‘Radical Transparency’: Trump Orders ‘Wasteful’ Federal Programs, Contracts Exposed

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‘Radical Transparency’: Trump Orders ‘Wasteful’ Federal Programs, Contracts Exposed

(Casey Harper, The Center Square) President Donald Trump sent a memo to all federal agency heads Tuesday directing them to release all details related to the cut grants, contracts and other federal spending deemed “wasteful.”

Trump sent the “radical transparency about wasteful spending” memo to federal agency heads, the latest in his and Department of Government Efficiency head Elon Musk’s war on federal waste.

Musk has encountered opposition and lawsuits from federal workers and Democrats, so this order could beef up his efforts for transparency as he roots through federal records and archives and seeks more details about cut programs.

“The United States Government spends too much money on programs, contracts, and grants that do not promote the interests of the American people,” Trump’s order said. “For too long, taxpayers have subsidized ideological projects overseas and domestic organizations engaged in actions that undermine the national interest.”

The order instructs federal agencies to make public the details of canceled contracts, grants and other federal spending. The order does tell agencies to abide by federal laws and to do so as they “deem appropriate to promote the policies of my Administration.”

Trump’s executive order Tuesday comes the same day that DOGE touted cutting $55 billion in federal spending. On top of that, a federal judge Tuesday ruled against a Democrat-led effort to get a temporary restraining order against Musk as he looks for more cuts.

That ruling, though, suggested Musk’s authority could be questioned on legal grounds, suggesting more legal battles for Musk and Trump down the road.

“The American people have seen their tax dollars used to fund the passion projects of unelected bureaucrats rather than to advance the national interest,” Trump’s order said. “The American people have a right to see how the Federal Government has wasted their hard-earned wages.”

Trump Approval Rating at 55%

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Trump Approval Rating at 55%

(Dan McCaleb, The Center Square) President Donald Trump’s approval rating climbed to 55%, according to new polling from Napolitan News Service.

The survey of 3,000 registered voters was conducted online by pollster Scott Rasmussen Feb. 10-14. The poll has a margin of error of +/- 1.8.

“While it’s always tempting to look at the activity of a particular week to explain shifts in presidential approval, the larger story here is one of stability,” Rasmussen said. “Napolitan News has tracked the president’s approval every week since his victory last November. In every week but one, Trump’s approval has stayed within two points of 53%. The sole exception was his inauguration week bounce,” when it rose to 57%.

Rasmussen noted that polling has shown that Trump has won over many independent voters, those who don’t as either Democrat or Republican.

Trump has done so, Rasmussen said, “by making it easy for swing voters to know who they should root against. Trump 2.0 has focused a lot of attention on battling illegal immigration in a nation where more than 80% believe illegal immigration is bad for America.”

Also, Rasmussen notes that most Americans support efforts to reduce the size of the federal government, which Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency has been working on.

“The DOGE effort has been framed as an attack on the federal bureaucracy in a nation where 77% of voters say the federal government doesn’t pay enough attention to voters,” he said.

Report: Trump Administration Could Suspend COVID Jabs for All Americans

Ken Silva
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Report: Trump Administration Could Suspend COVID Jabs for All Americans

(Ken Silva, Headline USA) Though it didn’t cite any sources, the Daily Mail reported Wednesday that the Trump administration’s top public health officials support suspending the use of all COVID vaccines on the grounds that they could be causing adverse health reactions.

“Dr Jay Bhattacharya, who has been nominated to lead the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has backed a petition calling for the mRNA vaccines to be paused and retested … He is one of the signatories of the Hope Accord, which claims there is a ‘causal link’ between the mRNA shots and an alarming rise in excess deaths worldwide,” the Daily Mail reported.

“DailyMail.com also understands Robert F Kennedy Jr has privately expressed concerns about the vaccines and signaled he is open to axing them if the data supports it.”

The Daily Mail also cited Dr Aseem Malhotra, a British cardiologist being considered for a health advisory role in Kennedy’s new health departments, as well as incoming FBI Director Kash Patel as top officials who opposed the COVID MNRA shots.

