President Donald Trump on Wednesday called Volodymyr Zelenskyy a “dictator without elections,” lashing out after the Ukrainian president said Trump was being influenced by Russian disinformation as he moves to end the Kremlin’s war against Ukraine on terms that Kyiv says are too favorable to Moscow.
Here’s the latest:
New Acting Social Security Administrator says 100 year-olds are ‘not necessarily receiving benefits’
The Social Security Administration’s new acting administrator Lee Dudek said in a statement Wednesday that 100 year-olds on Social Security’s internal lists of beneficiaries are “not necessarily receiving benefits” from the agency.
Dudek, who became SSA’s acting chief over the weekend sent a public message that covered Department of Government Efficiency actions at the agency as well as transparency commitments to the Public. Dudek said DOGE personnel “CANNOT make changes to agency systems, benefit payments, or other information. They only have READ access.”
“DOGE personnel must follow the law and if they violate the law they will be referred to the Department of Justice for possible prosecution,” Dudek said.
Dudek also acknowledged Trump administration claims that tens of millions of dead people over 100 years-old are receiving Social Security payments. “The reported data are people in our records with a Social Security number who do not have a date of death associated with their record. These individuals are not necessarily receiving benefits.”
Trump administration labels 8 Latin American cartels as ‘foreign terrorist organizations’
The Trump administration is formally designating eight Latin American crime organizations as “foreign terrorist organizations,” upping its pressure on cartels operating in the U.S. and on anyone aiding them.The move, carrying out a Jan. 20 executive order by President Donald Trump, names Tren de Aragua in Venezuela, MS-13 in El Salvador and others.
The designation will be published in Thursday’s edition of the Federal Register, according to a notice Wednesday.
The “foreign terrorist organization” label is unusual because it deploys a terrorist designation normally reserved for groups like al-Qaida or the Islamic State group that use violence for political ends — not for money-focused crime rings such as the Latin American cartels.
The Trump administration argues that the international connections and operations of the groups — including drug trafficking, migrant smuggling and violent pushes to extend their territory — warrant the designation.Read more about the designation
Job cuts at National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation let go of 170 employees Tuesday to ensure compliance with a Trump administration executive order, spokesperson Michael England said in a statement. The cuts comprise about 10% of the foundation’s total workforce.
Established in 1950 to promote science and welfare, the foundation supports research on astronomy, artificial intelligence and more at colleges and other organizations across the country. The recent dismissals included probationary workers and temporary employees appointed as experts.
Labor secretary nominee Chavez-DeRemer backtracks on right to work
At her hearing Wednesday, Chavez-DeRemer said that she no longer supported provisions of a labor bill that would overturn so-called “right to work” laws in states across the country.
While a member of the House, Chavez-DeRemer co-sponsored the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, an expansive bill that would make it far easier for workers to organize in workplaces in the country.
“Right to work” laws require that employees are allowed to refuse joining a union in their workplace. A section of the PRO Act would have overturned those laws.
Pressed by Republican senators, Chavez-DeRemer said she no longer supported that part of the bill.
“I fully fairly and support states who want to protect their right to work,” Chavez-DeRemer told Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky.
“So you no longer support the aspect of the PRO Act that would have overturned state right to work laws?” Paul directly asked.
“Yes sir,” Chavez-DeRemer responded.
Trump calls Zelenskyy a ‘dictator’ as tensions rise between the leaders over the Russia-Ukraine war
Trump called Volodymyr Zelenskyy a “dictator without elections,” lashing out after the Ukrainian president said Trump was being influenced by Russian disinformation as he moves to end the Kremlin’s war against Ukraine on terms that Kyiv says are too favorable to Moscow.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump called Zelenskyy “a modestly successful comedian” who talked the United States into spending billions of dollars “to go into a War that couldn’t be won, that never had to start.” He said Ukraine would be unable to end the war without Trump’s help.
Trump’s post comes a day after he suggested in a news conference that Ukraine should hold elections as part of a peace plan.
