• Big court rulings: The Supreme Court dashed Trump’s plan to immediately fire the head of an independent agency that investigates whistleblower claims. In other rulings, a federal judge allowed the administration to move forward with its dismantling of USAID, while another judge temporarily blocked the administration from carrying out certain DEI directives.
DOGE access to sensitive Treasury data remains blocked after dueling court rulings
From CNN's Emily R. Condon and Tierney Sneed
The Department of Government Efficiency’s access to sensitive Treasury data remains blocked after split rulings today from federal judges in Virginia and New York.
US District Judge Rossie D. Alston of Virginia declined to block DOGE’s access to sensitive data at Treasury Department and the Office of Personnel Management as a judge in a separate case in New York ordered that a hold she had placed on DOGE access to sensitive Treasury data systems would continue.
While the Virginia ruling was a win for the Trump administration, the Treasury Department will still have to abide by US District Judge Jeannette Anne Vargas’s order in the New York case halting it from giving affiliates of DOGE access to its systems containing sensitive data.
Alston, however, rejected the request in his court for intervention because, he wrote Friday, the “Plaintiffs’ fears of future harm are much too speculative and would require the Court to make several leaps in reasoning in order to warrant injunctive relief.”
At a hearing Friday morning, Alston also addressed the direction most courts have gone in denying emergency orders in cases challenging the DOGE’s team efforts to seize the keys of closely guarded data systems at various agencies.
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Recording reveals new details on controversial DOGE employee
From CNN’s Majlie de Puy Kamp
Less than three years before Elon Musk tapped him to take part in a sweeping overhaul of the US government, Edward Coristine, then 17, was the subject of a heated dispute between two executives at the Arizona-based cybersecurity firm where he was an intern.
At issue was whether to allow Coristine to keep his job even though he was suspected of leaking proprietary information to a competitor.
“You’re willing to risk our entire network to a 17-year-old?” one frustrated executive asked the company’s CEO in 2022. “Are you for real right now?”
In a recording of the call, reviewed by CNN, Marshal Webb, the CEO of Path Network, a company that offers services to protect businesses from cyberattacks, defended his decision.
He said he wanted to allow Coristine to continue with his internship, in part, because he didn’t want to make him “an enemy” or have him “running amok” with information he was suspected of taking. Webb allowed him to stay with the proviso that the young employee “not be exposed to anything that’s really sensitive.”
That was then.
Today, the 19-year-old, once known by the online moniker “Big Balls,” is part of Musk’s controversial effort to remake the federal government. He is a “senior advisor” with access to various departments, including Homeland Security, FEMA and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
The details of Coristine’s role with the government are not clear. But his young age and relative lack of experience have raised concerns about his overall suitability for such potentially sensitive work.
Bannon offers guarded praise for Musk and DOGE after tech billionaire's CPAC appearance
From CNN's David Wright
Steve Bannon, the former Donald Trump White House aide and conservative media founder, offered guarded praise for Elon Musk following his appearance at the Conservative Political Action Conference this weekend, despite the history of friction between the two, saying that Musk is “probably, on the oligarch side, the least offensive, as far as that goes.”
Asked about his recent criticism of Musk, Bannon denied that he was changing his tune, characterizing the relationship as an “alliance of convenience.”
Bannon praised the work being done by Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency in the new Trump administration while saying he retained his skepticism toward Musk.
“I thought Elon’s answers were fine, right?” Bannon said when asked to react to Musk’s appearance at CPAC on Thursday. “I don’t agree with Elon on everything, but the one thing I do think is very powerful is DOGE are like, it’s like a shock to the system, right?”
Bannon has directed more critical rhetoric at Musk lately, clashing with the DOGE leader over policy, some relating to immigration. Earlier this week, Bannon criticized Musk and other tech billionaires in the president and questioned their support of the MAGA movement.
Watch Bannon’s interview with CNN’s Donie O’Sullivan.
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'Not just Elon': Bannon responds to his issue with 'oligarchs'
Trump says rare earth mineral agreement with Kyiv is “pretty close.” Here’s the latest Ukraine news
From CNN’s Michael Williams, Alejandra Jaramillo, Kit Maher, Jennifer Hansler, Nick Paton Walsh, Kevin Liptak and Tori B. Powell
President Donald Trump claimed Friday that the US and Ukraine are “pretty close” to agreeing on a rare earth mineral deal. A US official backed up Trump’s claim, saying that a deal is “nearly done.”
Earlier, President Volodymyr Zelensky had said that he hopes for a “fair” agreement with the US.
The Ukrainian president had previously rejected a draft agreement that he said was demanding Kyiv “give away” 50% of Ukraine’s rare minerals while offering no security guarantees in exchange.
Talks between the two sides have been intensive and ongoing, sources say, but have made progress over the past 24 hours. It wasn’t clear when or if an announcement would come, or what the parameters of the deal would be.
Here’s what else you should know:
US special envoy to Ukraine in Kyiv:
The special envoy Keith Kellogg met with Ukraine’s senior leadership, including Zelensky, in Kyiv.
During his visit, Kellogg called Zelensky “the embattled and courageous leader of a nation at war” — a sharp contrast from Trump’s rhetoric. He also met with wounded soldiers and visited a key location of Ukraine’s fight against the Russian invasion, according to a pool reporter from the New York Post who traveled with Kellogg while he was in the country.
Trump’s comments on Zelensky and the war:
Trump said in a Fox News Radio interview that Zelensky has “no cards” and is not “important to be at meetings,” as he warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin could take all of Ukraine “if he wanted.”
The president repeatedly ignored questions about Russia being to blame for the war in Ukraine before eventually admitting, “Russia attacked,” and then going on to fault the Biden administration and Zelensky.
The Kremlin appears to be surprised by how quickly Trump has made concessions to his Russian counterpart even before beginning negations to end Moscow’s war in Ukraine, a former Russian deputy minister told CNN.
Trump also said French President Emmanuel Macron and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer “haven’t done anything” to end the war in Ukraine. Macron will meet with Trump on Monday and Starmer will follow on Thursday, as CNN has reported.
The president is expected to meet with Polish President Andrzej Duda tomorrow, according to an administration official. On Friday, Duda shared on X that Zelensky called him and they “had a candid conversation on the heels of the recent meetings” with Kellogg.
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Trump fires top US general
From CNN's Oren Lieberman and Kaitlan Collins
President Donald Trump fired the top US general on Friday night in a move that had been expected for weeks.
In an announcement on his Truth Social platform, Trump called Joint Chiefs Chairman Charles Q. Brown a “fine gentleman” and an “outstanding leader,” while hinting at more firings to come.
Hegseth called Brown by phone on Friday and told him of the decision to remove him as the military’s top general, according to a US defense official.
Brown’s firing had been anticipated for weeks, with rumors about the impending dismissal circulating around the Pentagon. But speculation about the termination of Brown and others became more serious when a formal list was recently shared with some Republican lawmakers.
