What to know today
- President Donald Trump signed two executive orders today: one on ending federal funding to schools that require covid vaccines and another that establishes a new energy panel he's calling the "Energy Dominance council."
- Trump and Elon Musk's DOGE are continuing their efforts to downsize the federal government. Officials from the Office of Personnel Management informed agencies yesterday that they should fire probationary employees, which could affect hundreds of thousands of people. The administration is also continuing its purge of Justice Department employees.
- Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and a coalition of senators met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy today. Trump spoke with Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin this week to urge both to begin peace talks.
Judge temporarily blocks mass terminations at consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Reporting from Washington, D.c.
A judge said in a ruling today that the consumer Financial Protection Bureau could not terminate employees without cause, dealing a blow to Trump’s efforts to dismantle the agency.
The court order came in response to a lawsuit by the National Treasury Employees Union and the cFPB Employee Association, among other groups, that sued the agency and its acting director Russell Vought this week. They had asked the judge to “declare unlawful and set aside the defendants’ actions and intended further actions to dismantle the cFPB.”
EPA lays off hundreds of probationary workers
The Environmental Protection Agency laid off some probationary workers this afternoon, further shrinking the organization's footprint as it implements Trump's executive orders.
"The Agency finds that you have failed to demonstrate fully your qualifications for continued employment. For this reason, the Agency informs you that the Agency is removing you from your position with the Agency and the federal civil service effective 5:00 p.m. EST, February 14, 2025," read the notice to EPA staffers whose positions were terminated, which was provided to NBc News.
"If in the office today, you must turn in your EPA badge, laptop, parking hang tag, travel credit card, office keys, and any other EPA property in your possession immediately," the notice added.
It was not immediately clear how many workers had been laid off. The EPA did not immediately respond to a request for comment from NBc News.
Marie Owens Powell, president of the American Federation of Government Employees council 238, a union that represents about 8,500 EPA staffers, said she had not received a list of affected employees but had been told by EPA managers that more than 300 workers she represents had been laid off. The agency has more the 20,000 workers overall.
Probationary employees are typically in their first year of federal service and have fewer workplace protections. The notice hit employees' inboxes after 5 p.m. ET, Powell said.
“A lot of the people weren’t in. They were home already. It was after 5 when the notice was out," Powell said. "People are beside themselves. They’re upset."
D.c. judge admonishes lawyer for fired inspectors general
U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes this afternoon chastised a lawyer representing inspectors general who were fired by Trump for waiting 21 days after the firings to file suit while immediately asking for a temporary restraining order.
“What would you like to do, Mr. Waxman? Would like to withdraw your TRO and I can order an expedited briefing” on the preliminary injunction, Reyes said to Seth Waxman, an attorney for the plaintiffs.
Waxman, who served as U.S. solicitor general under President Bill clinton and has gone before the Supreme court more than 80 times, asked the judge to order an expedited briefing and said the TRO was no longer needed.
“Why on earth could you not have figured that out with the defendants before coming and burdening me and burdening the defendants and burdening my staff on this issue? Are we really here right now on the sixth hearing of this day for me to decide whether or not to grant TRO or expedited briefing schedule?” Reyes said.
The government declined to weigh in at all, saying “Uh, nothing from the government.”
Reyes added that this could have been handled in a five-minute phone call rather than in court. She said she was debating whether to order a show-cause on sanctions — an order requiring the plaintiffs to explain why they should not be subject to a penalty — but declined to do so because “I have other things to deal with, but this was totally unacceptable.”
The government’s opposition to the inspectors’ general preliminary injunction is due by Feb. 21 and the plaintiffs’ reply is due by Feb. 25.
The eight inspectors general are part of a group of 18 whom Trump fired from the federal government in a legally murky, late-night move last month.
Seventh DOJ official resigns, warns Trump could use charges as leverage over NYc mayor Eric Adams
Today, a federal prosecutor little known outside New York legal circles sent a 350-word resignation letter that bluntly explained why the Trump administration is facing the largest mass resignation of Justice Department lawyers since Watergate.
In resigning, Hagan Scotten, who’d been one of the lead prosecutors in the federal corruption case against New York Mayor Eric Adams, succinctly described the core issue that has now led a total of seven federal prosecutors in Manhattan and Washington to quit in protest. They have questioned multiple aspects of an order from Attorney General Pam Bondi and her acting deputy attorney general, Emil Bove, to drop the charges against Adams.
Judge extends order blocking DOGE access to Treasury data
District court Judge Jeanette Vargas today extended a temporary restraining order preventing Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency from accessing sensitive data housed in the Treasury Department.
