Among the critics who posted on X Sunday after my Fox News show was one who made an argument that surprised me.

Don’t pay attention to what President Trump says, this person wrote. Pay attention to what he does.

Now that’s a novel idea. What the President of the United States says is unimportant and should be ignored. I doubt that this person applied the same standard to President Joe Biden.

And yet there’s an interesting thought exercise here. Trump says a lot of things, especially since he talks to journalists at length virtually every day. Not everything rises to the same level of seriousness. I say this as someone who has interviewed him many times over the years, including our sitdown two weeks before the election.

INTERVIEWING DONALD TRUMP: A LAST-MINUTE BLITZ AND NEW CLOSING MESSAGE

Sometimes the president says things just to rile up the press. Sometimes he says things that aren’t true, or are exaggerations or taken out of context.

But more often he says the quiet part out loud, signaling what he plans to do or insulting those with whom he disagrees, the kind of stuff that reporters used to have to attribute to unnamed aides, and he does it in front of the cameras.

At the top of the list right now would be Ukraine. Donald Trump is a smart guy, he knows that Russia invaded its much smaller sovereign neighbor with the aim of wiping it off the map and putting it under Moscow’s control. But he has chosen to blame Ukraine for starting the war, and to insult Volodomyr Zelenskyy as a dictator when everyone knows that label perfectly describes Vladimir Putin.

The most charitable interpretation is that Trump believes the only way to end the war is through an alliance with Putin for a settlement that could then be sold to Ukraine. (The United States voted with Russia yesterday against a U.N. resolution condemning the invasion.) 

Of course, Trump has cozied up to Putin for a long time. During their Helsinki summit in the first term, the president accepted Putin’s denial that the Kremlin had hacked into Democratic emails, despite the evidence gathered by his own intelligence agencies.

Trump has repeated again and again that Zelenskyy bears responsibility for the war that just marked its three-year anniversary. Is this aimed at the American public or at Moscow or Kyiv (to put pressure on Ukraine)?  

ELON MUSK’S BUDGET-SLASHING HITS POLITICAL REALITY OF SUFFERING AMERICANS

Journalists keep asking Trump aides and Republican supporters if they agree with the president’s blame-Ukraine approach, and many have simply tried to deflect the question.

In my "Media Buzz" interview with Jason Miller, the longtime Trump confidante and senior adviser to the Trump transition team, he deftly avoided contradicting the president.

"What President Trump has done," he said, "is he has forced the sides to the table to actually stop the killing and come up with a peace deal. For the last several years. Joe Biden has sat there completely incompetent, doing nothing but fueling and funding more killing and more death." 

When I tried again, Miller said of his boss that "his legacy really will be as a peacemaker."

I came back a third time, quoting conservative radio host Mark Levin as saying, "This is sick. Ukraine didn't start this war. What were they supposed to do? Roll over and play dead? They're just trying to survive." 

And I asked: "Why is President Trump blaming Zelenskyy for the beginning of the war?"

"Well, Zelenskyy has a lot of blame. I think that would go to this as well. But again, you want to look into the past, I want to look into the future, what we do to save lives." 

Jason Miller was doing his job. A similar scenario played out on the other Sunday shows.

On "Fox News Sunday," my colleague Shannon Bream asked Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth whether it was fair to say that Russia was unprovoked when it attacked Ukraine. He replied that it was "fair to say it’s a very complicated situation."

DONALD TRUMP’S TOUGH TALK—BUY GREENLAND! TAKE BACK PANAMA CANAL!—SPARKS DEFIANCE FROM MANY REPUBLICAN REBELS

Stressing that Trump wants to end the war, Hegseth said: "‘You’re good, you’re bad; you’re a dictator, you’re not a dictator; you invaded, you didn’t.’ It’s not useful. It’s not productive."

Another part of my Sunday interview also shed light on Trump’s use of language.

The president had told reporters: "I think we should govern the District of Columbia, make it absolutely flawlessly beautiful." 

The District has enjoyed home rule for 50 years, although Congress retains the power to overturn its laws. The capital, like most cities, grapples with crime, poverty and other urban ills.

I asked point blank: Is the president ready to end home rule in D.C.?

Miller said Mayor Muriel Bowser is largely doing a good job, adding: "I think part of the reason why President Trump won is because he said he was going to clean up our cities to make them safe. Of course he's going to put pressure on the District of Columbia."

SUBSCRIBE TO HOWIE'S MEDIA BUZZMETER PODCAST, A RIFF ON THE DAY'S HOTTEST STORIES

So Trump’s words in this instance had a different meaning, as a warning signal to the District.

Oh, I also wondered why Trump keeps referring to Canada as the 51st state when that’s not going to happen.

"The president's having a little bit of fun with it. But he's also making some very serious points."

My online detractor was wrong. It’s important to pay attention to the president’s words, especially for the media, which have a tendency to overreact to some of his language. The challenge is deciphering when he’s dead serious, when he’s sending signals, and when he’s just trolling. 