Minutes after Trump’s posting, Hegseth released a statement in which he fired Adm. Lisa Franchetti, the chief of the Navy and the first woman to serve on the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
In his 2024 book titled “The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free,” Hegseth called Franchetti a “DEI hire.”
After Brown’s ouster, a prominent retired four-star general expressed serious dismay over the move, given the top military adviser has traditionally remained in place as administrations change. The general told CNN the move was “sadly political and tragic for our nation.”
This post was updated with more details on the firings and a reaction from a retired general.
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Judge temporarily blocks administration from carrying out certain Trump anti-DEI directives
From CNN's Tierney Sneed and Emily Condon
A federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration from carrying out certain directives of the president to crack down on diversity, equity, and inclusion — or DEI — programs.
US District Judge Adam Abelson said that the government could neither freeze or cancel “equity-related” contracts nor require recipients of grants to certify that their programs do not promote DEI.
The government is also not allowed to bring any False Claims Act enforcement action, under the judge’s preliminary injunction order.
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Trump set to meet with Poland's president tomorrow after Ukraine tensions boil over
From CNN's Kit Maher
President Donald Trump is expected to meet with Polish President Andrzej Duda at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Saturday, according to a Trump administration official.
Trump will address the conservative gathering in Oxon Hill, Maryland, tomorrow afternoon.
Earlier Friday, Duda shared on X that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called him and they “had a candid conversation on the heels of the recent meetings” with Keith Kellogg, Trump’s special envoy on the Ukraine conflict.
Remember: Long-simmering tensions between Zelensky and Trump boiled over this week as US officials met with Russia about a potential deal to end its war in Ukraine, spurring fears in Kyiv and across Europe that Trump would ice out Zelensky and European leaders in seeking to resolve the conflict.
Trump falsely called the Ukrainian president a “dictator without elections” and echoed Russian justifications for the war, while Zelensky said Trump was living in a “web of disinformation.”
Patel’s first plans as FBI director is to move more employees out of Washington, DC
From CNN's Evan Perez
FBI Director Kash Patel told employees Friday that he plans to move more agency jobs from the Washington, DC, region to field offices around the country and an FBI facility in Alabama, as part of a broader strategy to move resources away from the bureau’s headquarters, according to an email obtained by CNN.
The email, sent shortly after he was sworn in as director, echoed themes that Patel has focused on as part of his criticism of the FBI.
Patel began his first day on the job at FBI headquarters, leading the morning meeting with senior FBI leaders he helped install before his confirmation. In his evening email, Patel said that he told FBI leadership he will “reduce the footprint of the National Capital Region,” by moving more employees to regional field offices and to the FBI’s Redstone Arsenal campus in Huntsville, Alabama.
The FBI has about 1,300 employees at its Huntsville facility and has moved some operations there as part of a strategy that began in 2016 to reduce its Washington footprint.
Patel previously threatened that if he took over the FBI, he would shut down its headquarters and turn it into a museum. During his confirmation hearing this month, Patel was confronted with those comments and told DemocraticSen. Chris Coons that he meant the FBI needed to move more agents and its investigative focus into the interior of the country to protect Americans.
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New York City sues federal government after clawback of FEMA funds
From CNN's Gloria Pazmino
New York City is taking legal action against the Trump administration after it clawed back $80 million out of the city’s bank accounts that were supposed to help pay for migrant services last week, filing a lawsuit Friday.
The lawsuit, filed in the Southern District of New York alleges the Federal Emergency Management Agency illegally seized the money without notice or due process motivated by political opposition to FEMA’s Shelter and Services Program. The money was appropriated by Congress and granted to multiple localities dealing with the influx of migrants.
The lawsuit seeks to have the funds returned to the city.
The federal clawback followed a threat by Elon Musk to revoke funds issued by FEMA.
The funds were appropriated by Congress during the previous administration to help the city pay for migrant hotels and other services.
The $80 million dollar claw back ignited political backlash across city lawmakers who say Adams is beholden to the Trump administration after the Department of Justice issued a directive ordering corruption charges against the mayor to be dropped.
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Trump takes measures aimed at curbing Chinese investments that could interfere with US national security
From CNN’s Elisabeth Buchwald
President Donald Trump signed a memo Friday directing the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to block Chinese investments in areas pertaining to national security, such as artificial intelligence.
The memo also seeks to fast-track foreign investment in US projects but prohibit US companies from making investments that further the causes of the Chinese government. It did not spell out exactly how it would accomplish that.
The executive action comes after Chinese hackers breached CFIUS’ database in December, which was part of a broader incursion into the Treasury Department’s unclassified system, CNN reported.
The Biden administration took similar actions with rules that were finalized last year, which restricted US investments in Chinese industries in an effort to protect national security.
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Judge extends block on DOGE access to sensitive Treasury data, but declines to take more sweeping steps
From CNN's Tierney Sneed
A New York federal judge on Friday extended her earlier block on Department of Government Efficiency representatives’ access to sensitive data at the Treasury Department.
However, US District Judge Jeannette Anne Vargas declined to take more sweeping steps requested by the Democratic-led states that brought the lawsuit in her court to curtail DOGE activity at the department.
Vargas’ new order is a preliminary injunction, which, unlike the temporary restraining order she previously handed down, is subject to appeal. That sets up the possibility for the issue of DOGE’s access to closely guarded government data systems to travel up to higher courts, including the Supreme Court.
The judge said she’d consider modifying the current order once the Treasury showed DOGE employees were given proper training and vetting for accessing the data system. She is giving the government until March 24 to file a submission laying out the steps it has taken.
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AP sues Trump administration officials after being blocked from White House briefings
From CNN's Brian Stelter
President Donald Trump takes questions from reporters during a briefing in the White House
The AP alleges the ban violates the First Amendment as well as the due process clause of the Fifth Amendment.
The suit names three defendants: Trump White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, and Deputy Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich.
The AP is seeking an emergency hearing and a court order to declare the ban unconstitutional and require them to rescind it.
Some background: Earlier this month, the AP, one of the world’s largest news outlets, was singled out by the White House for continuing to use the phrase “Gulf of Mexico” even though Trump renamed the body of water “Gulf of America.”
Other countries do not recognize the new name, and the AP is a global news outlet with customers all around the world, so its stories — and influential stylebook — are still referring to the “Gulf of Mexico” while also acknowledging Trump’s decree.
The ban was first implemented on February 11. Top AP editors immediately described it as a First Amendment violation but tried to resolve the dispute behind the scenes before resorting to legal action.
What’s in AP’s legal filing: The White House has ordered its journalists “to use certain words in its coverage or else face an indefinite denial of access,” the AP’s lawyers wrote in the complaint. “The press and all people in the United States have the right to choose their own words and not be retaliated against by the government.”
