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U.S. President Donald Trump hosts his first cabinet meeting with Elon Musk in attendance as he sits next to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 26, 2025.
The rundown of Trump’s first Cabinet meeting
Donald Trump hosted the first Cabinet meeting of his second administration on Wednesday. Here’s what went down.
Ukraine. Trump said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was expected to sign an agreement in Washington on sharing its mineral wealth, and that it should look to Europe for security guarantees – not the US.
Elon Musk. The “special government employee” received a round of applause as Trump insisted to Cabinet members and reporters present that “everybody’s on board” with Musk’s efforts to shrink the size of the federal government to lower the country’s deficit. While he sat off to the side of the room, Musk’s presence was a show of unity after his email requesting federal employees send the Department of Government Efficiency a list of “five things” they did last week – and threatening them with job loss for noncompliance – spread confusion throughout Washington this week and led to pushback from some government departments.
Musk and Trump reinforced the email, saying it was intended to see “if you have a pulse and two neurons and you can reply to an email,” and said they were convinced some of the federal employees had not replied because they were dead but still being paid.
Golden ticket for citizenship. Trump outlined his plan to sell $5 million “gold cards” to wealthy foreigners seeking US citizenship. He presented this initiative as a significant measure to address the federal deficit, saying “people that can pay $5 million, they’re going to create jobs.”
Demonstrators protest against U.S. President Donald Trump and Elon Musk outside the U.S. Capitol as Republicans prepare to vote on Trump's tax-cut agenda, in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 25, 2025.
Trump administration faces internal tensions over DOGE demands
What was that ultimatum? Over the weekend, federal employees were sent an email by DOGE requiring them to list five things they accomplished last week – failure to respond, it said, would signal they had resigned – which was met with opposition from agency heads who told their employees to ignore the email, primarily from national security agencies fearing intelligence leaks.
Several key federal departments are pushing back against demands from the Department of Government Efficiency, saying that employees do not have to respond since they do not answer to DOGE, marking the first significant resistance from MAGA-aligned forces within the Trump administration.
The resistance – including the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security, as well as the Federal Bureau of Investigation – is noteworthy because these agencies are currently led by loyal MAGA appointees who have generally supported the administration’s efficiency initiatives. It suggests that national security could be a boundary for DOGE, and one where Trump appointees aren’t afraid to break from the president’s favorite billionaire.
Ultimately, the Office of Personnel Management – which is responsible for firing and hiring employees and has been working closely with DOGE – told workers that responding to the email was voluntary. However, Musk’s post seemed to contradict this directive.
DOGE’s public approval ratings currently rest at just 34%, according to a recent Washington Post-Ipsos poll. But the only factor that is likely to curtail DOGE is Donald Trump, who thus far has shown no indication of withdrawing support for the department's efforts.Elon Musk’s government takeover is powered by AI
Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, aka DOGE, has sought massive cuts to the federal workforce, in particular targeting USAID, the Department of Education, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, among other agencies.
But Musk isn’t just seizing control of the executive branch; he’s using artificial intelligence as his weapon of choice.
At the Education Department, DOGE representatives have reportedly fed sensitive data, including personally identifiable student loan information, into AI software through Microsoft’s Azure cloud service. A group of students from the University of California sued DOGE in federal court on Friday for allegedly violating federal privacy rules and exceeding their statutory authority. Additionally, congressional Democrats have demanded answers about allegations of a private server used at the Office of Personnel Management; federal workers have sued to stop this, while OPM officials deny it violates the law. And a federal judge on Saturday temporarily halted DOGE access to taxpayer information at the Treasury Department because, the judge wrote, it risks disclosure of “sensitive and confidential information and the heightened risk that the systems in question will be more vulnerable than before to hacking.”
At the General Services Administration, a former Tesla engineer is pushing an “AI-first strategy” that involves building a custom chatbot called GSAi to help draft memos faster and adopting an AI coding agent such as the popular assistant Cursor to assist with software development.
Privacy and security advocates warn that the integration of AI software into the federal government could create significant risks — especially if not done carefully. “Using AI to cut spending or reform government operations is dangerous,” said Kit Walsh, the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s AI director. “AI isn’t magic; it is generated using data collected by humans and often categorized by humans. Then it provides a way to quickly (and often sloppily) try to reproduce the patterns and categories that have been given to it.”
Calli Schroeder, senior counsel at the Electronic Privacy Information Center, said there’s also the risk that AI gobbles up sensitive data and helps train its model on it. “Many AI systems use input data to expand their training datasets in addition to using it to generate a prompt response,” she said. “This not only means security risk if the raw training data is exposed, but also puts the data at risk for further misuse.”
Schroeder noted that these revelations raised fundamental questions about government security protocols if DOGE is indeed using unsecured systems. “Any halfway responsible business or organization has many security procedures and policies about what products you can and cannot connect with company devices,” she said. “It appears that our government either does not meet this incredibly basic level of responsibility and good practice, or no one is enforcing existing policies or procedures.”
