The Latest: Judge declines to halt Trump administration's federal workers layoffs

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Trump has ended his speech

Trump has returned to the White House after wrapping up his speech to the Republican Governors Association.

Trump jokes that Canada can keep ‘O Canada’ anthem as 51st US state

Trump mused once again about absorbing Canada as a 51st U.S. state, continuing the ribbing of the nation's northern neighbor that has infuriated many Canadians.

He noted that Canadians booed the U.S. national anthem ahead of an international hockey game in Montreal.

“I think ultimately they’ll be praising the national anthem. We’ll have to work out some deal ... because I do like the ‘O Canada’ all right,” Trump said, referring to the Canadian national anthem. “It’s a beautiful thing. I think we’re going to have to keep it for the 51st state.”

He went on to use the pejorative nickname he’s adopted for Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

“I call him Governor Trudeau,” Trump said. “I said, ‘Governor Trudeau’s doing a wonderful job.’”

Musk shows openness to auditing Federal Reserve

Musk suggested he was open to auditing the Federal Reserve and accused Democrats of “treason” as he drew cheers from activists gathered at the Conservative Political Action Conference outside Washington.

Musk spoke about his crusade to cut government spending and downsize the federal workforce with the administration's Department of Government Efficiency.

Musk slammed the Biden administration for its immigration policies, specifically naming an app that was used by nearly 1 million people to be allowed into the U.S. on two-year permits with eligibility to work. He accused Biden and Democrats of doing that as an “investment” to get more support in swing states.

“A lot of people don’t quite appreciate that this was an actual real scam at scale to tilt the scales of democracy in America,” Musk said before Newsmax host Rob Schmitt asked him, “Treason?”

Musk responded, “Treason.”

When Schmitt asked him if he would consider auditing the Federal Reserve, Musk responded, “Yeah, sure, while we’re at it.”

“Waste is pretty much everywhere,” Musk said.

▶Read more on Musk's remarks

Trump praises Republican Governors Association chairman

Trump went on to praise Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, the RGA chairman who has had a complicated relationship with Trump.

The president was fiercely critical of Kemp for certifying his narrow loss in the 2020 election, which Trump falsely claimed was rigged.

The two reconciled before the 2024 election, and Kemp endorsed Trump.

“He was fantastic,” Trump said of Kemp. “We won Georgia by a lot.”

Trump begins speech to Republican governors

Trump is speaking to a meeting of the Republican Governors Association in Washington.

He took the stage to Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA,” continuing his tradition from his campaign.

“I want to get you home to the hockey game,” Trump said to begin. The U.S. and Canadian national teams are playing Thursday evening.

The RGA is charged with recruiting candidates, raising money and coordinating strategy to help Republicans win gubernatorial races.

Trump meets with drug company executives as RFK Jr. settles in at HHS

Drug company executives and the head of PhRMA, their influential lobbying group, have met with Trump at the White House.

“We expressed our commitment to strengthening American leadership in biopharmaceutical innovation, revitalizing domestic manufacturing, and lowering costs for patients,” Alex Schriver, PhRMA’s vice president of public affairs, said in a statement.

Trump met with the group’s president & CEO, Steve Ubl, and group board members.

The meeting comes as Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., takes control of the agency overseeing food and drug safety, Medicare and Medicaid, medical research, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Kennedy disputes the consensus among doctors and scientists that vaccines are safe and effective with a rare risk of complications that is outweighed by the benefits. He’s been highly critical of the medical establishment and drug companies in particular.

What’s in the Senate GOP budget package?

The Republican package would allow up to $175 billion to be spent on border security, including money for mass deportations and building the U.S.-Mexico border wall. It includes a $150 billion boost to the Pentagon and about $20 billion for the Coast Guard.

But even if it’s approved, there won’t be any money flowing just yet.

The budget resolution is simply a framework that sends instructions to the various Senate committees — Homeland Security, Armed Services, Judiciary — to hammer out the details. Everything will eventually be assembled in another package with another vote-a-rama down the road.

Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming, the No. 2-ranking Senate Republican, says GOP lawmakers are acting quickly to get the administration the resources it’s requested and stressed the need to curb illegal border crossings.

The committees may decide to roll back the Biden administration's methane emissions fee, which was approved by Democrats as part of climate change strategies in the Inflation Reduction Act.

