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 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 that is aiming 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’s] 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, where they were instructed to provide a list of five things they accomplished the previous week with 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 that 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 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 also issued a similar directive to his staff and said that 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. 

Elon Musk is taking his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) for a victory lap, touting a new poll that suggests massive support for the Trump administration initiative.

The Harvard CAPS-Harris poll revealed a majority of Americans support reducing wasteful government spending. Most voters agree there should be a government agency dedicated to efficiency and that DOGE is helping to make major spending cuts, the nonprobability-based poll found. 

"Polls show that @DOGE is overwhelmingly POPULAR and that government spending should be reduced by at least $1 trillion!!" Musk wrote on X. 

The White House and Musk have shared the results on social media, pointing to the new polling as evidence that "reducing government waste & fraud is strongly supported by the people," as Musk wrote in an X post. 

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

President Donald Trump shared the favorable poll on his Truth Social account, and Musk shared a screenshot of Trump's post on his X account. 

DOGE TAKES A CHAINSAW TO FEDERAL SPENDING WITH 7 MAJOR VICTORIES THIS WEEK: 'GOT TO BE DONE'

The Harvard CAPS-Harris found a majority of voters believe the government’s debt is unsustainable, and the government should work to cut expenses. A vast majority agreed "government expenditures are filled with waste and agree with cutting $1 trillion in expenses."

Most people polled said DOGE employees should not have access to Americans' sensitive information and that court challenges to DOGE are based on the law and are not politically motivated.  

Recent national polling suggests Musk and DOGE have garnered the support of Republicans and the disapproval of Democrats. 

The Feb. 13-19 Washington Post-Ipsos poll was less favorable for Musk and his "DOGE boys," as approval split along ideological lines, with 70% of Republicans and just 6% of Democrats approving of Musk’s job. Fewer Republicans, at 56%, approved of Musk halting federal government programs. 

55% of voters said Musk had too much power in a Quinnipiac University poll released Feb. 19. Once again, the results fall upon party lines, with 78% of Republicans polled saying Musk has the right amount of power and 96% of Democrats saying he has too much power. 

The AP-NORC poll released Jan. 24, also found Republicans are more likely to favor DOGE than Democrats. However, the poll found the majority of the public "believe corruption, inefficiency and red tape are major problems in the federal government," which is consistent with the new Harvard CAPS-Harris poll. 

A CNN poll conducted by SSRS found that 54% of voters said Musk's prominent role in Trump's administration is a "bad thing."

Musk's posts celebrating his new favorable polling come on the heels of his latest DOGE initiative. Federal employees received an email on Saturday, instructing them to email "what they got done last week" or lose their job. 

"Consistent with President @realDonaldTrump's instructions, 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," Musk said. 

"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," Musk added. 

Darin Selnick of the Department of Defense and Kash Patel of the Federal Bureau of Investigation told their employees they did not need to comply with Musk's request. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy followed the assignment, submitting his accomplishments in a post. 

"Mr. President, 5 things I did last week… Looking forward to another week of fighting for Americans," Duffy wrote. 

Trump said Musk is "doing a great job" in a Truth Social post ahead of Musk's new email directive, adding he would "like to see him get more aggressive."

DOGE's jarring revelations about where American taxpayer dollars are going have dominated headlines during Trump's first month back in the White House. Republicans have embraced Musk's commitment to government efficiency as many new cabinet members and Republican governors establish their own DOGE departments. 

Meanwhile, Musk's massive layoffs of government employees and department cuts have created outrage among Democrats in Washington. Democrats have led weekly protests against DOGE and Musk's political power, calling Trump's executive actions a "constitutional crisis."

FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., is being accused of violating ethics rules after backing laws that financially benefited his wife's environmental organization. 

The Democratic senator and climate hawk voted for key laws that provided funding for grants to the environmental non-profit group that works with his wife, Sandra Whitehouse, and pays her through a consulting firm. 

The ethics watchdog, the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT), is asking the Senate Select Committee on Ethics Chairman James Lankford, R-Okla., and Vice Chairman Chris Coons, D-Del., to investigate Whitehouse "to determine whether he violated the Senate ethics rules on conflicts of interest." The group works primarily to draw attention to potential Democratic lawmaker ethics violations. 

TRUMP TAX CUT PLAN HITS TURBULENCE AHEAD OF HOUSE VOTE AS REPUBLICANS SPLIT

Whitehouse's wife, Sandra, is employed as president of consulting firm Ocean Wonks LLC and has been since 2017, per her LinkedIn page. Before that, she was a direct employee of Ocean Conservancy, serving as Senior Policy Adviser beginning in 2008. 

Ocean Conservancy has received more than $14.2 million in federal grants since 2008, per USASpending.gov. During 2024 alone, it was given two sizable grants, one for $5.2 million from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for marine debris cleanup in September and another for $1.7 million from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), again to assist with marine debris cleanup. 

The former was funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) championed by the Biden administration and voted for by Sen. Whitehouse. The latter was funded through the EPA’s annual appropriations bill, which Whitehouse also voted for. 

FOLLOWING KEY WINS, TRUMP POISED FOR CABINET COMPLETION IN RECORD TIME

"While these two grants alone appear to be a conflict of interest, it is even more egregious in the context of Senator Whitehouse’s long history of working on legislation being lobbied for by organizations tied to his wife," wrote FACT Executive Director Kendra Arnold. 

"Altogether, Ocean Conservancy has spent millions on federal lobbying expenses over the years on issues relating to oceans, climate change, and environmental cleanup—issues directly championed by Senator Whitehouse, a longtime member (and current Ranking Member) of the Senate’s Environment and Public Works Committee and the co-founder of the Senate’s so-called 'Oceans Caucus."

Since 2010, Ocean Conservancy has paid Whitehouse a total of $2,686,800 either directly or through her firm, per tax documents. 

SENATE BORDER BUDGET TRIUMPHS AFTER ALL-NIGHT SESSION WHILE TRUMP-BACKED HOUSE BILL LAGS

"Dr. Sandra Whitehouse, a well-respected marine ecologist and ocean policy consultant, has not received compensation from these federal grants allocated to Ocean Conservancy," Ocean Conservancy’s Vice President of External Affairs Jeff Watters told Fox News Digital in a statement.

"For 40 years, Ocean Conservancy has been a global leader in marine debris cleanup through our signature initiative, the International Coastal Cleanup. The marine debris cleanup grants Ocean Conservancy received from NOAA came from laws passed with broad bipartisan support that then went through a competitive, independent selection process which designated Ocean Conservancy to be one among hundreds of NGOs to receive funding. Ocean Conservancy’s selection was based on our decades of expertise in addressing marine debris and protecting the ocean."

SCOOP: REPUBLICAN DANIEL CAMERON BLASTED BY LIKELY GOP OPPONENT AS MCCONNELL SUCCESSOR FIGHT BEGINS

"With the support of these bipartisan federal funds, Ocean Conservancy plans to remove hundreds of thousands of pounds of trash from beaches and waterways around the U.S., which will not only protect these places for generations of Americans to enjoy but improve the health of our fishing and tourism industries," he said. 

Watters further pointed to the notable Republican support both the BIL and the EPA appropriations bill received in the Senate. 

Whitehouse, Lankford and Coons did not provide comment to Fox News Digital in time for publication. 

Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter with the latest updates on the Trump administration, Capitol Hill and more Fox News politics content.

