(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump is hosting United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the White House on Thursday.
The two leaders will hold a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office shortly after noon ET before a press conference in the East Room slated for 2 p.m. ET.
Senior administration officials told reporters that much of the conversations between Trump and Starmer will focus on a peaceful resolution for the Russia-Ukraine war.
The meeting comes after Europe was left out of talks between the U.S. and Russia on how to end Russian President Vladimir Putin’s brutal invasion of Ukraine, which recently stretched into its fourth year.
Trump has since said Europe will have to bear primary responsibility for any security guarantees for Ukraine, as nations such as France and the United Kingdom urge the U.S. to support peacekeeping efforts post-conflict.
“Well, I’m not going to make security guarantees beyond very much,” Trump said at his first Cabinet meeting on Wednesday. “We’re going to have Europe do that because it’s in, you know, we’re talking about Europe is the next-door neighbor, but we’re going to make sure everything goes well.”
Trump also implied the mineral resource deal between the U.S. and Ukraine would be “automatic security,” because the U.S. will be investing in the nation and that would serve as a barrier to Russia.
Starmer has said he will ensure the United Kingdom is a “leading country” in European nations stepping up to support Ukraine, but said there needs to be a U.S. “backstop” to deter Putin.
“I don’t believe it will be a guarantee if there isn’t the U.S. backstop behind those security guarantees,” Starmer said after European leaders held an emergency meeting in Paris on Ukraine last week as Trump officials gathered with Russian counterparts in Saudi Arabia.
Administration officials said the U.S. has been in constant contact with European partners and providing updates on negotiations regarding an agreement to end the war.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to travel to Washington, D.C., on Friday.
Ukraine is working to win a U.S. security agreement as part of the proposed minerals deal, Zelenskyy told reporters in Kyiv on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to travel to Washington, D.C., on Friday.
Ukraine is working to win a U.S. security agreement as part of the proposed minerals deal, Zelenskyy told reporters in Kyiv on Wednesday.
“I would say that there’s a balance between the size of the force needed and the strength of the diplomacy that backstops that, that secures it,” an official said.
“If that conflict level, as we want, is dialed down to a functional ceasefire, they would have fewer concerns … So the type of force depends very much on the political self settlement that is made to end the war,” the official continued. “And I think that trade off is what the leaders today, part of what the leaders today are going to be discussing.”
(WASHINGTON) — While President Donald Trump’s proudest supporters on Capitol Hill shower him with legislation proposing putting his portrait on a $250 bill, declaring his birthday a national holiday or adding his likeness to Mount Rushmore — a new effort across the aisle isn’t as flattering — as House Democrats take aim at the president’s $TRUMP meme coin.
Since launching a little over a month ago, the $TRUMP coin has tanked in value after early investors dumped the cryptocurrency. Members of Congress have noticed as hundreds of thousands of investors have taken hard hits and billions in value have quickly vanished.
California freshman Democrat Rep. Sam Liccardo told ABC News on Thursday he will introduce legislation to prohibit the country’s top officials and their families — from Congress to the White House — from capitalizing on personal meme coins.
The Modern Emoluments and Malfeasance Enforcement (MEME) Act would prohibit the president, vice president, members of Congress, senior executive branch officials and their spouses and dependent children from issuing, sponsoring or endorsing a security, future, commodity or digital asset.
Liccardo said he believes that the president and first lady Melania Trump cashed in on their meme coins and enriched investors around the world who initially supported the cryptocurrency.
Trump launched the coin in January, days before he took office. A similar Melania coin had been issued a week earlier. Trump in July said he wanted to turn the U.S. into the “crypto capital of the planet.”
While Liccardo’s legislation is not expected to become law over the next two years under Republican majorities in the House and Senate, the freshman Democrat said that the president and first lady made a windfall on their respective meme coins and is working to build support that culminates behind a Democrat majority.
“Let’s make corruption criminal again,” Liccardo, a former federal and local criminal prosecutor, said. “Our public offices belong to the public, not the officeholders, nor should they leverage their political authority for financial gain. The Trumps’ issuance of meme coins financially exploits the public for personal gain, and raises the specter of insider trading and foreign influence over the Executive Branch.”
