are very anxious to see what we can get done in these first two years.” Gordon spoke to Fox News Digital about the new DOGE, which has been dominating headlines in recent weeks, and about his work addressing waste and fraud in Wyoming. “We’ve worked really hard at cutting waste, and Wyoming has had a few episodes where we’ve lost all our revenue. We’re a dominant energy economy, and so when oil and gas prices drop or coal prices drop, or you have a Biden administration, it’s tough on our state, and that has allowed us, I think, to keep a lot of that waste out. It doesn’t mean we don’t keep looking for it, but there’s just not a lot of fat in our budget. We’re very small and very lean.” Gordon expressed hope that cutting regulations at the federal level will translate into positive economic growth at the state level. “At the federal level, there’s a lot of stuff [we] need to fix,” Gordon continued. “We have done a ‘phenomenal’ job of slowing our productivity down by making it so sort of dodgy and slow in the process of going through NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act), and the process of going through the permitting and the process of doing all these things, that a project that ought to take four or five years takes a dozen. That’s not good for our competitiveness.” “I think when you come in to make a difference, and you start, you know, breaking things and moving fast – just as [DOGE leader] Elon Musk likes to say – there’s going to be a little bit of overdo. I think this administration, some of the conversations we’ve had with some of the secretaries, says, hey, what about this? What are the things that we missed in the process of doing that? So I think we’re seeing some of that get kind of reined back in a little bit more. ‘Is this valuable?’ which is a question we should always ask.”
DeSantis announces Florida ‘DOGE task force’
Florida is creating a “DOGE task force” to “eliminate unnecessary bureaucracy and to continue to ensure tax dollars are used in the most efficient way possible,” Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Monday. The Republican said the Sunshine State “has never been in better fiscal health,” but “we always want to get better, and so we looked to see what [Elon] Musk is doing with the [Department of Government Efficiency] in Washington, D.C.” “And the one thing I think that they are doing that we need to incorporate is to utilize and leverage technology like artificial intelligence to be able to police the payments and the operations and the contracts that are done in government,” DeSantis continued, speaking behind a lectern with the message “Keeping Florida Efficient.” “For example, we have people that review these contracts and if there is DEI, they nix it and things like that. But this is some high-powered stuff and I think would be able to provide us with some good information,” he added. “We have already been doing this stuff. This will really help enhance that.” JUDGE BLOCKS DOGE FROM ACCESSING EDUCATION DEPARTMENT RECORDS DeSantis said: “I am pleased to announce that we are launching a comprehensive initiative to continue to streamline our government and to continue to eliminate unnecessary bureaucracy and to continue to ensure tax dollars are used in the most efficient way possible.” “We are creating a state DOGE task force that will implement a multi-pronged approach to eliminating bureaucratic bloat and modernizing our state government to best serve the people of Florida in the years ahead,” he also said. “This will be – similar to the federal DOGE – a limited amount of time. It will be a one-year term. It will sunset following the completion of the mission.” TRUMP SAYS THIS CONGRESSMAN WOULD HAVE HIS ‘TOTAL ENDORSEMENT’ IF HE RUNS FOR FLORIDA GOVERNOR DeSantis then reiterated in a post on X that “Florida was DOGE before DOGE was cool,” noting that since taking office in 2019, he has “saved billions for Floridians year after year, including $3.8 billion in last year’s budget.” There was no immediate reaction to DeSantis’ announcement from Musk.
