the trump ally is heading a new advisory body known as the department of government efficiency — or doge has said that "waste is pretty much everywhere". the department of government efficiency is but one part of president trump's policy moves since assuming office a month ago. in that time, we've also heard his proposals to place tariffs on trading partners. desmond lachman — former deputy director at the international monetary fund — explained these proposals are stoking fears for investors and businesses worldwide. we don't see it yet in the numbers, but it has to engender a great degree of uncertainty both in the us and abroad. how are you supposed to make an investment plan if you don't know whether the tariff on steel and aluminium will be 25%, or if you will revert to what you had before? so even if he does not follow through on the tariffs, i believe he is doing damage, really affecting the investment climate, and certainly that is the case abroad. but if he follows through on tariffs, then i fear that is going to throw the world into a recession. samsung is facing a significant

a us federaljudge blocked elon musk�*s department of government efficiency — also known as doge — fromdepartment records. the districtjudge issued a preliminary injunction on saturday ordering musk and his team to immediately destroy any copies of records. that's after 19 state attorneys general sued the trump administration — when doge was given access to these records last week. there was no immediate comment from the white house. president trump has given mr musk a central role in his administration. it's a role with the ambition of no less than reshaping how government works in america — and, now, we're seeing what that means in practice. the bbc�*s analysis editor ros atkins has more. elon musk has a role in the us government unlike any other. we have never, ever, ever seen anything like this before in american history. musk leads the department of government efficiency, which isn't actually a department — it's an advisory group, often referred to as doge. its job is to dismantle federal bureaucracy, which musk calls "an existential threat "to our republic. " and now that donald t

does elon musk run the department of government efficiency or not, which is now a subject of a disputesk has nothing to do with the department, the so-called department of government efficiency. that's an absurd. >> claim, lawrence, and i think everybody knows it. >> and it's. >> it's an effort to get away from. the real issues. >> you know. if you have. one of these 22 year olds mishandle. >> somebody's social. >> security information, it gets. gets out, that's. >> going to be the mother. >> of all identity thefts. and we can have blackmail and all kinds. >> of other things. but that's the. >> real world of this debate. >> and the theory. >> that that musk. >> has nothing. >> really to do with. >> it. >> is absurd. you mentioned the budget process. your your committee, the senate finance committee is the place where taxation and social security, medicare, medicaid live all beside each other in that jurisdiction. and so the republicans in your committee seem determined to do two things in their upcoming budget bill. one, create a massive tax cut in your committee and balance it with ma

off of our money. >> harris: i mean, wow, democrats spending weeks raging over the department of government efficiency'swasteful spending. now there are new reports of a rift within the democratic party. axios with this headline inside democrats growing tension with grassroots. the pressure campaign has created internal friction as some house democrats chase. more focused approach led by hakeem jeffries. one house democrat told the outlet some members argue jeffries can be focused but should also be a brawler. former aides to president obama admitted this on their podcast. >> we all know that government is slow. we all know government can be inefficient and bureaucracy bloated. we tried to reorganize the government and tried to find efficiency. it is hard to do. >> some of this is annoying. some of the stuff we should have done. you can do some of this. >> harris: he gets the assignment. power panel deroy murdock, fox news contributor and david carlucci former democratic new york state senator. deroy, i will come to you first. this is really easy to program against as republicans because this is nuts. >

there are questions as to who's actually running the department of government efficiency known as doge after the white house claimed musk is not in charge of that team. cbs news' jarred hill has details. we have seen musk in the oval office talking about the cuts that he's making, bragging about them really. now they say he's not in charge. is this an effort to duck accountability? >> so here's the thing, the white house defining musk as an adviser to president trump and not an official member of the doge team as well as saying doge is a rebrand of a pre-existing entity could help in a lawsuit arguing that musk has too much power for someone not confirmed by the senate. this as cuts continue with some new major hiccups. >> i wanted great people, and he's a great person. >> reporter: on fox news, president donald trump and his senior adviser, elon musk, defended their aggressive efforts to slash through the federal government. >> all we're trying to do here is restore the will of the people through the president. >> he's a leader. >> reporter: the interview aired hours after a federal j

