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US Department of Government Efficiency

US Department of Government Efficiency
By Jillian Kestler-D'Amours and Alice Speri
Published On 25 Feb 2025

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25 Feb 2025 - 23:00
 (23:00 GMT)

That’s a wrap from us

Thank you for joining our live coverage of day 37 of Donald Trump’s second term.

For more information about the resignations at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), please read our story here.

And learn more about a federal judge’s decision to release frozen foreign aid funds with this article.

We hope to see you again soon.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks during a news briefing on February 25, flanked by screens saying, ‘Victory’ [Evan Vucci/AP Photo]
25 Feb 2025 - 22:55
 (22:55 GMT)

A recap of the day’s headlines

  • A judge has imposed a Wednesday deadline for President Donald Trump to comply with orders to release foreign aid funds to nonprofits and businesses that provided work to the federal government.
  • Separately, a court in Seattle placed an injunction on the Trump administration, allowing for the US refugee resettlement programme to resume.
  • In the House of Representatives, top Republicans are hoping to pass a Trump-approved budget resolution that critics say would extend tax cuts by peeling back funding for social service programmes.
  • But some House Republicans have already come out against the bill for fear of cuts to Medicaid and increases to the government deficit.
  • Ukrainian and US officials have continued negotiations over a deal that would provide access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals in exchange for US support.
  • A group of 21 employees at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have resigned en masse, criticising what they consider an ideological bend and risks to data privacy under Trump.
  • Trump officials have announced they would strip an independent organisation of its ability to choose the members of the White House press pool, bringing the decision under the government’s authority.
President Donald Trump speaks after signing an executive order on February 25 [Pool via AP]
25 Feb 2025 - 22:50
 (22:50 GMT)

Trump suspends security clearances for law firm that worked with special counsel

Trump has signed an executive order suspending security clearances for lawyers at the Covington & Burling law firm, which worked with former Special Counsel Jack Smith.

Smith led federal probes into Trump while the Republican leader was out of office.

Those investigations resulted in two indictments: one for attempting to overturn the 2020 elections and another for the alleged mishandling of classified documents.

After Trump won a second term in the White House last November, Smith dropped both cases, citing a longstanding department rule against prosecuting sitting presidents.

But he made clear he was not making the decision based on the merits of either case.

Smith left the Justice Department before Trump was inaugurated for a second term on January 20.

25 Feb 2025 - 22:45
 (22:45 GMT)

Trump to sell ‘gold cards’ to foreigners who want to move to US

Trump says he wants to begin selling “gold cards” for $5m to foreigners who want to move to the US and create jobs.

The immigration programme, which the president said was legal, could start in about two weeks, according to the president.

Trump added that it was possible Russian oligarchs could qualify for the gold cards.

Meanwhile, Trump’s Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has said that the administration will end the EB-5 visa programme, which allows foreign investors to become US permanent residents.

President Donald Trump signs an executive order as Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick watch, on February 25 [Pool via AP]
25 Feb 2025 - 22:37
 (22:37 GMT)

Trump launches national security probe into copper trade

Trump has signed an executive order, flanked by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, that initiates a national security probe into the global copper market.

Experts say the move will likely pave the way for future tariffs on the metal, commonly used in technology products.

“Like our steel and aluminum [sic] industries, our great American copper industry has been decimated by global actors attacking our domestic production,” Lutnick said in a statement. “To build back our copper industry, I will investigate the imposition of possible tariffs.”

White House trade adviser Peter Navarro also told reporters he expected the investigation to unfold quickly.

He also accused China of using subsidies and other mechanisms to assert dominance in the global copper trade.

 Trump holds up a print-out of a Truth Social post on February 25 [Pool via AP]
25 Feb 2025 - 22:30
 (22:30 GMT)
Analysis

Minerals deal would ‘commit the US to the reconstruction of Ukraine’: Analyst

If a minerals deal between the US and Ukraine is confirmed, it would “commit the US to the reconstruction of Ukraine after the war”, according to Anatol Lieven, the director of the Eurasia programme at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft.

He added that the commitment would come in the form of investment and profit, not just aid.

“Since, frankly, there’s no other way that the Trump administration is going to help Ukraine after the war  – it’s going to leave that to the Europeans – this would be of great importance to the Ukrainian economy,” Lieven explained in an interview with Al Jazeera.

The deal likely would not involve a US security commitment to Ukraine.

“The Trump administration has made that absolutely clear,” Lieven said. “But it would make America more interested in the fate of Ukraine.”

25 Feb 2025 - 22:15
 (22:15 GMT)

What is the history of the White House Correspondents’ Association?

In 1914, US President Woodrow Wilson was fed up with news conferences – so much so that he openly considered ending the practice altogether.

The White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) was developed to help address the problem and create a more orderly system of engaging with the presidency.

While any journalist can apply for a pass to report on a White House event, the WHCA helps to organise seating during news briefings and advocate for press access.