Suspending the COVID shot would be a drastic policy shift for Trump, who’s long touted his role in fast-tracking the jab’s regulatory approval process—what’s known as Operation Warp Speed.

As recently as December, the House GOP published a report touting that “Operation Warp Speed was a tremendous success and a model to build upon in the future.”

“The vaccines, which are now probably better characterized as therapeutics, undoubtedly saved millions of lives by diminishing likelihood of severe disease and death,” the report said.

The subcommittee report quoted Dr. Anthony Fauci as one of its sources that Warp Speed was a success.

“By nearly all accounts, this was an incredible feat of science which was made possible by the unique structure of OWS. Dr. Fauci, though reluctant to give credit to the Trump Administration, characterized the effort as ‘the best decision [he’s] ever made with regard to an intervention as director of the institute,’” the report said.

Ken Silva is the editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.

Trump Defends Ukrainian Democracy, Calls on Zelenskyy to Hold Elections

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Trump Defends Ukrainian Democracy, Calls on Zelenskyy to Hold Elections

(Dave DeCamp, Antiwar.com) On Tuesday, President Trump called for elections to be held in Ukraine and said it was an idea coming from him, not the Russians.

“We have a situation where we haven’t had elections in Ukraine, where we have martial law, essentially martial law in Ukraine, where the leader in Ukraine, I mean, I hate to say it, but he’s down to 4% approval rating,” Trump told reporters.

It’s unclear where Trump got the 4% number, but a poll conducted in Ukraine in November 2024 found that just 16% of Ukrainians would vote to re-elect Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and 60% of respondents said they didn’t even want him to run.

“If Ukraine wants a seat at the table, wouldn’t the people have to say – it has been a long time since they had an election?” Trump said. “That’s not a Russian thing, that’s something coming from me and coming from many other countries also.”

Zelensky’s term in office expired in May 2024, but he remained in power since he didn’t hold elections. Ukraine’s parliament has also been due for an election since October 2023.

Ukrainian officials have justified not holding elections by pointing to Ukraine’s constitution, which prohibits a vote during martial law. Martial law was first declared when Russia invaded and has been extended since.

However, Zelensky made it clear at one point that he could have held an election if he wanted to, suggesting that it could happen if the US and other Western countries paid for it. But, the Biden administration did not put any pressure on Zelensky to hold an election and helped justify the decision.

The president also went after Zelensky over his complaints that Ukraine was excluded from the talks between the US and Russia that occurred earlier in the day in Saudi Arabia, which Trump said went very well.

“Today I heard, ‘Oh, well, we weren’t invited,” Trump said. “Well, you’ve been there for three years. You should have ended it — three years. You should have never been there. You should have never started it. You should have made a deal.”

Zelensky happens to be in the Middle East as part of an unrelated tour and was due to visit Saudi Arabia on Wednesday but decided to cancel over the US-Russia talks. “We were not invited to this Russian-American meeting in Saudi Arabia. It was a surprise for us, I think for many others as well,” Zelensky told reporters in Turkey.

I don’t know who will stay, who will leave, or who is planning to go where. To be honest, I don’t care,” he added. “I don’t want coincidences, and that’s why I will not go to Saudi Arabia.”

This article originally appeared at Antiwar.com.

A Golden Age of Diplomacy: U.S. and Russia Agree to Resume Trade and End War

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A Golden Age of Diplomacy: U.S. and Russia Agree to Resume Trade and End War

(Kyle Anzalone, Antiwar.com) Following a high-level meeting between US and Russian officials, the State Department said Washington and Moscow will begin taking steps to normalize the diplomatic relationship between the two superpowers. US-Russian diplomacy sank during the first Donald Trump administration, and Joe Biden cut nearly all contact with Russia after the invasion of Ukraine.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, and Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff met with a Russian delegation led by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Tuesday. During a press conference after the meeting, Rubio said the parties agreed on four points.