Here's what's happening…

-Millions more food stamp recipients required to work under new House GOP proposal

-US-Ukraine rift breaks out at United Nations on third anniversary of war

-New DOGE bill would target more than $200B in annual improper payments from safety nets, lawmaker says

Elon Musk, who is leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), warned federal workers on Monday morning that those who fail to return to the office will be placed on administrative leave.

"Those who ignored President Trump’s executive order to return to work have now received over a month’s warning," Musk wrote on X, the platform which he also owns. "Starting this week, those who still fail to return to office will be placed on administrative leave." 

Musk’s warning comes after he announced Saturday that federal employees must report their accomplishments from the last week or face losing their jobs…Read more

'CRIED ABOUT TRUMP AND ELON': Trump deploys SpongeBob meme to troll DOGE critics

'AMERICA FIRST AGENDA': Trump's new SBA chief unleashes 'Day One' priorities to transform agency into 'golden era of prosperity'

'TIME FOR FRESH BLOOD': Hegseth dismisses 'purging' narrative amid Trump's Pentagon shakeup

'SHADOWS GATHERING': Kamala Harris takes veiled jabs at Trump, Elon Musk in first major speech since election defeat

TARIFF TURMOIL: Canadian businesses already feeling impact of Trump's tariff threats

POPE UPDATE: Pope Francis resting on day 10 in hospital for lung infection that led to early stages of kidney insufficiency

FRANCE ATTACK: Russian consulate in France targeted with explosive projectiles on third anniversary of Ukraine invasion

NEW WORLD ORDER: Germany’s new conservative leader looks to ‘achieve independence’ from US

THREE YEARS LATER: On third anniversary of Ukraine invasion, European leaders show support, express unease

'MAXIMUM PRESSURE': State, Treasury Departments reimpose strong sanctions on Iran’s oil trade

DAILY EVENING PRAYERS: Rosary for Pope Francis to be held in St. Peter's Square, Vatican says

POLITICAL STEP DANCE: Irish leaders boycott Washington St. Patrick's Day events over Trump's Gaza comments

'ABDICATION' ON SPEECH: SCOTUS turns down abortion clinic buffer zone challenge, Thomas slams 'abdication' of duty

'AMERICA LOVES A COMEBACK': Democrat Rep. Ritchie Torres endorses Cuomo for New York City mayor

'NO MORE IMPORTANT': Bureaucracies 'cannibalizing our nation,' GOP Rep says

CHECKING OUT: Mayor Eric Adams says NYC's Roosevelt Hotel migrant shelter will soon close

BAN ON ZYNS: NY lawmaker introduces bill to ban Zyn, other flavored nicotine pouches after FDA's support of product

HOMELAND REMEDY: Alaska can be 'cure' for nation's 'ills' with help from Trump admin, governor says

DEI IN MEDICINE: National Cancer Institute spends $218 million per year on grants for 'underrepresented' groups: source

‘DISTINCT HONOR’: Former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff bids farewell in heartfelt social media post

TOWN TATTLE: Trump flag in Massachusetts police station gym divides town as chief, official feud over its removal: report

'GOOD WORK': DOGE, EPA team up to claw back $67 million in 'environmental justice' grants

Get the latest updates on the Trump administration and Congress, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.

The Trump administration is rescinding a Biden-era directive protecting hospitals from investigations and signaled that beefed-up protections for medical whistleblowers would be forthcoming.

The Health and Human Services Department (HHS) announced Friday it would be rescinding an executive order issued by former President Joe Biden in March 2022, which, among other things, gave hospitals the right not to comply with state-level investigations related to their provision of transgender medical treatments to minors. 
Trump's directive eliminates these protections, and the rescission notice indicates that further safeguards for medical whistleblowers are anticipated in the future.

"Under the Biden regime, the door for whistleblowers was closed," said Dr. Eithan Haim, who was prosecuted by the Biden administration after he leaked documents to the media that revealed Texas Children's Hospital in Houston was performing transgender medical procedures on minors, even after it said it had stopped. "It was a complete inversion of the role of HHS, the role of our legal framework, because the criminal entities were being protected and the individuals exposing criminal entities were now the ones being targeted."

RILEY GAINES FEATURED IN TRUMP HHS WEBSITE THAT BUILDS ON ‘TWO SEXES’ EXECUTIVE ORDER

Haim was indicted last year by Biden's Department of Justice for blowing the whistle on Texas Children's Hospital, after it continued to provide transgender medical treatments to minors even though the hospital had publicly indicated it had stopped such services in order to comply with new state guidance. Several days after President Donald Trump was sworn in, the charges against Haim were dropped. 

Under Biden's March 2022 directive, titled, "HHS Notice and Guidance on Gender Affirming Care, Civil Rights and Patient Privacy," hospitals were permitted, but not required, to comply with investigations seeking information on their provision of transgender treatments. But, according to HHS's rescission notice, such guidance lacked "adequate legal basis under federal privacy laws." The notice added that, "by its own terms," Biden's March 2022 directive "permits" the release of personal health information tied to transgender procedures when it is needed to comply with other laws. 

TRANS STAR OF HIT HBO SERIES SAYS RENEWED PASSPORT NOW SAYS MALE AFTER TRUMP ORDER

"Covered entities should no longer rely on the rescinded 2022 OCR Notice and Guidance," stated HHS' rescission notice. It added that "in consultation with the Attorney General" the agency will also be "expeditiously" issuing new guidance to protect whistleblowers who take action in accordance with Trump's efforts to protect children "from chemical and surgical mutilation." 

Haim said that under Trump's new leadership, the U.S. legal system is being restored "to a place of equal protection under law, particularly as it relates to people who are trying to follow [Trump's] executive order, or any other federal laws."

"The key thing with this new directive is that, as a healthcare provider, if a hospital or other doctors are participating in misconduct, if they're lying about something, if they are intervening on patients in a way that is harmful to those patients – especially kids – as a doctor, it's not only something you should do, it's something you have to do," Haim pointed out.

In addition to compelling hospitals and gender clinics to begin rigorous compliance with investigations, the Trump administration's Friday directive also removed gender dysphoria from being considered a disability under the federal Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. It also rescinded orders from the Biden administration indicating it was discrimination for federally funded health programs to refuse to treat someone on the basis of their gender identity.

Fox News Digital reached out to HHS for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.

As the Trump administration investigates California’s bullet train project, which has come under scrutiny for very little progress in 17 years, a small area where construction is underway has made life a "nightmare" for some people north of Fresno.

Dalia Pena, who resides in Madera County, California, said that the construction of an overpass for cars has not only created a major eyesore in her backyard, but the construction has also been a loud disruption, including vibrations, for the once-quiet neighborhood.

"They were out here doing construction at 6 o'clock on Saturday mornings," Pena told Fox News Digital during a phone interview, detailing how the first drilling noises were extremely prevalent. 

While she said the noise has gotten a little better, it's unclear if it will get worse before construction is complete. She also added that construction has made it difficult to use the pool in her backyard because of the proximity of the worksite.

TRUMP ADMIN PUTS 'DISASTROUS' HIGH-SPEED RAIL PROJECT IN DEEP BLUE STATE ON NOTICE

"I feel like it's gonna get worse," she said, adding that she's concerned about safety.

In addition, a survey Pena had done at her residence indicated encroachment on her property, according to a copy obtained and reviewed by Fox News Digital.