▶ Read more on the GOP package

Senators ready to stay up all night for GOP budget

Senators are ready to stay up all night, launching a budget "vote-a-rama" — a crucial, if dreaded, step toward unleashing a $340 billion package Trump's team says it needs for mass deportations and security measures atop the Republican agenda.

It’s a start to a lengthy process between the Senate and the House, which is working on its own package, Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” with some $4.5 trillion in tax cuts and up to $2 trillion reductions in health care and other programs.

Democrats, in the minority, don’t have the power to stop anything but plan to force all-night amendment votes, starting with one prohibiting tax cuts for billionaires.

▶ Read more on the budget debate

Trump administration is flouting an order to temporarily lift a foreign aid freeze, judge says

A federal judge says the Trump administration has kept withholding foreign aid despite a court order and must at least temporarily restore the funding to programs worldwide.

But Judge Amir H. Ali declined a request by nonprofit groups doing business with the U.S. Agency for International Development to find Trump administration officials in contempt of his order.

The Washington, D.C., district court judge says administration officials used his Feb. 13 order to temporarily lift the freeze on foreign aid to instead "come up with a new, post-hoc rationalization for the en masse suspension" of funding.

Ali says that USAID Deputy Secretary Pete Marocco, a Trump appointee, and other top officials have “continued their blanket suspension of funds.”

▶ Read more about the judge's ruling

Kids’ disability rights cases stalled at Education Department

As Trump reshaped the Education Department, parents say action on kids’ disability rights cases ground to a halt.

Standing up for children with disabilities has been a primary role of the department, which enforces the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The freeze on pending cases and Trump’s calls to dismantle the department altogether left many parents worrying about the federal government’s commitment to disabled students.

After The Associated Press asked the Education Department for comment on this reporting, a spokesperson said the department ended the pause on reviews of disability complaints Thursday.

▶ Read more about the pause on reviews of disability complaints

Trump administration throws out deportation protections for roughly half a million Haitians

The Trump administration is throwing out protections that shielded roughly half a million Haitians from deportation, meaning they would lose their work permits and could be eligible to be removed from the country by August.

The decision, announced Thursday, is part of a sweeping effort to carry out mass deportations and specifically to scale back the use of the Temporary Protected Status designation, which was widely expanded under the Biden administration to cover about 1 million immigrants.

The Department of Homeland Security says it is vacating a Biden administration decision to renew Temporary Protected Status — which gives people legal authority to be in the country but doesn't provide a long-term path to citizenship — for Haitians.

▶Read more about the administration's move

Elon Musk brandishes chainsaw on stage at CPAC

Wearing his trademark black “Make America Great Again” hat, Musk began his appearance at the Conservative Political Action Conference by brandishing a chainsaw that was given to him by Argentine President Javier Milei.

The chainsaw was used by Milei during his 2023 presidential campaign to symbolize his proposals to shred the bloated Argentine state. Milei came on stage Thursday and passed the power tool to Musk.

The red chainsaw swung by Musk was engraved with Milei’s slogan, “Viva la libertad, carajo,” which is Spanish for “Long live liberty, damn it.”

Musk is spearheading Trump’s massive effort to cut spending and downsize the federal government.

Judge won’t immediately block Trump administration’s abrupt halt to Catholic refugee funding

A federal judge has refused to block the Trump administration’s abrupt halt to funding of the nation’s largest private refugee resettlement program in a setback to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Judge Trevor McFadden denied the bishops’ request for a temporary restraining order that would have restored the funding but called his ruling “very tentative.”

McFadden, who was appointed by President Donald Trump in 2017, also ordered the two sides to have mediation session with a federal magistrate judge next week.

“A temporary restraining order is an extraordinary remedy that should be granted sparingly,” he said.

The bishops are asking him to prohibit the U.S. State Department from enforcing a Jan. 24 suspension of millions of dollars in aid, saying it has affected nearly 7,000 newly arrived refugees.

▶ Read more about the judge's decision on funding for Catholic refugee program

With insults and bravado, Trump takes campaign messaging into White House

Trump won reelection months ago and is barred from seeking another term. You might not know it from official White House communications.

Trump and his team have continued the aggressive media strategy they honed during his campaign, using crass language, gleefully lashing out at critics and trolling mainstream news organizations.