The Crime and Policing Bill will be given officers powers to make Britain's cities safer, the Home Secretary says.

The Runcorn and Helsby MP was jailed by magistrates on Monday after he admitted the assault.

Laws in the Isle of Man to let terminally ill adults end their own lives are in the last stages of debate.

The five largest parties in England were due to meet this week - but the BBC has learned the talks have been cancelled.

British trade secretary Jonathan Reynolds met his Indian counterpart Piyush Goyal in Delhi on Monday.

The ex-MEP and former UKIP Wales leader made favourable statements about Russia for money, a court hears.

From April, a pilot scheme will offer free breakfasts for 180,000 pupils before class.

President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk on Monday separately endorsed entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy in Ohio's gubernatorial race.

Ramaswamy, who ran against Trump in the 2024 GOP presidential primary, announced his candidacy earlier on Monday to replace term-limited Republican Gov. Mike DeWine in the 2026 election.

Trump announced his endorsement in a post to his social media platform Truth Social.

RAMASWAMY OFFICIALLY LAUNCHES GUBERNATORIAL CAMPAIGN IN OHIO: 'BEST DAYS ARE STILL YET AHEAD'

"VIVEK RAMASWAMY is running for Governor of the Great State of Ohio. I know him well, competed against him, and he is something SPECIAL," Trump wrote. 

"He’s Young, Strong, and Smart! Vivek is also a very good person, who truly loves our Country," he continued. "He will be a GREAT Governor of Ohio, will never let you down, and has my COMPLETE AND TOTAL ENDORSEMENT!"

Musk, a senior advisor to Trump, also offered Ramaswamy his endorsement a short time later.

"Good luck, you have my full endorsement!" Musk responded to Ramaswamy in a post on X.

Ramaswamy formally declared his candidacy during a rally on Monday in his hometown of Cincinnati.

"I will lead Ohio to become the state of excellence in America," Ramaswamy told the crowd.

TOP JD VANCE POLITICAL ADVISORS TO PLAY KEY ROLES IN RAMASWAMY CAMPAIGN

"Think that sounds unrealistic? It’s not," he said. "In fact, it wasn’t long ago that Ohio was that state. Today, young people on the internet make fun of something by saying ‘that’s so Ohio.’ But less than a century ago, people weren’t making fun of Ohio, they were aspiring to be Ohio."

Ramaswamy, 39, dropped out of the race for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination to endorse Trump and become a surrogate for the current president.

President Donald Trump turned his attention to the Keystone XL Pipeline on Monday evening, calling for the company building it to "come back to America, and get it built — NOW!"

Trump said he was "just thinking" about how construction on the pipeline was "viciously jettisoned by the incompetent Biden Administration," and promised things are different now under his leadership.

"I know they were treated very badly by Sleepy Joe Biden, but the Trump Administration is very different — Easy approvals, almost immediate start! If not them, perhaps another Pipeline Company. We want the Keystone XL Pipeline built!"

The pipeline has been at the forefront of political debate since the project began construction in 2010, and was eventually halted by former President Barack Obama before it was finished. Trump revived it during his first term.

ENERGY EXPERTS WEIGH IN AFTER CANADIAN PREMIER SAYS SHE WANTS TO DISCUSS KEYSTONE PIPELINE 2.0 WITH TRUMP

However, former President Joe Biden ordered the pipeline cancelation via executive order on his first day in office in January 2021, leading to thousands of job losses. 

TC Energy, the operator of the Keystone XL pipeline, ultimately gave up on the project in June 2021 as a result of Biden's decision to cancel its federal permits.

 Then, in 2023, a federal judge tossed a legal challenge from nearly two dozen states asking the court to reinstate the pipeline's permits.

'I LITERALLY CRIED': FORMER KEYSTONE XL WORKERS STILL REELING TWO YEARS AFTER BIDEN AXED PIPELINE

The pipeline had been scheduled to be completed in early 2023 and would transport an additional 830,000 barrels of crude oil from Canada to the U.S. through an existing pipeline network, according to TC Energy. It was also projected to create thousands of jobs, many of which would have been union jobs.

In December 2022, the Biden administration's Department of Energy (DOE) published a report that said the Keystone XL project would have created between 16,149 and 59,000 jobs and would have had a positive economic impact of between $3.4 and $9.6 billion, citing various studies.

BIDEN ADMIN QUIETLY ADMITS CANCELING KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE COST THOUSANDS OF JOBS, BILLIONS OF DOLLARS

"Joe Biden’s action cost tens of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars and every American family is still paying more every day," Daniel Turner, the founder and executive director of Power the Future, shared with Fox News Digital in a previous statement.

The system was designed to carry oil from Alberta to states like Illinois, Texas and Oklahoma. 

In January, Danielle Smith, the premier of Alberta, Canada, said that she was interested in talking to the Trump administration about potentially reopening the pipeline project. 

"Restarting the Keystone XL pipeline aligns with President Trump’s agenda to lower food and energy costs by bolstering North American energy infrastructure and reducing reliance on costly imports," Jason Isaac, CEO of the American Energy Institute (AEI), previously told Fox News Digital. 

