President Donald Trump’s administration is continuing its radical effort to cut much of the federal government — and is being met with dozens of legal challenges.
Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency is visiting Federal Aviation Administration’s Air Traffic Control Command Center in Virginia on Monday after firing several hundred FAA employees.
Overseas, top officials from the United States and Russia were set to hold talks in Saudi Arabia about ending Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine — without Volodymyr Zelenskyy — while European officials were holding an emergency meeting in Paris.
Latest Developments
Feb 17, 11:55 PM
Top Social Security official steps down after clash with DOGE: Sources
The top official at the Social Security Administration stepped down after a clash with DOGE employees over access to sensitive personal records, two sources told ABC News.
Michelle King, a career official who served at the agency for more than 30 years, was serving as acting commissioner of the Social Security Administration but left the agency after she was replaced with Leland Dudek this weekend.
PHOTO: Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk arrives to the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump in the Rotunda of the Capitol in Washington, DC, Jan. 20, 2025. (Chip Somodevilla/via Reuters)
Sources said that DOGE employees were seeking access to an internal data system that houses the sensitive, personal information of Americans.
It’s not clear if DOGE employees ultimately gained access to the system following the dispute with King.
Read ABC News’ full coverage here.
-ABC News’ Rachel Scott, Will Steakin, Katherine Faulders and Molly Nagle
Feb 17, 11:14 PM
Judge rules DOGE can access student loan data
A federal judge in Washington, D.C., has denied a request to temporarily bar individuals associated with Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency from accessing sensitive student loan records maintained by the Department of Education.
U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss determined that the risk of harm from DOGE’s access to the records was “far from likely” and denied a request for a temporary restraining order made by the University of California Student Association.
The decision is yet another legal win for DOGE following a Friday decision allowing it to access sensitive records at the Department of Labor, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Department of Health and Human Services.
-ABC News’ Peter Charalambous and Arthur Jones II
Feb 17, 10:59 PM
USAID worker sues Trump administration over wife’s pregnancy scare
A U.S. foreign service officer deployed overseas blamed President Donald Trump administration’s “cruel and harmful shutdown” of USAID for threatening the lives of his pregnant wife and unborn child, according to court documents filed Monday night.
Identified in an affidavit only as Terry Doe, the foreign service officer explained in vivid detail how the emotional strain, financial burden and logistical hurdles brought on by the administration’s “rushed, haphazard” attempt to dismantle the aid agency left him and his wife in a “life-threatening emergency.”
PHOTO: The flag of the United States Agency for International Development, or USAID, right, flies alongside the American flag in front the USAID office in Washington, Feb. 3, 2025. (Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP)
After a local physician and the embassy’s medical unit advised her to be medically evacuated out of the country, Doe continued, the State Department twice refused Doe’s request, along “with a message stating that ‘there is no USAID funding for medivacs.'”
Read ABC News’ full coverage here.
Feb 17, 10:45 PM
White House claims Elon Musk does not run DOGE in new filing
As its influence within the federal government grows daily, one question routinely emerges about the Department of Government Efficiency: Who is in charge? That answer continues to evade the lawyers tasked with defending President Donald Trump’s administration in court.
In an affidavit filed in federal court on Tuesday, a White House official clarified that Elon Musk is not the administrator of the newly formed entity — seemingly contradicting public statements by Trump. Since announcing DOGE in December 2024, he has routinely referred to Musk as its leader.
PHOTO: Elon Musk leaves after a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Blair House, in Washington, D.C., Feb. 13, 2025. (Nathan Howard/Reuters)
However, according to Office of Administration Director Joshua Fischer, Musk is a “non career special government employee” who serves as a senior adviser to the president. The filing compared Musk’s role to that of Anita Dunn, a longtime political advisor who served as a senior adviser to President Joe Biden.
The filing did not provide any information about who oversees DOGE, other than ruling out Musk.
-ABC News’ Peter Charalambous
Feb 17, 9:22 PM
DHS launches multimillion-dollar ad telling criminal migrants they are ‘not welcome’
The Department of Homeland Security launched a multimillion-dollar advertising campaign on Tuesday directed at those who try and come to the United States illegally, saying: Don’t try it.
There are two versions of the ad, according to the DHS. One is set to run domestically, and the other is set to run internationally.
The domestic version of the ad has DHS Secretary Kristi Noem praising President Donald Trump for “securing the border.”
PHOTO: Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is featured in an ad targeting criminal migrants launched on Feb. 17, 2025. (Provided by DHS)
“President Trump has a clear message: If you are here illegally, we will find you and deport you. You will never return. But if you leave now, you may have an opportunity to return and enjoy our freedom and live the American Dream,” Noem said in the ad set to run in the U.S. “If you are a criminal alien considering entering America illegally: Don’t even think about it. If you come here and break our laws, we will hunt you down.”
The international version of the ad warns those who try and enter illegally will be “caught and removed.”
-ABC News’ Luke Barr
Feb 17, 9:08 PM
DOGE website claims $55 billion in ‘savings’
Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency updated its official website after missing its self-imposed Valentine’s Day deadline to provide updates on its efforts across the U.S. government.
