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Skeptical judges may make the Trump administration explain what it’s doing behind the scenes

By Tierney Sneed, CNN (CNN) — The Trump administration may soon be forced to answer central questions about its Department of Government Efficiency and about major other actions by government agencies that are now being challenged in court, as the quick-moving legal proceedings head to the next phase. In multiple cases, President Donald Trump’s legal

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As Trump touts his dealmaking ability on Ukraine, Macron warns against a ‘weak’ agreement

CNN By Kevin Liptak, CNN Washington (CNN) — French President Emmanuel Macron tried Monday to inject a dose of reality into President Donald Trump’s ambitions to end the war in Ukraine, insisting they sought the same outcome of peace while simultaneously warning of Russia’s poor track record in keeping its international commitments. He stressed repeatedly

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As Trump touts his dealmaking ability on Ukraine, Macron warns against a ‘weak’ agreement

By Kevin Liptak, CNN Washington (CNN) — French President Emmanuel Macron tried Monday to inject a dose of reality into President Donald Trump’s ambitions to end the war in Ukraine, insisting they sought the same outcome of peace while simultaneously warning of Russia’s poor track record in keeping its international commitments. He stressed repeatedly the

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Podcaster and ex-Secret Service agent Dan Bongino will be FBI deputy director, Trump says

By Alejandra Jaramillo, Piper Hudspeth Blackburn and Brian Stelter, CNN (CNN) — Dan Bongino, a former Secret Service agent turned right-wing podcaster, has been named the next deputy director of the FBI, President Donald Trump announced Sunday, the latest outsider media personality the president has chosen to be in a significant position of power overseeing

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Trump appointees appear to contradict Musk for first time in pushback to OPM email

By Kevin Liptak, Tami Luhby and Natasha Bertrand, CNN (CNN) — A rift appeared to open Sunday between some of President Donald Trump’s agency heads and Elon Musk, the billionaire tasked with reforming the federal government, over Musk’s demand that all federal employees state their weekly accomplishments or risk termination. By Sunday evening, leaders at

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Political conference in DC interrupted by death threats against speakers critical of Trump

By Donie O’Sullivan and Veronica Stracqualursi, CNN (CNN) — A political conference in Washington, DC, that bills itself as the alternative to the Trump-aligned CPAC was evacuated on Sunday after a death threat made against several of its speakers who have been critical of President Donald Trump. Shortly after noon Sunday, organizers of the Principles

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US proposes its own UN resolution marking anniversary of war in Ukraine after refusing to back European statement

By Jennifer Hansler and Shania Shelton, CNN (CNN) — The United States has proposed its own United Nations resolution marking the third anniversary of Russia’s war in Ukraine after refusing to back one drafted by Kyiv and backed by Europe. Secretary of State Marco Rubio described it as “a simple, historic resolution … that we

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Judge temporarily blocks Trump administration from carrying out certain anti-DEI directives

By Tierney Sneed and Emily R. Condon, CNN (CNN) — A federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration from carrying out certain directives of the president to crack down on diversity, equity and inclusion – or DEI – programs US District Judge Adam Abelson said that the government could not freeze or cancel “equity-related” contracts,

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Supreme Court rules that government watchdog fired by Trump may temporarily remain on the job

By John Fritze, CNN (CNN) — The Supreme Court on Friday dashed President Donald Trump’s plan to immediately fire the head of an independent agency that investigates whistleblower claims, allowing Hampton Dellinger to remain in the job through at least the middle of next week. By declining to back Trump’s emergency appeal, the conservative court

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Judge vacates upcoming Eric Adams corruption trial but appoints conservative attorney to argue against dropping the case

By Lauren del Valle, CNN (CNN) — A federal judge has vacated the upcoming trial date for New York City Mayor Eric Adams, but declined to immediately dismiss the charges all together in a case that has roiled the Justice Department. Judge Dale Ho, instead, is appointing conservative attorney Paul Clement to present arguments challenging

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In battleground Wisconsin, wariness of Musk in White House crosses party lines

By Eric Bradner, CNN Cedarburg, Wisconsin (CNN) — Ask voters in this politically divided Wisconsin suburb about President Donald Trump’s first month in office, and another name quickly follows: Elon Musk. Opinions about the tech billionaire’s role in the Trump administration’s efforts to slash government spending are shaping how those in Cedarburg – a city