Another expert said that Trump will likely face litigation if he chooses to proceed with construction of the pipeline, but that Congress could help limit legal action.

Fox News Digital's Aubrie Spady and Danielle Wallace contributed to this report. 

President Donald Trump turned his attention to the Keystone XL Pipeline on Monday evening, calling for the company building it to "come back to America, and get it built — NOW!"

Trump said he was "just thinking" about how construction on the pipeline was "viciously jettisoned by the incompetent Biden Administration," and promised things are different now under his leadership.

"I know they were treated very badly by Sleepy Joe Biden, but the Trump Administration is very different — Easy approvals, almost immediate start! If not them, perhaps another Pipeline Company. We want the Keystone XL Pipeline built!"

The pipeline has been at the forefront of political debate since the project began construction in 2010, and was eventually halted by former President Barack Obama before it was finished. Trump revived it during his first term.

ENERGY EXPERTS WEIGH IN AFTER CANADIAN PREMIER SAYS SHE WANTS TO DISCUSS KEYSTONE PIPELINE 2.0 WITH TRUMP

However, former President Joe Biden ordered the pipeline cancelation via executive order on his first day in office in January 2021, leading to thousands of job losses. 

TC Energy, the operator of the Keystone XL pipeline, ultimately gave up on the project in June 2021 as a result of Biden's decision to cancel its federal permits.

 Then, in 2023, a federal judge tossed a legal challenge from nearly two dozen states asking the court to reinstate the pipeline's permits.

'I LITERALLY CRIED': FORMER KEYSTONE XL WORKERS STILL REELING TWO YEARS AFTER BIDEN AXED PIPELINE

The pipeline had been scheduled to be completed in early 2023 and would transport an additional 830,000 barrels of crude oil from Canada to the U.S. through an existing pipeline network, according to TC Energy. It was also projected to create thousands of jobs, many of which would have been union jobs.

In December 2022, the Biden administration's Department of Energy (DOE) published a report that said the Keystone XL project would have created between 16,149 and 59,000 jobs and would have had a positive economic impact of between $3.4 and $9.6 billion, citing various studies.

BIDEN ADMIN QUIETLY ADMITS CANCELING KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE COST THOUSANDS OF JOBS, BILLIONS OF DOLLARS

"Joe Biden’s action cost tens of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars and every American family is still paying more every day," Daniel Turner, the founder and executive director of Power the Future, shared with Fox News Digital in a previous statement.

The system was designed to carry oil from Alberta to states like Illinois, Texas and Oklahoma. 

In January, Danielle Smith, the premier of Alberta, Canada, said that she was interested in talking to the Trump administration about potentially reopening the pipeline project. 

"Restarting the Keystone XL pipeline aligns with President Trump’s agenda to lower food and energy costs by bolstering North American energy infrastructure and reducing reliance on costly imports," Jason Isaac, CEO of the American Energy Institute (AEI), previously told Fox News Digital. 

Another expert said that Trump will likely face litigation if he chooses to proceed with construction of the pipeline, but that Congress could help limit legal action.

Fox News Digital's Aubrie Spady and Danielle Wallace contributed to this report. 

Billionaire Elon Musk, who's slashing wasteful government spending with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), said federal workers who fail to respond to his productivity email may be given another chance, but warned if they fail to respond a second time, they'll be terminated.

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) sent an email titled, "What did you do last week?" to federal employees, calling on them to submit five bullet points detailing their accomplishments over the past week, or face possible termination.

Several agencies, including the Department of Defense (DOD) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), responded to the request, telling their employees to ignore the OPM email.

Musk appeared to be fired up by the lack of response to the request, turning to X to express his frustration just hours before the 11:59 p.m. Monday deadline.

TRUMP RATTLES OFF ‘FLAGRANT SCAMS’ UNCOVERED BY DOGE, TAKES AIM AT FORT KNOX IN CPAC SPEECH

"The email request was utterly trivial, as the standard for passing the test was to type some words and press send!" he wrote. "Yet so many failed even that inane test, urged on in some cases by their managers. Have you ever witnessed such INCOMPETENCE and CONTEMPT for how YOUR TAXES are being spent? Makes old Twitter look good. Didn’t think that was possible."

Musk responded to a post by Matt Walsh, host of "The Matt Walsh Show," saying the government should fire any federal worker who did not answer the email, complained publicly or privately about the email or did anything other than answer it promptly.

CPAC STRAW POLL REVEALS WHO CONSERVATIVES BELIEVE WILL BE 2028 PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE

"Subject to the discretion of the President, they will be given another chance," Musk responded. "Failure to respond a second time will result in termination."

When Musk acquired Twitter in 2022, he called on the social media giant’s former CEO Parag Agrawal to detail what he accomplished during the work week — years before he employed the same tactic on federal employees while serving in his capacity as chair of DOGE under the Trump administration.

"What did you get done this week," Musk texted Agrawal in April 2022.