“A Dictator without Elections,” Trump wrote Wednesday.
Zelenskyy was elected president in 2019 after a career as an entertainer. He resisted pressure to leave the country when Russia invaded in 2022, mounting a defense that protected the capital, Kyiv.
Zelenskyy accused Trump earlier Wednesday of living in a Russian-made “disinformation space.”
Schumer says Trump blaming Ukraine for Russia’s invasion is ‘disgusting’
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer says Trump’s comments blaming Ukraine for having been invaded by Russia are “disgusting.”
Rather than acknowledge Putin’s attack that launched the war in 2022, Trump “amazingly blamed Ukraine for Putin’s invasion,” Schumer said.
The senator’s remarks came as the Trump administration is being widely criticized as catering to Russia and excluding Ukraine in early negotiations for an end to the war.
“It’s disgusting to see an American president turn against one of our friends and openly side with a thug like Vladimir Putin,” Schumer said.
Senators grill US labor secretary nominee on her past support of the Protecting the Right to Organize Act
Senators are grilling U.S. labor secretary nominee Lori Chavez-DeRemer on her past support of the Protecting the Right to Organize Act.
During her one term in Congress, Chavez-DeRemer was one of the few Republicans to support the legislation, which was aimed at making it easier for workers to unionize. It passed the House but didn’t gain traction in the Senate.
Chavez-DeRemer said she believes U.S. labor laws need to be updated and modernized to reflect today’s workforce and the nation’s business environment. She said the PRO Act was a way to start doing that when she represented Oregon’s 5th congressional district, but if she’s confirmed as labor secretary, it wouldn’t be up to her to write the laws.
“If confirmed, my job will be to implement President Trump’s policy vision,” Chavez-DeRemer said. “And my guiding principle will be President Trump’s guiding principle: ensuring a level playing field for businesses, unions and most importantly, the American worker.”
A comprehensive look at DOGE’s firings and layoffs so far
Thousands of federal government employees have been shown the door in the first month of Trump’s administration.
While there is no official figure available of the total firings or layoffs, the AP tracked how agencies are being affected.
Here are just some of the major infrastructure changes:
1. The White House offered a “deferred resignation” proposal in exchange for financial incentives to almost all federal employees
2. The Department of Veterans Affairs fired 1,000 employees who had served for less than two years
3. At least 39 people have been fired from the Education Department
4. Hundreds of federal employees tasked with working on the nation’s nuclear weapons programs were laid off, but that was largely rescinded hours later
5. The jobs of more than 5,000 probationary employees are on the line at HHS
6. The IRS will lay off thousands of probationary workers in the middle of tax season, according to two people familiar
▶ Read more about how federal agencies and employees are being affected by DOGE
Confirmation hearing for Trump’s Labor Department pick opens
The confirmation hearing for President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Labor Department has opened.
The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions is set to question former U.S. Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer on Wednesday.
Unions have described the Republican from Oregon as pro-labor because of her voting record during her one term as a congresswoman.
The committee’s chairman, Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Republican from Louisiana, said there are concerns about Chavez-DeRemer’s support of the PRO Act, legislation that would allow more workers to conduct union organizing campaigns and penalize companies that violate workers’ rights.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent, asked if she would be “a rubber stamp” for anti-worker policies promoted by billionaires such as Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos.
Rubio will skip a G20 meeting after calling host South Africa’s policies anti-American
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will skip a two-day meeting of foreign ministers from the leading rich and developing nations that starts on Thursday after criticizing host South Africa’s policies as anti-American.
Instead, Rubio was headed back to the United States on Wednesday from his first trip to the Middle East as America’s chief diplomat after leading a U.S. delegation in talks with Russia in Riyad over the war in Ukraine.
Top European diplomats, as well as Lavrov and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi are all expected at the Group of 20 meeting in Johannesburg while the U.S. will be represented by a lower-level delegation.
Putin says he would like to meet Trump but preparations are ongoing
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday he would like to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump but the meeting needs to be prepared to make it productive.
