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White House Issues Statement Clarifying Musk’s Role With DOGE

By
Madeleine Jackson
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UK Government, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

All eyes are on Elon Musk…

The White House said Monday that Elon Musk is technically not part of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), even though the tech billionaire is said to be leading its sweeping cost-cutting efforts. 

Musk is an employee of the “White House Office” and serves as senior advisor to the president, said Joshua Fisher, director of the White House Office of Administration, in a court filing. 

The Tesla and SpaceX CEO is not an employee of the U.S. DOGE Service or the U.S. DOGE Service Temporary Organization, both of which are separate from the White House Office, according to Fisher. 

He is also not the U.S. DOGE Service administrator, the head of DOGE as laid out in President Trump’s executive order last month establishing the service. 

“In his role as a Senior Advisor to the President, Mr. Musk has no greater authority than other senior White House advisors,” Fisher said in his declaration to the court.  

“Like other senior Whtie House advisors, Mr. Musk has no actual or formal authority to make government decisions himself,” he continued. “Mr. Musk can only advise the President and communicate the President’s directives.”

Fisher compared Musk’s role to Anita Dunn, who served as a senior advisor to former President Biden. 

The announcement comes as part of a lawsuit brought by 14 states against Musk, Trump and DOGE last week, arguing that the government role of the world’s richest man is unconstitutional because he has not been confirmed by the Senate.  

“Mr. Musk’s seemingly limitless and unchecked power to strip the government of its workforce and eliminate entire departments with the stroke of a pen or click of a mouse would have been shocking to those who won this country’s independence,” the states wrote.  

“There is no office of the United States, other than the President, with the full power of the Executive Branch, and the sweeping authority now vested in a single unelected and unconfirmed individual is antithetical to the nation’s entire constitutional structure,” they continued.   

The states initially asked the court to bar Musk and the DOGE team from taking a wide range of actions, including making changes to government contracts, regulations, personnel or the disbursement of public funds, as well as receiving access to or altering data systems. 

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in a post on its website says it has found $55 billion in savings through a combination of efforts, including a reduction in the federal workforce.

It said it estimated it had realized $55 billion in savings by canceling or renegotiating leases and contracts, selling assets, cancelling grants, finding regulatory savings, making programmatic changes to the government and reducing the workforce.

Other top agencies that DOGE said it had cut contracts from include the Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Agriculture (USDA), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), General Services Administration (GSA), Department of Commerce, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

On Tuesday, the Social Security Administration’s acting leader stepped down from her role over requests from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to access recipient data, according to The Hill.

Acting Commissioner Michelle King departed from the agency over the weekend after more than 30 years of service. She allegedly refused to provide DOGE staffers with sensitive information.

Retired General Predicts Putin Will ‘Wait Out’ Trump Term Before Final Ukraine Strike

By
Madeleine Jackson
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By President Of Ukraine from Україна - Joint Statement of the fourth Ukraine - Nordic Summit in Reykjavik., CC0, curid=156221560

Retired U.S. Army Gen. Jack Keane said he suspects Russian President Vladimir Putin will wait for President Trump to leave office before he launches an attack to unseat the Ukrainian government.

In an interview on Fox News, Keane said he does not think Putin will ever give up his long-term goal of taking over Ukraine, even if he accepts a peace agreement during Trump’s time in office.

Keane said he thinks Putin is “willing to, at some point, if the deal is OK with him, to accept a peace agreement and a ceasefire.”

Kremlin.ru, via Wikimedia Commons

“But he’s not given up on his strategic goal to topple the government in Ukraine and take over the country,” Keane continued, adding, “So, where is he coming from? He’ll wait out President Trump, I suspect, and attack.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and national security adviser Mike Waltz met with Russian officials in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to discuss an end to the war.

Asked whether he thinks it will be difficult for Trump “to get the kind of peace” agreement he wants, Keane said in the interview, “No.”

“I think he can get a peace agreement,” Keane said. “But what I think will happen is … it [is] likely he [Putin] will not take on his goal of toppling the government in Ukraine until after Trump is out of the presidency.”

Keane nodded to intelligence that suggested Putin anticipated his invasion of Ukraine would happen swiftly and with little resistance. Instead, he encountered a resolute Ukrainian military, backed by a strengthened NATO alliance.

“Listen, everything is on the line for him. He has strategic failure here. He thought this was going to take place in two to three weeks, that people would capitulate. It did not happen,” Keane said about Putin.

“And here we are going into a third year,” he continued. “The reality is, his presidency is at stake. And I think also his personal life is at stake if all of this blows up on him.”