The approach was on full display this week as White House communications director Steven Cheung used social media to mock an upcoming gathering of anti-Trump Republicans by calling it "the Cuck Convention" on his government account. The word, which describes a man who likes to watch his wife have sex with other men, was frequently used during the campaign to insult and emasculate rivals.

On Tuesday, the official White House account posted a video of shackled migrants being loaded onto planes, with the sounds of clanking chains and whirring jet engines in the background. The caption said "ASMR: Illegal Alien Deportation Flight."

ASMR stands for “autonomous sensory meridian response,” a relaxing and pleasurable feeling some people experience from certain sights or sounds.

Trump “isn’t afraid to defend his positions, and that’s our goal with our messaging every day,” said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.

▶Read more about Trump's White House messaging

Trump to make woman he pardoned for nonviolent drug offense his ‘pardon czar’

Alice Marie Johnson was among the guests at a Black History Month reception at the White House.

Trump called out her name in his remarks and said he’s going to bring her into the administration.

“She’s going to be my pardon czar,” he said.

What the role would entail is unclear. Trump has issued numerous pardons since taking office, including for those convicted of committing offenses during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol, and most recently to former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

Johnson had spent more than two decades serving life without parole for a nonviolent drug offense before Trump pardoned her in 2020.

Judge won’t halt federal worker layoffs

A federal judge is refusing to temporarily block the Trump administration’s mass layoff of federal workers while a lawsuit brought by five unions moves forward.

U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper found the unions must bring their claims under federal employment law rather than in district court.

The union groups representing hundreds of thousands of federal workers argue Trump’s efforts to slash the workforce conflicts with Congress’ power to shape the size and direction of agencies through funding decisions, as well as laws detailing exactly how such layoffs must be carried out.

Attorneys for the Trump administration say the unions failed to show that they were facing the kind of irreparable, immediate harm that would justify an emergency order stopping layoffs.

CDC vaccination committee meeting postponed days after RFK Jr. took over at HHS

A panel of experts that advises the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on vaccine policy will not meet as previously scheduled next week.

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices was to meet in Atlanta Feb. 26-28 — its first gathering since Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was sworn in as Health and Human Services secretary.

Kennedy was critical of the panel during his confirmation process, and it’s on a list of federal advisory committees that are being reviewed, according to an executive order issued by Trump on Wednesday.

Kennedy also vowed to investigate the childhood vaccine schedule that prevents measles, polio and other dangerous diseases when he spoke to HHS employees this week.

Chinese official says there’s no winning with tariffs

A senior Chinese economic official says there is no winner in trade wars and tariffs and that Beijing will work with the international community to safeguard global trade.

Zhao Zhao, counselor of economy and commerce at the Chinese Embassy in Washington, said the move by the Trump administration to impose 10% tariffs on Chinese goods was “without authorization.”

“It represents a typical form of unilateralism and trade protectionism,” he told reporters.

Trump said he has imposed the tariff due to China’s role in making the opioid fentanyl.

Beijing has taken the case to the World Trade Organization. Zhao said much is at stake for the world’s two largest economies to handle their trade relations appropriately.

Groups sue Trump administration over end to protections for Venezuelans

Two nonprofit groups have filed a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s decision to end temporary legal status that has shielded more than 600,000 Venezuelans living in the U.S. from deportation.

Casa and Make the Road New York contend that an order to end Temporal Protected Status for Venezuelans is unconstitutional.

The lawsuit was filed in Maryland. It’s the second to challenge the Department of Homeland Security’s decision to revoke an 18-month extension of TPS that was granted by the Biden administration in January.

That order affects more than 348,000 Venezuelans living in the U.S. whose temporary protection expires in April. TPS protections for other Venezuelans are set to expire at the end of September.

EPA union challenges return-to-office order

The largest union at the Environmental Protection Agency is seeking to block a Trump administration mandate that workers return to the office full-time.

The American Federation of Government Employees Council 238, which represents more than 8,000 EPA employees, filed grievances against the agency over a memo requiring in-person work “to the maximum extent possible” starting next week.

“Our hallways have been too vacant, desks are empty, and cubicles are filled with unoccupied chairs,” EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said in a video message to employees.