after facing new backlash over moves by elon musk and his department of government efficiency, all of it centering over confusion over musk's new postst that deral workers will get a quote second chance to e-mail a list of five accomplishments from last week or face termination, while the administration's office of personnel management has also told agency heads that sending the e-mail is voluntary. >> mr. president, can you clarify what your expectations are? what are you going to use the information for? is it voluntary? >> it's somewhat voluntary. but if you don't answer, i guess you get fired. what it is, is do people exist? we have this massive government with millions of people. and nobody knows who's working for the government, who's not. i could tell you five things i did last week. i could tell you five things i did six weeks ago. >> is he speaking for you? >> everybody speaks for me. i'm the one, i'll take responsibility. you know the old statement, the buck stops here, right? >> reporter: meanwhile, 21 members of the u.s. digital service, the agency that musk turned into th

there are new concerns tonight about elon musk's department of government efficiency, or doge gainingformation, including student loan data. now california students are taking action. they are suing the department of education to stop musk and doge from looking into that sensitive information. nbc bay area's thom jensen reports. immigrants make america great. president trump gets an earful from protesters outside his florida golf course after a federal judge blocked his efforts to access private treasury information through his new department of government efficiency. waste, fraud and abuse. and we're finding it now. that's one of the beauties of what elon is doing. the judge said, for now, elon musk's department cannot access the social security numbers and financial data of americans at the department of treasury. a win for california attorney general rob bonta and ags from 18 other states, who sued friday to stop the data sharing, but the president told musk to keep digging into the records wherever he can. i'd like you to look at department of education, and i think you're going t

of the federal work force after facing new backlash over moves by elon musk and his department of government efficiency. all centering around the confusion over musk's new post that federal workers will get a quote, second chance, to email five accomplishments from last week or face termination. the administration's office of personnel management has told agency heads sending the email is voluntary. >> mr. president, can you clarify once and for all what your expectations are for the email to the federal employees? what are you going to use the information for and do you see it as voluntary or mandatory? >> somewhat voluntary but if you don't answer i guess you get fired. >> reporter: i'm still lost on that. >> what it is, is do people exist. we have a massive government with millions of people, and nobody knows who is working for the government and who is not. i can tell you five things i did last -- i could tell you five things i did six weeks ago, right? >> reporter: is he speaking for you when he says you'll be terminated? >> everybody speaks for me. i'm the one. i'll take responsibility, you know

a federal judge has blocked employees of masks, department of government efficiency, from accessing the treasury department's financial system on tuesday, must defend the work of those in an overall office. appearance with trump is not recording or radical. i think it's, it's really just saying, let's look at each of each of the expenditures and say, is this actually in the best interest of people that seems hard to believe that judges want to try and stop us from looking for corruption as true promises to give much broad leeway to fire federal regulators. the government workers valley continue firing back, john henry and l g 0. washington. brazil says it will not enter any trade well with the united states. south of donald trump announced 25 percent terrace on oil, steel and aluminum inputs, zales the 2nd largest exporter of steel to the us off the canada. the decision comes despite present in the president due to the silver binding last month to retaliate against any us liberties. to. meanwhile, canadian prime minister justin kudos as he will strongly resist from tire of switching des

left in limbo. spearheading federal budget cost is building it in on mosque and has department of government efficiency. while it may represent an instant saving on the books, will they be in on seen costs to american influence and called the quotes and not blocking yet another of trump's endeavors? will get to those questions at the moment, but 1st this report by my collateral, a mold. in 60 years, the united states agency for international development has been at the full front of every global humanitarian initiative food parcels, medication h, i v aids testing kits, civil service capacity building and developing nations. us a id was behind it all. us 8 has been that he gets the entire refund and i would what i would say that a number of people close to 20000000 people are receiving era views at the treatment of testing services from the funds that suicide has been providing to us . but that's all stopped at least for now. us president donald trump sees the aid agencies 2023 budget to $40000000000.00 as a waste of money to work and not and aligned with his america 1st agenda. i love the concept, but

host: when it comes to the congressional budget, the ongoing cuts by the permit -- department of government efficiencys playing into that. president trump on saturday at the congressional political action conference spoke about his efforts to streamline the federal government. this is what president trump had to say. host: we are removing all of the unnecessary, incompetent and corrupt bureaucrats from the federal workforce. that's what we are doing. under the buyouts, we offer federal employees more than 75,000 federal bureaucrats. they have volunteered to surrender their taxpayer funding. we want to make government smaller and more efficient. we want to keep the best people and we will not keep the worst people. we are doing another thing. if they don't report for work, we are firing them. in other words, you have to go to office. right, right? look at them. if you don't report to work -- that's another scam. host: that was president trump on saturday at the conservative political action conference. if you want to watch the conference in its entirety, you can do so on our website at c-span.org. we a