Trump told reporters Sunday that he thinks Putin “wants to stop fighting” and that he is not still aiming to take all of Ukrainian territory.

Asked about Putin’s territorial ambitions — and whether he thinks Putin wants the whole of Ukraine’s land — Trump said he asked Putin the same question.

“I think he wants to stop. That was my question to him. Because if he’s going to go on, that would have been a big problem for us, and that would have caused me a big problem, because you just can’t let that happen,” Trump said.

“I think he wants to end it. And they want to end it fast. Both of them,” Trump continued, noting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky “wants to end it too.”

Dem Congressman Declares ‘All Crashes Are Trump’s Fault’ In Hateful Rant

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    5

    Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) is facing fierce backlash online after suggesting President Donald Trump is to blame for a small plane crash in Georgia last weekend.

    Swalwell took to social media to declare that Trump has had “more planes crash” in his first month in office than any other U.S. president. He then doubled down on the comment with a blunt statement to Fox News Digital.

    “Trump is President. President Trump is in charge of air safety. All crashes are Trump’s fault,” he said.

    The lawmaker made his initial comment in reaction to a small private plane crash that took place this weekend in Covington, Georgia, which left two people dead.

    Social media users began to pile on immediately, calling out Swalwell for what they saw as an unfair connection to Trump.

    “Are you suggesting the catalysts for those crashes were all caused by policies changed in the last month?” one user wrote.

    “You really do have TDS. Grab some coffee and take a walk,” wrote another user who goes by the name of SouthernRepublicanMomma.

    Georgia’s crash saw a single-engine airplane take off from the Covington Municipal Airport at 11 p.m. on Saturday. Ground control lost communication with the plane roughly 20 minutes later, at which point police officers located the plane crashed near the runway.

    The plane’s two occupants were immediately announced dead at the scene.

    “On February 15, 2025, the Covington Police Department officers responded to the Covington Municipal Airport at approximately 11:21 p.m. after receiving a call from the FAA in reference to a single-engine aircraft that had taken off at approximately 11:00 p.m. There was no further communication from the aircraft after takeoff,” the Covington Police Department said in a statement.

    White House communications director Steven Cheung tore apart Swalwell in a statement reacting to his claim.

    “Swalwell must be taking his orders from Fang Fang or suffering from a severe debilitating case of Trump Derangement Syndrome because there is no other reason anyone with a functioning brain would make that that type of false and disgusting claim. He is a complete disgrace not only as an elected official, but as a human being who has continued to beclown himself,” Cheung said.

    The incident comes in the wake of multiple other plane crashes in recent weeks, the most dramatic being the collision of a helicopter and a commercial airliner in the skies over Washington, D.C. last month.

    Report: Trump Admin. Seeks Permission To Fire Head Of The Office Of Special Counsel

      By
      Madeleine Jackson
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      3
      Duncan Lock, Dflock, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

      On Sunday, the Trump administration filed an appeal with the Supreme Court, aiming to secure permission to fire the head of the federal agency dedicated to protecting whistleblowers.

      The emergency appeal, obtained by The Associated Press on Sunday, could likely be the start of a steady stream of court filings by lawyers of President Donald Trump and his administration aimed at reversing lower court rulings that have delayed his priorities for his second term in office.

      The appeal seeks to prevent Hampton Dellinger from resuming his role as the head of the Office of Special Counsel.

      A lower court judge previously temporarily reinstated Dellinger to his position, which he was appointed to by former President Joe Biden. Now, the Department of Justice is calling on the high court to lift the judge’s order.

      Dellinger has argued that by law, he can only be dismissed from his position for job performance problems, which were not cited in an email dismissing him from his post.

      The Trump administration’s petition came hours after an appeals court refused to lift the order on procedural grounds, which was filed last Wednesday and is expected to expire on Feb. 26.

      The case is not expected to be placed on the docket until the Supreme Court returns after the Presidents’ Day holiday weekend. Once filed, the earliest the justices will be able to act will be Tuesday.

      Dellinger sued the Trump administration in D.C. federal court last Monday following his firing on Feb. 7. 

      VP Vance Slams CBS Reporter After Making Ridiculous Holocaust Comment

      By
      Madeleine Jackson
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      1

      CBS News reporter Margaret Brennan is in hot water…

      Vice President JD Vance snapped at Brennan after she claimed that Nazis “weaponized” free speech in order to perpetrate the Holocaust.