The proposal would forbid federal officials from promoting a range of financial assets or from participating in any conduct likely to financially benefit themselves, according to Liccardo. The legislation would impose criminal and civil penalties and includes a prohibition that applies to any financial asset, such as the stock of Truth Social.
Liccardo wants to subject violators to criminal and civil penalties while stopping them from profiting from an asset issued before the bill’s enactment — giving it retroactive element intended to address the launch of $TRUMP.
Liccardo said he has a dozen Democratic cosponsors as he prepares to introduce the legislation on Thursday.
(WASHINGTON) — Transgender U.S. service members will be separated from the military unless they receive an exemption, according to a new Pentagon policy disclosed in a court filing on Wednesday.
According to the memo, the Pentagon must create a procedure to identify troops who are transgender by March 26 and orders that the separation of individuals diagnosed with gender dysphoria must be completed by June 25.
Those to be separated from the military will include service members receiving some form of treatment or hormones for that diagnosis of gender dysphoria or who have gone through a gender-affirming surgery.
The new policy was included as an exhibit in the federal case of Talbott v. Trump, a federal lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump’s Jan. 27 executive order that rolled back the previous policy allowing transgender service members to serve in the military.
“Military service by Service members and applicants for military service who have a current diagnosis or history of, or exhibit symptoms consistent with, gender dysphoria is incompatible with military service,” the memo said.
“Service by these individuals is not in the best interests of the Military Services and is not clearly consistent with the interests of national security,” said the memo.
“Individuals who have a current diagnosis or history of, or exhibit symptoms consistent with, gender dysphoria are no longer eligible for military service,” it added.
The service members who will be separated will receive honorable discharges unless their record indicates they should receive a lower-level discharge. Receiving an honorable discharge means they would be able to receive benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs.
“The Department only recognizes two sexes: male and female. An individual’s sex is immutable, unchanging during a person’s life. All Service members will only serve in accordance with their sex,” according to the memo.
The new policy will allow certain exemptions from separation or allow enlistment on a case-by-case basis separation if they can provide that “there is a compelling Government interest in retaining the Service member that directly supports warfighting capabilities.”
Current service members can also apply for an exemption if they can prove that they have been stable in their sex for three months “without clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning,” and that they never attempted to transition to another sex; and will adhere to all standards for the service member’s sex.
On Feb. 7, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a memo that lifted the Pentagon’s previous policy on transgender service and said the U.S. military would no longer allow transgender individuals to join and would stop performing or facilitating procedures associated with gender dysphoria. He also set a timeline for the Pentagon to develop an implementation plan for the new policy.
There are currently 4,240 active-duty, Guard and Reserve service members who have been diagnosed with gender dysphoria, according to a defense official.
Since 2014, the total number of diagnoses for gender dysphoria was 5,773 with 1,000 of those having gone through gender-affirming surgery. The total costs for treatments, hormones and surgeries during that time frame was $52 million, said the official.
There are about 2.1 million service members in the U.S. military — and about 1.3 million of them are on active duty.
(WASHINGTON) — One day after the Department of Veterans Affairs celebrated an estimated $2 billion in savings on canceled contracts, the agency began reversing some of the cancellations that may have affected veterans’ medical care and other benefits, according to multiple sources familiar with the contracts and agency records reviewed by ABC News.
“We were taking in millions of dollars in contracts to create things like PowerPoint slides and meeting minutes,” VA Secretary Doug Collins said on Tuesday. “Millions of dollars in contracts for ‘coaching and training.'”
“Don’t feed the line of what D.C. is wanting to sell you,” he added. “We are putting money back to veterans’ health, back to veterans’ benefits. And don’t let nameless sources, even senators and House members, who want to scare you, and the media, who want to perpetuate the line. We’re taking care of veterans.”
But the hundreds of contracts set for cancellation included some for legally required technical inspections of medical equipment that produce radiation at VA facilities, including CT scanners, MRI machines and dental X-ray units.