president trump compelling agencies to work with the department of government efficiency to begin large scale reductions in the federal workforce. the executive order limiting one new hire for every four employees that depart from government service and keeping new hires to essential positions. musk taking questions on some government payments doge has sought to block. >> it's not draconian or radical, i think. it's really just saying let's look at each of these expenditures and say is this actually in the best interest of the people? >> dong's plans have been held up by court orders. the president saying he will comply. >> i always abide by the courts and then i will have to appeal it. but appeals take a long time. i would hope that a judge, if you go into a judge and you show him here's a corrupt situation. we have a check. i would hope a judge would say don't send it, give it back to the taxpayer. >> and expressing optimism congress will grant him more authority if needed. >> if we do need a vote i think we get an easy vote. we have a track record now. we have already found billions

getting unions busted by folks like musk made functionally broken by the so-called department of government efficiency that really is the department of government efficiency for musk, not you. they are trying to shut down the department of education. the department of labor. you know what elon musk doesn't seem to be looking into? his own contracts. again, i'll ask you, do you know how much money a day mr. musk will receive from the federal government for his contracts? >> no. >> the answer is $8 million a day. just last year elon musk was promised $3 billion from close to 100 contracts with the federal government. ms. royal do you know how much the average person in this country who survives on social security. about how much they have to survive on a day? >> i do not. >> $6five a day. >> we're not looking into musk 8 million a day. this subcommittee chaired by house republicans is looking into your grandmother's $6five a day. let me be clear. i think we would all support taxpayer savings, look into money we might needlessly send to billionaires and big corporations, find taxpayer savings and send it

, you just remember it is the department of government evil. >> harris: democrats have been holding daily protests against the department of government efficiencywasteful government spending. doge has highlighted some of those cuts in a flurry of social media posts. 18 agricultural department contracts worth $9 million, 29 education department d.e.i. training grants worth $101 million. 89 education department contracts with 888, 881 million. one contractor there was paid 1.5 million to observe clerical operations at a mail center. doge reportedly determine nateed a $2.3 million program training soldiers having difficult conversations. they can negotiate anything. money went to speak and act in a d.e.i. friendly way. president trump posted this. billions of dollars, fraud, waste, abuse has already been food. republicans like senator john kennedy of the great state of louisiana say they are on board. >> i'm unapologetically with trump and musk. among the blue hairs and opinion writers in washington, we're losing. we're winning with the american people. i think my democratic colleagues have chosen to support the bureaucracy and spending porn over

government departments and agencies. this while elon musk and his department of government efficiency, or doge, zeroes in on more than a dozengencies. abc news reporter christiane cordero has the latest. >> from coast to coast and north to south, recently fired federal workers and other protesters are condemning doj's actions as an overreach of power. people gathered outside of a federal building in chicago today. >> it's not federal workers who are your enemy. it is people who put profits over workers. >> and in austin on president's day, i. >> think they're calling programs that they don't like fraudulent. and they're not fraudulent. they just don't like them. >> those protesting elon musk's department of government efficiency are pushing back against doj's sweeping cuts to the workforce and the potential access it's gaining along the way. the social security administration's top official resigned, clashing with doj's employees over access to records that include the earnings, benefits, even medical records of millions of americans. the white house says doj's moves are to make good on trump's campaign promise of slashing g

meanwhile, trump's department of government efficiency head elon musk calls for the elimination of entire federal agencies. jarred hill has more. >> reporter: good morning. getting rid of these department-level federal departments, the cabin-level federal departments, will require an act of congress. still, we are seeing elon musk and, in turn, president trump working to slash the federal work force of employees they see as unnecessary and unhelpful. this morning hundreds of federal workers are out of a job, and thousands more are bracing for sweeping layoffs. >> we have here rule of the bureaucracy as opposed to rule of the people. >> reporter: speaking virtually at a world summit thursday, elon musk, head of president trump's department of government efficiency, said entire federal departments should be deleted. >> if you don't get remove -- remove the roots of the weed, then it's easy for the weed to grow back. >> reporter: cbs news has learned recent federal hires still on probationary status across several departments have received termination notices, same for about 1,000 at the dep

the magazine's cover promotes a profile on musk, who is the lead of the new department of government efficiency, as we've been reporting. back in december, president trump was named time's person of the year for 2024 when he was asked about mumusk's cover story. he respond by asking, quote, is time magazine still in business? the presesident al praised musk for, quote, doing a great job. in some lighter news, we are 24 hours away from the super bowl in new orleans. super sunday celebrations are already underway in the city, and the bay area is getting ready for next year's super bowl hosted at levi's stadium. we want to give you a live look, though, at the caesars superdome in new orleans today. there will be a mardi gras style celebration with floats and marching bands headed down bourbon street. of course, the niners aren't playing in the game, but a lot of bay area leaders are there getting ready for this. the handoff. this is video from last year's ceremony, when las vegas handed over hosting duties to new orleans. the bay area host committee says levi's stadium is already preparing to host