ELON MUSK SAYS FEDERAL EMPLOYEES MUST FILL OUT PRODUCTIVITY REPORTS OR RESIGN

Musk helped resurrect the text exchange over the weekend on X, when he responded to an account that shared a "how it started, how it’s going" post that showed a screenshot of Musk’s text to Agrawal, accompanied by a screenshot of a post on X from Musk on Saturday, directed at federal employees.

In the post, Musk wrote, "Parag got nothing done. Parag was fired."

DOD TELLS CIVILIAN WORKFORCE TO IGNORE ELON MUSK'S REQUEST TO REPORT PRODUCTIVITY 

"Consistent with President @realDonaldTrump’s instructions, all federal employees will shortly receive an email requesting to understand what they got done last week," Musk wrote on X on Saturday. "Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation." 

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

Musk’s DOGE is in the midst of auditing various federal agencies in search of wasteful spending, corruption and mismanagement. 

DOGE’s work comes as President Donald Trump ordered the federal workforce to return to the office after five years of remote work stemming from the coronavirus pandemic, and has vowed to clean house of bad actors within the government and axe overspending.

Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton contributed to this report.

New FBI Director Kash Patel was also sworn in Monday as the acting head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), as he takes the helm of two separate Justice Department agencies.

"ATF welcomes Acting Director Kash Patel to ATF, who was sworn in and had his first visit to ATF Headquarters in Washington, D.C. today. We are enthusiastic to work together for a safer America!" the agency posted Monday on X. 

TRUMP ANNOUNCES DAN BONGINO WILL BE DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF THE FBI

Patel was sworn in to lead the ATF days after taking an oath to head the FBI following a contentious confirmation process in which Democrats raised alarms about his lack of management experience, among other claims. 

In response to the news, U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly, D-Ill., called Patel "a gun lobby puppet who has no business leading the FBI or the ATF."

Republicans have long pushed back on ATF rules regulating access to firearms. 

The National Rifle Association (NRA) said Patel's appointment was a first toward reforming the agency.

"For far too long, ATF has focused on how it can manipulate federal statutes to restrict the rights of law-abiding Americans," the group wrote on X. "We look forward to working with Acting Director Patel to protect and expand Second Amendment freedoms."

KASH PATEL TAKES REINS AT SCANDAL-RIDDEN FBI WITH ‘AMERICA ALWAYS’ MINDSET: ‘LET GOOD COPS BE COPS’

President Donald Trump hasn't made clear what his plans are for the ATF, which has long been a target for congressional Republicans. The agency is charged with enforcing the nation’s laws with respect to firearms, explosives and arson. 

It's also charged with licensing federal firearms dealers, tracing guns used in crimes and analyzing intelligence in shooting investigations.

On Sunday, Trump also named former U.S. Secret Service agent Dan Bongino as FBI deputy director. 

Patel called Bongino's appointment "tremendous news for law enforcement and the future of American justice!"

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"His leadership, integrity, and deep commitment to justice make him the ideal choice to help lead the FBI at this critical time," he said. "He’s a cop's cop."

The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) warned employees that if they choose to reply to Elon Musk's directive to submit a list of five accomplishments for the past week, they should assume it will be read by "malign foreign actors."

Fox News Digital confirmed that a letter sent by HHS to employees addressed an email from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) titled, "What did you do last week?" which directed federal employees to submit five bullet points detailing their accomplishments over the past week or face termination.

"In discussions with OPM officials yesterday and today, OPM has now rescinded that mandatory requirement," HHS told its staff members. "There is no HHS expectation that HHS employees respond to OPM and there is no impact to your employment with the agency if you choose not to respond."

But should employees choose to respond, HHS provided a set of guidelines, including responding by the deadline of Monday at 11:59 p.m.

DOD TELLS CIVILIAN WORKFORCE TO IGNORE ELON MUSK'S REQUEST TO REPORT PRODUCTIVITY

Other guidelines included keeping responses at a high level of generality while describing their work in a way that protects sensitive data, information that could identify others in the agency and information that could identify specific grants or contracts.

Additionally, the agency said if staffers are engaged in research or reviews, to not identify drugs, devices, biologics, therapeutics or similar items in their responses, and if they are engaged in scientific research, to not provide information giving the precise nature of the work.

"Assume that what you write will be read by malign foreign actors and tailor your response accordingly," HHS told its staff.

ELON MUSK SAYS FEDERAL EMPLOYEES MUST FILL OUT PRODUCTIVITY REPORTS OR RESIGN

Musk, a senior advisor to President Donald Trump, said earlier on Saturday that employees would receive an email giving them a chance to explain how productive they were the previous week. If an employee fails to respond to the email, Musk said the government will interpret that as a resignation.

Fox News confirmed on Monday that OPM told human resources officials from federal agencies that OPM is not taking a one-size-fits-all approach, and the administration will work with individual departments to account for workers.

This comes as several agencies have either told their staff members to ignore the request or adhere to it.

For instance, the Department of Defense told its civilian workforce on Sunday to ignore the request to report their productivity.

