{"id":127613,"date":"2025-02-23T18:03:39","date_gmt":"2025-02-23T18:03:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/trump-live-updates-elon-musk-issues-ultimatum-to-federal-workers-amid-mass-firings-the-independent\/"},"modified":"2025-02-23T18:03:39","modified_gmt":"2025-02-23T18:03:39","slug":"trump-live-updates-elon-musk-issues-ultimatum-to-federal-workers-amid-mass-firings-the-independent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/trump-live-updates-elon-musk-issues-ultimatum-to-federal-workers-amid-mass-firings-the-independent\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump live updates: Elon Musk issues ultimatum to federal workers amid mass firings &#8211; The Independent"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.<br \/><span class=\"sc-1ty8yds-0 kSzXIA\">Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in<\/span><span class=\"sc-1ty8yds-1 eXLcRx\">Please refresh your browser to be logged in<\/span><br \/>Musk has asked all federal employees to explain what they\u2019ve been working on or resign \u2013 a method to keep all leaders on the same page<br \/>From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it&#8217;s investigating the financials of Elon Musk&#8217;s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, &#8216;The A Word&#8217;, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.<br \/>At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.<br \/>The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.<br \/><a href=\"\/topic\/elon-musk\"><\/a><a href=\"\/topic\/elon-musk\"><\/a><a href=\"\/topic\/elon-musk\">Elon Musk<\/a> sent an ultimatum to federal workers at the request of President <a href=\"\/topic\/donald-trump\">Donald Trump<\/a>: explain what they have achieved in the last week or be assumed to have resigned by Monday evening.<br \/>The email requests employees send five bullet points justifying their work. It\u2019s led to <a href=\"\/news\/world\/americas\/us-politics\/musk-doge-email-federal-workers-b2703006.html\">significant pushback<\/a> from government departments and agencies \u2014 including from FBI Director<a href=\"\/topic\/kash-patel\"> Kash Patel<\/a>.<br \/>Senator Tina Smith mocked Musk, whose official status at<a href=\"\/topic\/doge\"> <u>DOGE<\/u><\/a> is unclear, tweeting: \u201cThis is the ultimate d*** boss move from Musk \u2014 except he isn\u2019t even the boss, he\u2019s just a d***.\u201d<br \/>Meanwhile, Defense Secretary <a href=\"\/topic\/pete-hegseth\">Pete Hegseth<\/a> defended the decision to shake up leadership on the <a href=\"\/topic\/joint-chiefs-of-staff\">Joint Chiefs of Staff<\/a> after Trump announced he would replace the chairman, General C.Q. Brown with Lieutenant General Dan \u201cRazin\u201d Caine. <br \/>Hegseth told Fox News on Sunday that General Brown was \u201cnot the right man for the moment\u201d. The defense secretary also defended firing top military lawyers, saying he wanted to get rid of people who would attempt to be \u201croadblocks\u201d for the Defense Department. <br \/>Markywayne Mullin, a Republican Senator for Oklahoma, defended President Donald Trump\u2019s claim about running for a third term, saying it was \u201ca joke\u201d and people need to take it as a joke.<br \/>\u201cFirst of all, he joked,\u201d Mullin said when asked if he would support changing the Constitution to allow Trump to do so on <em>Meet the Press <\/em>on Sunday.<br \/>\u201cAnd so I think we need to take that as a joke, not being literal,\u201d he added. <br \/>He pushed back on claims that Trump was being \u201cdeadly serious\u201d about running for a third term saying, \u201cpeople need to take it as a joke.\u201d<br \/>Mullin added that he would only change the Constitution if Americans wanted to ratify the Constitution to allow Trump to run for a third term.<br \/>Donald Trump\u2019s move to take control of Washington D.C\u2019s John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts has led to a staggering 50 percent drop in ticket sales, according to a report.<br \/>Trump fired the Kennedy Center\u2019s leadership upon his return to the Oval Office and put MAGA loyalist Richard Grenell in charge of the famed institution.<br \/>In the week that followed the decision ticket sales halved, Kennedy Center staff members told <em>The Washington Post <\/em>anonymously for fear of reprisals.<br \/><strong>Read more here: <\/strong><br \/>Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said he would be \u201cready\u201d to resign as leader if the country if it meant peace \u2013 suggesting he would exchange his leadership for membership in NATO.<br \/>\u201cIf (it guarantees) peace for Ukraine, if you really need me to resign, I am ready. I can exchange it for NATO,\u201d Zelensky said in response to a question on the topic at a news conference.<br \/>Ukraine is expected to sign a deal this week that will give the United States access to some of its rare minerals that President Donald Trump has been seeking out. <br \/>Steve Witkoff, the U.S. special envoy to the Middle East, informed CNN on Sunday of the incoming deal. <br \/>Witkoff said the deal, which will give the U.S. access to valuable minerals found in Ukraine, was part of Trump\u2019s attempts to even the playing field after the U.S. gave Ukraine billions in military aid.<br \/>\u201cAs is typical for the president, he\u2019s very, very sensible,\u201d Witkoff said.<br \/>The administration has yet to release official figures on the total number of dismissals. The layoffs have disproportionately affected employees with less than one year of service, who lack the job security afforded to longer-serving staff members.