"The authority doesn't hold them accountable," she said of the contractors when it comes to construction noise and dust, as well as the behavior of workers themselves.

The California High-Speed Rail Authority said that they gave proper public notice to residents with prior meetings, as the construction is expected to be done by the fall, according to Fox 26. 

Pena attended a February 2024 meeting about the Road 26 closure, according to a sign-in document obtained by Fox News Digital, but said she was not adequately informed of earlier meetings about the construction itself, given its closeness to the property. 

SEAN DUFFY: AMERICA’S AIR TRAFFIC SYSTEMS NEED AN URGENT UPGRADE

The authority told Fox 26 that they have been in contact with Pena.

"Yes, that is true. However, when I bring an issue to their attention, they don't respond to me," she said, saying she routinely needs to follow up to have them "follow through."

"They're giving me the runaround, honestly," Pena said. "At no point were we offered anything."

She is now asking California Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Trump administration to step in on the "waste of taxpayer dollars," but she noted there is a deeper issue with how this is impacting residents.

"I agree that they need to be investigated," Pena said.

Last week, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy visited Union Station in Los Angeles to rail against the project and initiated a compliance audit.

CALIFORNIA SHERIFF PUTS ACCUSED HARDENED CRIMINALS TO WORK AT TAXPAYERS’ BENEFIT

"It's been 17 years and $16 billion and no rail has been built," Duffy said at a news conference.

Meanwhile, Congressman Kevin Kiley told Fox News Digital that the project has served as a money pit for federal and state taxpayers alike.

"I'm not sure why anyone would be in favor of what's going on in California. We're wasting taxpayer money in a really, just on an epic scale and not getting anything in return for it," Kiley said.

Fox News Digital reached out to the authority for comment, but they did not respond in time for publication. 

The University of Virginia Health Hospital will end its service providing transgender treatments to new patients as young as 11, falling in line with President Donald Trump's order after being at risk of losing federal funding.

The medical center, an academic healthcare facility associated with the University of Virginia (UVA), has been offering transgender medical care to minors aged 11 to 25, including providing children with puberty blockers that delay sex-related physical changes and cross-sex hormones, like testosterone and estrogen.

However, in compliance with a recent executive order from the White House banning such treatments on children, the Board of Visitors passed a resolution that the center will no longer provide the services to new patients.

JUDGE BLOCKS DOGE FROM ACCESSING EDUCATION DEPARTMENT RECORDS

"Common sense and medical ethics have prevailed," Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, R-Va., wrote in a post on X. 

"I’m grateful to the University of Virginia Board of Visitors for its action today to stop harmful transgender treatments for minors and to transfer existing patients to other providers," Younkin added.

NEW HAMPSHIRE FOLLOWS TRUMP'S TRANSGENDER SPORTS EXECUTIVE ORDER DESPITE LAWSUIT FROM TWO TRANS ATHLETES

Under the new resolution, the UVA Hospital will no longer provide new patients who are minors with services related to sex, contraception, and referrals for gender-affirming surgeries and voice therapy, according to its website.

Additionally, transgender individuals seeking medical care at the hospital will be referred to alternate private healthcare providers.

Trump signed an executive order in January to restrict "chemical and surgical" sex-change procedures for minors and threatened to cut off "federal financial participation in institutions which seek to provide these barbaric medical procedures that should have never been allowed to take place!"

UVA Hospital affiliates currently receive over $100 million in federal funding each year from the National Institute of Health (NIH) and "a loss of such federal funding would jeopardize the financial viability of the University," according to the new resolution.

The UVA School of Medicine’s funding increased from $155.1 million in 2022 to $174.2 million in 2023, the UVA reported in February, citing the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research.

The Secret Service agent who heroically jumped into action to try to shield President John F. Kennedy during his assassination in 1963, Clint Hill, has died at the age of 93. 

"It is with a broken heart that I must announce the passing of my remarkable husband, Clint Hill. He died peacefully at home, in my arms, on February 21, 2025," Hill's wife, Lisa McCubbin Hill, posted to Instagram, confirming his death. 

Hill died Friday at his home in California, the Associated Press reported. 

Hill was a 31-year-old Secret Service agent assigned to first lady Jackie Kennedy's security detail when he traveled with the first couple to Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963. 

FBI UNCOVERS THOUSANDS OF UNDISCLOSED RECORDS CONNECTED TO JFK'S ASSASSINATION

The young agent was captured on camera in famous photos jumping on the back of the vehicle carrying the president and first lady after gunfire broke out, killing the nation's 35th president. As the first lady made her way out of convertible amid the chaos, she was seen crawling towards Hill in the devastating photos. 

"On November 22, 1963, three shots were fired in Dallas," Hill posted to X on the 61st anniversary of the assassination in 2024. "The horrific images are still vivid. I was a 31-year-old unknown Secret Service agent, suddenly thrust into history. At 92, I have come to terms with my place in history. I tried. I was unsuccessful, but at least I tried." 

The former Secret Service agent wrote a handful of memoirs reflecting on his relationship with the Kennedys in the years following JFK's death, including reporting that he was consumed by guilt after the death. 

DEADLINE LOOMS FOR RELEASE OF JFK ASSASSINATION FILES

"Guilt and anguish consumed me. All I could think about was Dallas," he wrote in the memoir, "My Travels with Mrs. Kennedy." 

 "I was running as fast as I could, my arm reaching for the handholds on the trunk but it was like my legs were in quicksand," he wrote. "Mrs. Kennedy climbing out of the back seat, her terrified eyes looking but not seeing me, like I wasn't there." 

TRUMP SIGNS ORDER TO DECLASSIFY FILES ON JFK, RFK AND MLK ASSASSINATIONS

Following the announcement of Hill's death, tributes poured in from those in the media who knew him, as well as others offering their condolences. 

"From the moment we met, there was an undeniable spark between us. We had that once-in-a-lifetime love that everyone hopes for—a relationship filled with passion, respect, admiration, and the pure joy of being together. I am eternally grateful for every day and every moment of the past 15 years we shared. To us, forever. Rest in Peace my Sweet Prince," his wife added on Instragram Monday afternoon. 

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Monday that he would not necessarily support President Donald Trump's pick to replace him, Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., and acknowledged the rumor of his wife, Casey DeSantis, potentially running next year.

Donalds has not formally announced plans to run for governor of Florida in the 2026 race, but Trump said in a TRUTH Social post Thursday that Donalds had his "complete and total endorsement" if he so chooses. DeSantis, meanwhile, has been rumored to be floating the idea of his wife running for governor to donors. 

At a press conference in Tampa on Monday in which he discussed the creation of Florida's own Department of Government Efficiency, DeSantis declined to back a Donalds gubernatorial bid at this stage.

"Donald Trump just got into office. I want these congressmen focused on enacting his agenda," DeSantis said. "They haven’t done very much yet. They’re not putting his executive orders into place. We’ll see what they do on the spending, but we have such a narrow majority that to be trying to campaign other places and missing these votes I think is not something that’s advisable at all."

RON DESANTIS: FLORIDA WAS DOGE BEFORE IT WAS COOL

"We’ve achieved victories in Florida. We need to start achieving those victories up there, so I think people look at it and say, you know you got a guy like Byron, he just hasn’t been a part of any of the victories that we’ve had here over these last years," DeSantis continued. "He’s just not been a part of it. He’s been in other states campaigning doing that, and that’s fine, but OK, well then deliver results up there. That’s what I want to see. I want to see them delivering results for the people of Florida. We deliver it here all the time for the people of Florida, and that’s what we need to be doing."