Up until today, it was also responsible for selecting the small group of journalists who make up the White House press pool. When space is limited – on Air Force One or the Oval Office, for instance – the pool reports on the president’s activities on behalf of the wider news corps.

Typically, the WHCA has chosen pool reporters for their quality and reliability, since such coverage requires a heavy time commitment. The wire services Bloomberg, Reuters and The Associated Press, which serve other news outlets, each have a permanent seat in the pool.

But on Tuesday, that independent, nonpartisan tradition ended, as the White House Press Office announced it would choose the press pool itself.

Tensions had erupted after The Associated Press maintained its use of the term “Gulf of Mexico”, resulting in the Trump administration ejecting it from the pool.

25 Feb 2025 - 22:00
 (22:00 GMT)

Zelenskyy hoping to ‘win back’ Trump with minerals deal: Correspondent

By Charles Stratford

Reporting from Kyiv, Ukraine

The Reuters news agency is reporting that President Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian leader, is due to travel to Washington on Friday to meet Donald Trump – and this is Reuters attributing this to two sources saying that an agreement has been reached with respect to this minerals deal.

Of course, this minerals deal is being seen as essential to Ukraine’s hopes that it can win back favour with Donald Trump after effectively a war of words.

We saw an initial rejection of a draft proposal by Zelenskyy of that initial deal, with him saying that it lacked security guarantees and later saying that he wasn’t prepared to sell the country out.

But that was responded to by US President Trump, who called Zelenskyy a dictator and implied that the Ukrainian leader had started the war with Russia.

Everybody in Ukraine and everybody in Europe knows that America is essential to any kind of peace initiative that Donald Trump has in plan, through his contact with the Russian leader, Vladimir Putin. So, this is hugely significant. It’s a fast-moving story.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attends a news conference on February 24 [Gleb Garanich/Pool Photo via AP]
25 Feb 2025 - 21:45
 (21:45 GMT)

Judge blocks Trump Media bid to sue Brazilian Supreme Court justice

A federal judge in the US has declined to take action against Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, after Trump’s media company launched a lawsuit against him.

Last week, the Trump Media & Technology Group – which is majority-owned by the US president – joined a complaint with the right-wing video platform Rumble to sue de Moraes for alleged violations of their free speech rights.

They argued that de Moraes’s order to suspend a Rumble account belonging to a Brazilian dissident was tantamount to censorship.

Their complaint argued that a recent Trump executive order barred “foreign judicial attempts to impose their legal standards”.

De Moraes had called for the account to be suspended as a result of alleged misinformation and threats to judges.

US District Judge Mary Scriven in Tampa, Florida, ruled that Trump Media and Rumble do not have to comply with De Moraes’s order, since it did not come under the framework of an international treaty.

But she pointed out that no actions had been taken to force compliance with De Moraes’s command, making the case premature.

De Moraes has become the target of right-wing ire, both at home and abroad, after he oversaw a federal investigation into former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and briefly suspended the social media platform X in Brazil.

Brazilian Justice Alexandre de Moraes [Gustavo Moreno/AP Photo]
25 Feb 2025 - 21:30
 (21:30 GMT)

White House identifies DOGE administrator after earlier refusal

The White House has announced that Amy Gleason, a top Musk adviser and former official at the US Digital Service, will be the administrator for the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.

The revelation comes after White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt refused to answer questions earlier today about who is leading the department.

“I’m not going to reveal the name of that individual from this podium,” Leavitt said during a news briefing. “We’ve been incredibly transparent about the way that DOGE is working.”

According to an archived page from the administration of former President Barack Obama, Gleason began her career in nursing and discovered a passion for technology as a means of improving healthcare.

She spent years building and implementing technologies for electronic medical records and practice management.

The US Digital Service, an Obama-era office, was folded into DOGE when Trump took office for his second term.

Some 40 staff members were laid off by the Trump administration and 21 more resigned today.

25 Feb 2025 - 21:15
 (21:15 GMT)

Judge stops Trump from indefinitely suspending refugee resettlement

A federal judge in Seattle, Washington, has granted a temporary injunction that prevents Trump from indefinitely blocking the US refugee resettlement programme.

Judge Jamal Whitehead did recognise the executive branch’s power to suspend refugee admissions.

But he said the far-reaching nature of Trump’s executive order on January 20 could overstep the limits of the presidency.

“That authority is not limitless,” Whitehead said during a court hearing. “I cannot ignore Congress’s detailed framework for refugee admissions and the limits it places on the president’s ability to suspend the same.”

The temporary injunction was the result of an emergency petition brought by nine refugees and their US family members.

Many refugees had been vetted and approved to travel to the US, until the refugee resettlement programme was abruptly halted.

For more information about how veterans groups are reacting to the delay in refugee resettlement for Afghans involved in the US war effort, check out our story here.

Martin Bernstein, 95, whose parents were refugees, holds a sign as people protest outside the US District Court in Seattle on Tuesday [Ryan Sun/AP Photo]
25 Feb 2025 - 21:00
 (21:00 GMT)

DOGE employees quit rather than ‘dismantle critical public services’

A group of civil service employees have announced their resignation from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), accusing the department of carrying out ideological attacks and risking the integrity of government systems.

