Elon Musk praises Doge efforts to cut federal workforce after judge ruling – as it happened | Trump administration

Summary

Donald Trump says he expects he will be sued by the Associated Press for blocking the news organization’s access to the Oval Office and Air Force One, but that it “doesn’t matter”.

“Maybe they’ll win,” he said. “It’s just something that we feel strongly about.”

Trump’s statement came the same day that dozens of major news organizations – including Fox News, CNN and the Washington Post – sent a letter to the White House, asking the president to lift his ban on the wire service.

Trump first barred the Associated Press from the White House press pool on 11 February over the outlet’s decision to continue using Gulf of Mexico rather than Trump’s preferred “Gulf of America.”

As protesters gathered outside the headquarters of US health agencies to call attention to mass layoffs devastating the federal service in recent days, Guardian reporter Melody Schreiber spoke with four employees at the CDC who were terminated in recent days:

When one CDC employee attempted to log into their laptop on Wednesday morning, they received an error message and realized they were locked out of the system, unable to communicate with their team or even say goodbye. They’d been laid off overnight and because they have not yet received a letter, they don’t know the reason for their termination. This employee had years of experience and excellent performance reviews, and was not probationary.

Here’s the full story:

During his address to the Republican Governors Association this evening, Donald Trump once again voiced his desire to make Canada the 51st US state.

“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. “It’s a beautiful thing. I think we’re going to have to keep it for the 51st state.”

He then went on to call the Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau, “Governor Trudeau.”

Trudeau announced he would resign as the leader of Canada’s ruling Liberal party just before Trump’s inauguration. The president’s subsequent threats to levy tariffs against Canada thrust Trudeau into the negotiating spotlight, as he works to prevent the president from implementing such tariffs.

Senators are preparing to stay up all night to vote on the Republican budget, a $340bn package, which includes an allowance for $175bn in border security measures, including mass deportations and work on a border wall.

If approved, the budget won’t go into affect immediately. Senate committees must then approve the budget while the House votes on its own package.

A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to temporarily restore foreign aid funding, but declined to hold the administration in contempt after ignoring his previous order.

The US district judge Amir H Ali said the administration has “continued their blanket suspension of funds” despite his prior order and must stop withholding foreign aid while the case proceeds.

Ahead of his speech at the Republican Governors Association this evening, Donald Trump said he’d endorse congressman Byron Donalds if he decides to run to replace Florida governor Ron DeSantis when DeSantis’ term expires next year.

“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!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Donalds has not yet announced his candidacy.

Drug company executives and lobbyists met with Donald Trump today, as pharmaceutical skeptic Robert F Kennedy Jr takes over leadership at Health and Human Services. News of the meeting came the same day that, while speaking at a Black History Month reception, Donald Trump announced Pfizer executive Albert Bourla was in the audience. Bourla was vocally booed by many attendees, a symbol of the right’s opposition to the Covid-19 vaccine developer.

Speaking about the meeting with Trump, the vice-president of public affairs for the drug industry lobbying group PhRMA, Alex Schriver, said: “We expressed our commitment to strengthening American leadership in biopharmaceutical innovation, revitalizing domestic manufacturing and lowering costs for patients.”

Speaking at a meeting of the Republican Governors Association this evening, Donald Trump celebrated former Republican governors and now cabinet members – the interior secretary Doug Burgum and the energy secretary Chris Wright.

The president again hinted at his desire to run for an unconstitutional third term.

“We raised $608m in three weeks. Can you believe it? So we’ve got that money, and I got to spend it somewhere. and they tell me, I’m not allowed to run. I’m not sure, is that’s true?” Trump said. “I guess it means I’m going to be spending it on some of my friends.”

Today so far

Thanks for joining our coverage of US politics today, one month into Donald Trump’s second term. This afternoon has been packed with headlines from the Conservative Political Action Conference, where tech billionaire and head of the so-called “department of government efficiency” (Doge) Elon Musk spoke earlier today. Donald Trump, who spoke from the White House in honor of Black History Month this morning, is expected to speak at the Republican Governors Association’s meeting shortly.

In the meantime, here’s a recap of the latest developments:

• Donald Trump spoke at the White House’s Black History Month reception, alongside golfer Tiger Woods, where he struck an uneasy tone celebrating Black History Month while also criticizing diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.

• Elon Musk spoke at the Conservative Political Action Committee this evening, wielding a chainsaw gifted to him by far-right Argentinian president Javier Milei. Musk reiterated the president’s criticism of Ukraine, referenced his and the president’s plan to send Americans dividends from the so-called Doge, and repeated his and the president’s false claim that dead people are receiving social security payments.

• Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon took the stage following Musk, where he celebrated Mitch McConnell’s retirement and Kash Patel’s confirmation.

• A federal judge ruled that the Trump administration’s mass firings of federal workers can continue while the lawsuit moves forward.

• A vaccine policy committee at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will not meet as scheduled next week, just days after vaccine skeptic Robert F Kennedy Jr was sworn in as head of Health and Human Services.

• New York governor Kathy Hochul will not immediately remove the embattled New York City mayor Eric Adams from office, but will instead advocate greater oversight of City Hall, she announced at a press conference today.

• More than 50,000 people could by laid off at the defense department under the Trump administration’s mass firings, CNN reports, citing an unnamed US official.

More than 50,000 people could be laid off at defense department starting as early as Friday – report

New York governor won’t remove embattled mayor Eric Adams from office – for now

The Trump administration is rolling back deportation protections that shield nearly half a million Haitians, Homeland Security announced today.

The humanitarian relief, called Temporary Protected Status, allows many Haitian immigrants to work, but does not provide a pathway to citizenship. Without TPS, thousands of Haitians will become eligible to be deported as early as 3 August.

The decision marks another step by the Trump administration to deliver on the president’s campaign promise that he would oversee the “largest deportation operation in American history”.

During his conversation with NewsMax host Robb Schmitt at CPAC this evening, Elon Musk suggested that Democrats directed funding to “illegal immigrants” because “every one of them is a customer”, or potential voter.

“They took money from Fema, meant for helping Americans in distress, and sent that money to luxury hotels for illegal immigrants in New York,” Musk said, repeating a false claim that Fema aid was redirected from red-leaning states after Hurricanes Helene and Milton.

“You just need to look at basic incentives,” he added. “If the probability that an illegal is going to vote Democrat at some point, whether it’s cheating, but eventually they can become citizens, if the probability is like 80, 90% just look at California, which is super majority Dem. Then the incentive is to maximize the number of illegals in the country.”

Musk briefly worked illegally in the US after abandoning a graduate studies program in California, according to a Washington Post report.

“That is why the Biden administration was pushing to get as many illegals as possible and spend every dollar possible to get as many, because every one of them is a customer, every one is a voter,” he said.

Bannon celebrates McConnell retirement and Patel confirmation in CPAC address