President Trump speaks on USPS, DOGE, & extra
President Donald Trump answered questions from reporters within the Oval Workplace after the swearing in ceremony for Howard Lutnick as his secretary of commerce. Trump was requested a couple of vary of matters from the USA Postal Service (USPS), the Division of Authorities Effectivity (DOGE), tariffs, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and extra.
Elon Musk urged Saturday that every one federal staff will likely be required to report what “they acquired finished” final week at work, and {that a} failure to reply would lead to a lack of job.
Right here’s what to know:
Elon Musk tweet
FILE – Elon Musk speaks with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump as they watch the launch of the sixth check flight of the SpaceX Starship rocket on November 19, 2024 in Brownsville, Texas. (Picture by Brandon Bell/Getty Photos)
What they’re saying:
Elon Musk tweeted on Saturday that every one federal staff will likely be requested to report “what they acquired finished final week,” and that failure to answer could be thought of a resignation.
“In line with President Trump’s directions, all federal staff will shortly obtain an e mail requesting to grasp what they acquired finished final week,” his tweet reads.
“Failure to reply will likely be taken as a resignation,” it continued.
Earlier on Saturday, President Trump wrote on his Reality Social platform that Musk was “doing an awesome job” however that he’d prefer to see him “get extra aggressive.”
Musk responded, “Will do, Mr. President!” a number of hours earlier than posting in regards to the e mail that will be despatched to federal staff.
RELATED: Who’s in control of DOGE? White Home says it isn’t Elon Musk
E-mail to federal staff
Screenshots of the e-mail despatched to FOX Tv Stations by a federal worker who wished to stay nameless. (Photos: FTS)
What we all know:
Musk stated an e mail was going to federal staff that will request details about “what they did” final week.
An nameless supply despatched screenshots of the e-mail to FOX Tv Stations. The e-mail requests “roughly 5 bullets of what you completed final week,” and that the staff cc their supervisor.
The e-mail says the deadline is Monday at 11:59 p.m. EST.
The e-mail didn’t seem to instantly reference a threatened job loss by assumed resignation, as Musk beforehand talked about in his tweet.
What we do not know:
It isn’t recognized who among the many federal staff acquired the e-mail. The Related Press reported the e-mail was despatched to personnel together with some judges, court docket employees and federal jail officers.
Trump firing federal staff
The backstory:
Layoffs and firings have affected many federal departments in current weeks.
Since Donald Trump took workplace in January, certainly one of his prime priorities has been slicing and reorganizing spending inside the federal authorities.
The president has tapped billionaire businessman Elon Musk to steer the so-called Division of Authorities Effectivity (DOGE), which has been tasked with discovering and prioritizing what to chop. Hundreds of federal authorities staff have been laid off or fired within the course of.
By the numbers:
The federal authorities consists of about 2.4 million civilians. 20% of them reside within the Washington, D.C. area.
There isn’t any official determine accessible for the entire firings or layoffs, however The Related Press has confirmed, or realized through sources, and reported the next variety of firings in these departments:
- Agriculture Division: Layoffs of about 2,000 “probationary, non-firefighting staff” have been anticipated
- Protection Division: 5,400 probationary staff
- Division of Well being and Human Providers: About 700 probationary staff with the CDC, and others at different companies
- Division of Homeland Safety: 405 probationary staffers
- Division of Veterans Affairs: 1,000 staff serving for lower than two years
- Schooling Division: A minimum of 39 individuals
- Vitality Division: As many as 350 staff
- Inspectors common: A minimum of 17
- Inner Income Service: Cuts are anticipated quickly for hundreds of probationary staff, in line with sources
- Justice Division: Greater than a dozen profession staff
- Nationwide Park Service: About 1,000 newly-hired staff
What they’re saying:
Based on the company’s web site, as of Feb. 17, 2025, DOGE estimates its financial savings round $55 billion. The company attributes this to “a mix of fraud detection/deletion, contract/lease cancelations, contract/lease renegotiations, asset gross sales, grant cancelations, workforce reductions, programmatic adjustments, and regulatory financial savings.”
RELATED: USDA by chance fired fowl flu staff and is now attempting to rehire them
The Supply: Data on this article was taken from two tweets made by Elon Musk on Feb. 22, 2025. Background data on DOGE and its actions was taken from earlier FOX Tv Station reportings and DOGE’s official web site. Division layoff numbers have been reported by The Related Press. Screenshots of the e-mail have been despatched to FTS by a supply that wished to stay nameless for worry of retaliation. This story was reported from Detroit.