The resignation involved 21 workers including engineers, data scientists and product managers, all of whom were previously employed by top technology firms including Google and Amazon.

“We will not use our skills as technologists to compromise core government systems, jeopardise Americans’ sensitive data, or dismantle critical public services,” they wrote in a joint resignation letter.

“We will not lend our expertise to carry out or legitimise DOGE’s actions.”

Read more here.

25 Feb 2025 - 20:45
 (20:45 GMT)

WATCH: What does Trump’s exit from Paris Agreement mean for US projects?

Find out in our video below.

25 Feb 2025 - 20:30
 (20:30 GMT)

White House press pool changes tear at ‘independence of free press’: WHCA

Eugene Daniels, president of the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA), has slammed an announcement from the Trump administration that it will decide which journalists have access to the president.

“This move tears at the independence of a free press in the United States. It suggests the government will choose the journalists who cover the president. In a free country, leaders must not be able to choose their own press corps,” Daniels said.

Daniels explained that the WHCA has for decades decided amongst its own members how the White House press pool operates, in order to ensure fairness and professional standards.

Speaking to reporters earlier, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said that “moving forward, the White House press pool will be determined by the White House press team”.

In his statement, Daniels added: “To be clear, the White House did not give the WHCA board a heads-up or have any discussions about today’s announcements.”

25 Feb 2025 - 20:15
 (20:15 GMT)

Photos: Protesters denounce Musk and DOGE

Demonstrators protest in Washington, DC [Kevin Lamarque/Reuters]
A demonstrator wears a USAID vest during a protest against Musk’s campaign to push out tens of thousands of federal worker [Nathan Howard/Reuters]

25 Feb 2025 - 20:00
 (20:00 GMT)

White House rebuffs question on poor treatment of migrants at Guantanamo

Leavitt, the White House spokesperson, has sidestepped a reporter’s question asking her to comment on a report that migrants held at Guantanamo Bay are being denied phone calls to lawyers and kept in isolation for long periods of time.

“These are criminals we are talking about, don’t forget that,” Leavitt said during today’s briefing.

The Washington Post reported earlier that migrants held at the infamous US detention facility in Cuba were also subjected to humiliating searches and only allowed to go outside for two, one-hour stretches over two weeks.

“They didn’t treat me like a human being,” Diuvar Uzcategui, 27, told the Post about his two-week detention. “They threw me in a cage.”

25 Feb 2025 - 19:53
 (19:53 GMT)
Developing

Judge extends order blocking Trump federal funding freeze

Another US judge has put a temporary roadblock up in front of the Trump administration’s agenda.

US District Judge Loren AliKhan has extended an earlier order she issued that temporarily blocked a sweeping freeze on trillions of dollars in federal spending.

The judge’s new order – which came at the urging of advocacy groups representing nonprofits and small businesses – will apply as she considers whether to issue a longer-term injunction.

25 Feb 2025 - 19:45
 (19:45 GMT)

US judge gives administration Wednesday deadline to pay foreign aid funds

The Trump administration has until just before midnight on Wednesday (04:59am GMT) to pay foreign aid funds to contractors and grant recipients.

US District Judge Amir Ali said there was no sign that the administration had taken any steps to comply with his earlier order that the funds be unfrozen.

The new order applies to payments for work done before February 13, when the judge issued the earlier temporary restraining order.

US President Donald Trump has attacked USAID [Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images]
25 Feb 2025 - 19:30
 (19:30 GMT)

Group urges Trump to call on Israel to allow entry of Gaza mobile homes

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has urged the Trump administration to pressure Israel to allow more aid into the Gaza Strip, including mobile homes.

The call comes after Palestinian babies froze to death as thousands of people remain without adequate shelter across the enclave.

“The Israeli government’s genocidal campaign in Gaza has left most of its population homeless,” CAIR’s deputy executive director, Edward Ahmed Mitchell, said in a statement.

“To block the entry of temporary housing so that returning Palestinians, including infants, die of exposure is entirely unconscionable. The Trump administration and the international community must take immediate action to force the Israeli government to allow desperately needed housing supplies to enter Gaza.”

25 Feb 2025 - 19:15
 (19:15 GMT)
Explainer

Russia-Ukraine war: How US position changed on UN resolutions

After three years of steadfastly supporting Ukraine, the US has made a sharp turn and voted against a UN General Assembly (UNGA) resolution condemning Russia for its invasion.

The US also filed its own resolution at the UNGA on Monday – one that did not explicitly blame Russia for the conflict and called for an end to the war on neutral terms.

These moves reflect the growing divide between the US and Europe, as well as the shift in Washington’s policy on Ukraine under the Trump administration.

For more on the policy shift, check out our explainer here.

The US’s interim UN envoy Dorothy Camille Shea speaks during the UN Security Council session on February 24 [Michael M Santiago/Getty Images via AFP]