Happy Friday! How many of you are planning to "stay online" today while actually watching March Madness games? 😉 No shame, I won't tell. |
- 🚨Trump's newsy press conference
- Will Musk be briefed on U.S. war plans?
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The Hill obtains a 400-page DOGE document
- U.K. issues U.S. travel warning
- Will Republicans try to impeach a judge?
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President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth just spoke at the White House. It started with an announcement of a defense contract, but, as Trump's remarks often do, it quickly turned into a wide-ranging news conference. To briefly catch you up, here are the newsiest parts:
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So, what’s this classified tea Elon Musk is getting?: |
The New York Times reported late Thursday that top Trump ally and billionaire Elon Musk would be receiving a Pentagon briefing on the U.S.’s military plans if there was ever a war with China.
Why the U.S.’s plans for a potential war with China are such a closely guarded secret: “Pentagon war plans, known in military jargon as O-plans or operational plans, are among the military’s most closely guarded secrets. If a foreign country were to learn how the United States planned to fight a war against them, it could reinforce its defenses and address its weaknesses, making the plans far less likely to succeed.”
What sparked this briefing?: Musk asked for the briefing, per The Wall Street Journal. Well, hours after that report, the Trump administration heavily pushed back:
President Trump argued that “China will not even be mentioned or discussed” during Musk’s Pentagon briefing. “Elon is NOT BEING BRIEFED ON ANYTHING CHINA BY THE DEPARTMENT OF WAR!!!” Trump posted. *Notice how he referred to the Department of Defense as the Department of War?*
From Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth: “[This] is NOT a meeting about ‘top secret China war plans.’ It’s an informal meeting about innovation, efficiencies & smarter production. Gonna be great!” 🔎 Hegseth’s full response
From chief Defense Department spokesperson Sean Parnell: “This is 100% Fake News. Just brazenly & maliciously wrong. Elon Musk is a patriot. We are proud to have him at the Pentagon.” 🔎 Parnell’s response There’s another layer to this: Musk has strong financial ties to China, adding questions about potential conflicts of interest in receiving this intel.
What’s now unclear: Whether this briefing will still happen at some point. |
First in The Hill — What exactly is being cut?: |
The Hill’s Laura Kelly obtained a 400-page internal document outlining the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) cuts to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). The most interesting part: “Some of the cuts on the list appear to impact lifesaving services — such as HIV, tuberculosis and malaria prevention, along with maternal and baby health — which would contradict a Trump administration commitment to continue such programs under the State Department’s umbrella.” Where did this list come from?: A whistleblower provided it to Congress.
Keep in mind: The State Department still has not released a list of terminated programs. Trump is already having some legal problems with USAID: A federal judge ruled Tuesday that DOGE likely acted unconstitutionally by shuttering USAID. |
Semafor’s Dave Weigel chimed in with an observation of DOGE. “One thing missing from DOGE coverage: Stories of really flagrant waste. Where's the welfare queen triple-dipping benefits? Where's the agency paying $50 for muffins at a conference?” Weigel posted. “It's been more ideological, scrapping programs that sound wasteful to conservatives.” |
CBS News reports that the Small Business Administration is planning to cut 40 percent of its staff. |
Speaker Johnson put in tricky spot:
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President Trump has been publicly fuming over the judge who issued a ruling last weekend to halt flights deporting Venezuelan migrants. The Trump administration ignored the order and continued with the deportations, setting off a public brawl between the two.
Trump and tech mega-billionaire Elon Musk want U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, whom Trump has deemed a “troublemaker,” to be impeached, and some other Republicans have agreed. That puts Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) in a very uncomfortable position.
There’s virtually no chance impeaching the judge would be successful. Plus, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts publicly chided Trump for even suggesting it. But if a GOP lawmaker forces an impeachment vote, The Hill’s Mychael Schnell reports, “Johnson could be pushed into a corner, weighing the importance of appeasing the president against protecting his members from what could be a politically difficult vote.”
Read Schnell’s reporting: ‘Johnson faces complicated path amid push to impeach Judge Boasberg’ |
Politico’s Michael Schaffer writes that “Michael Abramowitz and James Boasberg both grew up as children of Washington notables, becoming friends at Saint Albans, the venerable prep school where the local elite has long educated its kids. … One did journalism, the other did law, and they both wound up in public service.”
“And this week, in a coincidence that feels downright poetic in the shell-shocked universe known as Permanent Washington, they’re the targets in high-profile Trump administration onslaughts that are otherwise unconnected.”
Tidbit: Abramowitz is the director of Voice of America, a government-funded broadcast agency that was recently hit with budget cuts from the Trump administration. Nearly 2,000 Voice of America employees were either cut or put on administrative leave.
Read more on the wild coincidence: ‘They Were Raised to Serve America. MAGA Sees Them as Its Enemies.’ |
There’s a U.K. travel warning about the U.S.: |
The United Kingdom issued new travel advice for its citizens going to the United States, warning of harsh consequences for British passport holders who violate U.S. immigration laws. Timing: Three days ago, Germany also updated its travel guidance for the U.S. after three of its citizens were detained. |
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The House and Senate are out. President Trump is in Washington and will head to New Jersey this evening. (All times EST)
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2 p.m. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce briefs reporters. 💻 Livestream
5 p.m. The president leaves for the Trump National Golf Club Bedminster.
Saturday. Trump will attend the NCAA wrestling championships in Philadelphia. |
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🥖 Celebrate: Today is National French Bread Day. 🏀 A great excuse for wings and beer: If, like me, snacks are one of your favorite parts about watching sports, here’s a list of March Madness specials at restaurants.
🏠 The coolest Zillow listing I’ve seen in a while: A Washington, D.C., townhouse has been listed on Zillow. Included in the listing photos are photos from a custom Lego replica capturing the floorplan, furniture and decor. It’s incredibly detailed, but it’s unfortunately not included with the townhouse. 📸 The Zillow listing
🦑 This is very cool but a bit unsettling: When a big iceberg broke off Antarctica, scientists were startled by what they found, per The Washington Post. Like: “[Giant] sea spiders, octopuses, ice fish, corals and sponges, including a vase-shaped one that might be hundreds of years old. In total, the researchers believe they will be able to identify dozens of new species from the expedition.”
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