the agency became a target of elon musk at the helm of trump's special department, the department of government efficiency. usaid's more than 10,000 employees were notified they are being placed on leave. all overseas projects are being halted with plans pending to get personnel back to the u.s. >> it's an integral part of the foreign policy objectives. we do all of this with less than 1% of the national budget. >> reporter: cbs news learned all cia employees have been offered buyouts. staffers involved it in sensitive areas, such as intelligence gathering, will not be allowed to take it. trump administration is also defending its decision to allow musk's doge team who are not government employees, to access a treasury system that handles trillions of dollars in grants, social security, and other payments to millions of americans. >> he campaigned across this country with elon musk vowing that elon was going to head up the department of government efficiency, and the two of them with a great team around them, were going to look at the receipts of this federal government and ensure it's accountable to amer

and wall street more accountable. >> well, a federal judge has blocked elon musk's department of government efficiency accessing sensitive treasury department information. the order, issued saturday morning cites risk of quote of irreparable harm. fox's lucas tomlinson has more out of washington, d.c. >> new roadblocks this weekend for president trump's effort to overhaul the federal government. a federal judge saturday blocking elon musk's department of government efficiency. nicknamed doge from accessing sensitive treasury department data, including social security and bank account numbers. for millions of americans. this after a lawsuit filed friday by attorneys general in new york and more than a dozen other states. >> this unelected group, led by the world's richest man, is not authorized to have this information. >> another judge friday stopped doge from putting thousands of usaid workers on leave, the ap reports. doge tried to use the treasury department to cut off usaid funding. this despite doge saying it only had read only access at the treasury and could not change payments. >> you do not h

. >>> to the escalating showdown over the department of government efficiency and the new vow tonight to abolish the department of education. kelly o'donnell has late details for us. >> reporter: the debate over doge. a flashpoint in president trump's overhaul of government. >> getting ready to be turned off. >> reporter: democrats held up for scrutiny elon musk. the billionaire head of the department of government efficiency. >> it's a demolition plan that will run through our government. >> reporter: the divide is clear. democrats call out an unaccountable overreach. >> donald trump and elon musk are recklessly and illegally dismantling the federal government. shuttering federal agencies, firing federal workers. >> reporter: republicans praise musk's methods to slash spending. >> now that doge is taking real action, democrats are choosing to defend the bureaucracy and status quo instead of standing up for the american people. >> reporter: at today's briefing, the press secretary showed what she called receipts for spending identified as terminated by doge. including diversity and in

freezing of usaid funds and the possibility of funding cuts at the pentagon by the department of government efficiency. from the munich security conference in germany, this is about 15 minutes. member, and you're now the ranking member of the the lead appropriations subcommittee for defense. we've gone from soft power to hard power, but i want to say that when i bumped into you in the hallway the other day, it seemed like soft power was was still a big part of what you're focused on. in fact, i happen to be part of a conversation where somebody from the foreign aid community, you know, approached you and was talking about the impact of the foreign aid freeze and and it was clear to me that you're still very much enmeshed in what's happening there and the impact and so i just wanted to give you an opportunity to just can you explain for us kind of what's what's the state of play right now, you know, what's been the impact of the of the foreign aid freeze? >> so thanks for a chance to be on, thanks to the audience, massive and harmful and bluntly. quite likely irreversible and immoral and illegal. so ha

the two have discussed the department of government efficiency, or doge, as it has been known. al for president trump's first 100 days in office. doge in recent days has been charged with usaid and the department of education, looking for what they call waste, fraud, and abuse. hundreds of federal workers have been laid off. elon musk has long been a supporter of president trump, contribute $250 million to local committee supporting trump presidential campaign. the relationship has been shrouded in controversy, when he was given access to information. trump a blaming the media for the negative outlook. pres. trump: they have many different things. actually, elon called me, he said you know, they are trying to drive us apart. i said absolutely. we have breaking news, donald trump has ceded control of the presidency to elon must. president musk will be attending a cabinet meeting. [laughter] it is just horrendous. they are so bad at it. i used to think they were good at it. they are bad at it. if they were good at it, i would never be president, because i think nobody in history h