The union said the order violates a collective bargaining agreement that allows flexible schedules for about half the agency’s staff.

FBI directors are given 10-year terms

FBI directors are given 10-year terms as a way to insulate them from political influence and keep them from becoming beholden to a particular president or administration.

Patel was selected to replace Christopher Wray, who was picked by Trump in 2017 and served for more than seven years but who was seen by him as insufficiently loyal. He resigned before Trump took office.

Since Wray’s resignation, the FBI has been led by interim leaders, who have clashed with the Justice Department over its demands for details about the agents who investigated the Capitol riot. Trump has said that he expects some of those agents will be fired.

Patel denied having any knowledge of discussions about potential firings.

Bomb threat forces evacuation of Kennedy Center

The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts was evacuated Thursday in response to a bomb threat.

A statement from the Kennedy Center said that the center’s multiple buildings were “evacuated due to a bomb threat targeting Shen Yun performances. Security acted swiftly, following existing protocols.”

Police and bomb-disposal units arrived as visitors were ushered outside. Images posted on social media showed video monitors throughout the complex displaying a red screen with the message: "Emergency Alert, Evacuate"

The Shen Yun artistic troupe is an offshoot of the Falun Gong movement, an anti-Beijing spiritual group. The troupe has performed regularly at the Kennedy Center for years and was set to begin a 10-day run with a performance Thursday evening.

As of 2 p.m. EST, a spokesman for the U.S. Park Police, which has jurisdiction over the Kennedy Center, said the Park Police were “no longer on the scene”

A Kennedy Center spokesman confirmed that the evacuation order had been lifted.

Only two Republicans vote against confirming Patel

Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska were the lone Republican holdouts. The vote was 51-49.

National security adviser says Trump is 'frustrated' with Zelenskyy

Trump’s national security adviser, Mike Waltz, said the U.S. president is “obviously very frustrated” with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Waltz’s remark during a White House briefing continues days of barbs the leaders have traded as Trump has refocused U.S. foreign policy toward pressuring Ukraine to make concessions to Russia that would end the war.

“Some of the rhetoric coming out of Kyiv, frankly, and insults to President Trump were unacceptable,” Waltz said. He criticized Zelenskyy for rejecting a Trump proposal to “co-invest” in mining Ukrainian natural resources as a way to refund the U.S. for billions of dollars in weapons and economic assistance.

Waltz did not respond when asked whether Trump sees Russian President Vladimir Putin as a dictator, a day after Trump called Zelenskyy, who was elected in 2019, a “dictator without elections.” He also didn’t directly answer a question about whether Trump thinks Zelenskyy or Putin was more responsible for the war.

Patel inherits an agency gripped by turmoil

Patel inherits an FBI gripped by turmoil as the Justice Department has forced out a group of senior bureau officials in the past month. It's also made a highly unusual demand for the names of thousands of agents who participated in investigations related to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.

Patel has spoken of his desire to implement major changes at the FBI, including a renewed emphasis on its traditional crime-fighting duties rather than the intelligence-gathering and national security work that has come to define its mandate over the past two decades.

He has also echoed Trump's desire for retribution. Patel raised alarm among Democrats for saying before he was nominated that he would "come after" anti-Trump "conspirators" in the federal government and the media.

Republicans rally around Patel as right person for FBI job

Republicans angry over what they see as law enforcement bias against conservatives during the Biden administration and criminal investigations into Trump rallied behind Patel as the right person for the FBI director’s job.

“Mr. Patel wants to make the FBI accountable once again — get back the reputation that the FBI has had historically for law enforcement,” Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said before Patel was confirmed.

Democrats complained about Patel’s lack of management experience compared with previous FBI directors.

“I am absolutely sure of this one thing: this vote will haunt anyone who votes for him. They will rue the day they did it,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat.

About a half-dozen Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee gathered outside FBI headquarters before the vote in a last-ditch plea to derail his confirmation.

Senate narrowly confirms Patel as FBI director despite Democratic concerns

The Senate has narrowly voted to confirm Kash Patel as director of the FBI, moving to place him atop the nation's premier federal law enforcement agency despite doubts from Democrats about his qualifications and concerns he will do Trump's bidding and go after the president's adversaries.