DeSantis said he’s going to be raising money for the 2026 race and is looking for someone "that’s going to be able to continue and build off that success that we’ve had here in Florida."

"I think a lot of people think somehow the battle’s been won, and you don’t have to worry about it. We could revert very quickly. That could happen. 100%," DeSantis, who Trump endorsed in the 2018 gubernatorial race, said. "And so it really needs to be, 'OK, are you going to be somebody that’s going to fight for people, especially when it’s not easy? Have you been willing to get in and get involved in these big battles that we’ve had and have won over these many years?’ And if you’re not willing to do that, then I think we are going to see this state revert, so I would not take anything for granted." 

"We’ve had hundreds of thousands of people move here specifically because of the policies that we have, and I think that’s something that you should not take for granted," DeSantis said. "This is not necessarily something that just goes on auto pilot." 

KAMALA HARRIS TAKES VEILED JABS AT TRUMP, ELON MUSK IN 1ST MAJOR SPEECH SINCE ELECTION DEFEAT

Asked about his wife potentially running, DeSantis gave no confirmation Monday but spoke highly of her political acumen and conservatism. 

"People ask me all the time about our wonderful first lady, who has done a fantastic job as first lady of Florida," DeSantis said of the first lady. "I will tell you this, you’re talking about somebody like her. I won by the biggest margin that any Republican has ever won a governor’s race here in Florida. She would do better than me." 

"She’s somebody that has the intestinal fortitude and the dedication to conservative principles that, you know, anything that we’ve accomplished she’d be able to take to the next level," DeSantis said. 

He added that the late legendary American broadcaster Rush Limbaugh once told him at a dinner in Palm Beach during his first year as governor, "The only person I would rather have as my governor than you, is her." 

On Thursday, Trump wrote on his social media platform in part, "Byron Donalds would be a truly Great and Powerful Governor for Florida and, should he decide to run, will have my Complete and Total Endorsement. RUN, BYRON, RUN!" 

In response, Donalds shared a screenshot of the president's message. "President Trump is Making America Great Again. I'm committed to working with him to Keep Florida Great. Announcement coming soon!" the congressman said. 

At the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) afterward, Donalds did not formally announce a gubernatorial bid but said it had been an "interesting 12 hours" and to "stay tuned." 

A federal judge in the District of Columbia Monday issued a temporary restraining order halting the Trump administration's plans to move transgender inmates to facilities corresponding to their biological sex. 

"[P]ending further Order of this Court, Defendants shall maintain and continue the plaintiff's housing status and medical care as they existed immediately prior to January 20, 2025," wrote Royce C. Lamberth, a Reagan-appointed U.S. district court judge.

Lamberth noted a "likelihood of success on the merits of the plaintiffs’ Eighth Amendment claim" but said the court "still takes no position" on other claims made in a lawsuit filed last week. The Eighth Amendment bars "cruel and unusual" punishment of prisoners.

MAINE'S TRANS ATHLETE POLICY 'SO EXTREME,' COULD COST STATE MILLIONS, GOP LAWMAKER SAYS

The lawsuit filed Friday, Jane Doe v. Pamela Bondi, alleges that President Donald Trump's executive order, "Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government," signed in January, "targets transgender individuals and attempts to strip them of established legal protections."

The anonymous names of the dozen inmates in the lawsuit filed Friday are: Jane Doe, Mary Doe, Sara Doe, Emily Doe, Zoe Doe, Tori Doe, Olivia Doe, Susan Doe, Lois Doe, Sophia Doe, Sally Doe and Wendy Doe.

The inmates, all of whom are transgender women, "will not be safe" if transferred to men's facilities, the lawsuit states, and the inmates will be at risk of "sexual harassment, assault, and rape."

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, also alleged Sara Doe "may be forced to shower in full view of men who are incarcerated, and her breasts and female genitalia will be exposed." Similar charges were made throughout the lawsuit for the other trans inmates.

Trump's executive order prohibits taxpayer dollars "expended for any medical procedure, treatment, or drug for the purpose of conforming an inmate’s appearance to that of the opposite sex."

"The medical standard of care for treatment of gender dysphoria is to allow a transgender person to live in a sex different than their birth sex through medications, surgical care, and social transition," the lawsuit claims.

USDA LAUNCHES REVIEW AT UNIVERSITY OF MAINE OVER TRANSGENDER SPORTS POLICY AFTER TRUMP-GOV. MILLS BLOWUP

The trans inmates were warned by BOP officials last week that the DOJ had notified the warden to transfer all of them to men’s facilities and that the transfers could happen as early as Monday, "and that their medical treatment would be cut off in the men’s facilities," according to the lawsuit.

"On or about February 21, 2025, BOP officials at [redacted] told Susan Doe, Lois Doe, and Olivia Doe that they were all being transferred to male facilities imminently," the lawsuit said.

This isn't the first lawsuit lobbed against the Trump administration as it attempts to override "radical gender ideology" within the federal government. The first lawsuit against Trump's "two sexes" executive order came from a transgender inmate receiving taxpayer-funded medical treatments just days after Trump signed the order.

That inmate, anonymously identified as Maria Moe, is being represented by advocacy groups GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders and National Center for Lesbian Rights and Lowenstein Sandler LLP. Once Trump signed the executive order, Moe was transferred to a men's prison facility, and BOP records changed the sex from "female" to "male," the complaint says.

TRANS INMATE'S LAWSUIT CHALLENGES TRUMP 'TWO-SEXES' ORDER CUTTING OFF TAX MONEY FOR GENDER THERAPY

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While the latest lawsuit identifies BOP acting director William Lothrop as one of the defendants, Lothrop announced his retirement – among a slew of other BOP executives – and is expected to step down by the end of the month, the Washington Post reported.

Fox News Digital's requests for comment from the White House, BOP and Justice Department were not returned by time of publication.

EXCLUSIVE: Dozens of governors gathered at a convention in Washington, D.C., over the past few days, and Fox News Digital spoke to Wyoming’s Republican governor about the importance of American energy independence, the energy outlook for the next four years and the impact of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). 

"I've been a really strong, vocal advocate for something that Donald Trump keeps talking about, which is let the states do it," Gov. Mark Gordon told Fox News Digital at the National Governors Association's Winter Meeting.

"They can get things done faster. We've talked about this in energy, we've talked about it in so many other areas, education and so on. Let us run our own shops. Federalist notion, that's what our country was founded on. That's a good time to remember it, all these years later."

Energy production was a much-talked-about issue at the winter meetings, particularly Wyoming, which leads the nation in coal production, has the country’s largest uranium reserves and is in the top 10 of states for oil and gas production.

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Gordon touted his track record of working with other governors in western states, particularly New Mexico’s Democrat governor, with regard to energy production and pushing back on the Biden administration’s efforts to halt new energy projects. 

"We were frustrated to some degree by a couple of policies in some states on the coasts that were blocking our access to Asian markets, particularly for our coal, and then as the Biden administration came in, and they really shut down permitting, which, actually, this is one of the great things about one of these conventions. [Gov.] Michelle Lujan Grisham, a Democrat from New Mexico, and I went to the White House early on to say, by shutting down energy exploration on our federal lands, you're not slowing down energy consumption," Gordon explained. 