The decision marks a short-term victory for the 19 Democratic state attorneys general seeking to permanently bar Musk and his associates from accessing the data, calling Trump's empowering of the tech leader "unconstitutional."
Vargas' decision came after two hours of arguments from an attorney representing Trump and another representing the state attorneys general. She indicated that she will have an answer on the attorneys general request for a preliminary injunction "soon."
The White House criticized the initial decision blocking DOGE access, announced last week, as "judicial overreach."
Trump defends Hegseth amid criticism over NATO speech, says he'll talk to Roger Wicker
Trump defended Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth after he delivered a speech Wednesday during a trip to NATO’s headquarters in Brussels asserting that a return to Ukraine’s 2014 borders was "unrealistic," remarks that drew sharp conservative criticism and international concern.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office this afternoon, Trump said he was “generally” aware of what would be in Hegseth's speech, which largely indicated the United States would support Russia-Ukraine negotiations that would require Ukraine to cede territory in order to end the three-year war.
“We want, like you, a sovereign and prosperous Ukraine,” Hegseth said in Brussels on Wednesday. “But we must start by recognizing that returning to Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders is an unrealistic objective.”
The speech drew swift pushback from a GOP senator who voted to confirm Hegseth. Senate Armed Services chair Roger Wicker, R-Miss., called Hegseth’s comments, which also included indications that Hegseth believed Ukraine should not be allowed to join NATO, a “rookie mistake.”
Wicker said he was "heartened" by Hegseth's walking back some of his original remarks about Ukraine when he said yesterday that "everything is on the table" regarding negotiations between Ukraine and Russia, but the senator said the comments about the borders were not included in Hegseth's apparent reversal.
Trump denied being aware of the criticism from within his own party, saying that “Roger is a very good friend of mine, and Pete is obviously, he’s been doing a great job. I haven’t heard.”
“I’ll speak to Roger. I’ll speak to Pete. I’ll find out,” Trump said, after asking the reporter to explain what Wicker said.
Brooke Rollins says Department of Agriculture will welcome DOGE with 'open arms'
Newly confirmed Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said the department she now oversees will welcome Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency "with open arms" amid a political firestorm over the federal cuts Musk and his lieutenants have attempted to implement.
“I think we’ve canceled almost 1,000 trainings that were DEI, diversity, equity and inclusion, gender ideology focused, we’ve also begun the process of canceling a significant number of contracts,” Rollins said, noting the Department of Agriculture will be no exception to the layoffs sweeping federal agencies.
She said details such as the number of affected Agriculture Department employees are “forthcoming.”
Asked about whether DOGE will affect SNAP benefits, which are administered under the Department of Agriculture, Rollins did not elaborate but said she invites DOGE's “business perspective.”
“I think any time that the government and massive government programs like the SNAP program, which is our food stamp program, anytime you can get sort of a business perspective on 'Are we hitting our goals? What are the metrics?'” Rollins said.
Rollins, echoing a common conservative talking point, argued the SNAP program was “started with the idea that you’re going to help people” but has instead grown to become a government “handout.”
“It’s not a handout. It’s a hand up, and then years later, the government the programs are even bigger, and you’ve got more people on them, and really giving people a hand up, or is it instead a handout?” Rollins said.
National Nuclear Security Administration staff fired
Multiple staff — all civil servants — at the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) within the Department of Energy received termination notices late yesterday, according to a source with direct knowledge of the notifications. NBc News has reviewed the termination notification, with the subject line: “Notification of Termination During Probationary/Trial Period.”
The agency is tasked with designing, building and overseeing the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile.
The termination notices, which read “effective today,” came within hours of a Russian drone strike on the chernobyl power plant in Ukraine. NNSA tracks nuclear risks in Ukraine, including through sensor systems.
“This week, less than a half of a percent of the total NNSA workforce was dismissed," a Department of Energy spokesman wrote in a statement to NBc News. "The Energy Department will continue its critical mission of protecting our national security and nuclear deterrence in the development, modernization, and stewardship of America’s atomic weapons enterprise, including the peaceful use of nuclear technology and nonproliferation.”
Vance tells Zelenskyy he wants to work toward a ‘durable, lasting peace’
Vance met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Munich and said he and Trump were ready to work to find a “durable, lasting peace” amid the ongoing conflict with Russia.
For Republicans on Valentine's Day, love (with a side of memes) is in the air
Politicians are flooding their social media feeds with Valentine's Day notes. And amid the heartfelt messages to their loved ones, some are putting out somewhat less earnest wishes.
