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The Trump administration plans to get rid of 2,000 U.S. Agency for International Development employees and place all but a select few on administrative leave by Monday at midnight, after a judge cleared the way for President Donald Trump to do so.
USAID, the agency that provides humanitarian assistance globally, notified employees on Sunday afternoon that all direct-hire personnel globally, with the exception of employees responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership and specially designated programs, would be placed on administrative leave.
The actions are part of a larger attempt to axe USAID after the Department of Government Efficiency accused it of wasting taxpayer dollars.
Trump and his right-hand man, Elon Musk seek to reduce the federal workforce and government spending.
As part of those efforts, Musk sent an ultimatum email to federal workers, over the weekend, asking them to justify their work or risk losing their jobs.
FBI Director Kash Patel and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, both Trump allies, instructed workers to ignore Musk’s request. Officials in the State Department and Department of Defense also told employees to disregard the email.
This all comes as Trump appoints former Secret Service Agent Dan Bongino as the deputy director of the FBI. Bongino, 50, a former New York City police officer and Secret Service agent, has been a constant figure in right-wing media over the past two decades, even hosting a show on Fox News between 2021 and 2023.
Border Patrol will occupy USAID headquarters
The building in Washington D.C. once occupied by the U.S. Agency for International Development will now be occupied by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
“CBP has signed a license agreement to occupy approximately 390,000 usable square feet in the USAID tower,” a CBP spokesperson told Fox News.
The news arrives just as the Trump administration is set to axe 2,000 jobs within USAID and place all but a few select employees on administrative leave as it seeks to get rid of the agency.
Department of Defense directs employees to ignore Musk email on productivity
The Department of Defense ordered employees not to respond to Elon Musk’s email requesting productivity information, saying only the department was responsible for viewing conduct.
Darin Selnick, under secretary for personnel and readiness, said in a statement that, “The Department of Defense is responsible for reviewing the performance of its personnel and it will conduct any review in accordance with its own procedures.”
He asked employees to “pause” any response to the email titled “What did you do last week”.
“When and if required, the Department will coordinate responses to the email you have received from OPM.”
Largest federal employee union demands apology from Musk on productivity email
The American Federation of Government Employees, the union that represents more than 800,000 federal workers, demanded the Office of Personnel Management rescind a productivity email and apologize.
In a letter to Elon Musk and the acting director of OPM, the AFGE said OPM does not have legal authority to demand employees reveal what they have been working on and conflicts with laws that prevent certain employees from disclosing information to third parties.
“Federal employees report to their respective agencies through their established chains of command; they do not report to OPM,” AFGE wrote in the letter.
The union said the email, which was sent to hundreds of thousands of employees, left many feeling “undervalued and intimidated” and distracted employees performing critical duties.
AFGE asked OPM to rescind the email and issue an apology to federal workers.
What to know about DOGE’s teased stimulus check
The idea to take some savings from billionaire Elon Musk’s drive to cut government spending and return it to taxpayers has received President Donald Trump’s enthusiastic endorsement.
So, will it happen?
If Musk’s target of $2 trillion in spending cuts is achieved by next year, supporters of the idea say that about one-fifth of those funds could be distributed to taxpaying households in checks of about $5,000.
Trump administration will fire 2,000 USAID workers
The administration is also placing all but a select few personnel on administrative leave.
Employees of USAID, the agency that provides humanitarian and other aid domestically and globally, have been targeted by Trump and his right-hand man Elon Musk who have misrepresented the agency as wasteful.
“As of 11:59 p.m. EST on Sunday, February 23, 2025, all USAID direct hire personnel, with the exception of designated personnel responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership and/or specially designated programs, will be placed on administrative leave globally,” the notices, obtained by AP, said.
Watch:Zelensky says he is not offended by Trump calling him a dictator
Trump congratulates German conservative party on it’s potential election win
In an all-caps Truth Social message, Trump congratulated the conservative party in Germany for their predicted victory, claiming it was a “great day for Germany and for the United States” under his leadership.
Trump claimed the people of Germany “got tired of the no common sense agenda, especially on energy and immigration”
“THIS IS A GREAT DAY FOR GERMANY, AND FOR THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF A GENTLEMAN NAMED DONALD J. TRUMP.”
Trump did not name the party, the Christian Democratic Union of Germany, in his post.
While CDU is a conservative party in Germany, Elon Musk and endorsed the far-right Alternative for Germany party before the election. Vice President JD Vance also met with an AfD co-leader.
AfD made huge gains in the election, an indication of strong support for a far-right party since World War II.
Kamala Harris takes swipe at Trump and Musk in first speech since leaving office
Former Vice President Kamala Harris used her first public speech since leaving the White House to slam President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, leader of the Department of Government Efficiency.
“This chapter will be written, not simply by whoever occupies the Oval Office, nor by the wealthiest among us,” Harris said. “The American story will be written by you, written by us, by We the People.”
Harris was honored Saturday evening with the Chairman’s Award at the 56th NAACP Image Awards. The award honors those who “excel in public service and leverage their unique platforms to ignite and drive meaningful change.”
Tulsi Gabbard tells intelligence officers not to respond to Musk’s email
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard became the latest Trump administration official to order employees not to follow Elon Musk’s orders to email their work accomplishments in the past week.
Joining FBI Director Kash Patel and leaders in the State Department, Gabbard asked intelligence community officers to not answer the email, citing sensitivity concerns around the work.
“Given the inherently sensitive and classified nature of our work, IC employees should not respond to the OPM email,” Gabbard wrote in an email obtained by the New York Times.
Anti-Trump summit in DC evacuates after receiving ‘credible bomb threat’
A gathering of anti-Trump conservatives in Washington DC was evacuated on Sunday after receiving what officials with the organization called a “credible bomb threat” they said was sent in by an account claiming to represent Enrique Tarrio, former leader of the Proud Boys.
Video of attendees being evacuated was posted to Twitter along with a statement from summit organizers. An initial version of the statement identified Tarrio — who’d been at the summit on Saturday “harassing” families of officers who defended the Capitol on January 6, per organizers — as having sent in the threat.
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Source: independent.co.uk