Leavitt responds: Leavitt sidestepped questions about the conflict at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Friday, saying she had just learned of the suit on her drive over for an on-stage interview.
“We’ll see them in court,” the press secretary said, acknowledging she’d been personally named in the complaint.
CNN’s David Wright contributed to this report.
This post has been updated with Leavitt’s comments at CPAC.
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Trump is exploring a new tariff aimed at digital services taxes
From CNN's Elisabeth Buchwald
President Donald Trump signed a new memo directing the Office of the US Trade Representative to investigate a reciprocal response to countries that have digital services taxes, or DSTs.
DSTs tax the gross revenue that online firms collect from offering services to users. A country with a DST would be able to tax all the revenue large companies that operate online collect — even if the business is unprofitable. That can include what they collect from selling data, advertising as well as payments they receive for subscriptions, software and other kinds of online services users pay for.
American firms, namely Big Tech companies such as Meta, Apple, Google, Amazon and Microsoft, are disproportionately affected by DSTs, according to a report published last year by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service.
“What they’re doing to us in other countries is terrible,” Trump said Friday before signing the memo. He declined to share how high reciprocal tariffs on countries with DSTs could go.
The United States does not have a DST. They are most prominent across several European countries as well as India, where DST rates are among the highest worldwide.
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Trump claims US is "pretty close" on rare earth mineral deal with Ukraine
From CNN's Kit Maher and Kevin Liptak
President Donald Trump on Friday claimed the US and Ukraine and “pretty close” to agreeing on a rare earth mineral deal.
People familiar with the matter also said US officials believe they are nearing an agreement with Ukraine on a deal to secure rights to the country’s rare earth minerals.
Talks between the two sides have been intensive and ongoing, the people said, but have made progress over the past 24 hours. It wasn’t clear when or if an announcement would come, or what the parameters of the deal would be.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday that he hopes for a “fair” minerals agreement with the US. He had previously rejected a draft agreement that he said was demanding Kyiv “give away” 50% of Ukraine’s rare minerals while offering no security guarantees in exchange.
“We’re going to sign a deal to get security, because we have to do that. We’re spending our treasure. They’re spending their blood. They are — and they’re very brave, and you know, in every way you can imagine — but we are spending our treasure on some country that’s very, very far away, and it’s OK, but we have to be treated the same as Europe is being treated,” Trump also said.
Trump dismissed reports that he is traveling to Moscow on May 9 and again didn’t answer a question about whether he considers Russian President Vladimir Putin a dictator, a label he’s applied to Zelensky.
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Supreme Court rules government watchdog may remain in the job for now after being fired by Trump
From CNN’s John Fritze
The Supreme Court on Friday stopped President Donald Trump’s plan to immediately fire the head of an independent agency that investigates whistleblower claims, allowing Hampton Dellinger to remain in the job through at least the middle of next week.
By declining to back Trump’s emergency appeal, the conservative court nominally sided with Dellinger. President Joe Biden appointed Dellinger in 2024 to lead the Office of Special Counsel for a five-year term.
Trump White House officials fired Dellinger in a brief email days after the president took office.
In an unsigned order, the court said it would hold the case on pause until February 26, when a temporary order handed down by a lower is set to expire.
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Trump administration launches Title IX investigations into Maine Department of Education
From CNN staff
The Department of Education’s civil rights division said it is launching Title IX investigations into Maine’s Department of Education related to claims it is violating President Donald Trump’s executive order banning transgender women from competing in women’s sports.
The announcement comes after a tense exchange between Maine Democratic Gov. Janet Mills and President Donald Trump earlier Friday. Trump threatened to strip Maine of its federal funding if the state refuses to comply with his order, prompting the governor to respond: “See you in court.”
Trump’s executive order argues that under Title IX, “educational institutions receiving Federal funds cannot deny women an equal opportunity to participate in sports.”
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Trump says he is weighing changes at US Postal Service as shakeup rattles federal agencies. Here's the latest
From CNN's Devan Cole, Priscilla Alvarez, Kaitlan Collins, Jackie Wattles, Rafael Romo, Chris Youd and Aditi Sangal
US Postal Service trucks are parked at a post office in Glendale, California.
It’s a move that could be a first step toward privatization that could upend how Americans get critical deliveries including online purchases, prescription drugs, checks and vote-by-mail ballots. Current law requires the USPS to deliver to all addresses, even rural ones that are too costly for a private business to serve profitably. Even many online purchases handled by private companies such as United Parcel Service depend upon the the Postal Service to handle the “last mile” of delivery to homes.
The USPS now potentially joins other federal agencies going through a massive reorganization under the Trump administration.
Trump has already moved to fire other members of governing federal agencies, such as the National Labor Relations Board and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, leaving those agencies without the minimum number of members needed to act to provide protections to members of the public.
Here’s what else happened today:
SCOTUS ruling: The Supreme Court dashed Trump’s plan to immediately fire the head of an independent agency that investigates whistleblower claims, allowing Hampton Dellinger to remain in the job through at least the middle of next week.
USAID: A federal judge, appointed by Trump during his first term, is allowing the administration to move forward with its dismantling of the US Agency for International Development (USAID). The decision is likely to be appealed.
NIH: A federal judge again blocked the Trump administration’s drastic cuts in medical research funding that many scientists say will endanger patients and delay new lifesaving studies. The judge had issued a temporary restraining order earlier this month blocking the cuts. National Institutes of Health, the main funder of biomedical research, awarded about $35 billion in grants to research groups last year in direct and indirect costs.
DOGE’s possible conflict of interest: Three House Democrats are raising “deep alarm” over the Department of Government Efficiency’s interactions with NASA and potential conflicts of interest in a new letter. Elon Musk’s involvement with DOGE has sparked a number of conflict of interest concerns, particularly at NASA, as the space agency holds “proprietary data from NASA contractors, some of whom compete directly with SpaceX,” the lawmakers wrote in their letter.
ICE: Acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Caleb Vitello is being removed from his role at the agency amid frustration over a slowdown in arrests in the interior of the US, according to multiple sources. Despite denying publicly that he’s unhappy with the levels of deportations, Trump, who selected Vitello to fill the post, has complained privately about it to his top immigration aides, according to several people familiar with the matter.
CDC rally: Dozens of current and former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention staff attended a rally Friday at the Georgia State Capitol. They described the situation at their workplace as chaotic and scary. Many were holding signs with messages like “CDC Saves Lives” and “CDC Makes America Great.”
This post was updated with details on the Supreme Court ruling.
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Pentagon announces plan to fire 5-8% of civilian workforce
From CNN's Natasha Bertrand and Haley Britzky
The Pentagon announced Friday that it anticipates ultimately firing 5 to 8% of the military’s approximately 950,000 civilian employees, with an initial tranche of 5,400 probationary workers who don’t have “mission-critical” roles expected to be terminated next week.