of an elder or dependent adult. and more protests across the country over cuts to government spending and the department of government efficiency, federal workers union leaders and democratic lawmakers rallied right outside the department of health and human services in washington, d.c. under elon musk, the department of government efficiency, or doge, has cut thousands of federal jobs through buyouts and layoffs, including scientists working on critical health care research. those protests have also stretched to san francisco, where tonight, federal workers were among those protesting doge related cuts. >> layoffs, cutbacks. they're the worst. >> time to put the people first. >> layoffs, cutbacks. they're the worst. >> a large crowd, including union members, gathered outside a tesla shop right there on van ness avenue. they say the federal layoffs are part of a deliberate strategy to dismantle public services and replace them with for profit corporate control. >> it's not a democrat issue. this is not a republican issue. this is a worker issue. >> you. if you work, if you're retired. >> this is your issue. you need to stand up

slamming the trump administration for bypassing congress. >> every time you hear doge, the department of government efficiency, you just remember, it is the department of government evil! >> reporter: and, in a new move, the president also literally changing change. instructing his treasury secretary to stop minting new pennies that cost nearly four cents to produce a one-cent coin. the president also signed an order to ban paper straws. >> so we're going back to plastic straws. these things don't work. i've had them many times. on occasion they break. they explode. >> reporter: the president saying he'll announce new reciprocal tariffs over the next two days. asked about the possibility of other countries retaliating. the president said i don't mind. arguing his move saves american jobs. >>> president trump has also issued a pardon for rod blagojevich, the former illinois governor was convicted of corruption-related crimes. president trump commuted his sentence during his first term in office after the governor had served eight years behind bars. >> it's my honor to do it. i've watched him. he was set up by

government waste for you right here! does anyone have the phone number of the department of government efficiency? e all 12 years old -- does anyone have the roblox usernames of the department of government efficiency? but the question is: in these divided times, will trump's garden of heroes help to unify americans? to debate this issue, let's go live to ronny chieng and josh johnson! [cheers and applause] ronny, let's start with you. do you see this garden as something that could actually raise morale around the country? >> no, this country's pretty [bleep]. that being said, this is actually a good idea. i do like a garden of heroes. america is so divided, but if we can walk in a garden with statues of george washington and neil armstrong and paul giamatti, maybe it'll bring us together. >> desi: okay. josh, what's your take? >> yeah, yeah, it's great -- did you say paul giamatti? the bald guy from "billions?" in your top three? >> uh, he's also the bald guy in "sideways" and "big momma's house." also, i saw him eat a hot dog in union square. although that might have just been a bald guy. but eit

democrats slamming the trump administration. >> every time you hear doge, the department of government efficiency, you just remember, it is the department of government evil. >> in a new move, the president, also literally changing change, instructing his treasury secretary to stop minting new pennies, it cost four cents to produce of one cent coin. >> the president also gave more detail about the reciprocal tariffs. >> the president just said he will announce them over the next few days. asked about the possibility of other countries retaliating, the president said, i don't mind, arguing his move saves american jobs. >>> the new tariffs promised by president trump could be another task for the usually close relationship between the u.s. and canada. >> the president trump announcing fresh tariffs and renewing talk of making canada the 51st state, tonight, many canadians say they are stealing their resolve for a trade war. >> we feel betrayed. >> outside toronto, this retiree is going to battle advances supermarket, searching for over an hour to find produce not made in america. >> the trail is a

with elon musk's department of government efficiency to. rink the size of the federal labor force through identifying. >> workers who can be. >> laid off. >> and. >> functions that could be eliminated. let's get out to alice barr, who joins us now with more on this developing story. alice, i think this has a lot of people on edge, this new communication from the president. >> and from. >> elon musk. what agencies are in focus and what is the message for workers at those agencies? >> yeah, giuliana. >> this has been kind of a steady march. across agencies. >> within the federal. government where elon. >> musk and his department of government. >> efficiency have been going in and making really massive cuts in a number of cases. >> and what president trump has indicated. >> is that the next up in the. crosshairs are going to. >> be the department of education and the department of. >> defense. >> the department of education. >> president trump long said. >> on the campaign trail that he actually wanted. >> to get rid of. and there's been. >> so