“First is that we are going to work – we’re going to point our teams’ respectively to work very quickly to reestablish the functionality of our respective missions in Washington and in Moscow.” He continued,  “For us to be able to continue to move down this road, we need to have diplomatic facilities that are operating and functioning normally.”

US and Russian ties have declined over the past decade. Rubio claimed that President Trump is uniquely equipped for this task. However, during his first administration, Washington significantly set back its diplomatic relationship with Russia.

Trump previously set records for sanctioning Russia and expelling Russian diplomats from the US. He destroyed two key nuclear arms control agreements with Moscow and refused to engage with the Kremlin on extending the New Start Treaty.

Lavrov said he viewed the summit as a success. “We did not just listen but heard each other, and I have reason to believe the American side has better understood our position,” Russia’s top diplomat explained.

Witkoff gave a glowing response to what was discussed during the meeting. “It was positive, upbeat, constructive, everybody [was] there to get to the right outcome, solution-based. We discussed it afterwards. We couldn’t have imagined a better result after this session. It was very, very solid,” he told the press.

Rubio went on to explain the final three points. “The second point is that we’re going to appoint a high-level team from our end to help negotiate and walk – work through the end of the conflict in Ukraine in a way that’s enduring and acceptable to all the parties engaged.” He continued, “The third point is to begin to work at a high level as well to begin to discuss and think about and examine both the geopolitical and economic cooperation that could result from an end to the conflict in Ukraine.”

The top American diplomat added, “The last thing we agreed to [is] that, while our teams are going to be working on all of this, the five of us that were here today are going to remain engaged in this process to make sure that it’s moving along in a productive way.”

While Tuesday’s talks were the first significant effort aimed at ending the war in Ukraine since April 2022, Trump’s effort to engage with Russia has been condemned by much of the political class in the West. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that he will refuse to abide by any agreement inked between the US and Russia.

According to NSA Waltz, the two sides did not set a date for a meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. “But the two presidents talked about meeting and expect to meet,” he said.

When asked about American sanctions on Russia, Rubio did not commit to attempting to normalize economic ties between Washington and Moscow but indicated the embargo on Russia could be rolled back.

“Sanctions are all the result of this conflict.  There are sanctions that were imposed as a result of this conflict.  And so I would say to you that in order to bring an end to any conflict there has to be concessions made by all sides,” Rubio explained.

This article originally appeared at Antiwar.com

U.S. Jewish Man Charged w/ Shooting 2 Israelis He Thought Were Palestinians

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U.S. Jewish Man Charged w/ Shooting 2 Israelis He Thought Were Palestinians

(Headline USA) A Jewish man has been charged with two counts of attempted murder after opening fire on two men in Miami Beach who he thought were Palestinians.

According to an arrest report, Mordechai Brafman shot at the men 17 times in the “unprovoked” attack, telling officers that while driving his truck, he “saw two Palestinians” and opened fire on their car, thinking he had killed the pair. But the men survived, one suffering a shot to the shoulder and the other grazed by a bullet.

Brafman, 27, is being held without bond on second-degree attempted murder charges at a county jail in Miami, records show. He has also been ordered to stay away from the victims, an Israeli father and son who were vacationing in South Florida, according to the Miami Herald.

Brafman’s attorney Dustin Tischler has said his client was experiencing a “severe mental health crisis” at the time of the shooting, which caused him to “fear for his life.”

“It is believed that his ability to make sound judgments was significantly compromised,” Tischler said in a statement to The Associated Press, adding that Brafman is seeking “necessary treatment” while cooperating with law enforcement.

The Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, has called for federal hate crime charges against Brafman, saying his alleged bias against Palestinians should warrant the charges regardless of the victims’ ethnicity.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

Stephen Miller Embarrasses CNN Over Absurd Trump-Musk DOGE Question

Luis Cornelio
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Stephen Miller Embarrasses CNN Over Absurd Trump-Musk DOGE Question

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller on Thursday turned a CNN interview on Tuesday into a civics lecture, humorously educating host Brianna Keilar on who runs President Donald Trump’s DOGE. 