The Education Department claims that there’s nothing to worry about with regard to DOGE staff overhauling the department’s systems. “They have been sworn in, have the necessary background checks and clearances, and are focused on making the Department more cost-efficient, effective, and accountable to the taxpayers,” a spokesperson said in a statement to the press. “There is nothing inappropriate or nefarious going on.”
But a lack of transparency has pervaded the entire Musk takeover without comprehensive congressional oversight and with DOGE staffers at times refusing to even give their names while interrogating civil servants. It’s wholly unclear what’s going on mere weeks into the administration with major changes at multiple government departments and agencies — all seemingly with an element of AI. “We deserve lawful, transparent, and accountable decisions in government operations,” Walsh said. “It’s difficult to imagine that the technology at work here is fit for the purpose of making spending and personnel decisions — and Americans deserve better than to have to guess at how those decisions are being made.”Elon Musk walks on Capitol Hill on the day of a meeting with Senate Republican Leader-elect John Thune (R-SD), in Washington, U.S. December 5, 2024.
Judge delays DOGE’s resignation deadline
While the Trump administration had hoped for 200,000 resignations, just over 40,000 employees – less than 2% of the federal workforce – had reportedly accepted the offer as of Wednesday.
Another federal judge also limited DOGE’s access to the Treasury Department payments system over privacy concerns on Thursday. That order gives “read only” access to two DOGE employees, both of whom have close ties to Musk.
Despite these legal measures, DOGE employees are fanning out across federal agencies, including the Center for Disease Control, the Labor Department, and the big kahuna: Medicare and Medicaid. Since Wednesday, DOGE officials have gained access to payment and contracting systems for both Medicare and Medicaid, which control hundreds of billions in healthcare provider payments.
DOGE aims to tackle fraud in the system – some of the $100 billion in improper Medicare and Medicaid payments in 2023 – by strengthening existing anti-fraud efforts. But some fear the complexity of the healthcare system could lead to mistakes and overly aggressive cuts. Any missteps that cost voters their insurance or lead to grave health consequences could cost Republicans in the 2026 midterms.
President Donald Trump in the Oval Office at the White House on Feb. 5, 2025.
DOGE deal and funding deadlines create chaos in Washington
Thursday is the deadline for federal employees to accept the Trump administration’s offer of eight months of pay and benefits in exchange for abandoning their posts. As of Wednesday, more than 40,000 employees, less than 2% of the federal workforce, had reportedly accepted the buyout.
The offer has pitted the Office of Personnel Management – which is working in conjunction with Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency – against unions and lawmakers who are advising people against taking the offer, citing its vagueness, that it waives employees rights to challenge the terms of the deal in the future, and questions about where the money for a new, expensive buyout program will come from – especially since the government is only funded through mid-March.
And the budget battles are already heating up. The odds that the government shuts down on March 14 are high, as neither side has yet to even agree on what the top-line budget 2025 amount should be. Republicans disagree on the size and scope of Trump’s ambitious demands for cuts, and razor-thin margins in the House mean they can’t afford any defections. Just last week, they had to table a preliminary vote on advancing Trump’s agenda over disagreements about how much spending could be cut.
Meanwhile, any budget bill will need to be bipartisan to pass the Senate (the partisan breakdown is 53 Republicans, 45 Democrats, and two independents who normally caucus with the Dems, and 60 votes are required). Democrats, who are outraged over Trump’s efforts to freeze funding that was previously allocated by Congress, want to use the deadline to push back on Trump's agenda.A view of the USAID building in Washington, DC, on Feb. 1, 2025.
Musk says USAID is being shut down
The website for the US Agency for International Development, aka USAID, went dark without explanation Saturday following President Donald Trump’s freeze on foreign aid and a cryptic post on X by Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee: “Watch USAID tonight,” he wrote Friday.
Democrats have been warning that Trump was planning to dismantle USAID and fold it into the State Department — a move they say he lacks the legal authority to make. Murphy called it an attempt to “steal taxpayers’ money to enrich [Trump’s] billionaire cabal,” including Tesla CEO and presidential advisor Elon Musk, who has referred to USAID’s potential dissolution as “efficiency.”
Early Monday, Musk announced on his social media site X that he and Trump were shutting down USAID. The White House has not yet responded, and it remains unclear whether Musk or Trump have the legal authority to take such a step.
The funding freeze has halted billions in US-funded humanitarian, security, and development programs around the world. Hundreds of USAID employees and contractors have been furloughed or put on paid leave, and thousands more jobs are at risk.
DOGE data dump? On Sunday, meanwhile, it was reported that the Trump administration has given Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency access to the federal payments system, which oversees the disbursement of trillions of dollars in government funds, including social security and welfare payments. The system also contains the personal data of hundreds of millions of Americans, raising concerns about potential misuse of the data.Elon Musk departs the office of Senate Minority Whip and incoming Senate Republican Leader-elect John Thune (R-SD) after a meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S. December 5, 2024.
GZERO Explains: How will DOGE work?