"What you are doing is moving it offshore to places like Venezuela, which is what the president was talking about today, when in Wyoming and in New Mexico, we've shown great leadership not only in energy but also in environmental issues. We both have low methane emission, natural gas. I think Wyoming has done the best job in putting out migration corridors. So we know that we can develop our minerals in a place where it's important for wildlife to be able to move. We can do these things. Give it to the states."

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Gordon told Fox News Digital that after years of the country’s energy production being "held back," he is optimistic things will "open up" over the next four years under President Donald Trump and said he is "happy" and "excited" about what he’s seen so far with energy.

"We're going to start to see growth and production again, but I think what's really exciting is you have an administration that's dedicated to putting in place policies that we can make permanent, that recognize that states do it best, recognize that ‘and’ is a much better conjunction than ‘or,’ that we can develop energy, and we can protect the environment, and we can do great things going forward. So, from my standpoint, this is an exciting time and I know my fellow governors and I are very anxious to see what we can get done in these first two years."

Gordon spoke to Fox News Digital about the new DOGE, which has been dominating headlines in recent weeks, and about his work addressing waste and fraud in Wyoming.

"We've worked really hard at cutting waste, and Wyoming has had a few episodes where we've lost all our revenue. We're a dominant energy economy, and so when oil and gas prices drop or coal prices drop, or you have a Biden administration, it's tough on our state, and that has allowed us, I think, to keep a lot of that waste out. It doesn't mean we don't keep looking for it, but there's just not a lot of fat in our budget. We're very small and very lean."

Gordon expressed hope that cutting regulations at the federal level will translate into positive economic growth at the state level. 

"At the federal level, there’s a lot of stuff [we] need to fix," Gordon continued. "We have done a ‘phenomenal’ job of slowing our productivity down by making it so sort of dodgy and slow in the process of going through NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act), and the process of going through the permitting and the process of doing all these things, that a project that ought to take four or five years takes a dozen. That's not good for our competitiveness."

"I think when you come in to make a difference, and you start, you know, breaking things and moving fast – just as [DOGE leader] Elon Musk likes to say – there's going to be a little bit of overdo. I think this administration, some of the conversations we've had with some of the secretaries, says, hey, what about this? What are the things that we missed in the process of doing that? So I think we're seeing some of that get kind of reined back in a little bit more. ‘Is this valuable?’ which is a question we should always ask."

Florida is creating a "DOGE task force" to "eliminate unnecessary bureaucracy and to continue to ensure tax dollars are used in the most efficient way possible," Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Monday. 

The Republican said the Sunshine State "has never been in better fiscal health," but "we always want to get better, and so we looked to see what [Elon] Musk is doing with the [Department of Government Efficiency] in Washington, D.C." 

"And the one thing I think that they are doing that we need to incorporate is to utilize and leverage technology like artificial intelligence to be able to police the payments and the operations and the contracts that are done in government," DeSantis continued, speaking behind a lectern with the message "Keeping Florida Efficient." 

"For example, we have people that review these contracts and if there is DEI, they nix it and things like that. But this is some high-powered stuff and I think would be able to provide us with some good information," he added. "We have already been doing this stuff. This will really help enhance that." 

JUDGE BLOCKS DOGE FROM ACCESSING EDUCATION DEPARTMENT RECORDS 

DeSantis said: "I am pleased to announce that we are launching a comprehensive initiative to continue to streamline our government and to continue to eliminate unnecessary bureaucracy and to continue to ensure tax dollars are used in the most efficient way possible."

"We are creating a state DOGE task force that will implement a multi-pronged approach to eliminating bureaucratic bloat and modernizing our state government to best serve the people of Florida in the years ahead," he also said. "This will be – similar to the federal DOGE – a limited amount of time. It will be a one-year term. It will sunset following the completion of the mission." 

TRUMP SAYS THIS CONGRESSMAN WOULD HAVE HIS ‘TOTAL ENDORSEMENT’ IF HE RUNS FOR FLORIDA GOVERNOR 

DeSantis then reiterated in a post on X that "Florida was DOGE before DOGE was cool," noting that since taking office in 2019, he has "saved billions for Floridians year after year, including $3.8 billion in last year’s budget." 

There was no immediate reaction to DeSantis’ announcement from Musk. 

As part of his acquisition of Twitter in 2022, Elon Musk called on the social media giant's CEO 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 the Department of Government Efficiency under the Trump administration. 

Musk roiled the federal workforce on Saturday when he posted to X that employees would need to list their accomplishments for the previous week or risk losing their jobs. 

But this isn't the first time Musk has used the tactic: He did the same amid his purchase of Twitter in 2022, before he overhauled the social media behemoth, including axing top brass. 

"What did you get done this week," Musk had texted former Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal in April 2022, months before he purchased Twitter and ultimately renamed it X. 

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 screen shot of a Musk X post on Saturday directed at federal employees. 

"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." 

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

Musk, who positioned himself as "free speech absolutist" amid the Twitter purchase, bought the social media platform in 2022 after it came under fire from conservatives and free speech advocates for censoring conservative viewpoints. 

The tech giant had "permanently" banned former President Donald Trump from the platform in 2021, drawing ire from conservatives and free speech advocates. It also blocked the New York Post’s 2020 story on Hunter Biden’s notorious laptop – and suspended some conservative accounts from the site, such as satire website Babylon Bee in 2022 after it awarded transgender Biden administration official Rachel Levine a fictitious "Man of the Year" award. 

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

Musk’s text to the then-Twitter CEO asking what he accomplished for the week came as the two sparred over Musk’s critical messages aimed at the social media platform, including asking publicly that year, "Is Twitter dying?" The text messages were revealed in court documents released in 2022. 

Months later, in October 2022, Musk officially acquired Twitter in a $44 billion deal, making waves when he entered its headquarters that month carrying a bathroom sink in a video he posted to X with the caption, "Entering Twitter HQ – let that sink in!"

Musk went on to fire the social media company’s top executives, including Agrawal, CFO Ned Segal and general counsel Vijaya Gadde. Musk explained on X recently that Agrawal was fired due to reported productivity issues. 

"Parag got nothing done. Parag was fired," he posted to X on Saturday.

All in, roughly 70% to 80% of Twitter's approximate 8,000 employees were fired or exited the company following Musk’s purchase. Musk took a hatchet to the company’s work from home policy, and remarked that the company was overstaffed and needed to be trimmed of staffers who did not contribute much to its operations. 

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

"We just had a situation at Twitter where it was absurdly overstaffed," Musk said on Fox News in 2023. "Turns out you don't need all that many people to run Twitter."

"If you're not trying to run some sort of glorified activist organization and you don't care that much about censorship, then you can really let go of a lot of people, turns out," he said at the time. 

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

Musk’s comments reflect those he’s made in the second Trump administration as the chair of DOGE, which is in the midst of auditing various federal agencies in the search for overspending, 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 ax overspending. 

Musk said on 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 pm 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 message followed Trump remarking that he has been pleased with Musk and DOGE's work investigating various federal agencies for government overspending, fraud and mismanagement, but that he would like to see Musk "get more aggressive." 

Musk responded on X: "Will do, Mr. President!"

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

Some Democratic lawmakers, unions and activists have called for federal employees to buck the order, while a handful of government departments and agencies, such as the FBI and Department of Defense, told staff to hold off on responding to the email, as respective officials will handle auditing their own staffers. 