area, however, over concerns about air quality. ♪ ♪ today, a federal judge called the department of government efficienciesto sensitive government agencies data unchecked authority of an unelected individual but allow the access to continue. at mar-a-lago, the president defended the individual, that's elon musk, but went on the offensive against ukraine's president, blaming zelenskyy for russia's invasion saying he "should never have started it." cbs's chief white house correspondent nancy cordes was there. nancy, we will get to doge in a moment. but help us understand what the president was saying in the context of what sounded very much like he was blaming zelenskyy for being invaded. >> reporter: right. he kind of got his back up when he asked why his secretary of state marco rubio was meeting with his russian counterpart, sergey lavrov, in saudi arabia, without ukrainians at the table even as they discussed ending russia's invasion of ukraine. and he said well, ukraine never should have started this war in the first place which is of course patently false. ukraine was invaded by russia. it was one of s

still to come on the newshour -- questions intensify about the authority of elon musk's department of government efficiencycident at toronto's airport and a wave of layoffs at the faa highlight concerns for air safety. and former u.s. ambassador to the united nations andrew young looks back on his long career fighting for civil rights. >> this is the pbs newshour from the david m. rubinstein studio at weta in washington and from the west from the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. amna: this evening, a federal district judge ruled against a lawsuit brought by 14 attorneys general alleging that trump violated the constitution by granting elon musk what they called unchecked power. in the ruling, judge tanya chutkin said, "the court finds that plaintiffs have not carried their burden of showing that they will suffer imminent, irreparable harm absent a temporary restraining order." for more on this, i'm joined by arizona attorney general kris mayes, one of the plaintiffs on the suit. attorney general, welcome to the newshour. thanks for being with us. >> thanks for having me. am

sense of unease from investors who are concerned about the company's performance and musk's pre occupation with his government duties, including his involvement in the department of government efficiencyllows sales that missed expectations in the fourth quarter announced in january, and certainly adds to this sense of trepidation from investors. now good news for breakfast lovers. mcdonald's says it will not be adding a surcharge for egg products, and this coincides with the 50th anniversary of the egg mcmuffin and a promotion to offer consumers a $1 egg mcmuffin sandwich from march the 2nd for users who purchase through the app. and this follows a move by companies such as denny's and waffle house to increase the price of egg products. so mcdonald's trying to show consumers that it won't be doing that. back to you. >> a lot of people will be snatching that up. >>> still to come, find out why colin jost went dumpster diving. >>> and the dinosaur from our imagination is getting a re-imagining. more on barney's big screen return. re on barney's big scree return. was her irritated skin. so we switched to tide free & gentle. it cleans better and doesn't leave behind irritating residues. a

new developments in billionaire elon musk and his department of government efficiency, efforts to overhaul the federal government, the consumer financial protection bureau, the government watchdog established by law after the 2008 financial crisis and in charge of safeguarding american consumers finances, has been effectively shut down. employees told to cease all activity, according to an internal email obtained by abc news that was sent by russell vought, the new director of the office of management and budget. dodge staffers now temporarily blocked from accessing the treasury department's data and payment systems. a federal judge making the move in response to 19 states suing the trump administration for giving musk and his allies access to sensitive personal data, including social security numbers and bank account information of millions of americans. a federal judge also pumping the brakes on musk's and trump's goal to dismantle usaid, the relief agency that provides desperately needed food and medicine to millions of people around the world. in an interview with fox news host bret ba

the trump administration agreed to temporarily restrict musk's department of government efficiency from accessing the treasury department payment system. this, as the gutting of federal agencies is getting more push back from democrats. here's garrett haake. >> reporter: president trump's latest move in his campaign pledge to slash the size of the federal government. all employees at the u.s. agency for international development, which distributes foreign aid receiving this e-mail, saying most staff will be placed on administrative leave at noon friday. >> elon musk has got to go! >> reporter: democrats protesting the cuts quarterbacked by elon musk's department of government efficiency. >> we don't pledge allegiance to elon musk! >> we are here to fight back! no one elected elon musk to nothing! >> reporter: while republicans defending musk. >> usaid has got to actually serve the interests of american foreign policy. it ought to be to promote the interests and well-being of the american people. not some left-wing woke agenda. >> reporter: musk posting democrats' hysterical reactions ar

we're following the latest as the white house's department of government efficiency sets its sights on a new target. >>> and we continue our celebration of black history month with a spotlight on local sports activist dr. harry edwards. >> today the biggest problem that america has is that we're afraid with each other. the biggest problem that we have is that we're afraid of change. >>> good afternoon, trump policy protests erupting in the bay area. >> today oakland's fruitvale district joined the outcry against the new immigration policies. the outcry follows san francisco and santa clara county lawsuits against the trump administration actions against sanctuary cities. the lawsuit filed yesterday along with three other cities came after attorney general pam bondi's order to withhold federal funding from sanctuary states and cities. california has been a sanctuary state since 2017, and cities across the bay area limit police officers from working with immigration enforcement. >> but immigration's not the only thing they're worried about in the fruitvale district. john ramos has got th