      Her remark occurred during a Sunday interview with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, during which she pressed the Trump official over comments made by Vance in Munich earlier this week. Vance criticized European NATO allies on Tuesday for stifling free speech and claimed the enemy of the continent was not Russia or China but rather the “enemy within.”

      Brennan also criticized Vance for visiting with leaders of Germany’s far-right AfD party, stating, “Well, he was standing in a country where free speech was weaponized to conduct a genocide, and he met with the head of a political party that has far-right views and some historic ties to extreme groups.”

      Rubio responded, “No, I have to disagree with you.” He added:

      Free speech was not used to conduct a genocide. The genocide was conducted by an authoritarian Nazi regime that happened to also be genocidal because they hated Jews and they hated minorities and they hated those that they had a list of people they hated, but primarily the Jews. There was no free speech in Nazi Germany. There was none. There was also no opposition in Nazi Germany. They were a sole and only party that governed that country. So, that’s not an accurate reflection of history.

      Multiple conservatives and prominent Trump allies slammed Brennan for making the comment following the Sunday interview on Face The Nation. However, Vance responded with a quick response on X mocking Brennan.

      “This is a crazy exchange,” Vance wrote to his followers on Sunday. “Does the media really think the holocaust was caused by free speech?”

      The exchange triggered furious responses online:

      Axios To Use ‘Gulf of America’ In Compliance With Trump Admin.

      By
      Madeleine Jackson
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      1

      Axios announced it will comply with the Trump administration’s decision to rename the “Gulf of Mexico” the “Gulf of America” in its reporting, saying its audience is mostly U.S.-based compared to other media outlets.

      “Our standard is to use ‘Gulf of America (renamed by U.S. from Gulf of Mexico)’ in our reporting because our audience is mostly U.S.-based compared to other publishers with international audiences,” said a statement from Axios released on the social platform X.

      “At the same time, the government should never dictate how any news organization makes editorial decisions. The AP and all news organizations should be free to report as they see fit,” the statement added.

      Axios’s announcement comes a day after the White House said it would limit the Associated Press’ access to the Oval Office and Air Force One over its decision not to use “Gulf of America” in its reporting.

      “The Associated Press continues to ignore the lawful geographic name change of the Gulf of America,” White House deputy chief of staff Taylor Budowich wrote in a post Friday on X.

      In a statement to The Hill Friday, the AP said, “Freedom of speech is a pillar of American democracy and a core value of the American people.”

      “The actions taken to restrict AP’s coverage of presidential events because of how we refer to a geographic location chip away at this important right enshrined in the U.S. Constitution for all Americans,” a spokesperson for the outlet added.

      Trump Hangs Iconic Mugshot Outside Of Oval Office

      By
      Madeleine Jackson
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      1

      A copy of President Donald Trump’s mugshot from his arrest in Georgia on RICO and other charges was framed in gold and put on the wall in an entryway to the Oval Office.

      The Post reported on Trump’s new decor:

      The Post’s front page showing President Trump’s Georgia mug shot was spotted Thursday on a wall just outside the Oval Office — indicating the 45th and 47th president isn’t embarrassed by the snap and may even view it as motivation as he begins his second term.

      The framed newspaper appears to be in the office of Trump’s secretaries — located between the Oval Office and the Cabinet Room. The space often serves as an entryway for guests walking into the Oval.

      The surprising decorating choice was revealed during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit when the leaders were seated in front of the Oval Office’s fireplace — with the door behind Trump left open.

      Trump was arrested, fingerprinted, and had his photo taken in Fulton County, Georgia, on August 23, 2024, after he was charged for allegedly conspiring to overthrow the 2020 election.

      “What has taken place here is a travesty of justice,” he said after bonding out. “We did nothing wrong at all, and we have every single right to challenge an election we think is dishonest.”

      Democrat Senators Back Trump’s Penny Plan

        By
        Madeleine Jackson
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        1

        Multiple Democrat Senators have openly supported President Trump’s proposal to stop producing new pennies.

        Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) came out in support of Trump’s latest proposal on Tuesday, calling it a “common sense move.” 

        Over the weekend, Trump announced that he “instructed my Secretary of the US Treasury to stop producing new pennies.”

        “For far too long, the United States has minted pennies which literally cost us more than 2 cents,” the president wrote on Truth Social. 

        “Let’s rip the waste out of our great nation’s budget, even if it’s a penny at a time.”

        Rosen took to X on Tuesday, writing, “I’m not afraid to embrace a good idea when it comes from the other side of the aisle, and I agree with President Trump on this.”

        “Eliminating the penny is a common sense move that’ll save taxpayer dollars,” she said. 