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Trump administration plans for sharp FEMA cuts fuel worries for some Republicans, state officials

By Annie Grayer, CNN (CNN) — A developing Trump administration plan for deep staff cuts and drastic changes at the Federal Emergency Management Agency is raising alarm among some state officials and even Republican lawmakers, who worry that it will weaken responses to future disasters. Republicans have had trouble getting details of the administration’s plan,

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US resisting including reference to ‘Russian aggression’ in G7 Ukraine anniversary statement

By Kevin Liptak, CNN (CNN) — A diplomatic back-and-forth is underway among Group of Seven members over a joint statement marking the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with the United States resisting a reference to “Russian aggression” in the document. The dispute, described by two Western officials familiar with the matter, reflects the

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‘Indiscriminate madness’: DOGE claims firings target low performers and new employees. The reality is far from it

CNN By Zachary Cohen, Ella Nilsen, Rene Marsh and Sunlen Serfaty, CNN (CNN) — The Trump administration and Elon Musk have insisted that they are carefully purging the federal workforce by firing only low-performing employees serving in non-critical roles, or recent hires on probationary status. But interviews with more than a dozen recently laid-off federal

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‘Indiscriminate madness’: DOGE claims firings target low performers and new employees. The reality is far from it

By Zachary Cohen, Ella Nilsen, Rene Marsh and Sunlen Serfaty, CNN (CNN) — The Trump administration and Elon Musk have insisted that they are carefully purging the federal workforce by firing only low-performing employees serving in non-critical roles, or recent hires on probationary status. But interviews with more than a dozen recently laid-off federal workers,

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Inside the 48 hours that Trump turned on Zelensky

CNN By Kevin Liptak, Jeff Zeleny and Alayna Treene, CNN (CNN) — As the long-fraught relationship between President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky ripped apart Wednesday, a question that lingered among allies of both men was whether the fight would dash hopes for a US-brokered peace — or, potentially, help it along.

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Appeals court leaves block on Trump’s birthright citizenship order in place, setting up Supreme Court showdown

By Tierney Sneed, CNN (CNN) — An appeals court will not allow the Trump administration to end birthright citizenship for certain children of immigrants, in a ruling that could propel the issue to the Supreme Court. The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday declined an emergency Justice Department request that it lift the

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What to know about Trump’s executive order and ‘unprecedented’ power grab within the government

By John Fritze, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump’s executive order grasping far greater control over independent federal agencies embraces a constitutionally questionable theory that presidents dating back to Ronald Reagan have considered – and ultimately rejected. In a far-reaching executive order Tuesday, Trump demanded that the White House review regulations at the Securities and

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Defense officials fear impending Pentagon firings could break law and hurt military readiness

By Natasha Bertrand and Haley Britzky, CNN (CNN) — Some defense officials responsible for drafting lists of civilian Pentagon employees to be terminated as soon as this week are raising concerns with their superiors that the summary firings could break the law and potentially harm US military readiness, a senior defense official told CNN. Title

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‘I feel like cruelty is the point’: For many newly fired federal workers, the way they were let go made things much worse

By Sunlen Serfaty, CNN (CNN) — As federal workers get fired by the thousands, the news has sometimes come in unceremonious, callous ways. “Read this immediately,” – went the subject line of a termination email received by one worker. For another, it was the prepaid UPS label that showed up without warning—along with instructions for

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Trump administration expected to issue public health order to restrict immigration at US-Mexico border

By Priscilla Alvarez, CNN Washington (CNN) — The Trump administration is expected to issue a public health order as soon as this week labeling migrants at the US southern border as risks for spreading diseases, marking an escalation in the president’s effort to severely restrict immigration, according to three sources familiar with the discussions. The

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Fact check: Trump falsely claims Zelensky has a 4% approval rating. It’s above 50%

By Daniel Dale, CNN Washington (CNN) — President Donald Trump’s false declaration Tuesday that Ukraine “started” the Russian war on Ukraine generated the most attention. But Trump also made another wildly inaccurate assertion about Ukraine during those remarks to the media at Mar-a-Lago: a claim that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has a 4% approval rating.