<br \/><strong>Scott Malone <\/strong>reports:<br \/>Defense Secretary <a href=\"\/topic\/pete-hegseth\">Pete Hegseth<\/a> defended the decision to shake up leadership on the <a href=\"\/topic\/joint-chiefs-of-staff\">Joint Chiefs of Staff<\/a> after Trump announced he would replace the chairman, General C.Q. Brown with Lieutenant General Dan \u201cRazin\u201d Caine. <br \/>Hegseth told Fox News on Sunday that General Brown was \u201cnot the right man for the moment\u201d. The defense secretary also defended firing top military lawyers, saying he wanted to get rid of people who would attempt to be \u201croadblocks\u201d for the Defense Department. <br \/>Did <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/melania-trump\">Melania Trump<\/a> laugh off efforts to get her on the 2024 campaign trail in support of her husband?<br \/>Author <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/michael-wolff\">Michael Wolff<\/a> makes this claim in his upcoming book about the 2024 election, titled <em>All or Nothing<\/em>, according to excerpts published by<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/melania-trump-laughed-trump-campaign-efforts-her-appear-events-book-2034824\" rel=\"nofollow\"> <\/a><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/melania-trump-laughed-trump-campaign-efforts-her-appear-events-book-2034824\" rel=\"nofollow\"><em>Newsweek<\/em><\/a>.<br \/>Wolff, who has authored several books critical of President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/donald-trump\">Donald Trump<\/a> over the years, has been accused of fabricating stories that appeared in his various behind-the-scenes looks at Trumpworld.<br \/>Read on&#8230;<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/elon-musk\">Elon Musk<\/a>\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/news\/world\/americas\/us-politics\/musk-doge-federal-workers-email-deadline-b2702959.html\">email ultimatum to federal workers<\/a>, 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.<br \/>And some of the backlash is coming from unexpected corners of the Trump administration, perhaps teasing early signs of power struggles to come.<br \/><em>Continue reading&#8230;<\/em><br \/>Conservative influencer Ashley St. Clair has filed a lawsuit against the alleged father of her son, DOGE boss Elon Musk, seeking sole custody of the child and requesting a paternity test from the billionaire.<br \/>Just one week after <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/news\/world\/americas\/elon-musk-ashley-st-clair-baby-secret-children-b2699313.html\">publicly disclosing she had given birth to Musk\u2019s child five months ago<\/a>, St. Clair has asked a New York court to compel Musk to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/news\/world\/americas\/elon-musk-ashley-st-clair-baby-secret-children-b2699313.html\">submit a paternity test <\/a>so he may be declared the father of the child, who is unnamed but referred to by the initials \u201cRSC\u201d.<br \/>She also filed a petition seeking sole custody of the child who she says Musk has only seen three times since he was born and has \u201cno involvement\u201d in his care or upbringing.<br \/>Keep reading:<br \/>President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/donald-trump\">Donald Trump<\/a> has nominated Lt. Gen. Dan \u2018Razin\u2019 Caine to be the next chairman of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/joint-chiefs-of-staff\">Joint Chiefs of Staff<\/a>, after firing General Charles Q. Brown Jr. for the position.<br \/>\u201cToday, I am honored to announce that I am nominating <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/air-force\">Air Force<\/a> Lieutenant General Dan \u2018Razin\u2019 Caine to be the next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,\u201d Trump wrote Friday on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/truth-social\">Truth Social<\/a>.<br \/>\u201cGeneral Caine is an accomplished pilot, national security expert, successful entrepreneur, and a \u2018warfighter\u2019 with significant interagency and special operations experience,\u201d he added.<br \/><em>Here\u2019s what we know about Caine \u2014 and his relationship with Trump:<\/em><br \/>Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies<br \/><span class=\"sc-1ty8yds-0 kSzXIA\">Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in<\/span><span class=\"sc-1ty8yds-1 eXLcRx\">Please refresh your browser to be logged in<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/rss\/articles\/CBMiwAFBVV95cUxQY2wzTFBWSG5aOEZucWVWaXB3MlMxQWowVjY0aEMwRkxMSkxCRUlKV29WNTJzUmUwWTU0N1pZcFdWcGZ6cHhINWRDd2V3a29lSXdNZlJXN2FZTW5wT3FrUC1WbVMydWMybk05ZEVEcEtkMGFPQzZQODRpUklkZlZSbVJZOUw2dTZtbDRyZkJwSGhzcnZlb2k2UE9sUlhMdDhMUWctQ2kxU2Eyc0E1dC1DaWdSTV85ZEpVYW5pZzFPQy0?oc=5\">source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged inMusk has asked all federal employees to explain what they\u2019ve been working on or resign \u2013 a method to keep all leaders on the same pageFrom [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":127614,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-127613","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127613","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=127613"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127613\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/127614"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=127613"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=127613"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=127613"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}