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President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump held their first public engagement together in a month as they hosted the National Governors Association at the White House on Saturday night.
In his remarks, the president spoke of unity and said all governors could call on his administration — even those from the Democratic Party, some of whom he admitted were doing a good job.
Earlier, the president gave a meandering speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference at which he boasted: “We’re liberating our country right now.”
Meanwhile, Elon Musk sent an email ultimatum to federal workers: list what they achieved last week by Monday night or be assumed to have resigned. There is significant pushback from government departments and agencies — including from Kash Patel at the FBI.
Senator Tina Smith mocked Musk, whose official status at DOGE is unclear, tweeting: “This is the ultimate d*** boss move from Musk — except he isn’t even the boss, he’s just a d***.”
On Friday evening, Trump announced that he is replacing Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General C.Q. Brown in an unprecedented shake-up of the U.S. military leadership. He is nominating retired Lieutenant General Dan “Razin” Caine to succeed Brown.
Kash Patel tells FBI staff to ignore Elon Musk’s productivity email as signs of power struggles emerge in D.C.
Elon Musk’s email ultimatum to federal workers, sent as part of his supposedly unofficial role as the leader of the Department of Government Efficiency, is facing pushback from across Washington, D.C. just hours after it was sent.
And some of the backlash is coming from unexpected corners of the Trump administration, perhaps teasing early signs of power struggles to come.
Oliver O’Connell23 February 2025 05:32
CPAC: A safe space for Elon Musk against Bannon and parental responsibility
Elon Musk’s sudden invasion of Donald Trump’s inner circle and the launch of his DOGE effort to shutter whole government agencies came with more than a little controversy.
But CPAC in Maryland’s National Harbor this weekend was a safe space of refuge for the Twitter and Tesla CEO, even as his public and private behavior is increasingly coming under the eye of public scrutiny.
Oliver O’Connell23 February 2025 05:00
State Department employees told to ignore Musk email
Oliver O’Connell23 February 2025 04:36
Roger Stone joins the Jeremy Strong Oscar campaign
Unexpected Saturday night news — Trump ally Roger Stone says that actor Jeremy Strong deserves to win the Best Supporting Actor category at this year’s Academy Awards for his portrayal of Donald Trump’s fixer Roy Cohn.
Strong plays Cohn in the movie The Apprentice, which documents him mentoring a young Trump in the 1970s and 1980s.
Stone posted an article on X about Strong from Vulture titled “He Overacted. He Did Too Much. He Deserves the Oscar.”
The political fixer, who worked on Republican political campaigns from Nixon to Trump, wrote: “I knew Roy Cohn. Roy Cohn was a friend of mine. As much as I hate to say it, this guy deserves an Oscar.”
Sebastian Stan, who plays Trump, is also in contention for Best Actor, a category he won at the Golden Globes this year.
Oliver O’Connell23 February 2025 04:20
Dr Oz holds millions from companies he’d wield power over in top Trump job
According to a newly filed government ethics report, Dr. Mehmet Oz, the celebrity heart surgeon nominated by President Donald Trump to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, has accumulated wealth in part from for-profit healthcare companies over which he would wield significant power if confirmed.
Australian treasurer to meet with Bessent on trade and tariffs this week
Australia’s Treasurer Jim Chalmers said on Sunday that he would visit the U.S this week to meet with his counterpart, Scott Bessent, to discuss tariffs.
Chalmers told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that he plans to depart for Washington on Sunday “to hold one-on-one conversations with my Treasury counterpart,” and noted that they will discuss trade and tariffs.
The trip follows President Donald Trump’s agreement this month to consider exempting Australia from his steel and aluminum tariffs due to its trade surplus with the U.S., after a phone call with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
Chalmers said he did not expect to finalize discussions on steel and aluminum during his time in Washington but was looking forward to meeting Bessent for the first time since taking on his role.
Albanese said this month that he remained confident that a deal could be reached with Trump, given the “tremendous start” of Australia’s relationship with the new U.S. administration.
As a vital U.S. security ally in the Indo-Pacific, Australia is a small global steel exporter, yet it holds the title of the world’s largest exporter of iron ore, the primary raw material for steelmaking.
Trump, during his first term, exempted Australia from U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum.
With reporting by Reuters
Oliver O’Connell23 February 2025 03:40
Meanwhile, in Pasadena…

On the other side of the country — and the other side of the political divide — former Vice President Kamala Harris was presented with the Chairman’s Award at the 56th Annual NAACP Image Awards.
You can watch the presentation and her remarks below:
Oliver O’Connell23 February 2025 03:23
Kid Rock reportedly splits from fiancée after being seen with Lauren Boebert
Kid Rock is reportedly no longer with his fiancée of seven years Audrey Berry.
Brittany Miller has the story.
Oliver O’Connell23 February 2025 03:00
Air traffic controllers also received Musk ultimatum
Oliver O’Connell23 February 2025 02:51
Kash Patel tells FBI employees to ignore Elon Musk’s ultimatum email
Newly sworn-in FBI director Kash Patel has instructed his employees to ignore Elon Musk’s email, which, along with other federal workers, gave them an ultimatum to justify their jobs.
“The FBI, through the Office of the Director, is in charge of all of our review processes and will conduct reviews in accordance with FBI procedures,” Patel writes in his own message.
Oliver O’Connell23 February 2025 02:38