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Executive order banning trans service members has ‘unadulterated animus’ toward members of the community, judge says

By Devan Cole, CNN (CNN) — A federal judge considering whether to indefinitely block President Donald Trump’s executive order banning transgender service members described it on Tuesday as having “unadulterated animus” toward transgender Americans. “We’re dealing with unadulterated animus,” US District Judge Ana Reyes said during a hearing Tuesday in a case challenging the ban,

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‘Good luck with that.’ Trump administration terminates privacy officials at agency overseeing government hiring and firing

By Zachary Cohen, Alayna Treene and Hadas Gold, CNN (CNN) — The Trump administration has quietly fired multiple members of the “privacy team” and other officials from the office that oversees the hiring of federal workers, a move that limits outside access to government records related to the security clearances granted to Elon Musk and

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Senior DOJ prosecutor quit after being told to investigate Biden climate spending

By Katelyn Polantz, Jamie Gangel, Dana Bash and Ella Nilsen, CNN (CNN) — The top criminal prosecutor in the Washington, DC, US Attorney’s Office, Denise Cheung, resigned Tuesday after declining a request from her Trump-appointed superiors to open a grand jury investigation that she viewed as premature, according to multiple people familiar with the matter.

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Judge overseeing NYC Mayor Eric Adams case to consider DOJ motion to dismiss on Wednesday

By Kara Scannell and Lauren del Valle, CNN (CNN) — The federal judge overseeing the corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams has scheduled a hearing Wednesday to consider the Justice Department’s controversial motion to dismiss the charges. This will be the first public face-off since seven federal prosecutors, including the interim US

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Trump and allies celebrated court orders against Biden they now claim are ‘tyrannical’

By John Fritze, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump and top allies who have questioned the constitutionality of recent court orders blocking the administration’s agenda touted similar rulings by federal courts as “great news” and “brilliant” when they paused President Joe Biden’s policies. When a federal judge in Texas halted a Biden administration pause on

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Social Security head steps down over DOGE access of recipient information, sources say

By Associated Press (AP) — The Social Security Administration’s acting commissioner has stepped down from her role at the agency over Department of Government Efficiency requests to access Social Security recipient information, according to two people familiar with the official’s departure who were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. Acting Commissioner Michelle King’s departure

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Four top deputies to Eric Adams have resigned, New York mayor says

By Gloria Pazmino and Mark Morales, CNN (CNN) — Four top deputies in Eric Adams’ administration submitted their resignations Monday, in the latest sign of the New York City mayor’s cratering support among rank-and-file workers and the city’s elected officials. Maria Torres-Springer, first deputy mayor; Anne Williams-Isom, deputy mayor for health and human services; Meera

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Scott Bessent Fast Facts

CNN Editorial Research (CNN) — Here’s a look at the life of hedge fund executive and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Personal Birth date: August 21, 1962 Birth place: Conway, South Carolina Birth name: Scott Kenneth Homer Bessent Father: Homer Gaston Bessent Jr., real estate developer Mother: Barbara McLeod Bessent Marriage: John Freeman (2011-present) Children: Cole

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‘Suppressing essential health information’: Some officials frustrated by Trump administration’s limits on health agencies

By Curt Devine, Majlie de Puy Kamp and Audrey Ash, CNN (CNN) — Canceled meetings, blocked webpages and limited updates on life-threatening diseases spreading across the country. These are some of the real-world implications caused by the vague and sweeping mandates President Donald Trump’s administration has imposed on federal health agencies in recent weeks amid

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Hundreds of FAA probationary workers fired by Trump administration, union says

By Pete Muntean, CNN (CNN) — The Trump administration has started firing hundreds of Federal Aviation Administration probationary employees who maintain critical air traffic control infrastructure, according to their union. An exact number of firings is not yet known, but the head of the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists, AFL-CIO, said that “several hundred” workers started

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Trump appears to channel Napoleon in vision for executive authority: ‘He who saves his Country does not violate any Law’

CNN By Betsy Klein, Katelyn Polantz and Zachary Cohen, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump on Saturday offered a cryptic, one-sentence insight into what appears to be the guiding philosophy behind the first weeks of his presidency — and his expansive and unprecedented efforts to reshape the use of executive authority. “He who saves his

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