Miller’s remarks came in response to leftist cynicism over a court filing in which the Trump administration stated that tech mogul Elon Musk is neither an employee nor the administrator of DOGE.

Democrats have attempted, albeit unsuccessfully, to thwart Musk’s involvement in DOGE, but Trump has made it clear that Musk serves as a special advisor. That basic fact appeared lost on Keilar. 

“Who is in charge of DOGE?” she asked.

“The president of the United States,” Miller replied with a noticeable smile.

“He’s the administrator of DOGE?” Keilar pressed, prompting Miller to take her on a walk down memory lane about DOGE’s beginnings. 

“No,” he shot back. “DOGE is what was formerly U.S. Digital Service, is an agency of the federal government that reports to the Executive Office of President, which reports to the president of the United States.” 

He continued, “The way Article II works is that: the president wins an election, and then he appoints staff—including myself, including [National Security Advisor] Mike Waltz, including [White House Chief of Staff] Susie Wiles, including Elon Musk—and those staff report to him.”

Keilar, seemingly frustrated, interjected, “Okay, well aware.” She then played a clip of Musk inside the Oval Office with Trump, referring to DOGE as “our” task force. Keilar seemingly attempted to suggest that Musk was, in fact, running it.

“Did you hear him there? ‘We post OUR actions. All of OUR actions are maximally transparent.’ Does Elon Musk know he’s not in charge of DOGE?” Keilar asked. 

Miller immediately shot back: “Again, the president runs the government, the president appoints advisors, including Elon, including myself, including all the other staff at the White House and then those staff in turn, execute the president’s commands and directions to all agencies of the federal government. This is how democracy works, something that we treasure in America.”

Miller’s response countered Democrat claims that Musk is somehow plotting a hostile takeover of the federal government, though these claims conveniently ignore that Musk is simply following Trump’s orders. 

CNN viewers wouldn’t know this if they relied on Keilar. 

Trevor Noah Now Endorses Segregation after Making Fortune Rebuking Apartheid

Luis Cornelio
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Trevor Noah Now Endorses Segregation after Making Fortune Rebuking Apartheid

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Trevor Noah, a self-described “comedian from South Africa,” suggested on Thursday that desegregation in the United States was a mistake, arguing that racial groups are inherently different. 

Noah made these claims in his What Now? podcast during an interview with woke sociologist Ruha Benjamin, who also voiced her opposition to desegregation. The duo was discussing the end of diversity, equity and inclusion.

“Do you think that integration was the right move?” Noah asked Benjamin. He acknowledged that most Americans support integration, stating that “in America, people are like, ‘Well, of course. I mean, there were people where there was racism, and there’s segregation.” 

Before Benjamin could answer, Noah continued, “Yeah, no, no, no! I’m separating them! Let’s separate someone being oppressed and someone not being able to get a job and someone not being able to get a bank loan. Let’s take all of those negative things away.” 

Noah’s pro-segregation comments seem to stem from the false notion that integration, without additional policy changes, failed to advance equality in America.  

Noah exclaimed that segregating racial groups could be beneficial, echoing rhetoric used by racist hate groups. He cited Finland—where nearly 90 percent of the population is Finnish—as a purported example. 

“You know who’s in Finland? Finnish people. That’s it. That’s it. And because they’re all Finnish, there’s an idea of like, ‘No, we all have in the same direction. We all know what our actions mean.’ And that’s a really powerful thing,” Noah affirmed. 

Concluding, Noah repeated the question: “I would love to know if you think integration was the right solution maybe on the other side of, you know, one of civil rights.” 

Benjamin, who has claimed technology is racist, replied that integration was not the right response to segregation. “I don’t think it’s actually that controversial when, if you understand that segregation and integration weren’t the only options,” she claimed. 

Noah’s comments came after President Donald Trump imposed sanctions on South Africa over its controversial land seizure law, which empowers the government to confiscate property from Afrikaners—South Africans of European descent— under the guise of “equality.” 