ELON MUSK SAYS 'BAR IS VERY LOW' AFTER ORDERING FEDERAL EMPLOYEES TO FILL OUT PRODUCTIVITY REPORTS OR RESIGN

"DoD personnel may have received an email from OPM requesting information. The Department of Defense is responsible for reviewing the performance of its personnel, and it will conduct any review in accordance with its own procedures," Darin S. Selnick, who is performing the duties of the undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, wrote in a letter to staff. "When and if required, the Department will coordinate responses to the email you have received from OPM. For now, please pause any response to the OPM email titled, ‘What did you do last week.’"

Also telling employees to stand down was Kash Patel, who was confirmed by the Senate last week as the new director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

"FBI personnel may have received an email from OPM requesting information," Patel told employees, according to The Associated Press. "The FBI, through the Office of the Director, is in charge of all of our review processes, and will conduct reviews in accordance with FBI procedures. When and if further information is required, we will coordinate the responses. For now, please pause any responses."

The State Department also reportedly issued a similar message to employees on Saturday, informing them that department officials "will respond on behalf of the Department," according to a message sent by Ambassador Tibor P. Nagy, who serves as acting under-secretary of state for management.

Musk turned to X on Monday, saying, "Subject to the discretion of the President, they will be given another chance. Failure to respond a second time will result in termination."

Fox News’ Jacqui Heinrich contributed to this report.

The Boston City Council member who recently mocked Border Czar Tom Homan's employment history walked back her comments in a follow-up post about the Trump administration official.

Councilwoman Sharon Durkan, who accused Homan of spending his career "policing a town smaller than a Fenway Park crowd," posted a clarification shortly after a Fox News Digital request for comment on Sunday evening.

"Yes, I understand that Tom Homan spent his career as a federal agent within Border Patrol & ICE, but that’s a world away from the realities of policing a major city," Durkan explained. "His background is in immigration enforcement, not community policing – where trust and accountability are key."

The Smith College graduate raised eyebrows after mocking Homan's brief stint as a police officer in West Carthage, New York, implying that he was unqualified to enforce President Donald Trump's border policy in Boston because of that experience. But Homan's time in the small-town department only lasted from 1983 to 1984, before he became a Border Patrol agent and eventually worked his way through the ranks of the Obama and Trump administrations.

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT ARRESTS SKYROCKET UNDER TRUMP ICE COMPARED TO BIDEN LEVELS LAST YEAR

"Laughable that someone who spent their career policing a town smaller than a Fenway Park crowd thinks they can lecture Boston on public safety," the councilwoman's original Feb. 23 post read. "Commissioner Michael Cox serves with distinction and earns trust with integrity."

"Tom Homan should know, we don’t scare easy," Durkan added.

Durkan's remarks came after Homan called out Beantown during a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Saturday, specifically calling out Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox for enforcing the city’s sanctuary policies.

ICE ARRESTS 'PREDATOR' MIGRANT CONVICTED OF SECRETLY RECORDING OTHERS IN BATHROOM

"I'm coming to Boston, and I'm bringing hell with me," Homan said during his speech. "I looked at the numbers this morning... I stopped counting at nine. Nine child rapists that were in jail in Massachusetts, but rather than honoring an ICE detainer, you released them back into the street."

"You're not a police commissioner," the Trump administration official added. "Take that badge off your chest. Put it in the desk drawer. Because you became a politician. You forgot what it’s like to be a cop."

Massachusetts and the greater Boston area have seen several arrests of criminal migrants in recent weeks, including an illegal immigrant connected to a violent Brazilian gang who was recently arrested in Bellingham. Cox has previously said that his department "doesn't enforce detainers" that are filed by ICE, and that Boston cops "abide by Boston law and Massachusetts law."

"The Boston Police Department has pretty defined rules and we abide by the law here in the state," the police chief said on a segment of WCVB’s "On the Record" show. "We don’t enforce civil detainers regarding federal immigration law. It's defined here in the state, and that’s just how it works."

Fox News Digital reached out to Durkan for additional comment, but did not immediately hear back.

Fox News' Bill Melugin contributed to this report.

House Republicans' mammoth budget reconciliation bill is in peril on Monday evening with at least two GOP lawmakers threatening to vote against it.

House GOP leaders are hoping to hold a vote Tuesday on a vast bill advancing President Donald Trump's priorities on the border, defense, taxes, and energy. 

But at least two House Republicans have said they oppose the legislation – and the GOP's razor-thin margins mean Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., can only afford one defector to still pass anything along party lines, if all Democratic lawmakers are present.

Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., told reporters he was against the bill on Monday, the day after Rep. Victoria Spartz, R-Ind., said she was also opposed. Both said they are seeking assurances that Congress is sufficiently committed to cutting government over-spending.

BLACK CAUCUS CHAIR ACCUSES TRUMP OF 'PURGE' OF 'MINORITY' FEDERAL WORKERS

Meanwhile, a group of GOP lawmakers in less ruby-red districts are still undecided over potentially severe cuts to Medicaid and other federal programs to offset the cost of Trump's priorities.

Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., told reporters there was "somewhere between six and 10" House Republicans who needed more clarity on where spending cuts will fall.

"If I don't get answers, I'm not going to vote for it," Malliotakis said. "But if I can get some clarity and assurances, then you know, we're moving a little bit more toward the ‘yes’ column."

Malliotakis said on the way into Johnson's office Monday that there was "a lot of seniors and people with disabilities" in her district, "and I want to make sure they're not gonna get harmed in this process."

Rep. Juan Ciscomani, R-Ariz., who was also part of that meeting, called it "helpful" but did not commit to supporting the bill.

Malliotakis and Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, also said they were still undecided when leaving the meeting.

Spartz is also expected to meet with Johnson at some point Monday to discuss her stance.

Burchett, however, told reporters he had no current plans to speak with Johnson about his opposition – but left room to be persuaded.

"I would like to see a commitment that we're going to go after [spending cuts]," Burchett said. "When we say we're decreasing the rate of growth, we're still growing. And again, can we not just go back to pre-COVID spending levels?"

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., also signaled he was against the bill, writing on X, "If the Republican budget passes, the deficit gets worse, not better."

House and Senate Republicans are aiming to use their majorities to pass a broad swath of Trump policies, from more border security funding to eliminating taxes on tipped and overtime wages, via the budget reconciliation process.

SCOOP: KEY CONSERVATIVE CAUCUS DRAWS RED LINE ON HOUSE BUDGET PLAN

By leveling thresholds for passage in the House and Senate at a simple majority, reconciliation allows the party in power to pass fiscal legislation without any support from the opposing side. The Senate has a two-thirds majority threshold to advance most measures. 

The bill aims to increase spending on border security, the judiciary and defense by roughly $300 billion, while seeking at least $1.5 trillion to $2 trillion in spending cuts elsewhere.

As written, the bill also provides $4.5 trillion to extend Trump's 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) provisions, which expire at the end of this year.

A handful of President Donald Trump administration officials are publicly listing their top accomplishments for the previous work week following Department of Government Efficiency Chair (DOGE) Elon Musk announcing federal employees must provide a bullet-point list of work successes before midnight on Monday or risk losing their jobs. 

"Mr. President, 5 things I did last week:" Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy posted to X Monday morning. "1. Terminated NYC elitist, anti-worker congestion pricing. 2. Launched an investigation into the $16 billion in taxpayer dollars wasted on a high-speed rail project that, after 17 years, has yet to lay a single mile of track. 3. Saved $10 million a year by eliminating redundant and outdated landlines." 

He continued: "4. Visited the Air Traffic Control Command Center in Virginia to see the critical tech upgrades we need to make our air traffic system the envy of the world. 5. Toured Burbank, California traffic control tower and heard from air traffic controllers about how to improve conditions and retain and recruit more controllers."

FLASHBACK: MUSK USED HIS 'WHAT DID YOU GET DONE THIS WEEK' DIRECTIVE BEFORE GUTTING TWITTER

Musk announced Saturday that federal employees would receive an email directing them to list their accomplishments from the week prior, with the DOGE leader adding later that day that the assignment should take less than five minutes to accomplish. 

Employees have until 11:59 p.m. on Monday to send the list or lose their employment, according to emails regarding Musk's directive that were sent by the Office of Personnel Management.

MUSK'S DEMAND THAT FED EMPLOYEES LIST THEIR ACCOMPLISHMENTS ROILS WORKFORCE: 'MASS CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE'

A handful of Trump administration officials also have provided their accomplishments lists for the past work week, including Kelly Loeffler, the head of the Small Business Administration. 

Loeffler listed her accomplishments in a comment provided to Fox News Digital, which led with her empowering "the Office of the Advocate to work across agencies to cut burdensome regulation imposed on small businesses." 

"Established the Office of Manufacturing and Trade to promote President Trump‘s America first agenda; created a Fraud Working Group to crack down on loan fraud across all portfolios; ended voter registration MOUs with state governments, rejecting Biden-era efforts to turn SBA into a vehicle for partisan voter registration; canceled all employee telework agreements in accordance with the president’s return to work presidential memorandum, enabling the agency to better deliver results for job creators; Met with governor's from around the country to discuss SBA's services at the state level and presence across the country," the list continued. 

TRUMP RATTLES OFF ‘FLAGRANT SCAMS’ UNCOVERED BY DOGE, TAKES AIM AT FORT KNOX IN CPAC SPEECH

The White House also provided five examples on Saturday afternoon on its Rapid Response X account.  

"Just got this email. Where do we begin?" the White House’s Rapid Response X account posted Saturday evening, accompanied by a screenshot of the OPM email informing employees to comply with the accomplishment directive. 