While that is a small percentage of the 55,000 probationary employees who were at risk of being fired en masse, the eventual cuts could amount to a significant reduction in the civilian workforce.
That would mean eventually 47,000 to 76,000 people in total could be let go.
Earlier on Friday, CNN reported the Defense Department had temporarily paused a plan to carry out mass firings of civilian probationary employees until Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and the Pentagon’s Office of General Counsel can carry out a more thorough review of the impacts such firings could have on US military readiness, according to two defense officials familiar with the matter.
Selnick said the first 5,400 employees could be fired early next week, and more could be terminated “as we conduct a further analysis of our personnel needs, complying as always with all applicable laws.”
“As the Secretary made clear, it is simply not in the public interest to retain individuals whose contributions are not mission-critical,” he added. “Taxpayers deserve to have us take a thorough look at our workforce top-to-bottom to see where we can eliminate redundancies.”
The pause on firing a broader swathe of civilian employees all at once came after CNN reported on Wednesday that the mass terminations, which could affect over 50,000 civilian employees across the Pentagon, could run afoul of Title 10 section 129a of the US code.
Following that report, Pentagon lawyers began reviewing the legality of the planned terminations more closely, the officials said.
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Kash Patel says he is "living the American dream" after being sworn in as FBI director
From CNN's Elise Hammond
Kash Patel arrives to testify during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee in Washington, DC, on January 30.
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Kash Patel said he is “living the American dream” after being sworn in today as FBI director by Attorney General Pam Bondi.
He said President Donald Trump’s faith in him to lead the FBI is the “greatest honor that I’ll ever have in my life.”
Turning to the task ahead of him, Patel said there “will be accountability within the FBI and outside of the FBI and we will do it through rigorous Constitutional oversight starting this weekend.”
Turmoil in the bureau: Earlier this month, the fate of thousands of FBI officials was in the balance as the Justice Department demanded they fill out a questionnaire about any involvement in investigating the January 6, 2021, US Capitol riot, a move employees believe is meant to be a precursor to mass firings.
The unusual demand for FBI employees to explain their role in an investigation comes as CNN has reported that Trump’s Justice Department is considering expanding its purge of bureau personnel.
Some background: The Senate voted to confirm Patel on Thursday, installing the conservative firebrand at the head of the nation’s top law enforcement agency. The vote was 51 to 49, with Republican Sens. Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski joining with Democrats in voting against his confirmation.
CNN’s Josh Campbell, Danya Gainor, Jim Sciutto and Dan Berman contributed reporting to this post.
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Trump says the "European Union wants to come back"
From CNN's Tori B. Powell
President Donald Trump said Friday that the “European Union wants to come back” after the group of countries, according to the president, “treated us very badly.”
“The European Union wants to lower their tariffs because of the fact,” he said.
He called the EU’s signaling to lower tariffs a “big start in the right direction with the European Union.”
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Howard Lutnick is sworn in as Commerce secretary in Oval Office
From CNN's Elise Hammond
President Donald Trump and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick hold Lutnick's commission after he was sworn in as Commerce Secretary in the Oval Office at the White House on February 21, in Washington, DC.
Win McNamee/Getty Images
Howard Lutnick was sworn in today as Commerce secretary in the Oval Office by Vice President JD Vance.
Lutnick, who was formerly the CEO of financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald, promised to “balance the budget” and cut “waste, fraud and abuse” in his new job.
“And then we are going to grow this economy in a way that people have never seen,” he said in remarks before he was sworn in.
“Donald Trump understands global business. It’s the first time you put in that chair the greatest business man in the United States of America,” Lutnick added, pointing to the Oval Office desk.
The Commerce secretary is tasked with supporting US businesses and often acts as an emissary between other nations to negotiate trade deals and increase foreign investment. There are 13 bureaus housed under the Commerce Department, including the Census Bureau, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Patent and Trademark Office.
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Dow tumbles more than 700 points as inflation and tariff fears mount
From CNN's David Goldman
US stock markets fell sharply Friday after an economic report showed American consumers are growing increasingly fearful of price increases and how President Donald Trump’s tariffs could reignite the inflation crisis.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 748 points, or 1.7%. The broader S&P 500 also sank 1.7% and the Nasdaq was 2.2% lower. The Dow tumbled for the second consecutive day, falling about 1,200 points over the course of Thursday and Friday.
The University of Michigan’s latest survey, released Friday, showed that US consumer sentiment declined in February for the second consecutive month, according to a final reading, down by a steep 10% from January. That was double the decline initially reported earlier this month.
The survey found that Americans are losing confidence in the economy, driven primarily by worries over Trump’s tariffs potentially jacking up prices.
A new CNN poll released Thursday similarly showed pessimism on the rise because of prices: Nearly two-thirds of US adults nationwide, 62%, said they feel Trump isn’t doing enough to address inflation. The Michigan survey showed Americans are now fearful of higher inflation on the horizon.
Investors grew fearful that weak consumer sentiment could lead to a pullback in Americans’ shopping habits. Consumer spending makes up more than two-thirds of the US economy.
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Federal judge allows the Trump administration to move forward with dismantling USAID
From CNN’s Devan Cole
In this 2013 photo, a Philippine Army personnel is cast on boxes of relief items from US Agency for International Development at Villamor Air Base in Manila.
Cheryl Ravelo/Reuters/File
A federal judge is allowing the Trump administration to move forward with its dismantling of the US Agency for International Development (USAID).
US District Judge Carl Nichols, appointed by President Donald Trump during his first term, rejected a request from unions representing USAID workers to indefinitely block the administration’s plans to shutter the agency while their legal challenge to it played out.
The decision is likely to be appealed.
More background: This is the latest case in which a judge has had to decide if the court has an immediate role in blocking Trump’s plans to reduce the federal workforce, especially at agencies his administration is moving toward dismantling.
Previously, two other federal judges, in Boston and Washington, DC, have told unions that their attempts to block the administration from cutting the federal workforce didn’t belong in court, and instead could be looked at by a labor board.
The administration’s efforts to shutter USAID have become a major flashpoint during the opening days of Trump’s second term, with employees describing in court filings harrowing stories of how the rushed process to upend the aid agency has placed them in risky and sometimes dangerous situations.
This post was updated with background on today’s ruling.
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Trump administration suspends Agriculture Department scholarship program at historically Black colleges
From CNN's Eva McKend
A decades-old Department of Agriculture scholarship program aimed at putting young people at Historically Black Colleges and Universities on the path to careers in agriculture, food safety and environmental science has been suspended by the agency, according to its website.
Established in 1992, the 1890 Scholars Program provides recipients with full tuition fees, books, room and board at 1890 land-grant universities.
Democratic members of Congress slammed the program suspension, arguing that it is evidence of further hostility toward marginalized groups following executive orders aimed at dismantling diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives across the government.
Jackson, a member of the Agriculture Committee, said 1890 land-grant institutions educate over 20% of Black students pursuing agricultural degrees.