Without annual inspections, some of which are conducted by contractors in part to save the agency money, VA staffers are not permitted to use the equipment.
“We’re a really good deal for them,” said one contractor with multiple agency contracts, including several that were initially canceled — and then reversed by Wednesday afternoon. “They can’t afford to have that done in-house.”
Canceling the contracts “100% will impact care,” a VA official told ABC News. “If [the machines] get serviced or a part is replaced, they need to be inspected as well.”
Asked for comment Tuesday, a VA spokesperson told ABC News, “We’re reviewing VA’s various contracts, and we will be canceling many focusing on non-mission critical things like PowerPoint slides, executive support and coaching. Our review is ongoing and not final.”
“We will not be eliminating any benefits or services to veterans or VA beneficiaries, and there will be no negative impact to VA healthcare, benefits or beneficiaries,” the spokesperson added. “We are always going to take care of veterans at VA. Period.”
Some of the contracts marked for termination on Monday included contracts to provide employee and workplace benefits services to tens of thousands of VA employees and their families. Others included work overseeing hazardous waste disposal, conducting safety inspections at VA medical facilities, supporting cancer programs and burial services, according to agency records review by ABC News.
Some of the contracts marked for termination on Monday included contracts to provide employee and workplace benefits services to tens of thousands of VA employees and their families. Others included work overseeing hazardous waste disposal and conducting safety inspections at VA medical facilities.
Many of these contracts are labeled as some variations of consulting, a sweeping category of federal contracts that the Department of Government Efficiency’s team has aggressively gone after as part of its efforts to cut wasteful government spending.
“Everyone can agree that there is waste, likely fat, and there may very well be some fraud,” Arthur Mabbett, a disabled veteran and CEO of Mabbett & Associates, a government contractor with dozens of contracts with the VA and other agencies, told ABC News.
“Doing it in a businesslike fashion, rather than pure chaos, which is what they’re doing right now, would be a better approach,” said Mabbett, whose company has not had its stop-work orders rescinded as of Wednesday evening.
Some of that work includes working with VA facilities to make sure expansion and renovation projects comply with federal environmental law.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., on Tuesday slammed Collins’ previous move to cancel the contracts, saying many of those contracts provide “critical and direct services” to veterans.
“To say abruptly cancelling these services won’t impact veterans’ care and benefits is another unrealistic promise from Collins,” Blumenthal wrote in a statement. “Make no mistake — this is just another reckless cost-cutting decision that will harm veterans and taxpayers for years to come.”
Agency leaders directed employees to begin terminating hundreds of contracts on Monday, with some stop-work orders issued that evening.
Already, some of those stop-work orders have been rescinded — one of several DOGE-led efforts across the federal government that have been slowed or partially reversed by various agency leaders.
“I like what they’re doing, I just think they made a mistake, and they need to fix it,” one contractor told ABC News about the overall DOGE efforts. “If it goes quickly, I’ll be happy. And if it takes three to four months, I won’t be.”
The VA has already gone through two rounds of layoffs: The first affected 1,000 workers, and the second, announced this week, affected 1,400 “non-mission critical positions,” according to the agency’s statement.
Some of those terminated employees were asked to return to work days later, workers told ABC News.
Other layoffs may be on the horizon. On Wednesday, the Trump administration directed agencies to begin preparing for “large-scale” layoffs and reorganizations and to present plans for doing so to the Office of Management and Budget by March 13, according to a memo obtained by ABC News.
-ABC News’ Soorin Kim and Nathan Luna contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — House Republicans signaled they’re going full steam ahead on significant changes to Medicaid, despite pressure from Democrats and even some moderates in their party.
The suggested overhauls to the program, which provides health care for lower-income Americans and those with disabilities, are part of an effort to slash federal spending and hit the House GOP’s goal of cutting $2 trillion over a decade from the federal budget.
“I support any plan that helps Medicaid be sustainable. And the current trajectory of Medicaid is not,” said Florida Republican Rep. Byron Donalds, who recently declared he’s running for governor of Florida — a state with millions of Medicaid recipients.