        She isn’t the only Democrat who has come out in support of Trump’s idea. 

        “As well as saving taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars, there are major environmental benefits to eliminating the penny. This is a great move,” Gov. Jared Polis (D-Colo.) said of the president’s plan. 

        House Republican To Lead Disclosure Task Force Concerning JFK Files, Epstein List, UFOs

          By
          Madeleine Jackson
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          0

          Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-KY) declared that Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) will lead the “Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets” just weeks after President Donald Trump signed an order to declassify the assassination files of former President John F. Kennedy, former U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, and civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.

          “For too long, the federal government has kept information of public interest classified and the American people are demanding greater transparency. This secrecy has sowed distrust in our institutions,” Comer said in a statement. “The Task Force will build on the Trump Administration’s efforts to declassify records of national importance and ensure Americans get the answers they deserve. Representative Luna is committed to shining a light on the truth and ending the era of secrecy. It’s time to let the sunlight in and finally provide answers the American public has long demanded.”

          A press release said the task force has been authorized for six months pursuant to committee rules, and members would be announced at a later date. The Oversight Committee also revealed a battery of letters that Comer and Luna sent to leaders, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Attorney General Pam Bondi, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Energy Secretary Chris Wright, and Lt. Gen. Timothy Haugh, seeking briefings in light of Trump’s order and noting they would then request to see relevant documents and make recommendations on the declassification process.

          Signed on January 23, Trump’s directive said the Director of National Intelligence and the Attorney General would have 15 days to “present a plan to the President for the full and complete release of records relating to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy” and 45 days to “review records related to the assassinations of Senator Robert F. Kennedy and the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and present a plan to the President for the full and complete release of these records.”

          As reported by The Daily Wire, Trump said: “A lot of people have been waiting for this for years, for decades. And everything will be revealed.”

          “The federal government has been hiding information from Americans for decades. We have spent years seeking information on the assassinations of President Kennedy, Senator Kennedy, Reverend King, and other government secrets without success,” Luna said. “It is time to give Americans the answers they deserve, which is why I am honored to lead this bipartisan task force that seeks truth and transparency. We will also investigate UAPs/USOs, the Epstein client list, COVID-19 origins, and the 9/11 files. We will work alongside President Trump and his cabinet members to deliver truth to the American people. From this moment forward, we will restore trust through transparency.”

          During a press conference with Comer at the U.S. Capitol, Luna suggested the task force’s first area of focus will be on the John F. Kennedy assassination and then made a stunning assertion that cast doubt on Lee Harvey Oswald being the lone gunman.

          “I can tell you, based on what I’ve been seeing so far, the initial hearing that was actually held here in Congress was actually faulty, and the single bullet theory — I believe there were two shooters and we should be finding more information as we are able to gain access into the SCIF before the files are actually released to the public,” Luna said.

          Watch the full press conference below:

          Senator Announces She Will Not Seek Reelection

            By
            Madeleine Jackson
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            1

            Minnesota Democrat Senator Tina Smith announced on Thursday she will not run for re-election when her term ends, blowing the Senate race wide open.

            In a video posted on X, the 66-year-old senator said her decision is “not political” but based on a desire to “spend more time with [her] family.”

            Smith has served in the Senate since 2018 after she won a special election to replace former Sen. Al Franken, who resigned following sexual misconduct allegations against him.

            Watch:

            “This decision is not political,” Smith said. “It is entirely personal, but it’s not lost on me that our country is in need of strong progressive leadership, right now maybe more than ever.”

            “So, there are two things on my mind about this,” she continued. “The first is that I have nearly two full years left in my Senate term, and I plan to use every single day working to represent your interests in the United States Senate. … And also, since I don’t have to worry about running a re-election campaign, I can focus entirely on this job right now.”

            Smith added that Minnesota Democrats have a “deep bench of political talent.” Democrats have held both Minnesota Senate seats since 2009.

            According to Cook Political Report’s first 2026 Senate forecast, Democrats are “likely” going to keep her seat, however, the party’s longtime hold on the state has shown signs of slipping in recent elections. In the 2024 presidential election, former Vice President Kamala Harris won Minnesota by just four percentage points after former President Joe Biden won the state by seven points in 2020. Smith won her 2020 re-election bid by five points.

            Last month, Democrat Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan announced he also would not seek re-election in 2026. (RELATED: Michigan Senator Gary Peters Will Not Seek Reelection, Leaving Key Senate Seat Open)

            “I always thought there would be a time that I would step aside and pass the reins for the next generation. I also never saw service in Congress as something you do your whole life,” Peters said.

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