Rep. Alma S. Adams of North Carolina, a member of the bipartisan HBCU Caucus, also criticized the move, saying, “This program is a correction to a long history of racial discrimination within the land-grant system, not an example of it.
“I demand USDA immediately rescind this targeted and mean-spirited suspension and reinstate the 1890 Scholars Program, for which the deadline for students to apply was originally March 1, 2025,” Adams said in a statement.
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House plans to take up budget blueprint Tuesday, sources say
From CNN’s Sarah Ferris
House GOP leaders plan to take a critical first step to jumpstarting Donald Trump’s legislative agenda on Tuesday as they bring their sprawling budget blueprint to the floor, according to two GOP sources.
If approved, the House GOP budget measure would allow Republicans to begin drafting legislation that spends $4.5 trillion on tax cuts and $300 billion in border and military programs. It would also lift the debt limit for roughly two years as Trump has requested.
But it’s not yet certain if Speaker Mike Johnson has the votes for the measure, which also instructs Congress to cut a whopping $2 trillion from government programs. Some GOP members fear this could be felt largely in Medicaid and food assistance programs.
The Senate GOP passes its own budget measure early Friday morning, which is a far narrower plan to advance only pieces of Trump’s agenda.
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House Democrats raise alarm over potential DOGE conflict of interest at NASA
From CNN's Jackie Wattles
Some House lawmakers are raising “deep alarm” over the Department of Government Efficiency’s interactions with NASA and potential conflicts of interest in a new letter released Friday.
The note, which is dated February 21 and addressed to acting NASA chief Janet Petro, calls out the space agency for failing to answer a list of questions and concerns laid out in a letter sent by lawmakers earlier this month.
Among the frustrations: NASA has not revealed the name of the DOGE representative that the agency said is embedded at the space agency, described what information that person has had access to, or provided details about what NASA will do to prevent conflicts of interest.
The letter’s signatories are Rep. Zoe Lofgren, the top Democrat on the space and technology committee; Rep. Valerie Foushee, the ranking member on the Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee; and Emilia Sykes, ranking member on the House Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight.
More context: Elon Musk’s involvement with DOGE — and the department’s access to data across the federal government — has sparked a number of conflict of interest concerns. But those questions are particularly glaring at NASA, as the space agency holds “proprietary data from NASA contractors, some of whom compete directly with SpaceX,” the Democratic lawmakers wrote in their February 21 letter.
SpaceX also holds billions of dollars worth of contracts with the space agency.
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Acting ICE director removed from his post due to frustration over pace of arrests, sources say
From CNN's Priscilla Alvarez and Kaitlan Collins
Acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Caleb Vitello is being removed from his role at the agency amid frustration over a slowdown in arrests in the interior of the US, according to multiple sources.
Despite denying publicly that he’s unhappy with the levels of deportations, President Donald Trump, who selected Vitello to fill the post, has complained privately about it to his top immigration aides, according to several people familiar with the matter.
Vitello, a career government official, is expected to be reassigned.
Tension between the White House and ICE has heightened in recent weeks. CNN previously reported that senior Trump officials have expressed frustration with ICE in calls for not meeting its marks.
White House border czar Tom Homan told CNN’s Dana Bash on Sunday that he wasn’t happy with the number of arrests so far. “ICE is doing a great job,” he said. “I’m not happy with the numbers because we got a lot of criminals to find.”
Earlier this month, two senior Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials were reassigned amid mounting pressure from the White House to ramp up arrests.
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In tense exchange, Maine governor tells Trump "see you in court" after he threatens to strip federal funding
From CNN's Kit Maher
In a tense exchange today with Maine Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, President Donald Trump threatened to strip Maine of its federal funding if the state refuses to comply with his executive order banning transgender women from competing in women’s sports.
Some background: Trump’s executive order argues that under Title IX, “educational institutions receiving Federal funds cannot deny women an equal opportunity to participate in sports.”
In response to the president’s threat: Mills later issued a statement. “If the President attempts to unilaterally deprive Maine school children of the benefit of Federal funding, my Administration and the Attorney General will take all appropriate and necessary legal action to restore that funding and the academic opportunity it provides,” she said. “The State of Maine will not be intimidated by the President’s threats.”
CNN’s Donald Judd contributed reporting.
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Administration says legal service providers can resume their work with unaccompanied migrant children
From CNN's Priscilla Alvarez
Legal service providers assisting unaccompanied migrant children can resume their work, according to a Department of Interior memo obtained by CNN, canceling a previous directive issued by the Trump administration.
On Friday, the Department of Interior sent an order to providers saying that all activities “may resume.” It did not provide an explanation.
Remember: Earlier this week, the Trump administration ordered legal service providers working with unaccompanied migrant children to stop their work, prompting panic and concern among groups representing children.
It’s the latest example of whiplash for legal service providers representing immigrants — in this case, children who arrived at the US-Mexico border without their parents.
The memo came as a relief to groups like Acacia Center for Justice, a nonprofit that assists nearly 26,000 children.
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Attorney General Pam Bondi is reviewing a list of Jeffrey Epstein's clients for release
From CNN’s Hannah Rabinowitz
Attorney General Pam Bondi said Friday that she is reviewing the list of accused sex-trafficker Jeffrey Epstein’s clients for potential public release.
Bondi added that she was also reviewing “JFK files and MLK files” for potential release.
In January, Trump signed an executive order to release files related to the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr.
“Have you seen anything where you just said, ‘Oh my gosh,’” Fox News host John Roberts asked.
“Not yet,” she said.
Remember: Epstein’s former pilot, Larry Visoski, testified in Ghislaine Maxwell’s sex trafficking trial in 2021 that a who’s who of powerful men, including President Donald Trump, flew aboard Epstein’s private plane. Camera footage unearthed by NBC News in 2019 from a party at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in 1992 captures Trump greeting party guests, dancing with young women and, in some clips, speaking into Epstein’s ear.
Trump has previously said that while he and Epstein spent time together in the 1990s, Trump later banned Epstein from Mar-a-Lago and severed ties, though he has declined to discuss details publicly.
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“An environment of chaos.” Dozens of current and former staff describe situation at CDC during Atlanta rally
From CNN's Rafael Romo and Chris Youd
Describing the situation at their workplace as an “environment of chaos” and “very scary,” dozens of current and former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention attended a rally Friday at the Georgia State Capitol. Many were holding signs with messages like “CDC Saves Lives” and “CDC Makes America Great.”
Among those attending was Emaad Hassan, a public health advisor who worked at the CDC for 10 years, more recently with the immunization group and previously abroad with the health security program in countries like Pakistan, Egypt and South Sudan.
Hassan told CNN that he received a letter putting him and others on administrative leave prior to their termination effective March 14. According to Hassan, he was incorrectly put on a list of probationary workers, even when he was a full-time employee.