republican lawmakers will continue to support the sweeping cuts from president trump's department of government efficiency as they push to slash the size of government. >> and we are going line by line to try to make sure money is being spent well. >> reporter: some lawmakers have down played videos from recent congressional town halls, showing constituents upset about the cuts. >> some of the people that hijacked those town halls are happy with the status quo. >> reporter: the republican congressman who faced pushback last week now says the mass firings should slow down to study their impact. >> the white house says more than one million federal employees have responded to the e-mail outlining what they did last week. >> and with the political vibe here in the u.s., growing ever wider. a radical new idea is gaining some momentum. actually, it's an old idea with a new momentum here in california. >> and everybody thought i was insane when they proposed this originally. everybody said it would go nowhere. >> so coming up at 5:30, we will take you to fresno to meet the man behind cal exit. a plan to leave t

overnight, a judge temporarily barred elon musk's department of government efficiency from accessing d records, which include the sensitive personal data of millions of americans. also late yesterday, another federal judge ordered a temporary halt to trump's plans to place about 2700 usaid workers on leave. and then earlier this week, more legal blows with federal judges pausing trump's effort to offer mass buyouts to federal workers. the administration's controversial funding freeze and his executive order curbing birthright citizenship from taking effect nationwide. and joining me once again here in studio, katie phang, attorney and host of the katie phang show. so here we go. many of the president's actions over these last three weeks are facing legal hurdles. >> as they. >> should. >> but many of them are merely temporary to pause them. so i'm curious if you can pinpoint any that are clearly unconstitutional or could lead to a constitutional crisis, as opponents are suggesting. >> okay, so i want to make it clear i'm answering this question within the framework of the reality that

a federal judge is blocked employees of masks, the department of government efficiency from accessing the treasury department. financial system on tuesday must defend is the work of those in an oval office. appearance with trump is up to accordion or radical. i think it's, it's really just saying, let's look at each of each of the expenditures and say, is this actually in the best interest? people seems hard to believe that judges want to try and stop us from looking for corruption as true promises to give much broad leeway to fire federal regulators and saw the government workers valley continue firing back. john henry and l g 0. washington and american schools. each other was detained in russia, and 2021 is back home loc photo was met by president trump at the wash house. he was arrested at most close air force and given a 15 year sentence for possessing marijuana, which he said he used for medical reasons. president trump said the deal could help and the war and ukraine investigators and the philippines have recommended fall in criminal charges against vice president side of the fe

hearing today really going after them. >> donald trump and elon musk. >> so-called department of government efficiencyr elon musk not for you. >> we are going after waste, fraud and abuse. let's start with abuse. abuse apower if you don't want to help right the fiscal ship in this country, get out of the way. >> i get the battalions, the process, at home, i don't know, politically, it seems like most people are like go for it. figure it out elon musk are winning, federal government is not particularly popular. it may be in washington but not throughout most of the rest of the country. you know, you have heard republicans and democrats for many, many years talk about getting rid of waste, fraud, and a abuse. >> singing 1930s putting elizabeth warren, ilhan omar as lead spokespeople, it is not a sign was learned lesson from the election. >> they have landed on going to the matt for federal bureaucrats and illegal immigrants. that's a really interesting political choice. and if i were trump and his team i would lobby the opposition to have these rallies every day. have a bunch of government union people

many iolving the department of government efficiency. here's kelly o'donnell. >> reporter: the debate over doge, a flash point in president trump's overhaul of government. >> the spigot is getting ready to be turned off. >> reporter: democrats held up for scrutiny elon musk. the billionaire head of the department of government efficiency. >> it's a dedemolition plan thas going to run through our government. rorter: the divide is clear. democrats call out an unaccountable overreach. >> donald trump and elon musk are recklessly and illegally dismantling the federal government. shuttering federal agencies, firing federal workers. >> reporter: while republicans praise musk's methods to slash spending. >> now that doge is taking real action, democrats are choosing to defend the bureaucracy and status quo instead of standing up for the american people. >> reporter: press secretary karoline leavitt showed what she called receipts for spending identified and terminated by doge. including diversity and inclusion programs. a $4 million training con

