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A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the weekend. Here’s today’s news:
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS
President Trump on Friday announced he was revoking the security clearances of former President Biden, former Secretary of State Antony Blinken, New York Attorney General Letitia James, and the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg. In an interview with the New York Post, Trump said he was also barring these and other lawyers from entering federal buildings. Matt Viser reports for the Washington Post; Miranda Devine reports.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem yesterday indicated Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) staffers have access to her agency’s data, including to the personal information of federal aid recipients. Noem said the access was “authorized” by Trump. Aileen Graef and Veronica Stracqualursi report for CNN.
Elon Musk on Friday announced he will rehire Marko Elez, a DOGE staffer who resigned over ties to a social media account advocating for racism and eugenics. Patrick Svitek reports for the Washington Post.
Edward Coristine, a 19-year-old DOGE staffer, has been previously fired from a cybersecurity internship over leaking internal information to competitors, according to a message seen by Bloomberg News. Jason Leopold, Margi Murphy, Sophie Alexander, Jake Bleiberg, and Anthony Cormier report.
The Treasury Department was warned last week that DOGE’s access to the federal payment network represents an “unprecedented insider threat risk,” according to internal emails reviewed by WIRED. Vittoria Elliott and Leah Feiger report.
Trump and Vice President JD Vance can discuss ongoing criminal and civil cases with Attorney General Pam Bondi and her deputies under the Trump administration’s new rules on White House-Justice Department communications, according to a memo seen by the Washington Post. Perry Stein and Jeff Stein report.
The Trump administration personnel are questioning candidates for top national security positions on whether the 2020 was “stolen” and whether the Jan. 6 riot was “an inside job,” sources say. Ellen Nakashima and Warren P. Strobel report for the Washington Post.
The Trump administration has appointed Tom Krause, who has been leading DOGE’s review of federal payments, to perform the duties of Fiscal Assistant Secretary, a Treasury Department position previously held by David Lebryk. Michael Stratford reports for POLITICO.
Trump on Friday dismissed the head of the National Archives, Colleen Shogan, on Friday, according to White House Director of Presidential Personnel Sergio Gor. Raquel Coronell Uribe reports for NBC News.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau over the weekend instructed its employees to halt nearly all their work and work remotely “unless instructed otherwise.” Trump on Friday appointed Russel Vought, a Project 2025 architect and Director of the Office of Management and Budget, to be the Bureau’s acting Director. Colby Itkowitz, Yvonne Wingett Sanchez, Sarah Ellison, and Patrick Marley report for the Washington Post.
The Trump administration is moving forward with a plan to restart the detentions of migrant families in private prisons, a move that could result in arrests of children, sources say. Julia Ainsley reports for NBC News.
The Trump administration on Friday doubled the number of news organizations evicted from their Pentagon offices, rotating CNN, The Washington Post, the Hill, and War Zone out in favour of Newsmax, the Washington Examiner, the Daily Caller, and the Free Press. David Bauder reports for AP News.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION
Vice President Vance yesterday claimed that “judges aren’t allowed to control the executive’s legitimate power,” without citing any specific rulings. Separately, Trump on Saturday said “no judge” should be allowed to make decisions such as the Saturday order blocking DOGE staffers from accessing Treasury payments. Charlie Savage and Minho Kim report for the New York Times.
A federal judge on Saturday issued an emergency temporary restraining order blocking most Trump administration officials, including the two DOGE officials authorized under an earlier order, from accessing sensitive Treasury records for a week in response to an emergency Friday request by 19 Democratic Attorneys General. Kyle Cheney reports for POLITICO.
FBI employees and the Justice Department on Friday agreed to a court order that mandates the DOJ to give two days’ notice before publicly releasing the list of FBI agents who worked on Jan. 6 riot and the classified documents cases. Hannah Rabinowitz reports for CNN.
A federal judge yesterday granted a preemptive restraining order blocking the U.S. government from sending three Venezuelan men to Guantánamo Bay, the detainees’ lawyer said. Brad Brooks reports for Reuters.
A federal judge on Friday blocked Secretary of State Marco Rubio from placing 2,200 USAID employees on leave and ordered the reinstatement of 500 others. The judge denied plaintiffs’ request to lift the aid freeze. Kyle Cheney reports for POLITICO.
A federal judge on Friday rejected labor unions’ attempt to block DOGE staffers from accessing sensitive data at the Labor Department, saying the groups failed to show they had the standing necessary to obtain a temporary restraining order. Nick Niedzwiadek reports for POLITICO.
A labor union yesterday filed two lawsuits seeking to prevent DOGE staffers from accessing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s records and block the directives issued by the Bureau’s new acting Director, Russell Vought. Megan Lebowitz reports for NBC News.
A number of Democratic-leaning counties and cities on Friday sued the Trump administration, alleging that it has unlawfully targeted sanctuary jurisdictions. Artemis Moshtaghian and Chris Boyette report for CNN.
Washington, Oregon, and Minnesota state Attorneys General on Friday filed a lawsuit seeking to block Trump’s order to cut Medicare and Medicaid funding to providers offering gender transition care to minors. Ben Brasch reports for the Washington Post.