“Medicaid is supposed to be for people who are disabled, for children, for single parents with multiple kids. That’s what Medicaid is for. And if we continue down this line where it just becomes a bigger and bigger portfolio of beneficiaries, the federal government is not going to be able to afford the match,” Donalds added.
In a letter to Speaker Mike Johnson, moderate Republican members of the Congressional Hispanic Conference warned “slashing Medicaid would have serious consequences, particularly in rural and predominantly Hispanic communities.”
Asked what he would say to Republican colleagues who are worried cuts to Medicaid will have a serious impact on lower income Americans, Donalds replied, “I think some of that is, quite frankly, fear-based. We know the Democrats are already running ads about Medicaid and about how what we’re trying to do is damaging to people and it’s just simply not true.”
Some GOP members have floated adding new work requirements to the program and capping the amount of money states receive to run their Medicaid programs — a pitch that could drastically reduce the number of people on Medicaid and limit the funding available for beneficiaries.
“I don’t consider that a cut,” Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., said about work requirements. “I don’t consider block-granting to the states a cut. The Democrats are using that but it’s just not right.”
The exact plan is still unclear. Approving the House budget blueprint Tuesday night was just the first step in a months-long budgeting process that could stretch into the summer.
“We’re very early in this process,” New York Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, a moderate who represents a Staten Island district with a significant number of Medicaid recipients, said.
“Maybe you should wait until we actually do the work and highlight what we’re going to do,” she said.
Republicans also believe they can achieve a significant amount of their spending cuts by targeting fraud in Medicaid and Medicare. But eliminating all fraud and waste would likely only chip away at Republicans’ goal.
Asked about that approach, Malliotakis said, “There’s about $50 billion a year in fraud, just within the Medicaid program.”
But whether Republicans can get to the kinds of numbers they’re talking about by just eliminating fraud, Malliotakis said, “Well, yes. Within the health care. You’re going to look at that, you’re going to look at the loopholes the states have put in place.
Meanwhile, Democrats are pouncing.
An internal Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee memo first obtained by ABC News shows Democrats aim to make Medicaid cuts “politically perilous for House Republicans” in the November 2026 midterm elections.
“Rather than delivering on their campaign promises to lower the high cost of living, [Republicans] are poised to pass an extreme budget scheme that would decimate affordable health care and take food off the tables of millions of American families,” the memo reads.
Preisdent Donald Trump attends a meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House, June 12, 2017. (Olivier Douliery/Pool/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump held the first Cabinet meeting of his second term on Wednesday and In the room, and at times taking center stage, was Elon Musk.
For little more than an hour, Trump sought to tout his administration’s work so far and fielded questions on everything from the status of Musk’s efforts to force federal firings to negotiations to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Despite not being a member of the Cabinet, Musk has outsized influence in the administration as he oversees the Department of Government Efficiency’s work to reduce the size and scope of the government.
“We put together a great Cabinet,” Trump said as he began the meeting. “And we’ve had tremendous success.”
Here are key takeaways from the gathering.
Elon Musk in the spotlight
Musk was the first to speak at the meeting after Trump’s introduction. Donning a “Tech Support” t-shirt and a black “Make America Great Again” cap, Musk stood in the corner of the room to talk about DOGE.
Musk defended the entity’s controversial actions, saying the overall goal is to cut the deficit and warned if cuts aren’t made the country will “become de facto bankrupt.”
“That’s the reason I’m here. And taking a lot of flack, and getting a lot of death threats, by the way,” he said.
His presence among Trump’s agency heads came amid confusion stemming from a Musk-directed ultimatum to federal workers to list their weekly accomplishments or possibly face termination. Senior White House officials were initially caught off guard, ABC News reported, when Musk first posted about the directive and it’s since created tension among Cabinet members as multiple agency heads told employees to hold off on replying.
When Musk was asked by a reporter if any Cabinet members were unhappy, Trump interrupted.
“Is anybody unhappy with Elon?” Trump said to the group, many of whom started laughing.”If you are, we’ll throw him out of here. Is anybody unhappy? They have a lot of respect for Elon and that he’s doing this,” as members started applauding.