Like the White House, which posted this graphic featuring Trump and "border czar" Tom Homan.
Or Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana.
Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, whose lengthy "Festivus" threads highlight government spending he sees as waste, also got into the holiday spirit with some conservative policy-themed Valentine's notes.
Transportation chief expects to feel 'some pain' from DOGE
In his first town hall since taking office, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said he expects the department to “go through some pain” as Trump's Department of Government Efficiency commission, under the direction of Elon Musk, tries to issue sweeping cuts to the federal workforce.
The Transportation Department will not be exempt from those cuts, Duffy said, noting he is aware of the widespread anxiety among the federal workforce.
“There are exclusions to this,” Duffy said, pointing to critical safety positions that will be spared. “We always come back to our air traffic controllers. They’re staying, we’ve got to build out that workforce, there’s others that fall into that category as well. But we’re going to go through some pain of reduction in workforce.”
Asked about concerns over the validity of the Trump-issued federal employee buyouts, which offer about eight months of pay for workers who resign, Duffy said there is “no trickery.”
“I went to the White House, I talked to Elon himself,” Duffy said, elaborating that he called the meeting with Musk after speaking to some employees at the Transportation Department who expressed concern the buyouts might not be safe.
“If you want to take it, that’s available to you, and no one’s trying to trick you,” Duffy said, saying Musk assured him the buyouts are “100%” valid. “No one’s trying to dupe you. It an honest, real offer.”
Duffy also spoke about the White House-ordered return to the office for all federal employees, saying air traffic controllers and other critical jobs will be exempt for field work, but that all other transportation staff will be expected to return.
Apple and Google bring TikTok back to their U.S. app stores
Apple and Google have made the popular social media app TikTok available on their U.S. app stores again. The chinese-owned social media app had been removed from the two stores on Jan. 18, just hours before a ban was set to go into effect.
Meeting with Zelenskyy, Vance said the goal is 'durable, lasting peace' between Russia and Ukraine
During his bilateral meeting with Zelenskyy in Munich, Vance said the two leaders had "fruitful conversations" about how to proceed in terms of Russia's war in Ukraine.
"The goal is, as President Trump outlined it, we want the war to come to a close. We want the killing to stop, but we want to achieve a durable, lasting peace, not the kind of peace that's going to have Eastern Europe in conflict just a couple years down the road," Vance told reporters at the Munich Security conference.
He added, "We had a number of good conversations about how we might accomplish that together, and certainly we'll have many more in the days, weeks and months to come."
Zelenskyy thanked the U.S. and Trump for supporting Ukraine. He said that they will work toward a plan on "how to stop Putin and finish the war."
Rubio and Gen. Keith Kellogg, assistant to the president and special envoy to Russia and Ukraine, were among the members of the American delegation at the meeting.
State attorneys general blast Vance for ‘reckless’ remarks about judicial authority
Seventeen Democratic state attorneys general issued a statement today condemning Vice President JD Vance’s comments on judges controlling executive power as “reckless” and a “dangerous lie.”
“Judges do not ‘control’ executive power. Judges stop the unlawful and unconstitutional exercise of power," the attorneys general wrote.
“As Attorneys General, we will carefully scrutinize each and every action taken by this administration,” they added. “If the constitution or federal law is violated, we will not hesitate to act.”
In their statement, the attorneys general referred to their involvement in litigation across the country challenging the Trump administration’s executive orders and actions, including plans to end birthright citizenship, the federal funding freeze, a cap on medical research funding and access granted to the Department of Government Efficiency to private and sensitive government data.
“Judges granted our motions and issued restraining orders to protect the American people, democracy, and the rule of law," the attorneys general wrote. "That is and has always been their job. That job is the very core of our legal system. And in this critical moment, we will stand our ground to defend it.” The signatories included the attorneys general of Arizona, california, connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.
Trump’s border czar tells Eric Adams he’ll be ‘up his butt’ if NYc mayor breaks his vow to help IcE
On the same day the Justice Department was hit with a wave of resignations over an order to drop corruption charges against Eric Adams, the New York city mayor met with Trump’s border czar in a closed-door meeting.
The mayor, who is under intense pressure from the Trump administration as his criminal case hangs in the balance, agreed in the meeting yesterday to allow federal immigration officials to operate at the city’s Rikers Island jail.
“I came to New York city and I wasn’t going to leave with nothing,” Tom Homan, Trump’s border czar, said this morning in a joint interview with Adams on “Fox and Friends.”
Adams sat side by side with Homan, the man Trump installed to crack down on migrants, during the Fox interview after the Justice Department was thrown into turmoil with the sudden departure of six top federal prosecutors and officials — including the acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, Danielle R. Sassoon.