“I cannot imagine a worse choice,” Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., told colleagues before the 51-49 vote by the GOP-controlled Senate. Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska were the lone Republican holdouts.

A Trump loyalist who has fiercely criticized the agency, Patel will inherit an FBI gripped by turmoil as the Justice Department over the past month has forced out a group of senior bureau officials and made a highly unusual demand for the names of thousands of agents who participated in investigations related to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.

Trump calls US hockey team before 4 Nations Face-Off final against Canada

Trump is also looking forward to watching the game Thursday night between the U.S. and Canada, the White House press secretary said.

“And we look forward to the United States beating our soon-to-be 51st state, Canada,” she said.

Trump has been pressing the idea of Canada becoming the 51st state as part of his trade dispute with America’s neighbor to the north. Canada’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau, has said that will never happen.

Leavitt gives journalist for X the first question, talks up Musk’s platform

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt says Trump has signed 73 executive orders in his first month as president.

Leavitt and other White House officials used the press briefing Thursday to highlight Trump’s actions over the past 30 days.

Among the executive orders Trump has signed are efforts to eliminate birthright citizenship, gain more presidential control over the federal bureaucracy and workforce, and eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion measures.

Trump signed 73 executive orders in his first 30 days

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt says Trump has signed 73 executive orders in his first month as president.

Leavitt and other White House officials used the press briefing Thursday to highlight Trump’s actions over the past 30 days.

Among the executive orders Trump has signed are efforts to eliminate birthright citizenship, gain more presidential control over the federal bureaucracy and workforce, and eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion measures.

Leaders of France and Britain to meet with Trump next week

Trump will host French President Emmanuel Macron at the White House next Monday, followed by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday.

Trump will also hold the first Cabinet meeting of his second term next Wednesday, said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.

Murkowski urges Congress to ‘stand up’ against efforts by Trump to exceed his authority

Alaska U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski said Congress needs to “stand up” against efforts by Trump that exceed his authority, including any attempts to withhold federal funds that Congress has already appropriated.

If Congress permits that, it effectively cedes some of its authority, the centrist Republican and frequent critic of Trump told a tele-town hall attended by more than 1,000 people late Wednesday.

“We have to stand up. Now, the ‘we’ has to be more than just me. And this is where it becomes more of a challenge, but it requires speaking out. It requires saying, ‘That violates the law, that violates the authorities of the executive.’”

It also requires using relationships that have been built within the administration “to go back to the executive and say, ‘There is a way to accomplish what you are seeking, but you have to do it within the confines of the law.’” she said.

Murkowski said some Alaskans will want her to “raise hell” and fight the administration while others want her to back the president.

Layoffs hit agency devoted to preventing overdose deaths and suicides

Roughly 100 people have lost their jobs at the U.S. government agency devoted to preventing overdose deaths and suicides, according to a Health and Human Services official who wasn’t authorized to disclose the figure and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

The dismissals last weekend – part of the White House’s efforts to shrink the government workforce – amounted to about 10% of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration staff, the official said.

SAMHSA provides expertise and grant money to communities to prevent overdoses and suicides, operates treatment locators where people can find addiction treatment providers, and supports efforts to enhance mental health. The agency operates and promotes awareness of the 988 suicide and crisis hotline.

President Donald Trump made the opioid crisis a priority during his first term. In 2017, Trump became the first president to declare the opioid crisis a national health emergency. In 2018, he signed a bill increasing federal opioid funding to record levels.

Senators applauds McConnell

About 20 senators from both sides of the political aisle gathered in the Senate chamber as McConnell paid tribute to his family, his home state and to the Senate itself, having announced he will not seek reelection.

“The Senate is still equipped for work of great consequence,” he told them. “And, to the disappointment of my critics, I’m still here on the job.”

As he concluded, Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C. motioned that the audience of senators, staff and Capitol visitors be allowed to applaud for up to 30 seconds.

Then, the Republican senators in attendance lined up to greet McConnell and gathered around him.

He took out a tissue and made a joke, prompting the group to laugh. Senate Majority Leader John Thune then gave him a warm handshake and a dozen other senators soon did so as well.

Venezuelans sue Trump administration over ends of temporary protection

A group of Venezuelans is suing the Trump administration over its decision to end temporary protections that shield hundreds of thousands of immigrants from the South American country from deportation.