1 million workers ‘on the bubble’
Trump said federal employees who didn’t respond to Musk’s email are on a firing “bubble.”
“I’d like to add that those million people that haven’t responded though Elon, they are on the bubble. You know, I wouldn’t say that we’re thrilled about it,” Trump said. He went on to claim, without evidence, that maybe those employees “don’t exist.”
ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Mary Bruce asked Trump about his interest in doing another round of emails demanding federal workers’ accomplishments and what the requirements would be.
“I think Elon wants to, and I think it’s a good idea because, you know, those people, as I said before, they’re on the bubble,” he responded, emphasizing his desire to find out if workers exist,” Trump said.
Not ‘much’ in security guarantees for Ukraine
Trump signaled the United States will not be providing much in security guarantees to Ukraine — a key factor for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in any agreement to bring the conflict to a close.
“Well, I’m not going to make security guarantees beyond, very much,” Trump said. “We’re going to have Europe do that because it’s in you know, we’re talking about Europe is the next-door neighbor, but we’re going to make sure everything goes well.”
Trump later said the mineral resources deal between the U.S. and Ukraine will be “automatic security” because the U.S. will be investing in the nation, suggesting that would be a barrier to Russia.
“Nobody’s going to be messing around with people when we’re there,” Trump said. “And so we’ll be there in that way.”
Trump says Putin will have to make concessions
After weeks of public statements on what Ukraine will likely have to sacrifice in negotiations, including their goal of returning to pre-war borders, Trump indicated for the first time that Russia’s Vladimir Putin may have to make concessions.
“Yeah, he will. He’s going to have to,” Trump said of Putin.
Notably, he did not elaborate on what those would be.
When later asked what concessions Putin would have to make, Trump shifted toward Ukraine and said they could “forget” about NATO membership.
Medicaid and Social Security to be left ‘untouched’
ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Mary Bruce asked Trump about the budget bill that passed in the House Tuesday night — which includes a goal of at least $2 trillion in cuts to mandatory federal spending — and whether Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security would be cut.
“I have said it so many times … This won’t be read my lips anymore. We’re not going to touch it,” Trump responded, echoing the statement George H.W. Bush famously made about “no new taxes” and then later had to reverse.
Trump claimed that there would be a reduction in fraud in those programs. Trump has echoed false claims stemming from Musk that dead Americans are receiving Social Security.
Experts told ABC News that is not true, and that Musk is misreading Social Security’s network of databases when he claims 200-year-olds are in the system.
Trump vows tariffs on the European Union
Trump stressed that he is still planning to push tariffs on foreign countries to improve the economy and claimed the European Union in particular left the U.S. with billions in debt and was formed to “screw the United States.”
“We have made a decision, will be announcing it very soon and it’ll be 25%, generally speaking, and that’ll be on cars and all other things,” he said.
Trump said the tariffs against Mexico and Canada are expected to go into effect next week on April 2, after a monthlong pause.
But then Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick suggested another pause may be possible based on fentanyl prevention and progress on the border.
“If they can prove to the president they’ve done an excellent job,” Lutnick said. Trump quickly jumped in: “It’s going to be hard to satisfy.”
ABC News’ Ivan Pereira and Emily Chang contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — The Trump administration is directing all federal agencies to “promptly” begin preparations for large-scale layoffs and restructuring, and submit plans for doing do so by March 13, according to a new memo obtained by ABC News.
The memo, from White House budget director Russ Vought, and Charles Ezell, the head of the Office of Personnel Management, was issued Wednesday morning, and includes instructions for agencies to follow as they work to downsize their workforces, and in some cases, physical footprints.
The move could formally clear the way for the administration to begin dismantling or shrinking agencies like the Department of Education and will likely prompt a new flurry of lawsuits as the process takes shape.
“President Trump required that ‘Agency Heads shall promptly undertake preparations to initiate large-scale reductions in force (RIFs), consistent with applicable law.’ President Trump also directed that, no later than March 13, 2025, agencies develop Agency Reorganization Plans,” the memo states.
“Pursuant to the President’s direction, agencies should focus on the maximum elimination of functions that are not statutorily mandated while driving the highest-quality, most efficient delivery of their statutorily-required functions,” the letter adds.