"This is a good opportunity for mass civil disobedience. Musk has no authority to do this," Illinois Democratic Rep. Sean Casten, for example, posted to X on Saturday evening. "Encourage all federal employees to report to work, prepare GFY letters and continue to demonstrate the public service and patriotism he lacks." The acronym GFY is internet slang typically meaning "go f--- yourself."

"It takes a remarkable combination of arrogance and stupidity to think that this is the best use of time for our intelligence officers, VA workers, air traffic controllers, and everyone else we depend on to do their job well," he continued.

President Donald Trump teased a possible meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Monday from the Oval Office, amid what he called his "serious discussions" with Russian President Vladimir Putin about ending the war between Russia and Ukraine. 

The president, from the Oval Office Monday, hinted at a potential meeting with Zelenskyy to finalize an agreement for rights to access its natural resources in exchange for the United States’ billions of dollars in support for the country's war against Russia.

TRUMP SAYS DEAL WITH UKRAINE FOR US ACCESS TO ITS RARE EARTH MINERALS IS ‘PRETTY CLOSE’

"In fact, he may come in this week or next week to sign the agreement, which would be nice, I'd love to meet him. Would meet at the Oval Office," Trump said. "The agreement is being worked on now." 

"They are very close to a final deal," the president said. 

The Trump administration is seeking to recoup the cost of aid sent to the war-torn country by gaining access to rare earth minerals like titanium, iron and uranium. 

"It'll be a deal with rare earths and various other things. And, he would like to come. As I understand it, here, to sign it. And that would be great with me," Trump said. "I think they then have to get it approved by their council or whoever might approve it, but I'm sure that will happen." 

Trump said that the deal is "very beneficial to their economy," while Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that the deal is "very close." 

"One-yard line," Bessent said. 

Trump’s comments come just after he posted on Truth Social that he was in "serious discussions" with Putin about ending the war between Russia and Ukraine. 

The post came after French President Emmanuel Macron of France joined him in the Oval Office to speak to the G7 Summit. 

"The meeting was convened by Governor Justin Trudeau of Canada, the current chair of the G7, to acknowledge the Third Anniversary of the Russia-Ukraine War—Which would have never started if I was president," Trump posted on his Truth Social.  

TRUMP SET TO MEET WITH WORLD LEADERS IN DC DURING BUSY WEEK AS RUSSIA-UKRAINE PEACE TALKS CONTINUE

"Everyone expressed their goal of seeing the War end, and I emphasized the importance of the vital ‘Critical Minerals and Rare-Earths Deal’ between the United States and Ukraine, which we hope will be signed very soon!" Trump continued, adding that the deal is an "economic partnership" would "ensure the American people recoup the tens of billions of dollars an military equipment sent to Ukraine, while also helping Ukraine’s economy grow as this brutal and savage war comes to an end." 

The president said, though, "at the same time," he was "in serious discussions with President Vladimir Putin of Russia concerning the ending of the War, and also major Economic Development transactions which will take place between the United States and Russia." 

"Talks are proceeding very well!" he added. 

The president Monday also predicted that the Russia-Ukraine war could end within weeks. 

"I think the war could end soon," Trump told reporters. 

When asked if it could be "within weeks," Trump said: "Yeah, I think so, right? Don't you think so? I'd like to ask, have you, I think we could end it within weeks. If we're smart." 

"If we're not smart, it'll keep going and we'll keep losing young, beautiful people that we shouldn't be dying. And we don't want that," Trump said. "And remember what I said? This could escalate into a third world war, and we don't want that either." 

Trump administration officials, including White House National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff met in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, recently with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and President Vladimir Putin’s Foreign Affairs Advisor Yuri Ushakov to hash out ways to end the conflict. 

TRUMP OFFICIAL SAYS UKRAINE MINERAL DEAL IS 'WIN-WIN' FINANCIAL OPPORTUNITY FOR US TAXPAYERS, UKRAINIANS

Ukraine was absent from the negotiations in Saudi Arabia. 

Ukraine's lack of involvement sparked Zelenskyy to double down on the stance that his nation will not accept a peace deal unless it is a part of the negotiation process. 

Zelenskyy told reporters Tuesday in Turkey that "nobody decides anything behind our back," after stressing in recent days that Kyiv will not agree to a peace negotiation without Ukraine’s input.

Trump recently amplified his rhetoric against Zelenskyy, including arguing Zelenskyy was a poor negotiator and that he's "sick of it." 

"I've been watching this man for years now as his cities get demolished, as his people get killed, as his soldiers get decimated," Trump told Fox News' Brian Kilmeade.

"I've been watching him negotiate with no cards. He has no cards, and you get sick of it," he continued. "You just get sick of it, and I've had it."

"I get tired of listening to it," Trump said. "I've seen it enough, and then he complains that he's not at a meeting that we're having with Saudi Arabia trying to intermediate peace. Well, he's been at meetings for three years with a... president who didn't know what the hell he was doing. He's been at the meetings for three years and nothing got done, so I don't think he's very important to be at meetings, to be honest with you. He's been there for three years. He's he makes it very hard to make deals."

Meanwhile, the president said Monday he would be "certainly" willing to go to Moscow. 

"At the appropriate time, I would go to Moscow," Trump said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he would step down as president of Ukraine if it meant his nation would be accepted into NATO. 

Zelenskyy told reporters Sunday he was willing to give up the presidency "if it is for the peace of Ukraine," or if Ukraine is offered NATO membership – after President Donald Trump called him a "dictator" for failing to hold wartime elections. 

He also said he did not agree with Trump that Ukraine should pay the U.S. retroactively for the over $100 billion in aid offered since war broke out three years ago on Monday. 

"We agreed with Biden that this was a grant. A grant is not a debt," Zelenskyy said. 

US-UKRAINE RIFT BREAKS OUT AT UNITED NATIONS ON 3RD ANNIVERSARY OF THE WAR

U.S. officials have said NATO membership is off the table for Ukraine at any point in the near future, as Russia would never agree to such terms. 

Despite Zelenskyy's complaints, Trump insisted a new draft mineral deal is "very close," and the deal will be worth $350 billion. 

"It looks like we're getting very close, the deal's being worked on we're getting very close to getting an agreement where we get our money back over a period of time. But it also gives us something that is very beneficial to their economy, to them as a country," Trump told reporters while meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron. 

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed the U.S. and Ukraine are at the "one-yard line" of a deal. 

"The negotiations have been very constructive, with nearly all key details finalized. We are committed to completing this swiftly to proceed with its signature. We hope both US and UA leaders might sign and endorse it in Washington the soonest to showcase our commitment for decades to come," Olga Stefanishyna, a Ukrainian deputy prime minister, added on X. 

Zelenskyy insisted he would not sign a deal that would cost Ukraine for decades.

"I will not sign what 10 generations of Ukrainians will have to pay back," he said. 

However, Zelenskyy is under pressure to agree to a deal to appease the Trump administration as the U.S. tries to broker peace with Russia.

The deal involves offering the U.S. preferential access to hundreds of billions of dollars' worth of Ukraine’s rare-earth minerals as payback for past military aid, with no guarantee of future aid. 

TRUMP SET TO MEET WITH WORLD LEADERS IN DC DURING BUSY WEEK AS RUSSIA-UKRAINE PEACE TALKS CONTINUE

"I expect to see a deal signed this week," White House envoy Steve Witkoff said on CNN Sunday. 