The lawsuit by the National TPS Alliance and eight Venezuelans alleges that Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem illegally revoked an 18-month extension of Temporary Protection Status, or TPS, for Venezuelans that was granted by the Biden administration in January.

Noem’s order affects 348,202 Venezuelans living in the U.S. with TPS slated to expire in April. That’s about half of the approximately 600,000 who have the protection. The remaining protections are set to expire at the end of September.

“Venezuelan TPS holders, like all TPS holders, are lawfully present here pursuant to protection granted because it is not safe for them to return to their country,” said Jose Palma, coordinator of the National TPS Alliance.

The lawsuit was filed in San Francisco, at Federal Court in the Northern District of California.

Musk and Argentina’s Milei to meet at CPAC

Billionaire Elon Musk, who has become Trump’s close adviser spearheading a massive effort to cut spending and downsize the federal government, is set to meet with Argentine President Javier Milei, who is in Washington to attend the Conservative Political Action Conference.

Musk was announced as a speaker for the conference earlier on Thursday by Mercedes Schlapp, a CPAC organizer. The scheduled meeting between Musk and Milei was confirmed by a person who insisted on anonymity to discuss an event that hadn’t yet been announced publicly and said the meeting was private and had been planned for weeks.

Milei was the first foreign leader to meet with Trump after he won the election, but before he took office. He was also invited to the inauguration. A self-described “anarcho-capitalist,” Milei has received praise frequently from Musk for implementing a series of austerity measures, laying off tens of thousands of government workers, freezing public infrastructure projects to fix Argentina’s long mismanaged economy.

-By Adriana Gomez Licon

Vance says American culture has sought to turn everyone into ‘androgynous idiots’

Vance told conservatives that American culture is sending a message that is diminishing masculinity.

“I think that it wants to turn everybody into, whether male or female, into androgynous idiots who think the same, talk the same, and act the same. We actually think God made male and female for a purpose,” Vance said.

He told the CPAC audience that when it comes to the Trump administration, “We want you guys to thrive as young men and as young women and we’re going to help with our public policy to make it possible to do that.”

He said Trump appeals in particular to young men because “He doesn’t allow the media to tell him he can’t make a joke or he can’t have an original thought.”

Sen. Mitch McConnell won’t seek reelection in Kentucky in 2026

Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell is announcing on Thursday that he won't seek reelection next year, ending a decades-long tenure as a power broker who championed conservative causes but ultimately ceded ground to the fierce GOP populism of President Donald Trump.

McConnell, the longest-serving Senate party leader in U.S. history, chose his 83rd birthday to share his decision not to run for another term in Kentucky and to retire when his current term ends. He informed The Associated Press of his decision before he was set to address colleagues in a speech on the Senate floor.

His announcement begins the epilogue of a storied career as a master strategist, one in which he helped forge a conservative Supreme Court and steered the Senate through tax cuts, presidential impeachment trials and fierce political fights.

Administration officials to address reporters

National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller and National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett will address reporters at the White House on Thursday as part of the press briefing, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced.

Leavitt said in a post on X that the officials will be there “to discuss the President’s accomplishments so far.”

Vance to speak at annual Conservative Political Action conference

People are gathering in a Washington suburb for the annual Conservative Political Action Conference, where Vice President JD Vance will open as the first speaker.

President Donald Trump is scheduled to appear on Saturday, the organization announced.

Attorney General Pam Bondi and House Speaker Mike Johnson will be speaking later Thursday as well as Steve Bannon, a popular Trump ally. Other international figures such as former UK Prime Minister Liz Truss and Argentine President Javier Milei are also appearing at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in Oxon Hill, Maryland. Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni is scheduled to address attendees at the conference, but her office said it will be a video appearance.

A news conference between Zelenskyy and Trump's Ukraine envoy is cancelled at US request

A Kyiv official says a news conference after talks between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and President Donald Trump’s Ukraine envoy was cancelled Thursday at the request of the U.S.

The scheduled comments to the media by Zelenskyy and retired U.S. Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine and Russia, were called off after their meeting, the Ukrainian president’s spokesman Serhii Nikiforov said.

Kellogg’s trip to Kyiv coincided with recent feuding between Trump and Zelenskyy that has bruised their personal relations and cast further doubt on the future of U.S. support for Ukraine’s war effort.

