Elon Musk’s ultimatum to federal workers asking them to justify their work or risk losing their jobs is being met with pushback from agency and department heads – even those most loyal to President Donald Trump.
FBI Director Kash Patel and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, both Trump allies, instructed workers to ignore Musk’s request.
Hundreds of thousands of employees received an email from Musk requesting they respond with five things they did in the prior week by Monday evening. But many current and former lawmakers have raised questions about the reasonableness and legality of the request.
Officials in the State Department also told employees to disregard the email saying, “No employee is obligated to report their activities outside of their department chain of command”.
Earlier on Sunday, Trump mocked those who were criticizing Musk’s email by posting a meme on Truth Social that shows the cartoon Spongebob Squarepants making a list similar to the one Musk requested that includes, “cried about Trump” and “read some emails”.
Musk originally posted. the meme on his X account.
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.”
Katie Hawkinson23 February 2025 20:30
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.
Ariana Baio23 February 2025 20:19
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.
John Bowden23 February 2025 20:00
Chris Christie says government is being managed like a ‘clown car’
Former New Jersey governor Chris Christie compared the government’s current management to that of a “clown car” and accused Elon Musk of overreaching his authority.
Christie, a former Trump ally who has broken away from the president in recent years, said Musk is likely overstepping his legal authority in asking government employees to explain their work or resign.
Speaking with ABC’s This Week on Sunday, Christie called Musk’s effort a “complete overstep.”
Christie said every job “varies from week to week” so it would be unfair to judge a person’s work from one week.
He also criticized Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency team, claiming they were poorly managing the government. He used FBI Director Kash Patel’s recent email asking federal workers to ignore Musk’s directive as an example.
“This type of idea, of Musk coming in there with the chainsaw he was famously brandishing at a political event in Washington D.C. this week, it’s a lot more complicated than that. Running government is a lot more complicated than that and hopefully they get their act together at some point,” Christie said.
Ariana Baio23 February 2025 19:30
Hegseth says Trump ‘deserves’ to hand-pick advisers in defense of Friday night Pentagon firing spree
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth blamed Democrats for “mischaracterizing” the firing spree carried out by President Donald Trump at the Pentagon and said on Sunday that the military’s top brass was not at risk of political reprisals.
John Bowden23 February 2025 19:00
Trump administration official says Ukraine ‘provoked’ Russia
Steve Witkoff, the special envoy to the Middle East, said on Sunday that Russia should not be totally blamed for invading Ukraine because they were “provoked” by Ukraine’s desire to join NATO.
Witkoff took the position that President Donald Trump has recently taken, claiming, “The war didn’t need to happen. It was provoked. It doesn’t necessarily mean it was provoked by the Russians.”
“There were all kinds of conversations back then about Ukraine joining NATO. The president has spoken about this. That didn’t need to happen. It basically became a threat to the Russians,” Witkoff said on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday.
“Those are real facts”
Ariana Baio23 February 2025 18:30
National security adviser stops short of calling Russia the aggressor
National Security Adviser Mike Waltz refused to agree that Russia was the aggressor in the conflict with Ukraine, during an interview with Fox News host Maria Bartiromo.
“Can you acknowledge that Russia is the aggressor here?”
“Well, you know what, who would you rather have going toe-to-toe with the likes of Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong-un, Xi or anyone else? Joe Biden or Donald Trump?” Waltz answered.
Waltz insinuated Russia only invaded Ukraine when George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Biden were presidents but that it would not under Trump because of his “strength”.
Last week, Trump falsely asserted Ukraine had started the war and called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a “dictator”
Ariana Baio23 February 2025 18:00
Trump to name new FBI Director Kash Patel as ATF head: report
Newly-confirmed FBI Director Kash Patel is expected to be named the acting head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, officials told ABC News.
Patel, who was sworn in as FBI director on Friday, could take on the new position as early as next week, a Justice Department official told the news outlet.
The Trump loyalist has never been an ATF agent.
ATF is a law enforcement agency within the Department of Justice that prevents and investigates federal offenses involving firearms, explosives, acts of arson, bombings and illegal tracking of alcohol and tobacco products among other things.
The Independent has asked the White House for comment.
Ariana Baio23 February 2025 17:30
Republican congressman says Trump ‘joked’ about running for a third term
Markywayne Mullin, a Republican Senator for Oklahoma, defended President Donald Trump’s claim about running for a third term, saying it was “a joke” and people need to take it as a joke.
“First of all, he joked,” Mullin said when asked if he would support changing the Constitution to allow Trump to do so on Meet the Press on Sunday.
“And so I think we need to take that as a joke, not being literal,” he added.
He pushed back on claims that Trump was being “deadly serious” about running for a third term saying, “people need to take it as a joke.”
Mullin added that he would only change the Constitution if Americans wanted to ratify the Constitution to allow Trump to run for a third term.
Ariana Baio23 February 2025 17:00
Trump takeover sees Kennedy Center suffer ticket sale collapse, says report
Donald Trump’s move to take control of Washington D.C’s John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts has led to a staggering 50 percent drop in ticket sales, according to a report.
Trump fired the Kennedy Center’s leadership upon his return to the Oval Office and put MAGA loyalist Richard Grenell in charge of the famed institution.
In the week that followed the decision ticket sales halved, Kennedy Center staff members told The Washington Post anonymously for fear of reprisals.
Graeme Massie23 February 2025 16:30