“I would like to have a meeting, but it needs to be prepared so that it brings results,” Putin said in televised remarks. He added that he would be “pleased” to meet Trump.
He hailed the talks between senior Russian and U.S. officials in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday, noting that the parties agreed to restore the tattered diplomatic relations.
Putin also said that Trump has acknowledged that the Ukrainian settlement could take longer than he had initially hoped.
Rubio visits with UAE leaders after landmark talks with Russia over Ukraine war
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Wednesday with the leader of the United Arab Emirates, wrapping up an overseas trip that saw the highest-level outreach between the United States and Russia since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Rubio’s talk with Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, also the ruler of Abu Dhabi, comes as the U.S. also tries to continue a shaky ceasefire in the Gaza Strip between Israel and the militant Hamas group.
The UAE also has been key in mediating prisoner swaps between Russia and Ukraine.
Rubio offered his thanks in the meeting to the UAE “for the strength and enduring nature of the relationship,” State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in a statement.
The state-run WAM news agency reported Sheikh Mohammed had told Rubio “that the UAE strongly opposes any attempt to displace the Palestinian people from Gaza.”
▶ Read more about Rubio’s discussions with the UAE
Ukraine’s Zelenskyy says Trump is living in a Russian-made ‘disinformation space’
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday that U.S. President Donald Trump is living in a Russian-made “disinformation space” as a result of his administration’s discussions with Kremlin officials.
Zelenskyy said he “would like Trump’s team to be more truthful.”
He made the comments shortly before he was expected to meet with Keith Kellogg, the U.S. special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, who arrived in Kyiv on Wednesday. Kellogg will meet Zelenskyy and military commanders as the U.S. shifts its policy away from years of efforts to isolate Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Trump suggested Tuesday that Kyiv was to blame for the war, which enters its fourth year next week, as talks between top American and Russian diplomats in Saudi Arabia sidelined Ukraine and its European supporters.
DOGE is getting lists of the military’s probationary workers from the Pentagon
Department of Government Efficiency staffers were at the Pentagon on Tuesday and receiving lists of the military’s probationary employees, U.S. officials said.
However, it was not clear that all probationary personnel would be let go — instead, some might be exempted due to the critical nature of their work. The military services each had until end of business Tuesday to identify their probationary employees.
The affected personnel would include defense civilians who are still new to their jobs, not uniformed military personnel, who are exempt, according to the four officials who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.
The potential cuts at the Pentagon, first reported by The Washington Post, follow reductions at other federal agencies, where probationary employees who were conducting critical functions and had high-level clearances, including staff at the National Nuclear Security Administration, were fired despite their role.
▶ Read more about the federal worker firings
Judge questions motives for Trump’s order banning transgender troops
A federal judge questioned Trump’s motives for issuing an executive order that calls for banning transgender troops from serving in the U.S. military, describing a portion of the directive as “frankly ridiculous.”
U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes indicated that she won’t rule before early March on whether to temporarily block the Trump administration from enforcing the order, which plaintiffs’ attorneys have said illegally discriminates against transgender troops.
But her questions and remarks during Tuesday’s hearing suggest that she is deeply skeptical of the administration’s reasoning for ordering a policy change. Reyes also lauded the service of several active-duty troops who sued to block the order.
Trump’s Jan. 27 order claims the sexual identity of transgender service members “conflicts with a soldier’s commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle, even in one’s personal life” and is harmful to military readiness. It requires Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to issue a revised policy.
▶ Read more about Trump’s order banning transgender troops
Trump imposes his vision on America in departure from first-term stumbles
Instead of repeating his laissez-faire attitude toward his own administration, the Republican president is asserting control at every opportunity, backed up by loyalists at all levels of government. Despite occasional disorganization and confusion, there’s a headstrong determination to push through any obstacles.
Trump doesn’t just want to change course from Joe Biden’s presidency, his team is holding back congressionally authorized funding championed by his predecessor.
This time, Trump seems to be saying, his orders will not be ignored. This time, there will be follow through.
▶ Read more about how Trump’s second term is different from his first