Flashback: Musk used his ‘what did you get done this week’ directive before gutting Twitter
As part of his acquisition of Twitter in 2022, Elon Musk called on the social media giant’s CEO to detail what he accomplished during the work week – years before he employed the same tactic on federal employees while serving in his capacity as chair of the Department of Government Efficiency under the Trump administration. Musk roiled the federal workforce on Saturday when he posted to X that employees would need to list their accomplishments for the previous week or risk losing their jobs. But this isn’t the first time Musk has used the tactic: He did the same amid his purchase of Twitter in 2022, before he overhauled the social media behemoth, including axing top brass. “What did you get done this week,” Musk had texted former Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal in April 2022, months before he purchased Twitter and ultimately renamed it X. Musk helped resurrect the text exchange over the weekend on X, when he responded to an account that shared a “how it started, how it’s going” post that showed a screenshot of Musk’s text to Agrawal, accompanied by a screen shot of a Musk X post on Saturday directed at federal employees. “Consistent with President @realDonaldTrump’s instructions, all federal employees will shortly receive an email requesting to understand what they got done last week,” Musk wrote on X on Saturday. “Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation.” “To be clear, the bar is very low here,” Musk wrote. “An email with some bullet points that make any sense at all is acceptable! Should take less than 5 mins to write.” DOD TELLS CIVILIAN WORKFORCE TO IGNORE ELON MUSK’S REQUEST TO REPORT PRODUCTIVITY Musk, who positioned himself as “free speech absolutist” amid the Twitter purchase, bought the social media platform in 2022 after it came under fire from conservatives and free speech advocates for censoring conservative viewpoints. The tech giant had “permanently” banned former President Donald Trump from the platform in 2021, drawing ire from conservatives and free speech advocates. It also blocked the New York Post’s 2020 story on Hunter Biden’s notorious laptop – and suspended some conservative accounts from the site, such as satire website Babylon Bee in 2022 after it awarded transgender Biden administration official Rachel Levine a fictitious “Man of the Year” award. MUSK’S DEMAND THAT FED EMPLOYEES LIST THEIR ACCOMPLISHMENTS ROILS WORKFORCE: ‘MASS CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE’ Musk’s text to the then-Twitter CEO asking what he accomplished for the week came as the two sparred over Musk’s critical messages aimed at the social media platform, including asking publicly that year, “Is Twitter dying?” The text messages were revealed in court documents released in 2022. Months later, in October 2022, Musk officially acquired Twitter in a $44 billion deal, making waves when he entered its headquarters that month carrying a bathroom sink in a video he posted to X with the caption, “Entering Twitter HQ – let that sink in!” Musk went on to fire the social media company’s top executives, including Agrawal, CFO Ned Segal and general counsel Vijaya Gadde. Musk explained on X recently that Agrawal was fired due to reported productivity issues. “Parag got nothing done. Parag was fired,” he posted to X on Saturday. All in, roughly 70% to 80% of Twitter’s approximate 8,000 employees were fired or exited the company following Musk’s purchase. Musk took a hatchet to the company’s work from home policy, and remarked that the company was overstaffed and needed to be trimmed of staffers who did not contribute much to its operations. TRUMP RATTLES OFF ‘FLAGRANT SCAMS’ UNCOVERED BY DOGE, TAKES AIM AT FORT KNOX IN CPAC SPEECH “We just had a situation at Twitter where it was absurdly overstaffed,” Musk said on Fox News in 2023. “Turns out you don’t need all that many people to run Twitter.” “If you’re not trying to run some sort of glorified activist organization and you don’t care that much about censorship, then you can really let go of a lot of people, turns out,” he said at the time. CPAC STRAW POLL REVEALS WHO CONSERVATIVES BELIEVE WILL BE 2028 PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE Musk’s comments reflect those he’s made in the second Trump administration as the chair of DOGE, which is in the midst of auditing various federal agencies in the search for overspending, corruption and mismanagement. DOGE’s work comes as President Donald Trump ordered the federal workforce to return to the office after five years of remote work stemming from the coronavirus pandemic, and has vowed to clean house of bad actors within the government and ax overspending. Musk said on Saturday that federal employees would receive an email directing them to list their accomplishments from the week prior, with the DOGE leader adding later that day that the assignment should take less than five minutes to accomplish. Employees have until 11:59 pm on Monday to send the list or lose their employment, according to emails regarding Musk’s directive that were sent by the Office of Personnel Management. Musk’s message followed Trump remarking that he has been pleased with Musk and DOGE’s work investigating various federal agencies for government overspending, fraud and mismanagement, but that he would like to see Musk “get more aggressive.” Musk responded on X: “Will do, Mr. President!” ELON MUSK SAYS FEDERAL EMPLOYEES MUST FILL OUT PRODUCTIVITY REPORTS OR RESIGN Some Democratic lawmakers, unions and activists have called for federal employees to buck the order, while a handful of government departments and agencies, such as the FBI and Department of Defense, told staff to hold off on responding to the email, as respective officials will handle auditing their own staffers. “This is a good opportunity for mass civil disobedience. Musk has no authority to do this,” Illinois Democratic Rep. Sean Casten, for example, posted to X on Saturday evening. “Encourage all federal employees to report to work, prepare GFY letters and continue to demonstrate the public service and patriotism he lacks.” The acronym GFY is internet slang typically meaning “go f— yourself.” “It takes a remarkable