Noah’s remarks were puzzling, given that he lived through apartheid in South Africa and made his career criticizing it. He also has spent years accusing Republicans, including President Donald Trump, of racism. 

Below is footage of Noah repeatedly suggesting that Trump is a racist.

NYU’s College Republicans President Resigns after Making Comments about Barron Trump

Maire Clayton
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NYU’s College Republicans President Resigns after Making Comments about Barron Trump

(Maire Clayton, Headline USA) The president of New York University College Republicans had to resign Monday after making comments about President Donald Trump’s son Barron.

Kaya Walker left her position after she spoke with Vanity Fair where she called the youngest son of the president “an oddity.”

“He’s sort of like an oddity on campus,” Walker told the outlet. “He goes to class, he goes home.”

After Walker’s remarks, the College Republicans of America issued a statement Monday that was shared to social media.

“In response to recent events with our NYU chapter, College Republicans of America formally invites Barron Trump to join us in reshaping the Republican Party,” the post read with a lengthy statement attached.

The group said Walker’s remarks were “inappropriate” and “does not align with the values and principles upheld by our organization.”

CRA president Will Donahue personally invited Barron Trump to join the group.

“Strong leadership is built on resilience, courage, and the humility to rise above petty hostility — qualities that Barron has already demonstrated,” Donahue stated.

The statement made reference to the group breaking from over a 100 year tradition when they endorsed Trump before the primary season.

“Our support for President Trump is, and has been, a pillar of our organization,” the statement added.

Walker later spoke with the New York Post and said she now regrets stepping down from the organization.

“They [made it] look like I was calling the president’s son weird, but I feel like anybody who can read would know that’s not what I was doing,” she said.

The former club president wanted to make it clear with the outlet she is a Trump supporter.

“I just feel bad that [Barron’s] having this hard college experience, and I understand that he wants to be left alone,” Walker said. “I don’t even know Baron Trump. I campaigned for his father. Why would I have any ill intent towards him?”

Social Security Head Steps Down over DOGE Access of Recipient Information: AP Sources

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Social Security Head Steps Down over DOGE Access of Recipient Information: AP Sources

(Headline USA) The Social Security Administration’s acting commissioner has stepped down from her role at the agency over Department of Government Efficiency requests to access Social Security recipient information, according to two people familiar with the official’s departure who were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

Acting Commissioner Michelle King’s departure from the agency over the weekend — after more than 30 years of service — was initiated after King refused to provide DOGE staffers at the SSA with access to sensitive information, the people said Monday.

The White House has replaced her as acting commissioner with Leland Dudek, who currently works at the SSA, the people said.

White House spokesperson Harrison Fields released a statement Monday night saying: “President Trump has nominated the highly qualified and talented Frank Bisignano to lead the Social Security Administration, and we expect him to be swiftly confirmed in the coming weeks. In the meantime, the agency will be led by a career Social Security anti-fraud expert as the acting commissioner.”

Fields added, “President Trump is committed to appointing the best and most qualified individuals who are dedicated to working on behalf of the American people, not to appease the bureaucracy that has failed them for far too long.”

King’s exit from the administration is one of several departures of high-ranking officials that have an issue with DOGE staffers’ access to taxpayer’s information.

DOGE has accessed Treasury payment systems and is attempting to access Internal Revenue Service databases.

Nancy Altman, president of Social Security Works, an advocacy group for the preservation of Social Security benefits, said of DOGE’s efforts that “there is no way to overstate how serious a breach this is. And my understanding is that it has already occurred.”

“The information collected and securely held by the Social Security Administration is highly sensitive,” she claimed. “SSA has data on everyone who has a Social Security number, which is virtually all Americans, everyone who has Medicare, and every low-income American who has applied for Social Security’s means-tested companion program, Supplemental Security Income.”

“If there is an evil intent to punish perceived enemies, someone could erase your earnings record, making it impossible to collect the Social Security and Medicare benefits you have earned.”

The future of Social Security has become a top political issue and was a major point of contention in the 2024 election. About 72.5 million people, including retirees, disabled people and children, receive Social Security benefits.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

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