Seven transgender U.S. citizens on Friday sued Trump and the State Department, arguing the policy preventing people from changing gender markers on their passports violates their constitutional rights. Ernesto Londoño reports for the New York Times.
U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Trump on Friday signed an executive order halting all U.S. aid to South Africa and ordering the development of a plan for resettling White Afrikaners to the U.S. as refugees, citing “government-sponsored race-based discrimination” against them. María Luisa Paúl reports for the Washington Post.
Trump yesterday said he will introduce new 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports into the United States and reciprocal tariffs matching all tariffs levied on the United States by other countries. Jeff Mason reports for Reuters.
Flights deporting Venezuelans from the United States to Venezuela will begin “within the next 30 days,” Trump’s border czar Tom Homan has said. Julie Turkewitz and Hamed Aleaziz report for the New York Times.
International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan will be the first person sanctioned under U.S. asset freeze and travel restrictions targeting ICC personnel authorized by Trump last week, sources say. Stephanie van den Berg and Anthony Deutsch report for Reuters.
The United States has warned of possible sanctions against Rwandan and Congolese officials involved in the eastern Congo conflict, a diplomatic note seen by Reuters shows.
OTHER U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
Trump FBI Director nominee Kash Patel was paid $25,000 last year by a film company that has promoted anti-Western views advanced by the Kremlin, Patel’s financial disclosure statements show. Greg Miller, Jon Swaine, Catherine Belton, Mark Berman, and Derek Hawkins report for the Washington Post.
The city of Springfield, Ohio, last week filed a lawsuit against a local neo-Nazi group, alleging it carried out a campaign of intimidation targeting Haitian immigrants. Campbell Robertson reports for the New York Times.
The Guantánamo Bay detainee accused of plotting the Sept. 11 attacks has agreed to never disclose secret aspects of his torture by the CIA in exchange for reprieve from the death penalty, the latest part of his plea deal to be unsealed shows. Carol Rosenberg reports for the New York Times.
A former advisor to New York Mayor Eric Adams is expected to plead guilty to conspiracy over efforts to cover up straw donations to Adams’s 2021 campaign, a Friday court filing shows. Shayna Jacobs reports for the Washington Post.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
Israel yesterday completed its withdrawal from the militarized zone bisecting Gaza in accordance with the ceasefire agreement, according to a statement by Hamas and reporters on the ground. Mohammad al-Sawalhi, Ibrahim Dahman, and Sophie Tanno report for CNN.
An Israeli delegation arrived in Qatar yesterday for the planned talks on the second stage of the Gaza ceasefire, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s spokesperson said. Nidal Al-Mughrabi and Alexander Cornwell report for Reuters.
Hamas on Saturday released three Israeli hostages, with Israel freeing 183 Palestinian detainees in exchange. Netanyahu said the hostages’ gaunt appearance was “shocking.” Hussam Al-Masri, Nidal Al-Mughrabi, and Emily Rose report for Reuters.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — U.S. AND REGIONAL RESPONSE
The Trump administration’s efforts to sideline USAID have endangered the Gaza aid supply chain and risk destabilizing the ceasefire, U.S. officials and humanitarian group workers say. Patrick Kingsley and Adam Rasgon report for the New York Times.
The State Department on Friday notified Congress it intends to move forward with a $8 billion weapons sale to Israel, bypassing an informal review that was underway in a House committee. Edward Wong and Robert Jimison report for the New York Times.
Trump yesterday said he is committed to “buying and owning Gaza,” which he described as a “big real estate site.” Jeff Mason reports for Reuters; Betsy Klein and Irene Nasser report for CNN.
Egypt will host an emergency Arab summit on 27 February to discuss “serious” developments for Palestinians, the Egyptian foreign ministry said yesterday. Reuters reports.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
Russia’s prison guards were told to “be cruel” to Ukrainian POWs, with prison authorities overseeing “widespread and systematic torture,” according to former prison officials, interviews with Ukrainian prisoners, and official documents. Thomas Grove reports for the Wall Street Journal.
Russia has “brought back North Korean soldiers” to the Kursk frontlines, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Friday. Jaroslav Lukiv reports for BBC News.
OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
The Sudanese army yesterday called for international diplomatic support for its roadmap to establishing a “technocratic” wartime government, citing its gains in regaining control of the nation’s capital, Khartoum, from the Rapid Support Forces militia. Basillioh Rukanga reports for BBC News.
Eastern and Southern Africa’s leaders met on Saturday for an unprecedented summit aimed at defusing the crisis in Eastern Congo. David Lewis and Nuzulack Dausen report for Reuters.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party will form the government in Indian capital Delhi for the first time in 27 years following its victory in a Saturday local election. Nikita Yadav, Zoya Mateen, and Soutik Biswas report for BBC News.
The Pakistani government last week told tens of thousands of Afghan refugees in Pakistan’s capital region to move elsewhere in Pakistan by March 31. The announcement also said that refugees who will not find another country to resettle them will be deported back to Taliban-led Afghanistan. Zia ur-Rehman reports for the New York Times.
Lebanon formed a new government on Saturday following weeks of talks, the new Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said. Reuters reports.