ELON MUSK SAYS FEDERAL EMPLOYEES MUST FILL OUT PRODUCTIVITY REPORTS OR RESIGN

The White House listed: Trump signing an executive order expanding access to in vitro fertilization treatments, another executive order that works to ​​stop taxpayer benefits landing in the hands of illegal immigrants, Border Patrol Chief Mike Banks reporting Trump's policies have led to a 94% drop in illegal border crossings, Apple announcing a $500 billion investment in U.S., and the Trump admin working to ensure "Maine does not allow men in girls' locker rooms and sports" through an investigation of the state’s Department of Education. 

Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins posted his list of five accomplishments at Veterans Affairs, including identifying and eliminating "wasteful contracts." 

Ahead of Musk’s announcement informing federal workers list their accomplishments, other agencies posted their wins for the first month in office, including Collins posting a Friday video of the department’s accomplishments for the first month on the job, while the Department of Defense launched a rapid response account on X to celebrate accomplishments while also "Fighting Against Fake News."

A handful of federal departments that deal with sensitive and classified information told their staffers to ignore the order to list their accomplishments, which President Donald Trump said on Monday was a "friendly" rejection due to the sensitive materials some government employees handle on a regular basis. 

"That was done in a friendly manner," Trump said Monday while speaking with the media alongside French President Emmanuel Macron. "Only things such as, perhaps Marco at State Department, where they have very confidential things. Or the FBI, where they're working on confidential things. And they don't mean that in any way combatively with Elon. They're just saying there are some people that you don't want to really have them tell you what they're working on last week."

DOD TELLS CIVILIAN WORKFORCE TO IGNORE ELON MUSK'S REQUEST TO REPORT PRODUCTIVITY

FBI Director Kash Patel, the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security were among the agencies and departments that informed staff to not respond to the email. 

"FBI personnel may have received an email from OPM requesting information," Patel told employees in an email over the weekend. "The FBI, through the Office of the Director, is in charge of all of our review processes, and will conduct reviews in accordance with FBI procedures. When and if further information is required, we will coordinate the responses. For now, please pause any responses."

Trump lauded the directive Monday, arguing that it will expose government employees who aren't actually carrying out tasks. 

"There was a lot of genius in sending it," Trump said Monday from the White House. "We're trying to find out if people are working. And so we're sending a letter to people. Please tell us what you did last week. If people don't respond, it's very possible that there is no such person or they're not working." 

Some unions and Democratic lawmakers have lambasted the directive, including Illinois Rep. Sean Casten calling on federal employees to flout the order, arguing it is a "a good opportunity for mass civil disobedience." 

President Donald Trump warned that federal employees who don’t follow new guidance requiring them to report personal productivity could lose their jobs. 

The effort stems from an email that SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk spearheaded that asked federal workers to send an email Monday detailing a summary of what tasks they accomplished the previous week. Musk is heading up the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) that aims to reduce government waste and fraud. 

"I thought it was great," Trump told reporters of the initiative Monday at the White House, "because we have people who don't show up to work and nobody even knows if they work for the government. So by asking the question, 'Tell us what you did this week,' what [Musk is] doing is saying, ‘Are you actually working?' If you don't answer, you’re sort of semi-fired, or you're fired, because a lot of people are not answering because they don’t even exist."

TRUMP RATTLES OFF ‘FLAGRANT SCAMS’ UNCOVERED BY DOGE, TAKES AIM AT FORT KNOX IN CPAC SPEECH 

Musk unveiled the email in a post on X on Saturday and cautioned that a failure to reply was equivalent to handing in a resignation.

"Consistent with President @realDonaldTrump’s instructions, all federal employees will shortly receive an email requesting to understand what they got done last week," Musk wrote on X. "Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation."

Federal employees received an email from the Office of Personnel and Management on Saturday that instructed them to provide a list of five things they accomplished the previous week by a deadline of 11:59 p.m. Monday. 

The American Federation of Government Employees, a labor union for federal workers, criticized the policy and said Trump and his administration have once again demonstrated "utter disdain" for federal employees. 

"It is cruel and disrespectful for federal employees to be forced to justify their job duties to this out-of-touch, privileged, unelected billionaire who has never performed one single hour of honest public service in his life," American Federation of Government Employees National President Everett Kelley said in a Saturday statement.

The federation "will challenge any unlawful terminations of our members and federal employees across the country," Kelley said.

DOD TELLS CIVILIAN WORKFORCE TO IGNORE ELON MUSK'S REQUEST TO REPORT PRODUCTIVITY

Meanwhile, multiple agencies have issued instructions telling their employees to disregard Musk’s guidance.

For example, the Department of Defense issued a letter to its civilian personnel asserting the Pentagon’s autonomy on Sunday and directing employees to ignore Musk’s request to send details of their work week to the Office of Personnel Management.

"DoD personnel may have received an email from OPM requesting information," wrote Darin Selnick, who is performing the duties of the undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness. "The Department of Defense is responsible for reviewing the performance of its personnel and it will conduct any review in accordance with its own procedures.

"When and if required, the Department will coordinate responses to the email you have received from OPM," he wrote. "For now, please pause any response to the OPM email titled, 'What did you do last week.'"

FBI Director Kash Patel issued a similar directive to his staff and said the agency "will conduct reviews in accordance with FBI procedures," according to the Associated Press.