Sonya Arundar, a health communicator and online information user experience specialist who was hired by the CDC in December, was also among those impacted by the layoffs. Two days after February 14, the day the layoffs were announced and a date described by employees as “Valentine’s Day Massacre,” she received a letter via email notifying her that she was being terminated “for poor performance.”
“I was so new that I didn’t have a performance review yet, even though my manager seemed to be very pleased with my work. I know two people personally who did have good performance reviews who were also fired in the same way,” said Arundar, who described what the CDC is currently going through as “an environment of chaos.”
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Trump sends stop-work order to federal scientists involved in pivotal global climate report
From CNN’s Ella Nilsen and Laura Paddison
The Trump administration told US government scientists working on a vital global climate report to stop their work, according to a scientist involved in the report — the latest move to withdraw the US from global climate action and research.
The US had been highly involved in planning for the next installment of the report due out in 2029 from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the world’s leading scientific authority on climate change.
The IPCC assesses how the climate crisis is affecting the planet according to the latest science. Its reports take thousands of scientists many years to produce and are used to inform policymakers across the world of the risks posed by global warming.
In a sense, all of the world’s current, accepted knowledge about climate change stems from the IPCC and its reports, the first of which was published in 1990.
An international meeting of IPCC authors that was scheduled to take place in China next week is now in limbo. Kate Calvin, NASA’s chief scientist and senior climate adviser, was supposed to co-chair the discussion but was impacted by the stop-work order, according to the scientist involved in the report. The meeting was planned to talk about next steps in the development of the report.
The person told CNN they were “not sure what this means for the planned work going forward, or if US scientists will participate in the writing of the IPCC reports.”
CNN has reached out to Calvin, the White House and the IPCC for comment. News of the stop-work order was also reported by Reuters.
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Trump says Zelensky "has no cards" and is not "important to be at meetings"
From CNN's Michael Williams and Alejandra Jaramillo
President Donald Trump said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has “no cards” and is not “important to be at meetings,” as he warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin could take all of Ukraine “if he wanted” on Friday.
“I’ve been watching for years, and I’ve been watching him negotiate with no cards. He has no cards. And you get sick of it. You just get sick of it. And I’ve had it,” Trump said in an interview on Fox News Radio’s “The Brian Kilmeade Show” after Kilmeade pressed him on Russia being to blame for the war.
“He’s been at a meeting for three years, and nothing got done. So, I don’t think he’s very important to be at meetings, to be honest with you,” Trump continued about Zelensky. “He makes it very hard to make deals. But look what’s happened to his country, it’s been demolished.”
The US president also said Putin could take all of Ukraine “if he wanted,” adding that’s why Zelensky should be working toward a deal with the nation that invaded nearly three years ago.
“He wants to make a deal,” Trump said of Putin: “And he doesn’t have to make a deal, because if he wanted, he’d get the whole country.”
Trump slammed former President Joe Biden and Zelensky, accusing them of not doing enough to work toward a compromise that could have averted Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
“Putin could have been talked out of that so easy, but they didn’t know how to talk,” Trump said. Trump said he was “not trying to make Putin, like, nicer or better,” but added the war never should have happened.
He also expressed disappointment with Zelensky’s rejection of the rare earth minerals deal.
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Patel to begin first day as FBI director amid ongoing upheaval at the bureau
From CNN's Hannah Rabinowitz
Kash Patel testifies during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on January 30, in Washington, DC.
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Kash Patel is set to begin his first day as the director of the storied Federal Bureau of Investigation on Friday.
Patel, a staunch ally of President Donald Trump, will be sworn in at the White House and then will begin his tenure at the bureau’s J. Edgar Hoover Building in downtown Washington, DC.
His first days in the position coincides with a continuing upheaval at the bureau over a list of details of more than 5,000 FBI employees’ who worked on January 6-related cases that was gathered as part of a survey and handed over to Justice Department leadership. The FBI is also dealing with a stream of senior officials who either resigned or were asked to leave.
In a letter to his new colleagues obtained by CNN, Patel said that his “commitment has always been — and always will be — to pursuing justice and upholding the rule of law.”
Second, he said, is “to ensure we rebuild the American people’s trust in the FBI.”
Patel’s nomination faced intense scrutiny from Democrats on Capitol Hill who have warned that he is poised to use the position to seek retribution against Trump’s perceived political enemies.
CNN’s Josh Campbell contributed reporting to this post.
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Trump admits Russia attacked Ukraine, but blames Biden and Zelensky for not stopping war
From CNN's Alejandra Jaramillo
President Donald Trump on Friday repeatedly ignored questions on Fox News radio about Russia being to blame for the war in Ukraine before eventually admitting, “Russia attacked,” and then going on to fault the Biden administration and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The remark came after Kilmeade repeatedly told Trump that Putin was to “to blame” for the war, saying it was an “unwarranted invasion” and asking repeatedly, “You agree, right?”
Trump claimed Russia would have not invaded Ukraine if he were in office, arguing that former President Joe Biden’s administration mishandled communications with Russia. “Biden said the wrong things. Zelensky said the wrong things,” Trump said.
Trump claimed Russia “would have been talked out of that war so easy.”
Trump also said in the interview Friday that French President Emmanuel Macron and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer “haven’t done anything” to end the war. Trump is set to meet Macron on Monday and Starmer on Thursday. The meetings come as European leaders are scrambling to respond to Trump’s decision to negotiate with Russia to end the war in Ukraine.
Remember: Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine almost three years ago after months of military buildup and brinkmanship on its side of the border.
Moscow’s rhetoric in support of the invasion echoed that of its 2014 annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula Crimea, which it seized after mass protests in Kyiv forced out a Russia-friendly president. Russia also fomented a separatist rebellion in Ukraine’s east, which seized control of part of the Donbas region.
Putin has cast the expansion of NATO toward its borders, and the potential that Ukraine could eventually join the Western military alliance, as an existential threat to Russia.
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Democrats demand details on Justice Department's moves to drop corruption probes
From CNN’s Hannah Rabinowitz
The top Democrats on four separate House committees issued an emphatic letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi on Friday seeking information on whether the Justice Department’s new policies on corruption investigations will affect investigations into corruption by public officials both within the United States and abroad.
“Far from rooting out corruption and fraud in our government, as President Trump likes to claim, the Trump administration and DOJ’s actions constitute an unprecedented assault on the laws, government agencies and people fighting corruption,” the letter, which was sent to the Justice Department Friday morning, reads.
It is signed by Rep. Gerald Connolly of the House Oversight Committee, Rep. Summer Lee of the Subcommittee on Federal Law Enforcement, Rep. Jamie Raskin of the House Judiciary Committee, and Rep. Lucy McBath of the Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance.
Since Inauguration Day, the Justice Department has paused all investigations into corporate foreign bribery, curtailed enforcement of a foreign agent registration law and deemphasized the criminal prosecutions of Russian oligarchs, CNN has reported.
