What to know today
- President Donald Trump signed two executive orders today: one on ending federal funding to schools that require Covid vaccines and another that establishes a panel that he's calling the "Energy Dominance Council."
- Trump and Elon Musk's DOGE are pressing ahead with their efforts to downsize the federal government. Agencies have dismissed thousands of employees over the past two days, with many of them probationary workers who have been on the job for less than two years.
- Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and a coalition of senators met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump spoke with Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin this week and urged them to begin peace talks. Zelenskyy told NBC News today that it would be "very difficult" for Ukraine to survive without U.S. military support.
Trump officials pitch Zelenskyy on U.S. owning 50% of Ukraine’s rare earth minerals
The Trump administration has suggested to Ukraine that the United States be granted 50% ownership of the country’s rare earth minerals, and signaled an openness to deploying American troops there to guard them if there’s a deal with Russia to end the war, according to four U.S. officials.
Rather than pay for the minerals, the ownership agreement would be a way for Ukraine to reimburse the U.S. for the billions of dollars in weapons and support its provided to Kyiv since the war began in February 2022, two of the officials said.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent presented the proposal for the U.S. to own half of Ukraine’s rare earth minerals to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a draft contract he brought to their meeting on Wednesday in Kyiv, according to eight U.S. officials briefed on the meeting.
DOGE 'has arrived onsite' at NASA, space agency's acting administrator says
NASA's acting administrator Janet Petro informed employees today that staffers from the advisory Department of Government Efficiency “has arrived onsite at the agency,” according to a memo obtained by CNBC.
“We anticipate that they will start reviewing our contracts to find efficiencies,” wrote Petro, who was appointed to her position by Trump.
She added that NASA’s leaders were “tracking” the recent executive order which would cause “large-scale reductions in force, among other things.”
“NASA intends to comply with this and all executive orders,” the memo said.
Tech billionaire and Trump ally Elon Musk, who leads DOGE, is the owner of space technology company SpaceX. The company works closely with NASA, and has billions of dollars’ worth of government contracts with the agency.
Sen. Murkowski says rash of fed firings could 'do more harm than good'
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, laid into the Trump administration's overhaul of the federal workforce, which has resulted in mass firings.
"Many of these abrupt terminations will do more harm than good, stunting opportunities in Alaska and leaving holes in our communities," she said in in a post to X.
She said that while she agrees with the administration's goal to reduce the size of the federal government, "this approach is bringing confusion, anxiety, and now trauma to our civil servants—some of whom moved their families and packed up their whole lives to come here."
"Indiscriminate workforce cuts aren’t efficient and won’t fix the federal budget, but they will hurt good people who have answered the call to public service to do important work for our nation," she added.
Murkowski, who at times has been more critical of Trump than many of her Republican colleagues in the Senate, said that she and her staff have been in touch with federal officials to try to "get answers about the impact of these terminations."
"Our goal is to forestall unnecessary harm—for people and Alaska’s federal priorities—but the response so far has been evasive and inadequate," she said.
Zelenskyy: ‘Very difficult’ for Ukraine to survive without U.S. military support
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said today that it would be “very, very, very difficult” for Ukraine to survive without U.S. military support, both now as it tries to repel Russia’s invasion and in the future after the war ends.
“Probably it will be very, very, very difficult. And of course, in all the difficult situations, you have a chance,” Zelenskyy told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference. “But we will have low chance, low chance, to survive without support of the United States. I think it’s very important, critical.”
“I don’t want to think about” fighting against Russia without American support, Zelenskyy told “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker.
Education Department threatens to withhold funding from schools that don't 'remove all DEI programming'
The Education Department today threatened to cut federal funding for schools that don't "remove all DEI programming" within two weeks, according to a letter posted to X that the advisory Department of Government Efficiency said was sent to every state.
"This letter was sent to the departments of education in all 50 states, notifying them they have 14 days to remove all DEI programming in all public schools," DOGE said in a post to X. "Institutions which fail to comply may face a loss of federal funding."
"The Department intends to take appropriate measures to assess compliance with the applicable statutes and regulations based on the understanding embodied in this letter beginning no later than 14 days from today’s date, including antidiscrimination requirements that are a condition of receiving federal funding," the letter says.
It also argues that “American educational institutions have discriminated against students on the basis of race, including white and Asian students.”
Trump administration begins mass firings across government
The Trump administration carried out mass firings yesterday and today across the federal government, affecting thousands of workers who had been on the job for less than two years.
The terminations affected some of the most widely respected federal agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Homeland Security, as well as lower-profile offices with critical roles in the nation’s security such as the National Nuclear Security Administration. That agency designs, builds and oversees the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile.
The cuts, affecting employees categorized as “probationary,” are the latest step in the far-reaching plans by Trump and tech billionaire Elon Musk to slash the size of the government.
National Nuclear Security Administration staff fired
Multiple staff — all civil servants — at the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) within the Department of Energy received termination notices late yesterday, according to a source with direct knowledge of the notifications. NBC News has reviewed the termination notification, with the subject line: “Notification of Termination During Probationary/Trial Period.”
The agency is tasked with designing, building and overseeing the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile.
The termination notices, which read “effective today,” came within hours of a Russian drone strike on the Chernobyl power plant in Ukraine. NNSA tracks nuclear risks in Ukraine, including through sensor systems.
“This week, less than a half of a percent of the total NNSA workforce was dismissed," a Department of Energy spokesman wrote in a statement to NBC News. "The Energy Department will continue its critical mission of protecting our national security and nuclear deterrence in the development, modernization, and stewardship of America’s atomic weapons enterprise, including the peaceful use of nuclear technology and nonproliferation.”
A department spokesperson later said: "Less than 50 employees were dismissed from the NNSA. The NNSA staff dismissed were probationary employees and held primarily administrative and clerical roles."
A week of legal setbacks — and one big win — for Trump’s agenda
Trump’s effort to reshape the federal government through a series of sweeping executive orders ran into a number of roadblocks in the courts this week, but he also scored a major legal victory.
While judges halted — at least temporarily — his administration’s moves to dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development, pause grants from the National Institutes of Health to almost two dozen states and other moves, another court allowed Trump’s massive “deferred resignation” program for federal employees to move forward.
Here’s a look at the number of fast-moving developments from the past week and a glance at what’s to come.
San Francisco sheriff: Apparent DOGE impersonators targeted City Hall
Three men dressed in DOGE shirts and MAGA hats entered various offices in San Francisco's City Hall today demanding access to digital information related to "alleged wasteful government spending and fraud," the city's sheriff's office said in a statement posted on X.
The sheriff's office, which stated it does not believe the individuals were actual representatives of DOGE, said that employees confronted by the men rebuffed their requests for information and instead contacted sheriff's deputies.
Per the sheriff's office, the individuals fled the building before deputies arrived, but the office is "reviewing surveillance and using other investigative tools to pursue leads."
A DOGE spokesperson did not immediately provide a comment in response to the sheriff's statement.
Judge temporarily blocks mass terminations at Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
A judge said in a ruling today that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau could not terminate employees without cause, dealing a blow to Trump’s efforts to dismantle the agency.
The court order came in response to a lawsuit by the National Treasury Employees Union and the CFPB Employee Association, among other groups, that sued the agency and its acting director Russell Vought this week. They had asked the judge to “declare unlawful and set aside the defendants’ actions and intended further actions to dismantle the CFPB.”