Trump teases meeting with Zelenskyy amid US’ ‘serious discussions’ with Putin to end Russia-Ukraine war
President Donald Trump teased a possible meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Monday, amid what he called his “serious discussions” with Russian President Vladimir Putin — which could involve European peacekeeping troops — about ending the war between Russia and Ukraine. The president, from the Oval Office Monday, hinted at a potential meeting with Zelenskyy to finalize an agreement for rights to access its natural resources in exchange for the United States’ billions of dollars in support for the country’s war against Russia. TRUMP SAYS DEAL WITH UKRAINE FOR US ACCESS TO ITS RARE EARTH MINERALS IS ‘PRETTY CLOSE’ “In fact, he may come in this week or next week to sign the agreement, which would be nice, I’d love to meet him. Would meet at the Oval Office,” Trump said. “The agreement is being worked on now.” “They are very close to a final deal,” the president said. The Trump administration is seeking to recoup the cost of aid sent to the war-torn country by gaining access to rare earth minerals like titanium, iron and uranium. “It’ll be a deal with rare earths and various other things. And, he would like to come. As I understand it, here, to sign it. And that would be great with me,” Trump said. “I think they then have to get it approved by their council or whoever might approve it, but I’m sure that will happen.” Trump said the deal is “very beneficial to their economy,” while Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent added it is “very close.” “One-yard line,” Bessent said. Trump’s comments come just after he posted on Truth Social that he was in “serious discussions” with Putin about ending the Russia-Ukraine war. The post came after French President Emmanuel Macron of France joined him in the Oval Office to speak to the G-7 Summit. “The meeting was convened by Governor Justin Trudeau of Canada, the current chair of the G7, to acknowledge the Third Anniversary of the Russia-Ukraine War—Which would have never started if I was president,” Trump posted on his Truth Social. TRUMP SET TO MEET WITH WORLD LEADERS IN DC DURING BUSY WEEK AS RUSSIA-UKRAINE PEACE TALKS CONTINUE “Everyone expressed their goal of seeing the War end, and I emphasized the importance of the vital ‘Critical Minerals and Rare-Earths Deal’ between the United States and Ukraine, which we hope will be signed very soon!” Trump continued, adding that the deal is an “economic partnership” that would “ensure the American people recoup the tens of billions of dollars an military equipment sent to Ukraine, while also helping Ukraine’s economy grow as this brutal and savage war comes to an end.” The president said, though, “at the same time,” he was “in serious discussions with President Vladimir Putin of Russia concerning the ending of the War, and also major Economic Development transactions which will take place between the United States and Russia.” “Talks are proceeding very well!” he added. The president Monday also predicted that the Russia-Ukraine war could end within weeks. “I think the war could end soon,” Trump told reporters. Trump added on Monday that Putin would accept allowing European peacekeeping troops in Ukraine as part of a potential peace deal. “Yeah, he will accept that. I’ve asked him that question,” Trump told reporters. “Look, if we do this deal, he’s not looking for more war. He doesn’t mind,” Trump added. When asked if a deal could be reached “within weeks,” Trump said: “Yeah, I think so, right? Don’t you think so? I’d like to ask, have you, I think we could end it within weeks. If we’re smart.” “If we’re not smart, it’ll keep going and we’ll keep losing young, beautiful people that shouldn’t be dying. And we don’t want that,” Trump said. “And remember what I said? This could escalate into a third world war, and we don’t want that either.” Trump administration officials, including White House national security advisor Mike Waltz, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, met in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, recently with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and President Vladimir Putin’s foreign affairs advisor Yuri Ushakov to hash out ways to end the conflict. TRUMP OFFICIAL SAYS UKRAINE MINERAL DEAL IS ‘WIN-WIN’ FINANCIAL OPPORTUNITY FOR US TAXPAYERS, UKRAINIANS Ukraine was absent from the negotiations in Saudi Arabia. Ukraine’s lack of involvement sparked Zelenskyy to double down on the stance that his nation will not accept a peace deal unless it is a part of the negotiation process. Zelenskyy told reporters Tuesday in Turkey that “nobody decides anything behind our back,” after stressing in recent days that Kyiv will not agree to a peace negotiation without Ukraine’s input. Trump recently amplified his rhetoric against Ukraine’s president, including arguing Zelenskyy was a poor negotiator and that he’s “sick of it.” “I’ve been watching this man for years now as his cities get demolished, as his people get killed, as his soldiers get decimated,” Trump told Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade. “I’ve been watching him negotiate with no cards. He has no cards, and you get sick of it,” he continued. “You just get sick of it, and I’ve had it.” “I get tired of listening to it,” Trump said. “I’ve seen it enough, and then he complains that he’s not at a meeting that we’re having with Saudi Arabia trying to intermediate peace. Well, he’s been at meetings for three years with a… president who didn’t know what the hell he was doing. He’s been at the meetings for three years and nothing got done, so I don’t think he’s very important to be at meetings, to be honest with you. He’s been there for three years. He makes it very hard to make deals.” Meanwhile, the president said Monday he would “certainly” be willing to go to Moscow. “At the appropriate time, I would go to Moscow,” Trump said.