And Trump officials have seriously considered eliminating the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section, from which at least four prosecutors resigned as part of the fallout to drop the corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
The firings were “patently illegal,” the letter says, and dropping the cases “shielded” the president’s allies from criminal exposure.
The letter requests all communications around DOJ decision to drop those cases and the Blagojevich conviction; to specify which cases surrounding a US business bribing a foreign official will be prosecuted; and to specify the number of cases brought by the department’s Task Force KleptoCapture that involve assets linked to nationals of Russia and China.
CNN has reached out to the Justice Department for comment.
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At CPAC, some January 6 rioters are received "like gods" by attendees, while others are thrown out
From CNN's Steve Contorno and Donie O’Sullivan
Richard Barnett, the convicted January 6th rioter famous for putting his feet on Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi's desk, at the 2025 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland, on Thursday.
This week’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) was expected to serve as an informal homecoming for those granted clemency in President Donald Trump’s near-blanket pardoning of people charged or convicted in connection with the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol.
“The J6ers are here at CPAC,” Steve Bannon, the former Trump strategist and nationalist populist, said Thursday during his remarks to raucous cheers from attendees.
But some were initially denied entrance to the conference on Wednesday, including Richard Barnett, whose photograph — feet propped on a desk inside then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office — became one of the most enduring images of the riot.
Stewart Rhodes, the founder of the Oath Keepers, was also initially denied entry.
“I have no idea what the rationale is,” he said in a video posted on social media, “there’s a two-tier system still, on the conservative side too, if you’re a disfavored patriot you’re purged by the left and you’re purged by the right.”
As a vocal contingent of Rhodes’ and others’ supporters began to complain online, CPAC responded Thursday on X, saying that it is “untrue that we are not allowing people to come to CPAC because of their involvement with J6. In fact, CPAC has been a constant supporter of this persecuted community, and we support wholeheartedly President Trump’s pardons of the J6 victims.”
Barnett, Rhodes, and others returned to the conference on Thursday and this time were granted entry.
“We’re like gods,” Joe Biggs, a leader of the Proud Boys, who was serving a 17-year sentence for his role in the Capitol, told CNN Thursday when asked how he was received by CPAC attendees.
But still, others were not so lucky. At least one other person charged with January 6-related crimes was denied entry from the conference on Thursday. It was not clear specifically why, but in a statement to CNN, a spokesperson for CPAC said the conference “will not tolerate those who only seek to disrupt our great event.”
The spokesperson declined to elaborate on the nature of the disruptions.
CNN’s Sean Clark contributed reporting to this post.
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CIA dismisses intelligence officers for working on diversity issues
From CNN's Katie Bo Lillis
The CIA late last week moved to fire more than a dozen officers for working on diversity issues, in what amounts to a deeply unusual round of mass firings at the agency, according to court filings and current and former officials familiar with the effort.
In a court filing, the government suggested that further dismissals may be imminent, and a current official familiar with the matter confirmed that agency officials are in the process of working on recommendations for further cuts. A final number has not yet been decided, that person said.
Some of the fired officers are now challenging their dismissal in court on the grounds that it violated federal workforce laws, and a federal judge in Virginia is expected to hold a hearing to weigh a temporary restraining order against the move on Monday. Kevin Carroll, a lawyer and former CIA officer, said he represents 21 officers who have been fired.
According to the filing, the officers were only on temporary assignments working on diversity issues — the agency routinely assigns officers to different roles as part of their career development — and in some cases, they were not working on diversity issues at all.
“Plaintiffs are not somehow ‘DEIA officers,’” the filing read. “Plaintiffs are career intelligence officers of different career services who Defendants believe, in some cases inaccurately, now serve in temporary positions related to DEIA.”
The CIA declined to comment.
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In contrast to Trump's rhetoric, US top envoy for Ukraine calls Zelensky an "embattled and courageous leader"
From CNN's Jennifer Hansler
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky meets with US Special Envoy for Ukraine and Russia Keith Kellogg in Kyiv, Ukraine, on February 20.
“Extensive and positive discussions with @ZelenskyyUa, the embattled and courageous leader of a nation at war and his talented national security team,” Kellogg said.
His words of praise for the Ukrainian president are a far cry from those of Trump, who has repeatedly railed against Zelensky and called him a “dictator.”
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Defense Department temporarily pauses plan to carry out mass firings of civilian employees, officials say
From CNN's Natasha Bertrand and Haley Britzky
Birds fly near the Pentagon, in Arlington, Virginia, on December 14, 2024.
Tom Brenner/The Washington Post/Getty Images
The Defense Department has temporarily paused a plan to carry out mass firings of civilian probationary employees until Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and the Pentagon’s Office of General Counsel can carry out a more thorough review of the impacts such firings could have on US military readiness, two defense officials familiar with the matter told CNN.
Remember: The pause comes after CNN reported on Wednesday that the mass terminations, which could impact over 50,000 civilian employees across the Pentagon, could run afoul of Title 10 section 129a of the US code. Following that report, Pentagon lawyers began reviewing the legality of the planned terminations more closely, the officials said.
A senior defense official told CNN on Wednesday that such an analysis had not been carried out before military leaders were ordered to make lists of employees to fire.
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Acting Social Security head rose to the position after giving information to DOGE
From CNN’s Tami Luhby
Leland Dudek, now the acting commissioner of the Social Security Administration, acknowledged in a now-deleted LinkedIn post that he had worked with Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency prior to his being elevated to the leadership position.
He replaced Michelle King, a longtime agency staffer who departed last weekend after tussling with DOGE staffers over access to the agency’s sensitive records on millions of Americans. Frank Bisignano, the CEO of Fiserv and President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Social Security Administration, is awaiting confirmation by the Senate.
Dudek, a career employee who had worked in the agency’s anti-fraud office, wrote that he had been cooperating with the DOGE, which resulted in his being placed on administrative leave before the shakeup at the department.
“I confess. I bullied agency executives, shared executive contact information, and circumvented the chain of command to connect DOGE with the people who get stuff done,” he posted.
Elon Musk, who leads DOGE and incorrectly implied this week that millions of dead people are collecting Social Security benefits, praised Dudek on X on Wednesday.
More context: DOGE’s gaining access to Social Security’s data, which contains reams of personal information on hundreds of millions of Americans, has raised red flags among experts and consumer advocates.
Dudek sought to allay some concerns on Wednesday, saying in a statement that “DOGE personnel CANNOT make changes to agency systems, benefit payments, or other information. They only have READ access.” He also noted that that the DOGE team cannot access data related to a court-ordered temporary restraining order, current or future. He also noted that there are people older than 100 who do not have a date of death associated with their record, but they are not necessarily receiving benefits.
The Social Security Administration didn’t immediately return a request for comment.
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Reading, snacking, books and virtual tours: What do senators do during a marathon voting session?