"We’re funding with no arrangement to pay it back. Alternatively, the Europeans who are most affected by this war were funding the minority share, and they had agreements to pay it back. This agreement is much about repayment for all that we have done on behalf of the Ukrainian people."

Last week, Zelenskyy infuriated Trump by rejecting an initial version of a minerals deal, leading Trump to deem the Ukrainian president a "dictator without elections" and said Ukraine "never should have started" the war. 

Zelenskyy, in turn, said Trump was operating in a "disinformation space," which earned the Ukrainian leader warnings from Vice President JD Vance and national security adviser Mike Waltz to tone down his criticisms.

"I want the same as Donald Trump says he wants — to end the war as soon as possible. I believe he wants and will help us to end it. But the 'peace through strength' tactic should be applied on Russia first and foremost. We are partners and I want him to be on our side," Zelenskyy said.

Ukraine's constitution outlaws holding elections while the nation is operating under martial law, which it has been since February 2022. Elections were originally scheduled for last spring. 

Under the first draft of the mineral deal, the U.S. and Ukraine would split the profits of its minerals 50-50 for up to $500 billion. 

The second draft of the deal, obtained by the New York Times, was even harsher – and would have required Kyiv to give up its minerals, oil and gas revenues and earnings from ports and other infrastructure until reaching $500 billion. 

Zelenskyy said he would not recognize Trump’s $500 billion figure, as the assistance Ukraine had received from the U.S. was closer to $100 billion. 

During a hearing of an "emergency" panel addressing the effects of DOGE on the Virginia workforce, a lawmaker invoked a famous Holocaust-related quote from a reformed German clergyman who once identified with the Nazi Party.

Virginia state Delegate Joshua Cole claimed in Friday’s Richmond hearing that his constituents are within the congressional district that has the highest concentration of federal workers in the state.

Cole, who represents Fredericksburg, sits within Rep. Eugene Vindman’s, D-Va., 7th District. Democratic Rep. Don Beyer’s 8th District to the north in Alexandria houses more federal workers, according to the Virginia Public Access Project.

"I must say that I have seen so many different people on social media rather excited about these [DOGE] cuts; rather excited about these job losses," Cole said.

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"And that reminds me of a quote from a long time ago that said: 'At first they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't Jewish. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist. And then when they came for me, there was no one to speak up because everyone had been taken.'"

The quote was a rough translation of a famous 1946 "confession" by Rev. Martin Niemöller, a minister who had reportedly briefly identified with Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Party before he became a high-profile critic in the late 1930s and was thrown into a concentration camp.

Niemöller's confession, "Habe ich geschwiegen" – or "I had remained silent" – described the guilt felt by many German intellectuals as Hitler accumulated more and more power and persecuted more and more people in his rise as kanzler, or chancellor.

In the hearing, Cole said he recalled a similar emergency committee being empaneled to deal with the 2020 onset of the coronavirus pandemic.

"The difference between then and now is we had extra money coming in. We're not going to have extra money coming in. We're actually going to be losing money over this situation," he warned.

"And I'm very much interested in how the loss of that money of federal income is going to impact our communities."

TOWN ONCE POPULATED BY NAZIS RECONCILES WITH ITS PAST

He also expressed concern as to how DOGE would treat the upcoming opening of a Spotsylvania veterans' hospital, noting the once rural but increasingly suburban county receives a large amount of federal funding. About 144,000 Virginians are federal employees, according to the Congressional Research Service.

Fox News Digital reached out to Cole’s offices in Richmond and Fredericksburg for comment. 

House Minority Leader Todd Gilbert, R-Woodstock, sounded off on the matter Monday to Fox News Digital, saying Cole should apologize to Holocaust survivors and "every citizen of Virginia; for what were some utterly insensitive and hyperbolic remarks."

"Comparing the loss of some government jobs to the Holocaust is an insult to the memory of the millions who were slaughtered [by the Nazi regime]," Gilbert said.

Fox News Digital also reached out for reaction from committee chairman David Bulova, D-Fairfax, and vice chairman Robert Bloxom, R-Cape Charles.

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Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears, the current Republican frontrunner in the 2025 governor’s race, slammed Cole’s comments.

"Virginia Dems disgustingly compared cutting wasteful spending to the Holocaust – trivializing the murder of 6 million Jews," Sears wrote on X. 

"Did Josh Cole just compare cutting government waste to the Holocaust?" asked Mason DiPalma, an official with the Republican State Leadership Committee.

"Virginia Dem[ocrats] really have no message and it shows."

Irish leaders will skip St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in the U.S. this year to protest President Donald Trump calling for the displacement of Palestinians from Gaza.

St. Patrick’s Day celebrations are an opportunity for Irish leaders to reinforce diplomatic relations abroad, particularly in the U.S., where the annual trip to Washington, D.C., commemorates the historic and cultural ties between the countries. This year, the Irish prime minister, known as Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, will represent Ireland without Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald and Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O'Neill.

"I followed with growing concern what's happening on the ground in Gaza and the West Bank, and like many other Irish people, have listened in horror to calls from the President of the United States for the mass expulsion of the Palestinian people from their homes and the permanent seizure of Palestinian lands," McDonald said.

"Such an approach is a fundamental breach of international law, is deeply destabilizing in the Middle East, and a dangerous departure from the U.N. position of peace and security for both Palestinians and Israelis, and the right of Palestinians to self-determination."

TRUMP’S GAZA RELOCATION PROPOSAL SPARKS HEATED DEBATE AMONG PALESTINIANS: ‘NO LIFE LEFT HERE’

While acknowledging the important opportunity to reinforce the U.S. and Ireland’s relationship, McDonald said she decided not to attend the White House events this year "as a principled stance against the call for the mass expulsion of the Palestinian people from Gaza."

O’Neill echoed McDonald’s comments, vowing to maintain diplomatic relationships with the U.S. while taking a stance against Trump’s comments. 

JOURNALISTS SOUND ALARM OVER TRUMP’S 'PREPOSTEROUS' GAZA COMMENTS, WARN OF 'ETHNIC CLEANSING'

"I have taken the decision as First Minister not to attend events at the White House this year," O'Neill announced in a post. "We have all witnessed the heartbreak and devastation and the suffering in Palestine, and the recent comments by the U.S. president around the mass expulsion of the Palestinian people from Gaza is something which I cannot ignore."

O’Neill said she is standing "firmly on the side of humanity" by protesting Trump and supporting the Palestinian people. 

"I will continue to engage with the U.S., both politically and economically, to better people's lives. But people rightly look to leaders to stand against injustice. And in the future, when our children and our grandchildren ask us what we did when the Palestinian people endured unimaginable suffering, I will say I stood firmly on the side of humanity."

McDonald said she supported Martin’s standing St. Patrick’s Day visit to Washington, D.C., because the prime minister would have more access and an expected audience with Trump. She urged Martin to use the "opportunity to reflect the view of the Irish people in relation to Palestine, in support of international law, and to reject threats for the mass expulsion of Palestinian people and seizures of their land."

When asked about the boycott, Martin told reporters, "Sinn Féin does what it always does – it engages in politics. I have a responsibility to the country."

Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) called the boycott "reckless" and "short-sighted."

"The United States is a key economic partner for Northern Ireland," said DUP Leader Rt. Hon. Gavin Robinson. "Turning away from that relationship, particularly at a time when we need continued international support, is a reckless move that does nothing to advance the interests of people and businesses in Northern Ireland."