The memo encourages agencies to “consolidate” areas that are “duplicative,” and “implement technical solutions that automate routine tasks,” a directive that aligns with Elon Musk’s public statements about automating some of the work conducted by government workers.
The memo includes some exemptions: positions related to law enforcement, border security, national security, immigration enforcement and public safety roles. Military personnel and all uniformed personnel are also exempt — including the U.S. Coast Guard, the Public Health Service and commissioned officers in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association.
The directive also exempts the U.S. Postal Service, the Executive Office of the President and any presidential appointments and Senate-confirmed roles.
The memo also states that “agencies or components that provide direct services to citizens,” including Social Security, Medicare and veterans’ health care, should not begin any restructuring without sign off from the Office of Management and Budget or OPM.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Preisdent Donald Trump attends a meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House, June 12, 2017. (Olivier Douliery/Pool/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump is holding the first Cabinet meeting of his second term on Wednesday.
Joining the group will be Elon Musk, the lead adviser of the Department of Government Efficiency whose high status inside the administration has caused some confusion and court challenges.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed Musk would be present during Tuesday’s briefing.
“Considering he is working alongside the president and our Cabinet secretaries, this entire administration will be in attendance tomorrow just to talk about DOGE’s efforts and how all of the Cabinet secretaries are identifying waste, fraud and abuse at their respective agencies,” Leavitt told reporters.
The meeting will take place amid DOGE’s effort to implement mass federal workforce cuts. Mixed signals have come from Musk and the administration after a Musk-directed ultimatum to federal workers to essentially prove their worth through email or face termination.
Leavitt said on Tuesday that Trump was deferring to Cabinet secretaries to enact the Office of Personnel and Management guidance, but claimed the administration was unified on the issue and that agency heads were not caught off guard.
“Let me be very clear, the president and Elon, and his entire Cabinet, are working as one unified team and they are implementing these very common-sense solutions,” Leavitt said.
When Musk posted on X last weekend that all federal employees would soon receive an email demanding details of their work from the past week, senior White House officials — who had not been fully briefed on the plan — were initially caught off guard, multiple sources told ABC News.
Musk’s email then set off widespread confusion across the federal government. It created tension among members of Trump’s Cabinet, as multiple agency heads told their employees to hold off on replying until they themselves were briefed on the situation.
The Senate has confirmed Trump’s nominees at a fast pace, approving 18 individuals to date. By comparison, at this point in 2021, the Democrat-led Senate had only confirmed 10 of former President Joe Biden’s Cabinet nominees.
The quick pace comes despite some of Trump’s picks being considered controversial choices to lead their respective agencies.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, a veteran and Fox News host, overcame several misconduct allegations to be confirmed after Vice President JD Vance cast the tie-breaking vote. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., under criticism for his past anti-vaccine views, was narrowly confirmed in a 52-48 vote as was Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.
When Trump first publicly held court with his Cabinet in 2017, during his first presidency, members heaped praise on him.
One by one, members thanked Trump and complimented his leadership for several minutes in front of reporters before the meeting shifted to behind closed doors. “Thank you, Mr. President. This is the greatest privilege of my life,” then-Vice President Mike Pence said as he kicked things off.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, then the majority leader, mocked the administration with a spoof video recreating the scene with his own staff.
Trump on Tuesday said his Cabinet had some “great people” but that he believes this bench is “deeper.” Trump has said the biggest mistake of his first term was installing “disloyal people.”
“I think it’s better,” he said of this Cabinet. “I had some people I didn’t really like so much in my Cabinet. But I didn’t know Washington then, I was a New York person.”
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump signed an executive action Tuesday targeting a prominent law firm that represents former special counsel Jack Smith. The memo strips Smith’s attorney of his security clearance as well as any other attorneys at the firm who assisted Smith while he was investigating Trump.
Covington and Burling LLP said it is representing Smith in a personal capacity, and a person familiar with the matter said there is no evidence the law firm played any part in Smith’s criminal investigations of Trump.