The resignations came after acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, who was Trump’s criminal defense attorney, ordered Sassoon to dismiss the charges, arguing in part that they were interfering in Adams’ ability to help the administration tackle illegal immigration.
Federal employee layoffs begin after Trump and Musk order cuts
The United States government is beginning a new wave of mass firings following Trump and Elon Musk’s order for sweeping cuts. It comes as the Trump administration advised all federal agencies to fire probationary employees, workers who have been on the job for less than a year. NBc’s Ryan Nobles reports for "TODAY."
Democratic senator warns Vance speech will 'embolden our adversaries'
Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., rebuked Vance for criticizing European leaders over issues such as free speech and immigration.
“I was in the room in Munich for VP Vance’s speech,” Kim wrote in a post on X. “No talk about Russia, Ukraine, china. Just criticisms of our allies and focus on 'the threat from within.' His speech is going to embolden our adversaries who will see this as a green light to act while America is distracted/divided.”
German defense minister says Vance's comments were 'not acceptable'
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius denounced Vance’s remarks, saying that it was “not acceptable” that the U.S. vice president compared “the condition of Europe with the condition that prevails in some auto-authoritarian regimes.”
“This is not acceptable,” Pistorius said later at the conference in Munich. “This is not the Europe, not the democracy where I live and where I conduct my election campaign right now. And this is not the democracy that I witness every day in our parliament. In our democracy, every opinion has a voice.”
He also criticized the vice president for spending most of his speech talking about cultural issues instead of security threats.
“Unlike the vice president, I would also like to focus my speech on the most pressing questions of European and transatlantic security," he said.
Graham says U.S. can deter Putin by arming Ukraine 'to the teeth'
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.c., said at the Munich Security conference today that he's OK with Trump speaking with Putin about ending the war with Ukraine.
"What I'm not OK with is the world losing deterrence. Why are we in this war?" he said during a town hall with other U.S. senators and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Graham, who has long held hawkish views on Putin and Russia, said the Russian leader won't stop his military efforts unless someone stops him. He said of Trump, "I think he’s going to find a way to end this war in a fashion that Putin would be a fool to do it again very quickly."
"How do you deter Putin? You arm this guy to the teeth," Graham said of Zelenskyy. "You give him a bunch of F-16s," as well as ATAcMS and tanks. "So let’s arm this guy."
Graham added that it should be conveyed to Russia that if it invades Ukraine again, the country would immediately be accepted into NATO.
Zelenskyy told Trump that Putin is a 'liar' on seeking to end war
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said during a town hall at the Munich Security conference today that he told Trump that Russian President Vladimir Putin is a "liar" in saying he wishes to end the war.
Zelenskyy referred to phone calls Trump had with him and Putin separately earlier this week and said Trump told him Putin wants to solve the conflict.
"I said to him that he is a liar," Zelenskyy said about his conversation with Trump, adding that he urged the U.S. president to increase pressure on Putin "because I don't trust him."
Zelenskyy said it's important no decisions about Ukraine are made without Ukraine.
He also said that in his first phone call with Joe Biden, the then-president told him Ukraine could not join NATO.
The United States "never saw us in NATO," Zelenskyy told attendees. "They just spoke about it, but they really didn't want us in NATO."
Federal prosecutors resign after order to drop Adams case
New York’s top federal prosecutor and five others have announced their resignation in protest of an order to dismiss a corruption case against New York city Mayor Eric Adams. NBc’s senior legal correspondent Laura Jarrett reports for "TODAY."
Vance criticizes European allies on censorship and mass migration at Munich conference
Vance railed against censorship and mass migration in Europe at the Munich Security conference while downplaying other threats such as those posed by Russia and china.
"The threat that I worry the most about vis-à-vis Europe is not Russia, it’s not china, it’s not any other external actor. And what I worry about is the threat from within, the retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental values, values shared with the United States of America," Vance said.
The vice president scolded European leaders for efforts to censor disinformation on social media, saying, "Unfortunately, when I look at Europe today, it's sometimes not so clear what happened to some of the cold War's winners." He specifically lambasted the United Kingdom for charging a man who silently prayed near an abortion clinic.
"In Britain and across Europe, free speech, I fear, is in retreat," Vance said. "I will admit that sometimes the loudest voices for censorship have come not from within Europe, but from within my own country, where the prior administration threatened and bullied social media companies to censor so-called misinformation."
He said that the Trump administration believes Europe must step up with burden-sharing in terms of defense spending, while he said "America focuses on areas of the world that are in great danger."