the newly created department of government efficiency, led by elon musk, known as doge, sent that unusual request over the weekend on saturday. tonight, a lot of confusion over that email, with some federal agencies telling their employees not to comply, not to answer. it all comes as musk and the president continue to institute massive cuts to federal agencies. nbc's julie sirkin has more from washington. confusion and frustration surrounding the latest demand from elon musk and his department of government efficiency over the weekend, sending an email to millions of federal workers telling them to justify their jobs by midnight tonight. today, while hosting french president emmanuel macron at the white house, president trump once again endorsing the billionaire's moves. i think everyone thought it was a pretty ingenious idea. now, several agency heads telling those same workers not to respond, including the department of justice. in an email, the assistant attorney general for administration said because of the confidential and sensitive nature of the department's work, employees do not

today in opposition of musk's influence and to urge democratic lawmakers to fight the department of government efficienciesbroad access to government systems. abc news reporter lionel moise has a look at doj's latest demands. dismantling of a government organization. >> the cia is now offering buyouts to its entire staff. the latest move in president trump's push to downsize the government. it follows a similar offer to civilian federal workers last month. about 20,000 of those workers have now accepted the buyout. ahead of tomorrow's deadline, amid reports of mass layoffs to come. abc news has learned elon musk, leading the department of government efficiency, has now moved beds into the executive office building next to the white house, allowing musk and his staff to sleep there when working late. his staff reportedly includes people as young as 19 years old. president trump insists they're qualified. >> they're very smart people. >> trump also praising musk for dismantling usaid, an agency that funds international relief efforts. >> it's a disaster. >> usaid staff getting this email that all direct hire

elon musk and his department of government efficiency demanding to know what federal workers accomplished last week or face termination. the new cuts overnight to usaid. >>> and the historic win for one of the greatest skiers in history. how mikaela shiffrin overcame her serious crash in november to claim her 100th world cup win. it's monday, february 24th. "early today" starts right now. >>> glad you're with me to start off the week. i'm frances rivera. we begin today with the update on the health of pope francis. he remains in critical condition as he receives treatment for double pneumonia and mild kidney issues according to the vatican. the pontiff is, quote, alert and well oriented. even participating in holy mass with those caring for him on sunday. catholics around the world and across the u.s. praying for the pope's recovery. >> i know, you know, he's getting up there in age. but, you know, we just pray to god that everything works out. and, you know, i guess that's all we can do is leave it in god's hands. >> pope francis says he is continuing his treatment and rest is also part

new developments in billionaire elon musk and his department of government efficiency, efforts to overhaul the federal government, the consumer financial protection bureau, the government watchdog established by law after the 2008 financial crisis and in charge of safeguarding american consumers finances, has been effectively shut down. employees told to cease all activity, according to an internal email obtained by abc news that was sent by russell vought, the new director of the office of management and budget. dodge staffers now temporarily blocked from accessing the treasury department's data and payment systems. a federal judge making the move in response to 19 states suing the trump administration for giving musk and his allies access to sensitive personal data, including social security numbers and bank account information of millions of americans. a federal judge also pumping the brakes on musk's and trump's goal to dismantle usaid, the relief agency that provides desperately needed food and medicine to millions of people around the world. in an interview with fox news host bret ba

not only the department of government efficiency. partment of government accountability. for democrats to oppose that shows how out of touch they are. >> brian: they got perms to go into medicare and medicaid systems. no to the cut it. but to find out how many dead people we are paying. how much fraud is happening. they have the best of the best run his seven companies there to do it. they also, just by getting rid of the x as an option on gender, they are going to save a million dollars because not putting an x as, i guess, ambiguous gender is actually costly. so now he says the real savings is in medicare and medicaid. and democrats are rushing to the courts to stop him. why? >> well, because essentially, that is -- first of all, the democratic party is increasingly essentially the government of the party of government workers. right? the vast majority of government workers vote democrat. the unions, the public sector unions are all big, big spenders, big contributors to the democratic party. the democratic party thinks there is no

a federal judge has blocked employees of masks, the department of government efficiency from accessing the treasury department's financial system on tuesday must defend is the work of those in an oval office. appearance with trump is up to accordion or radical. i think it's, it's really just saying, let's look at each of each of the expenditures and say, is this actually investors, people that seems hard to believe that judges want to try and stop us from looking for corruption as true promises to give most broad leeway to fire federal regulators a, a saw the government workers value continue firing back. john henry and l g 0. washington. brazil says it will not enter a trade war with the united states. south of donald trump announced 25 percent tire of so no stealing, many of inputs presented the 2nd largest export of steel to the us off the canada. the decision comes despite brazilian and president knew that the silver vining last month to retaliate against any us. let is no investigators in the philippines have recommended funding criminal charges against the vice president sarah, d