How will it work? The executive order requires every federal agency to hire at least four DOGE employees – a team lead, engineer, human resources specialist, and attorney – to identify potential spending, regulations, or jobs that can be slashed. Musk has said he aims to cut $2 trillion from the $6.75 trillion federal budget. How it will determine what can be cut has not been made public.
Can DOGE actually fire people? Right now, DOGE appears likely to operate in an advisory capacity to the White House, making recommendations to the Trump administration on where cuts might be made. When Trump implemented a hiring freeze on Jan. 20, he ordered the Office of Personnel and Management to work with DOGE to reduce the size of the government. Then, on Jan. 21, 2025, Trump reinstated Schedule F – a policy he tried to implement during his first term, only to see it rescinded by Joe Biden — reclassifying some policy-level federal employees as “at-will” employees. This strips them of some protections and makes it easier for Trump and his appointees to dismiss them.
Since then, anonymous reports from OPM employees claim that the agency is reporting to and issuing communications from DOGE staffers, making it appear that the two offices are working closely to reduce the number of federal employees.
Why does it matter? DOGE wants to modernize, and minimize, the federal government, which employed 2,260,ooo civilian employees as of 2023. However, it is expected to face backlash from judges, unions, federal employees, and the beneficiaries of services or agencies that are sent to the chopping block.
Then-President-elect Donald Trump and Elon Musk watch the launch of the sixth test flight of the SpaceX Starship rocket in Brownsville, Texas, in November 2024.
GZERO Explains: You’re Fired! “The Apprentice” comes to Washington
It’s not a reality TV show, but it sure feels like one. On Tuesday, the US government kickstarted a plan to slash the public service by offering a “deferred resignation program” to approximately two million civilian full-time federal employees. The offer came in the form of an email from the Office of Personnel Management, or OPM, with the subject line, “A Fork in the Road,” similar to one sent by X CEO Elon Musk to Twitter employees after he acquired the company in 2022. Musk was behind the effort, which reportedly blindsided some of President Donald Trump's advisers and budget officials.
What’s the deal? Employees who choose to resign by Feb. 6 would receive eight months of salary and benefits, remaining on the payroll until Sept. 30, possibly with reduced or eliminated responsibilities, and without having to work in person. Recipients were asked to respond to a government email address and type the word “Resign” if they accepted. They were also told that if they did not quit, there was no guarantee their job might not be eliminated in the future.
Who’s in the crosshairs? The OPM said the offer was available to “all full-time federal employees,” apart from those working in the post office, military, or on immigration or national security.
Why is this happening? During his campaign, Trump promised to radically cut the size of government and appointed Musk to head the Department for Government Efficiency. But Trump is also seeking to root out the “deep state” and remove opponents to his agenda within the civil service. The American Federation of Government Employees says the program pressures employees perceived as disloyal to leave.
In that vein, Trump also signed an executive order on his first day entitled “Schedule Career/Policy,” which reclassifies thousands of civil servants as political appointees, removing job security and making it easier to hire and fire them. Trump signed a similar order, Schedule F, late in his first term, but it was rescinded by Joe Biden when the former president took office.
Can Trump (or Musk) do this? As president, Trump has the authority to propose and implement workforce restructuring within the federal government. However, his actions must comply with federal laws and regulations. That includes standards enforced by the US Merit Systems Protection Board, which require managers to justify disciplinary actions like firings and give employees the right to respond before any action is taken.
But aren’t these “voluntary” resignations? The government is framing them this way and has various tools available. These include:
- Voluntary Early Retirement Authority: This allows employees to retire before meeting the standard age and service requirements, and is usually used during restructuring or downsizing, such as when an agency is eliminated.
- Voluntary Separation Incentive Payments: This policy offers lump-sum payments to incentivize employees to voluntarily “separate” from the civil service via resignation or retirement. Trump’s current “deferred resignation program” appears to be a form of VSIP, albeit with a twist, in that employees may not have to have to perform their duties.
This led Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) to call the offer a trick, claiming the president would “stiff” workers. “The president has no authority to make that offer,” Kaine said. “There’s no budget line item to pay people who are not showing up for work.”
That concern is echoed by researcher Natasha Gaither of Eurasia Group, “The offer is structured in such a way that it will probably withstand legal scrutiny, as it purports to make use of the funds that would otherwise go to paying workers' salaries,” she says. But, she adds, “this arrangement relies on the tacit assumption that Congress will appropriate funds to cover all the currently eligible federal workers when the continuing resolution expires in March.”
“Basically, federal workers who take the buyout now will be placing their faith in GOP congressmen (and the Trump administration) that they will continue to receive deposits through September.”
What could the impact be? That depends on who accepts the offer. The broad range of employees affected means that anyone – from food inspectors to frontline health workers – could stop work and stay home, potentially impacting thousands of departments and services. For example, if statisticians at the FDA who oversee clinical trials quit, there would likely be an immediate slowdown in drug approvals. Losing medical staff at Veterans Affairs would undermine the functioning of hospitals and clinics and possibly force veterans to turn elsewhere.
One senior administration official estimated that 5-10% of federal workers might resign, saving the government $100 billion – but punching a big hole in the capacity of the civil service at the same time.