Trump said during a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last month that the U.S. would "take over the Gaza Strip." Trump also suggested relocating Palestinians to rebuild Gaza as the "Riviera of the Middle East." Trump’s comments sparked international backlash. 

Ireland is a long-time supporter of Palestinian independence, as many Irish draw parallels with the British occupation of Ireland. Ireland has advocated for full Palestinian statehood and a two-state solution throughout the war in Gaza. Irish citizens have vocally opposed the war in Gaza and consistently protested in support of Palestinians since the war began. 

Sinn Féin is an Irish Republican party with historic connections to the Irish Republican Army that has grown in popularity and power in Ireland and Northern Ireland over the past few years. Sinn Féin believes in Irish reunification by returning the British-controlled counties of Northern Ireland to Irish rule. 

Just as the U.S. has played a critical role in ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas, the U.S. was a key negotiator in the Good Friday Agreement between the United Kingdom and Ireland in 1998, which ended decades of conflict and brought peace to the region. 

The U.S. is home to the largest Irish diaspora. The U.S. and Ireland have maintained close diplomatic relations, and traditional St. Patrick’s Day events at the White House have become an opportunity to celebrate and develop that relationship. Former President Joe Biden visited Ireland and Northern Ireland as president in 2023 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement. 

Former Vice President Kamala Harris took veiled jabs at President Donald Trump and Department of Government Efficiency chief Elon Musk during her first major speech since her election loss in November. 

After several months out of the public spotlight, Harris stepped onto the stage at the 56th NAACP Image Awards on Saturday in the Los Angeles-area to accept the NAACP’s Chairman's Award.

The former Democratic presidential candidate called for a "sense of urgency," asserting that "eternal vigilance is the price of liberty" as she urged the Pasadena crowd to "stay alert, to seek the truth and to actively participate in the fight for America's future." 

"The organization came into being at a moment when our country struggled with greed, bitterness and hatred. And those who forged the NAACP legacy, those who carried its legacy had no illusions about the forces they were up against. No illusions about how stony the road would be. But some look at this moment and rightly feel the weight of history," Harris said. "Some see the flames on our horizons, the rising waters in our cities, the shadows gathering over our democracy and ask, what do we do now? But we know exactly what to do because we have done it before, and we will do it again. We use our power. We organize, mobilize. We educate, and we advocate. Because you see, our power has never come from having an easy path." 

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Harris, who formerly served as a U.S. senator from California and the state's attorney general, continued, "Our strength flows from our faith. Faith in God, faith in each other and our refusal to surrender to cynicism and destruction. Not because it is easy, but because it is necessary. Not because victory is guaranteed, but because the fight is worth it."

"And while we have no illusions about what we are up against in this chapter in our American story, this chapter will be written not simply by whoever occupies the Oval Office, nor by the wealthiest among us," Harris said, appearing to reference Trump and Musk, who is the wealthiest person in the world. "The American story will be written by you, written by us, by we, the people." 

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Her speech comes at a time when the Democratic Party is in a messaging crisis after Trump soundly defeated Harris in November's presidential election.

Like former President Joe Biden did earlier this month, Harris signed with the powerful Hollywood talent agency, Creative Artists Agency, days ago. The agency said in its announcement on Instagram that it would focus on "speaking engagements and publishing," and work closely with Harris "on her post-White House initiatives, creating strategic opportunities that expand her platform in support of the issues she has championed through her decades-long career in public service." 

In his speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference, Trump referenced Harris as Biden's border czar, telling the Washington, D.C., area crowd, "I haven’t said that name in a while."

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is teaming up with Elon Musk's cost-cutting department to draw back environmental grants issued by the former Democratic administration. 

The EPA and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), President Donald Trump's newly formed department aimed at cutting federal spending, recently revealed that the Biden administration earmarked $77.1 million in "environmental justice" grants to 20 recipients.

DOGE, as part of its sweep of government "waste," revealed that they are canceling $67.4 million of the unspent funds, the EPA confirmed to Fox News Digital.

"Good work," DOGE wrote in a post on X regarding the recent spending cut.

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The new developments, first reported by the New York Post, revealed that one recipient, the San Diego State University Foundation, would stand to lose $4.2 million in funding for bringing "environmental justice" to "tribal, indigenous and Pacific Island communities."

Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., reacted to the cost-cutting decision, writing on social media that "Biden's EPA" equals "Embezzling Public Assets."

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The EPA has been clawing back millions in environmental grants issued under the Biden administration, recently revealing that the Biden administration was allowing just eight entities to distribute $20 billion of taxpayer dollars "at their discretion." 

The agency found that part of the funds were $2 billion to a climate group linked to high-profile Democrat Stacey Abrams in what was described by the administration as a "scheme" of "wasteful" spending.

The grant was given to Power Forward Communities, an Abrams-tied nonprofit that sought to "reduce our impact on the climate" by financing the replacement of household appliances in lower-income communities with green alternatives.

Some House Republicans have felt heat back home this past week after progressive groups urged Americans to protest the GOP’s handling of government spending.

At least six lawmakers saw protests at their district offices as they spent time with constituents during last week’s recess to mark President’s Day. Several others were confronted during town hall events held during the same period.

The demonstrations largely centered on Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which aims to slash $2 trillion in federal spending. 

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"They have control of all of our personal information, and I don’t know that anyone except them knows what they’re going to be doing with it," a protester outside the office of Rep. David Schweikert, R-Ariz., said in a video captured by AZ Central. "I think it’s a terrible breach of security for everyone in this country."

A photo compilation by the Desert Sun showed dozens of people protesting at the office of Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Calif., with signs like, "You work for us, not Musk."

People were also concerned about potential cuts to Medicaid and other federal programs as GOP lawmakers work to enact President Donald Trump’s agenda via the budget reconciliation process. 

Lawmakers are looking to cut billions in federal spending to offset the cost of extending Trump’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, as well as border security and national defense priorities.

Constituents outside the office of Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., last week pleaded with him to reject Medicaid cuts, according to local outlet WGAL. "I hope he doesn't touch Medicaid. I hope he does not defund it or try to cut it or anything like that," one demonstrator told the outlet.

Perry told the outlet in response to the protest, "Congressman Perry supports the right to protest. While Congress has yet to see a detailed plan to get our Country back on the path to fiscal solvency, Congressman Perry, as always, will keep the concerns and views of the 10th District at the forefront as he determines his vote on their behalf."

Other Republicans who saw protests at their district offices last week included Reps. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., Ryan Mackenzie, R-Pa., and House Administration Committee Chair Bryan Steil, R-Wis.

Rep. Rich McCormick, R-Ga., was among the Republican lawmakers who faced critics that jeered him at a town hall last week.

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It comes after progressive group Indivisible put out a memo encouraging activists to use last week’s recess to protest House lawmakers at their home offices amid the left’s backlash against Musk’s work.

"Recess is when Members of Congress go back home to host town halls, meet with constituents, and try to paint themselves as responsive to the people who elected them. It is also when MoCs think they can avoid public scrutiny — especially Republicans who want to dodge tough questions about their complicity in Trump and Musk’s coup," the group’s site said.

Meanwhile, left-wing group Working Families Power and Opportunity Wisconsin organized the demonstration outside of Steil’s office, an online event notice showed.