Tracking Trump: Workforce cuts, Putin talks, DOJ drama
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President Trump and his administration have initiated a flurry of policy changes and executive actions since assuming office.
- For those finding it hard to keep up with the rapid pace, here's a summary of key developments this past week.
Trump staffing cuts begin
Trump began promised federal staff cuts with an executive order and an email to fired employees on Tuesday.
- With his sights set on "eliminating waste, bloat, and insularity," the president detailed in the order a goal of optimizing the federal workforce through the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
- Legal experts question the legality of the mass layoffs, which workers criticize as poorly handled and potentially damaging to critical federal government operations, Axios' Emily Peck writes.
- Thousands of workers had been fired as of Friday, in addition to the 75,000 who accepted Trump's deferred resignation offer.
DOJ resignation drama
A dramatic battle played out in Trump's Department of Justice, with at least half-a-dozen prosecutors resigning in refusal to comply with an order to dismiss corruption charges against New York Mayor Eric Adams.
- Amid the resignation drama, Adams appeared on "Fox & Friends" alongside Trump's border czar Tom Homan on Friday and promised to collaborate with new immigration enforcement policies.
Trump threatens switch to retaliation mode with trade partners
Trump signed a trade memorandum on Thursday to launch trade measures that go beyond increasing tariffs and threaten to upend any agreement with trade partners the White House believes to undermine work of U.S. exporters.
- The memo, dubbed the "fair and reciprocal" plan, challenges global trade norms while targeting perceived imbalances. It also allows for potential deal-making to avert implementation, Axios' Courtenay Brown writes.
Trump and Putin in talks to negotiate end of war in Ukraine
Trump has started talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine, he told the New York Post in a story published last Saturday.
- Trump and Putin spoke on Wednesday in their first publicly announced call since Trump took office.
- Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky told Trump in a subsequent call on Wednesday that Putin is faking willingness to hammer out a peace deal because he is "afraid of you," a Ukrainian official and three other sources told Axios' Barak Ravid.
Cabinet confirmations of the week
Some of Trump's most contentious Cabinet picks were confirmed by the Senate this week.
- Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard were each narrowly cleared the Senate, largely along party lines, to lead the Department of Health and Human Services and National Intelligence, respectively.
- Brooke Rollins was also confirmed as the next agriculture secretary.
Trump accused of blocking media access
The Associated Press said Tuesday one of its reporters was blocked from the Oval Office after the White House threatened to do so for its editorial standards in coverage of the president's executive order to rename the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America.
- It's the latest allegation of the Trump administration making a target of the media, but few accusations have alarmed press freedom advocates like Tuesday's incident, Axios' Sara Fischer writes.
- The White House hasn't responded to Axios' request for comment.
Trump sanctions International Criminal Court prosecutor
The Trump administration imposed sanctions on International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Ahmad on Thursday, the administration's first move to carry out sanctions promised in an earlier executive order.
- The president said the ICC has "further abused its power" by issuing arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who were accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity during the war in Gaza.
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