Vance then complained about mass migration and pointed to an asylum-seeker who was suspected of ramming his car into a crowd in Munich yesterday.
"Of all the pressing challenges that the nations represented here face, I believe there is nothing more urgent than mass migration today," he said. "We saw the horrors wrought by these decisions yesterday in this very city, and of course, I can't bring it up again without thinking about the terrible victims who had a beautiful winter day in Munich ruined."
"How many times must we suffer these appalling setbacks before we change course and take our shared civilization in a new direction?" he said. "No voter on this continent went to the ballot box to open the floodgates to millions of unvetted immigrants."
Many of Vance's remarks were met with mostly silence from the audience and little applause.
NYc mayor's case and other Trump moves threaten to open corruption floodgates, experts say
In a series of unprecedented actions, Trump and his deputies have scaled back or eliminated the government’s tools to ferret out and prosecute corruption, including efforts by foreign actors to interfere in American politics, experts and former officials say.
The administration’s actions, which come after years of mostly bipartisan support for an anti-corruption agenda, have shocked former prosecutors and anti-corruption advocacy groups. They say the administration’s approach threatens to open the floodgates to a surge in corruption in the United States and beyond.
“In his first weeks in office, Donald Trump has taken unprecedented action to invite corruption in the federal government and to undermine the guardrails meant to protect against it,” said a former federal corruption prosecutor, Noah Bookbinder, president of citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a nonprofit organization that says it works to expose corruption by government officials. “This is beyond troubling — it is an emergency,” he added.
Senate Armed Services chairman was 'puzzled and disturbed' by Hegseth's Ukraine comments
Senate Armed Service committee chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., said today that he was "puzzled and disturbed" by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's comments about Ukraine earlier this week.
Wicker made the remark at an event hosted by Politico at the Munich Security conference, the news outlet reported.
"He made a rookie mistake in Brussels and he’s walked back some of what he said, but not that line," Wicker said.
The senator said he was "heartened" that Hegseth walked back his original remarks about Ukraine. A number of senators, including some Republicans, had expressed concern about Hegseth's lack of experience during his confirmation process.
Wicker also said that Russian President Vladimir Putin, who spoke to Trump two days ago about the possibility of ending his country's war against Ukraine, is a "war criminal who needs to be in prison for the rest of his life."
The key GOP senator also rejected Trump's idea that Russia should be allowed back into the G7, according to Politico.
“There are good guys and bad guys in this war, and the Russians are the bad guys,” Wicker said. “They invaded, contrary to almost every international law, and they should be defeated. And Ukraine is entitled to the promises that the world made to it."
Vance says ‘military tools’ could be used to force Russia to agree to a Ukraine deal
Vance has warned that Russia could face more sanctions and even “military tools” if it refuses to agree to a deal ensuring Ukraine‘s long-term independence.
Vance's comments to The Wall Street Journal ahead of a major security conference in Munich today came amid growing alarm across Europe after what Trump described as a “lengthy and highly productive” conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Trump’s comments about ending the nearly three-year war in Ukraine prompted fears in Kyiv and across Europe that they were being shut out of negotiations and deepened a diplomatic rift between the U.S. and European leaders.
“There are economic tools of leverage, there are of course military tools of leverage,” Vance told the newspaper, describing the possible pressures the U.S. could apply on Russia. “There are any number of formulations, of configurations, but we do care about Ukraine having sovereign independence.”
Munich meetings come one day after suspected attack in the city
Today's high-profile meetings at the Munich Security conference come just one day after a car rammed into a crowd in Munich.
German authorities called it a "suspected attack," and officials said the suspect may have "an extremist background."
At least 28 people were injured.
Future for probationary employees in the federal government appears uncertain
The Office of Personnel Management yesterday advised agency leaders to dismiss probationary employees in the federal government, according to a person familiar with the matter.
It's unclear how many people will ultimately be affected, but it could be hundreds of thousands, according to data from the OPM.
The Department of Veterans Affairs announced it was dismissing more than 1,000 employees yesterday. The Education Department began firing dozens of probationary employees the day before.
Vance to meet with Zelenskyy after Trump talked with Putin
Vance will meet with Zelenskyy just a few days after Trump held a call with Putin in which the two leaders agreed to "start negotiations immediately" about ending the war in Ukraine, which began when Russia invaded.
"As we both agreed, we want to stop the millions of deaths taking place in the War with Russia/Ukraine," Trump said Wednesday on Truth Social.
Trump's call with Putin lasted about 90 minutes, Putin adviser Dmitry Peskov said.