President Trump's political operation is profiting from his flurry of executive orders by hawking DOGE gear, T-shirts that say "Make Greenland Great Again" and "Gulf of America," plus black "Dark MAGA" caps worn by Elon Musk.

• Why it matters: Trump's team is capitalizing on his loyalists' support for his early moves to help build a $500 million war chest. The money will be used to promote his agenda, back midterm candidates and potentially help Trump engage in politics for years to come, Axios' Alex Isenstadt reports.

🧢 Zoom in: Trump's operation has been cashing in on MAGA-themed merchandise since his 2016 campaign. But this fundraising effort is the latest reminder that, for Trump, the campaign never ends.

• The black "Make America Great Again" caps that Musk frequently wears have become the Trump team's second-best-selling item ever — behind only the red and white MAGA hat, according to a person with direct knowledge of the sales.
• Trump's team has sold $1.6 million worth of black MAGA caps since the election — nearly twice as much as the red original.

Newer items being sold by Trump's operation include DOGE-themed shirts, with an image of Trump, Musk and the "DOGE dog." Those have raked in $111,000 since the election, according to a source familiar with the sales totals.

• Recently released "Gulf of America" T-shirts raked in $24,000 in the past month.

🔭 Zoom out: The National Republican Congressional Committee, the House GOP's campaign arm, is also tapping into the pro-Trump merch effort.

• The NRCC is selling its own "Gulf of America" T-shirt, complete with an image of an eagle (with a Trumpian swoop of hair) sipping a beer while sitting on a beach chair.

🔎 Between the lines: Launchpad Strategies, a Republican digital firm co-founded by Trump campaign aide Sean Dollman, has had a key role in producing the merchandise.

• Ideas can become gear within a few days. After then-President Biden appeared to refer to Trump supporters as "garbage," Trump campaign aides rushed out "GARBAGE" T-shirts.

The merchandise is advertised to Trump supporters on Facebook, X and via email. When you buy a cap, shirt, or mug, you're allowing Trump's operation to capture your data — so you can be hit up for donations later.

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With tomorrow marking three years since Russia invaded Ukraine, Washington is shifting its pressure from Moscow to Kyiv as the Trump administration tries to end the war.

• Why it matters: President Trump's dramatic change in U.S. policy toward Russia shocked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and is fueling fears among U.S. allies that the Trump administration will side with Moscow to end the conflict, Axios' Barak Ravid reports.

At any other time in the past 80 years, it would have been unimaginable that the U.S. president would be pressing for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin while calling Zelensky a dictator.

• Trump has cranked up pressure on Zelensky to sign an agreement giving the U.S. and Ukraine equal shares of revenue from mining minerals and other natural resources in Ukraine.

A U.S. official involved in the negotiations confirmed a deal could be reached fairly soon.

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A three-act play — with cliffhanger ending:

I. Before speaking at CPAC yesterday, President Trump says on his Truth Social platform that he wants Elon Musk to "GET MORE AGGRESSIVE."

• Three hours later, Musk replies on X: "Will do, Mr. President!"

II. In the afternoon, Musk announces that "all federal employees will shortly receive an email requesting to understand what they got done last week. Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation."

• It's a page out of Musk's playbook when he bought Twitter — making workers defend themselves to stay employed, Axios' Ben Berkowitz notes.

III. Hours later, the emails go out from [email protected], requesting "approx. 5 bullets of what you accomplished last week" — but with no threat of termination.

• Musk clarified on X last night: "To be clear, the bar is very low here. An email with some bullet points that make any sense at all is acceptable! Should take less than 5 mins to write."

🛑 Several agencies instructed their employees to await further instructions before replying.

• FBI Director Kash Patel told workers that reviews will be conducted "in accordance with FBI procedures": "For now, please pause any responses."
• National Weather Service leaders said they want to "verify that the message ... is authentic."

Go deeper with Axios' Ben Berkowitz.

Washington Dulles, John Wayne (Santa Ana, Calif.) and San Francisco International are the costliest U.S. airports to fly out of domestically, Axios' Alex Fitzpatrick writes from Transportation Department data.

• But vacation hotspots, including Las Vegas and Orlando, had some of the cheapest departures among the country's 50 busiest airports for domestic travel.

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Employee buyouts, terminations and uncertainty at multiple federal agencies are sparking warnings about an erosion of scientific and technical expertise, Axios' Alison Snyder and Andrew Freedman report.

• Why it matters: No single country now dominates in every scientific field. The U.S. is in tight competition with China for science and AI leadership.

👀 The big picture: Axios spoke to four current employees, and four who lost their jobs in recent weeks, who requested anonymity out of fear of retribution.

• Rocket scientists, ecologists, climate scientists, AI experts, chemists and other highly skilled workers have been affected.

Read on.

Pope Francis is conscious but still receiving high flows of supplemental oxygen this morning, as he remains in critical condition with a complex lung infection, the Vatican said.

• The brief statement said: "The night passed quietly, the pope rested."

MSNBC's new president, Rebecca Kutler, is planning to announce broad programming changes to the network that elevate some of its most progressive voices, sources tell Axios' Sara Fischer.

• Why it matters: The changes signal the network's intent to double down on its liberal bend instead of moving toward the center in a new Trump era.

State of play: The shifts include moving former White House press secretary Jen Psaki, currently the host of the weekend show, "Inside with Jen Psaki," to anchor one of the primetime hours during the week.

• The sources say Psaki could be named anchor of MSNBC's 9 p.m. ET hour, helmed by Rachel Maddow every weeknight during the first 100 days of the Trump administration. Maddow plans to go back to anchoring just once per week on Mondays after that.
• Psaki's show has become the network's most-watched weekend program.

👀 Other changes: Symone Sanders Townsend, Michael Steele, and Alicia Menendez, the trio of co-hosts that currently anchor MSNBC's weekend program "The Weekend," will move to anchor a weekday program in the 7 p.m. ET hour.

• Menendez would be the first Latina woman to host a primetime cable news program on MSNBC.

Go deeper.

Stingray casserole. Bear stew. Rabbit kielbasa. Bobcat lo mein. Wild boar ham. Coyote teriyaki. Raccoon andouille sausage with cheddar mini pierogies.

• Makes my brunch plans seem pretty bland!

At a wild-game dinner in a fire hall in rural Pennsylvania, 150 people lined up at a buffet to heap their plates with gray squirrel, alligator and a dozen other down-home delicacies, AP's Mark Scolforo writes.

• A couple of vegetable dishes were largely ignored. Guests listened to live music while they waited for the raffle.

The 12-year-old Taste of the Wild Outdoors dinner — held at the Pine Grove Hose, Hook and Ladder Fire Company, north of Harrisburg — is organized by Larry Primeau, a volunteer rescue captain with the network of sportsmen friends needed to pull it off.

• Primeau has fond boyhood memories of his grandmother's Shake 'N Bake squirrel, and getting a taste for antelope as a Boy Scout.

🍽️ Pro tip: For predators like fox and coyote, smoking helps conceal their musky natural flavor.

🤔 What's next: Ask my nephew, Morgan Allen, about his famous bobcat sashimi.

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