{"id":506,"date":"2025-02-25T08:43:55","date_gmt":"2025-02-25T08:43:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/2025\/02\/25\/trump-administration-briefing-chaos-caused-by-musks-doge-fears-over-far-right-podcaster-tapped-for-fbi-the-guardian-us\/"},"modified":"2025-02-25T08:43:55","modified_gmt":"2025-02-25T08:43:55","slug":"trump-administration-briefing-chaos-caused-by-musks-doge-fears-over-far-right-podcaster-tapped-for-fbi-the-guardian-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/2025\/02\/25\/trump-administration-briefing-chaos-caused-by-musks-doge-fears-over-far-right-podcaster-tapped-for-fbi-the-guardian-us\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump administration briefing: chaos caused by Musk\u2019s Doge; fears over far-right podcaster tapped for FBI – The Guardian US"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Confusion continued on Monday over the demands made by Elon Musk of federal workers. Just hours after the US Office of Personnel Management (OPM) had directed agencies that responses to its email were optional<\/a>, Musk again threatened federal workers.<\/p>\n

He wrote on X, the platform he owns: \u201cSubject to the discretion of the president, they will be given another chance. Failure to respond a second time will result in termination.\u201d<\/p>\n

President Donald Trump backed Musk earlier Monday, two days after OPM initially sent an email asking federal workers to list five things they accomplished last week. Several government agencies, including the FBI and state department, have told their employees not to respond.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Here are the biggest stories in US politics<\/a> on Monday, 24 February.<\/p>\n

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Chaos over Musk\u2019s latest demand for federal workers<\/h2>\n

Labor unions and advocacy groups have asked a federal court to prevent retaliation against government employees, after Elon Musk<\/a> issued an ultimatum demanding they detail in bullet points what they do at their jobs or face dismissal. The weekend email sent to millions of employees was the latest salvo in Musk\u2019s campaign, authorized by Donald Trump<\/a>, to dramatically downsize the federal government. Several federal departments have reportedly told their employees not to respond to the email.<\/p>\n

Read the full story<\/sub><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Fears intensify as Trump taps podcaster as FBI deputy director<\/h2>\n

Fears over the future direction of the FBI have intensified after Donald Trump<\/a> announced that a far-right podcaster, Dan Bongino, who has never served in the bureau, would become its next deputy director. Bongino is best known as a conservative commentator who has vocally supported Trump\u2019s false claim that the 2020 presidential election was stolen.<\/p>\n

Read the full story<\/sub><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Trump says Putin will accept European peacekeepers in Ukraine<\/h2>\n

Donald Trump has said the Russian leader, Vladimir Putin, would accept European peacekeepers in Ukraine as part of a potential deal to end the three-year war. Trump was speaking alongside French president Emmanuel Macron at the White House as the leaders sought to smooth over a transatlantic rift to achieve peace. But the meeting came as the US voted against a United Nations resolution condemning Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine, siding with countries such as North Korea, Belarus and Sudan over European allies.<\/p>\n

Read the full story<\/sub><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Judge blocks Doge access to Americans\u2019 personal data<\/h2>\n

A federal judge has temporarily blocked Elon Musk<\/a>\u2019s so-called \u201cdepartment of government efficiency\u201d (Doge) from accessing the sensitive personal information of millions of Americans, dealing a quick blow to the second Trump administration\u2019s controversial government downsizing goals.<\/p>\n

Read the full story<\/sub><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Exclusive: Neo-Nazi group plots rebuild as Patel takes lead at FBI <\/h2>\n

An international neo-Nazi terrorist group with origins in the US appears to be quickly rebuilding its global and stateside ranks, according to information obtained by the Guardian from its digital accounts. The Base\u2019s regrouping comes at a time when the Trump administration<\/a> has made it a policy goal to move away from policing far-right extremism and during the appointment of Kash Patel \u2013 a Maga acolyte who lauds January 6 attackers and has peddled Qanon conspiracy theories \u2013 to helm the FBI.<\/p>\n

Read the full story<\/sub><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u2018Doge\u2019 claim about USAid funds for India creates political firestorm<\/h2>\n

Elon Musk\u2019s \u201cdepartment of government efficiency\u201d has been accused of setting off a political firestorm in India after it claimed that the US government had been sending millions of dollars to support the Indian elections.<\/p>\n

Read the full story<\/sub><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Apple announces $500bn in US investments over next four years<\/h2>\n

Apple announced it would spend $500bn in US investments in the next four years that would include a giant factory in Texas for artificial intelligence servers and add about 20,000 research and development jobs across the country. The move comes on the heels of reports that the Apple CEO, Tim Cook<\/a>, met Donald Trump<\/a> last week.<\/p>\n

Read the full story<\/sub><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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US judge allows Trump\u2019s AP Oval Office ban to stand over Gulf of Mexico name dispute<\/h2>\n

A federal judge on Monday denied a request by the Associated Press<\/a> to immediately restore full access to presidential events for the news agency\u2019s journalists.<\/p>\n

The US district judge Trevor McFadden declined to grant the AP\u2019s request for a temporary injunction restoring its access to the Oval Office, Air Force One and events held at the White House. The Trump administration<\/a> barred the outlet earlier this month for continuing to refer to the Gulf of Mexico in its coverage after the president renamed it the \u201cGulf of America\u201d.<\/p>\n

McFadden, a Trump appointee, said the restriction on \u201cmore private areas\u201d used by Trump was different from prior instances in which courts have blocked government officials from revoking access to journalists.<\/p>\n

Read the full story<\/sub><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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What else happened today:<\/h2>\n