From CNN’s Morgan Rimmer
On a night that often amounts to a lot of hurry-up-and-wait between votes, senators found ways to stay entertained as the hours dragged on while the chamber stayed in session overnight for a marathon vote series leading up to a final vote on the Senate GOP budget resolution, the first step to advancing President Trump’s sweeping agenda.
As the Senate kicked off its late-night votes on Thursday, GOP Sen. Thom Tillis grabbed a large bowl of popcorn and walked into the Republican cloakroom.
Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin took time between presiding over the floor and casting votes to give a virtual tour of the Capitol to his followers on X, posting dispatches from the Capitol’s rotunda and crypt throughout the night.
Mullin is also the current occupant of the Senate candy desk, and whichever senator is assigned the desk is tasked with keeping it stocked full of treats for their colleagues. However, he noted that he’s getting “a little blowback” for the green, St. Patrick’s Day-themed candy he provided.
“I think I’m going to have to pivot to Easter,” he joked.
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Former Russian minister says Kremlin is "totally astonished" by Trump’s concessions to Putin
From CNN’s Kathleen Magramo
The Kremlin appears to be surprised by how quickly US President Donald Trump has made concessions to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin even before beginning negations to end Moscow’s war in Ukraine, a former Russian deputy minister told CNN.
The Kremlin had expected Trump would make certain demands of Russia and Moscow was “preparing some sort of offers here and there to make what they call a deal,” said Vladimir Milov, Russia’s former deputy minister of energy and a former adviser to the late Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny.
Speaking in exile in Vilnius, Lithuania, Milov told CNN’s Kim Brunhuber that, based on what he’s heard, “everybody in Moscow is totally astonished by now that they were given all the concessions they wanted, even before the negotiations started.”
The long-fraught relationship between Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky tore apart this week.
Trump parroted Moscow’s talking points, wrongly accusing Ukraine of starting the war and saying that the Ukrainian president should hold an election that was suspended due to the conflict.
After Zelensky hit back, accusing him of being in a “disinformation space,” Trump escalated the war of words and called the Ukrainian president a “dictator.”
Perhaps emboldened by the falling out between Ukraine and the US, Moscow’s demands appear to be accelerating in the past few days, Milov noted, saying “Moscow is clearly encouraged by Trump’s lack of willingness to impose any conditions on Russia.”
Russia has long claimed that expansion of NATO put its security under threat, necessitating its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. That claim has been dismissed by Western leaders as a bogus justification for launching its war.
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Analysis: One month into his tenure, Trump has yet to deliver on bringing prices down
From CNN's Elizabeth Buchwald
On the campaign trail, President Donald Trump vowed repeatedly that he’d bring prices down “starting on Day One” if elected. It’s been a month since he took office and he has yet to deliver.
Consumer prices rose 0.5% last month compared to December — the fastest monthly increase in prices since August 2023, according to Consumer Price Index data. And it could soon get even worse with wholesale prices remaining elevated, often a precursor to higher consumer prices.
The pain is most acute at the grocery store, where consumers are confronting soaring egg prices — if they’re lucky enough to come across any eggs — due to avian flu outbreaks nationwide. And despite Trump’s promise to “drill, baby, drill” to bring gas prices down, Americans are paying four cents more for a gallon of regular fuel on average than when he returned to the White House on January 20, according to AAA data.
Unsurprisingly, Americans aren’t pleased. A new CNN poll shows 62% of Americans feel Trump hasn’t done enough to tackle inflation. Nearly the same share of Americans view inflation as “a very big problem,” according to a Pew Research poll published on Thursday.
Trump's Friday includes signing even more executive orders
From CNN's Max Rego
President Donald Trump’s Friday will begin with him speaking at the Governors Working Session at 11 a.m. ET, according to a news release from the White House.
He will have lunch with Vice President JD Vance at 1 p.m. and then attend a swearing-in for Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick at 2:30 p.m. in the Oval Office.
He will sign executive orders at 3:30 p.m.
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Senate and House Republicans look set to clash over Trump's budget agenda after late night "vote-a-rama"
From CNN's Clare Foran, Morgan Rimmer and Ted Barrett
Senate Republicans took a major step to advance President Donald Trump’s sweeping agenda early Friday morning, voting to adopt a budget blueprint that sets up a clash with House Republicans, who have put forward a competing plan.
Remember: The budget resolution is a non-binding blueprint that does not carry the force of law. But the framework needs to be adopted first before Senate Republicans can pass legislation on a party-line vote without the support of Democrats through a process known as reconciliation.
Republicans are planning to use that mechanism to pass what they hope will be Trump’s signature legislative achievements.
Here’s what to know about the overnight”vote-a-rama”:
• Overnight vote seals the deal: The final vote in favor of Trump’s agenda came after a rare overnight work session for the Senate that started Thursday evening and wrapped up close to 5 a.m. ET on Friday after lasting just short of 10 hours.
• How many people voted for the agenda? The final tally was 52 to 48, with GOP Sen. Rand Paul joining Democrats to oppose the resolution.
• What was voted through? Senate Republicans have put forward a budget resolution that would bolster funding for immigration enforcement, national security and energy production. In contrast, House Republicans have a more far-reaching plan that would allow them to address tax policy, a critical issue that Senate Republicans want to take up later as part of a second legislative package.
House Republicans, with a razor-thin majority, want to address all of the party’s major priorities in a single bill in a bid to get everything done at once. Senate Republicans, on the other hand, want the party to score an early win on issues important to voters, like the border, before moving on to address tax policy, a thorny issue that may take longer – and prove more challenging - for the party to thread the needle.
Trump hostage envoy calls on Hamas to release all remaining hostages or "face total annihilation"
From CNN's Lucas Lilieholm
A Hamas fighter stands guard as Red Cross vehicles arrive at the site where four coffins were handed over to Israel, in Khan Yunis, in southern Gaza, on Thursday.
Eyad Baba/AFP/Getty Images
President Donald Trump’s Envoy for Hostage Affairs has called on Hamas to release the body of Shiri Bibas and all the remaining hostages held in Gaza or “face total annihilation” after Israel said a body that did not match any Israeli hostages had been handed over as part of the ceasefire deal.
Boehler described the incident as “a clear violation” of the deal and expressed disbelief at the revelation calling it “absolutely stunning.”
“I don’t know what they thought when they put the body of someone else in a coffin and said that it was the mother of two kids that have been brutally murdered,” he said, echoing a statement made by Israel earlier in the day that forensic evidence and intelligence suggested the boys were murdered.
Hamas said in November 2023 that Kfir and Ariel Bibas were killed along with their mother in an Israeli airstrike. On Friday, the Hamas-controlled Government Media Office in Gaza said Shiri Bibas’ body was “mixed up” with other bodies under rubble as a result of the airstrike.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed that Hamas would pay “the full price” for its failure to hand over Shiri Bibas’ remains.