Thursday marks a month since Trump took office

He’s expected to host a reception for Black History Month in the afternoon, and then go to the National Building Museum to give a speech to a meeting of the Republican Governors Association.

Also on tap is a press briefing with the White House press secretary and other administration officials.

Trump will be signing executive orders at a different desk in the White House

The Resolute Desk, an Oval Office mainstay, “is being lightly refinished,” Trump posted on social media. The desk was built from oak used in the British Arctic exploration ship HMS Resolute, and Queen Victoria gave it as a gift to President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1880.

In the meantime, Trump said he would sit at the “C&O” desk previously used by President George H.W. Bush. It was originally built around 1920 for the owners of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway, hence the name.

“This is a beautiful, but temporary replacement!” Trump said.

President Trump is targeting more organizations as he tries to downsize the federal bureaucracy

He listed four targets in his executive order on Wednesday, including the United States Institute of Peace, which promotes conflict resolution around the world, and the Presidio Trust, which manages a park in San Francisco.

Both organizations were created by Congress. The executive order said they “shall reduce the performance of their statutory functions and associated personnel to the minimum presence and function required by law.”

Trump also directed the elimination of various advisory panels, including the Health Equity Advisory Committee, the Advisory Committee on Long COVID and the Community Bank Advisory Council.

Trump says federal government should ‘take over’ DC, backing congressional GOP push

Trump on Wednesday threw his support behind congressional efforts for a federal takeover of the nation's capital, saying he approves putting the District of Columbia back under direct federal control.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump complained about crime and homelessness in the district, saying, “I think we should take over Washington, D.C. — make it safe.” He added, “I think that we should govern District of Columbia.”

Under terms of the city’s Home Rule authority, Congress already vets all D.C. laws and can outright overturn them. Some congressional Republicans have sought to go further, eroding decades of the city’s limited autonomy and putting it back under direct federal control, as it was at its founding.

▶ Read more about Trump's suggestion for the federal government to take over DC

Senate pushes toward confirmation of Kash Patel as FBI director

The Senate was set to vote Thursday on whether to confirm Kash Patel as FBI director, a decision that could place him atop the nation's premier federal law enforcement agency despite concerns from Democrats over his qualifications and the prospect that he would do President Donald Trump's bidding.

Patel cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee last week by a 12-10, party-line vote.

He is expected to be confirmed unless more than three Republican senators defy Trump’s will and vote against him, which is seen as unlikely.

Patel, a Trump loyalist who has fiercely criticized the agency that he is poised to lead, would inherit an FBI gripped by turmoil. The Justice Department in the last month has forced out a group of senior FBI officials and made a highly unusual demand for the names of thousands of agents who participated in investigations related to Jan. 6.

Trump has said that he expects some of those agents will be fired.

▶ Read more about Patel's expected confirmation

Trump and Musk say they like working together and will keep at it. Will it last?

It's been a burning political question for weeks: How long will Trump — who doesn't like sharing the spotlight — be able to do just that with Musk, a billionaire also overly fond of attention?

In a joint Fox News Channel interview that aired Tuesday, both insisted they like each other a lot and would stick with their arrangement despite what Trump said were attempts by the media to “drive us apart.”

At times, Trump sat back as Fox News Channel's Sean Hannity heaped praise on Musk in an attempt to counteract a Democratic narrative that he's a callous and unelected force out to destroy the government and upend civil society.

There were also moments when Trump and Musk were all but finishing each other’s sentences, as if they were part of a buddy comedy and not the president and his most powerful aide.

▶ Read more about Trump and Musk's friendship

Trump backs idea to send some DOGE savings to American citizens

Trump said at an investment conference in Miami on Wednesday that he likes the idea of giving some of the savings from Musk's Department of Government Efficiency back to U.S. citizens as a kind of dividend, and that the administration is considering a concept in which 20% of the savings produced by DOGE's cost-cutting efforts goes to American citizens and another 20% goes to paying down the national debt.

Trump also said the potential for dividend payments would incentivize people to report wasteful spending.

▶ Read more about Musk's plan to give DOGE savings to Americans

Credit: Mark Schiefelbein/AP

Credit: Mark Schiefelbein/AP