The memo Trump signed Tuesday — a major escalation in Trump’s targeting of those he believes to be his political enemies — also directs the Office of Management and Budget to review any government contracts held by the law firm.
“One law firm that provided pro-bono legal services to the special counsel’s office under Jack Smith’s leadership was Covington and Burling,” White House Staff Secretary Will Scharf said about the memo as Trump moved to sign it during a ceremony on Tuesday. “As a result of those actions, we’re now going to be suspending and putting under review the security clearances for the attorneys and employees at that firm who worked with Jack Smith’s team. And we’re going to continue holding the people who were responsible for the weaponization of government, who supported it, accountable for what they did.”
Trump asked Scharf about the plans to do this to other law firms and Scharf said that the administration was looking at a range of options to take against other law firms. Trump tossed the pen to an attendee and joked “Why don’t you give it to Jack Smith?” and called him a “deranged” individual.
A reporter asked Trump whether the action to strip the attorneys’ security clearances amounted to political targeting, but Trump cut the reporter off and said that he was the target.
“I’ve been targeted for four years longer than that. So, you don’t tell me about targeting?” Trump said. “I was the target of corrupt politicians for four years, and then four years after that. So don’t talk to me about targeting.”
A person familiar with Covington’s representation of Jack Smith responded to Trump’s action saying, “There is no evidence the firm itself played any role in Special Counsel Smith’s investigation of Trump — and no evidence their representation of Smith had anything to do with his official duties. Separately, Covington is not a contractor to the federal government.”
A spokesperson for the firm added that they recently agreed to represent Smith in an individual capacity and look forward to defending him.
“For more than 100 years, Covington has represented clients facing government investigations, consistent with the best traditions of the legal profession. We recently agreed to represent Jack Smith when it became apparent that he would become a subject of a government investigation. Covington serves as defense counsel to Jack Smith in his personal, individual capacity. We look forward to defending Mr. Smith’s interests and appreciate the trust he has placed in us to do so.”
As special counsel, Smith led probes into both Trump’s handling of classified material and his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
Both cases were dropped following Trump’s reelection in November due to a longstanding Justice Department policy prohibiting the prosecution of a sitting president.
Under Trump’s continual personal attacks, Smith defended his conduct as fully lawful, free of partisan influence and vital to the justice system.
In a letter before he stepped down, Smith personally denounced Trump for levying “laughable” and baseless attacks on the federal prosecutors who brought two criminal cases against him.
(WASHINGTON) — As President Donald Trump’s administration guts the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), former federal workers are being told to say goodbye to their desks — and to do so quickly.
USAID leadership sent an email to agency staffers on Tuesday instructing them that they will have 15 minutes to enter their former offices at the Ronald Reagan Building in downtown Washington, D.C., to retrieve their personal belongings.
“This Thursday and Friday ONLY–on February 27 and 28, 2025 –USAID staff will have one opportunity to retrieve their personal belongings,” the message reads, which was also posted to USAID’s government website.
“Staff will be given approximately 15 minutes to complete this retrieval and must be finished removing items within their time slot only,” the message continues.
The email includes a timetable giving staff a window in which they can collect their belongings based on their bureau or independent office.
For some, the timeframe is as long as an hour and a half; for others, it’s just half an hour.
The email also contains a lengthy list of prohibited items that USAID staff are not allowed to bring onto the premises, including BB guns, drills, knives, sabers, swords, nunchucks, ski poles, chlorine and liquid bleach.
According to the message, the items referenced “are, and have always been, prohibited from entering the Ronald Reagan Building facility through a security screening post,” which is typically only used by uncredentialled visitors who are subject to additional rules and regulations.
Several USAID officials told ABC News that including this list illustrates how agency employees who dedicated their professional lives to foreign assistance are now being treated like violent criminals.
“It sounds like they think we’re going to try to stage a Jan. 6-style ‘peaceful protest’,” an official said.
The latest directive from USAID leadership comes as 1,600 workers in the humanitarian aid bureau received termination notices over the weekend and thousands more abroad were put on administrative leave.
Prior to Trump’s second administration, more than 10,000 people worked at USAID.