DOGE, which is tasked with weeding out government overspending, is facing multiple lawsuits from government employees seeking to challenge Musk’s efforts to audit various federal agencies.

Fox News' Greg Wehner, Jennifer Griffin and Stephen Sorace contributed to this report.

EXCLUSIVE: Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is ending the use of the controversial CBP One app to allow migrants to board domestic flights – unless it is being used for their self-deportation.

"Secretary Noem is reversing the horrendous Biden-Era policy that allowed aliens in our country illegally to jet around our country and do so without identification," a DHS spokesperson told Fox News Digital. 

"Under President Trump, TSA and DHS will no longer tolerate this. Aliens in our country illegally can no longer fly unless it is out of our country to self-deport," they said.

‘HE IS DELIVERING’: TRUMP'S FIRST MONTH FLIPS SCRIPT ON RADICAL BIDEN-HARRIS BORDER POLICIES

The Biden administration had expanded the use of the CBP One app to allow migrants to enter the U.S. at ports of entry or via a separate parole process. That process involved them uploading information including a photograph. The Biden administration also allowed for the app to be used by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to verify a migrant without sufficient ID by comparing a photograph of a migrant in DHS records, and also use biometric matching. Those verified would also receive additional physical screening.

TRUMP FREEZES APPLICATIONS FOR BIDEN-ERA MIGRANT PROGRAMS AMID FRAUD, NATIONAL SECURITY CONCERNS

While migrants being allowed to board flights without ID predates the Biden administration, the use of the CBP One app has since become a method for identity matching of migrants without acceptable forms of ID. The new policy change ends the use of CBP One at screening checkpoints and TSA’s National Transportation Vetting Center, and also bars air travel for migrants who were paroled or released into the U.S. pending their immigration processing, who do not present a TSA-accepted form of ID, and who are not self-deporting. 

It marks the latest crackdown on illegal immigration and also those who have been paroled into the U.S. using the CBP One app. President Donald Trump ordered an end to the use of the CBP One app to parole migrants into the U.S. on his first day in office. His administration has also paused applications for parole programs, and allowed ICE to cancel parole statuses of migrants.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE

Last week, Noem also reversed a Biden-era extension of Temporary Protected Status for Haitians. That in turn comes after the cancelation of a separate TPS extension for Venezuelan nationals. Noem also signed a memo that deputizes up to 600 State Department officials to act as immigration officers.

FIRST ON FOX: As the Trump administration’s DOGE efforts continue to have an impact across government agencies, over 12,000 employees at the General Services Administration are being notified in an agency-wide email Monday evening that a "reduction in force" is underway.

In the memo from acting GSA administrator Stephen Ehikian, according to a draft obtained by Fox News Digital, the agency thanked those employees who decided to be part of the "first step" of staff reduction on Friday by resigning from GSA and previewed the "next step of this process in support of the Presidential Executive Order: Implementing The President's Department of Government Efficiency Workforce Optimization Initiative, The White House, dated February 11, 2025."

"This serves as notice that the agency will be conducting a Reduction in Force (RIF) and is seeking approval from Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to also obtain a Voluntary Early Retirement Authority (VERA)," the email states. "More information to impacted business units and employees will be forthcoming."

The letter ends by thanking the employees that will be affected for their "service to this nation."

'CATEGORICALLY UNTRUE': KEY GOVERNMENT AGENCY PUSHES BACK AGAINST MEDIA NARRATIVES OF DOGE CHAOS

"I promise you that GSA will continue to do everything in our power to make your departure fair and dignified," the letter concludes. 

Fox News Digital was told by a source familiar with the situation that 30-40 employees will be affected by the reduction at first, as the agency starts with a focused number meant to ensure the plan is executed well with minimal mistakes.  

The GSA, which performs a variety of tasks including managing federal real estate and procuring goods and services, is headquartered in Washington, D.C., and has 11 regional offices. 

A GSA senior manager familiar with the process told Fox News Digital that the first actions will be targeted on select offices rather than the entire agency and that bargaining unit employees are not anticipated to be affected. 

Additionally, the agency is looking for an additional Voluntary Early Retirement Authority, as outlined by the OPM, and will be offering severance or discontinued services annuities as appropriate. 

ELON MUSK HAS A WARNING FOR FEDERAL EMPLOYEES STILL WORKING FROM HOME

"GSA realizes that a Reduction in Force, while necessary to meet the administration's mandate to rightsize the federal government, reduce waste and redundancies, and deliver a more cost-effective service to the taxpayer, will impact our workforce," a GSA spokesperson told Fox News Digital. 

"GSA is committed to treating all of our employees respectfully and fairly, in accordance with all applicable laws and bargaining unit agreements, during this process."

The executive order from earlier this month cited in the memo stated that it was intended "to restore accountability to the American public" and "commences a critical transformation of the Federal bureaucracy."

"By eliminating waste, bloat, and insularity, my Administration will empower American families, workers, taxpayers, and our system of Government itself," the executive order states.