According to the updated website, DOGE says its total estimated savings are $55 billion since Musk’s group was formed on Jan. 20.
PHOTO: Elon Musk speaks in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Feb. 11, 2025. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)
DOGE claims that number is “a combination of fraud detection/deletion, contract/lease cancellations, contract/lease renegotiations, asset sales, grant cancellations, workforce reductions, programmatic changes, and regulatory savings.”
It is not clear exactly what DOGE is claiming to be “fraud.”
The website states that DOGE’s savings number will be updated bi-weekly at first with the goal for the number to change in “real-time.”
-ABC News’ Will Steakin
Feb 17, 4:48 PM
Miller says DOGE looking for fraud in IRS data
Stephen Miller, Trump’s deputy chief of staff for policy, said he could give “100% assurance” that DOGE will not go sifting through taxpayers’ records if they get access to IRS data — arguing the focus would be on “anti-fraud” and protecting taxpayer data.
Asked on Fox News for assurances that DOGE wouldn’t randomly sift through the records and maybe come across people’s private records, Miller replied, “I can give absolute, 100% assurance. I give you complete and total insurance on that point. We are talking about performing a basic anti-fraud review to ensure people are not engaging in large-scale theft of federal taxpayer benefits.”
PHOTO: White House deputy chief of staff for policy, Stephen Miller watches as President Donald Trump speaks with reporters as he signs executive orders in the Oval Office at the White House, Feb. 10, 2025, in Washington. (Alex Brandon/AP)
Pressed what the plan would be once DOGE has access to the data, Miller said the focus would be on “foreign fraud rings,” which he said “use fake Social Security numbers, fake identities, to steal billions in taxpayer benefits,” although he acknowledged the administration doesn’t know exactly how pervasive the issue is.
“There is no way to know until DOGE gets full access exactly how much money we’re talking about, but over 10 years normal budget window, you could be talking about saving over $1 trillion by clamping down on massive fraud, our tax and entitlement systems, including those by organized fraud and theft rings,” Miller said.
Miller pointed out that DOGE staffers are federal employees.
“They are political appointees, just like me, just like anybody else in the White House, that serve and answer to the president. So we are not talking about an outside private entity, we are talking about the exist federal staff of the federal government performing their statutory and constitutional duty,” he said.
Miller said the administration is “restoring” neutrality, ethics and security controls at the agency.
“As far as protecting the secrecy of tax records, the IRS has been weaponized at the career level against the American people for years now. This has been one of the most invasive arms of the federal government — engaging in capricious and politically based audits, leaking taxpayer information for political reasons,” he said.
-ABC News’ Molly Nagle
Feb 17, 4:08 PM
Trump nominates ‘Stop the Steal’ leader for US attorney for DC
Trump on Monday nominated longtime loyalist Ed Martin to serve as U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, he announced on his Truth Social platform.
In his three weeks serving in the role as acting U.S. attorney on an interim basis, Martin has taken most every step possible to make sure the office is completely aligned with Trump: He’s fired dozens of Jan. 6 prosecutors, launched reviews into the Jan. 6 cases and dismissed hundreds of cases of those who stormed the Capitol.
Martin has little prosecutorial experience. He has supported Trump’s claims that the 2020 election was stolen and was previously subpoenaed for his leadership role in the “Stop the Steal” movement. He stood outside the Capitol on Jan. 6 and went on to defend many of the Jan. 6 rioters. He’s signed onto hundreds of case dismissals or rioters who stormed the Capitol — some of whom Martin previously represented as a defense attorney.
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He has already fired dozens of prosecutors who investigated Jan. 6 and has initiated a “review” into the office’s prosecutions of the more than 1,500 people charged in connection with the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
Martin also has suggested he will mount criminal investigations into individuals referred to his office by Elon Musk and his associates at DOGE “even” if they “acted simply unethically” — a departure from Attorney General Pam Bondi and Kash Patel, Trump’s nominee for FBI director, who stated in their confirmation hearings that the department would only investigate and charge individuals when there’s a proper predicate to do so.
Martin will need to be confirmed by the Senate to fill the role permanently.
In announcing the nomination, Trump said, “Since Inauguration Day, Ed has been doing a great job as Interim U.S. Attorney, fighting tirelessly to restore Law and Order, and make our Nation’s Capital Safe and Beautiful Again. He will get the job done.”
-ABC News’ Katherine Faulders
Feb 17, 2:48 PM
Hundreds protest Trump and Musk outside US Capitol
Hundreds gathered outside the U.S. Capitol on Monday to protest Trump and Elon Musk’s overhaul of the federal government and the terminations of thousands of federal workers.
The chants and signs largely focused on Musk and DOGE, with repeated chants of “Elon Musk has got to go!” and “Protect federal workers!”
PHOTO: Protesters rally against the Trump administration during ‘Not My President’s Day’ protests at the Capitol Reflecting Pool, Feb. 17, 2025 in Washington. (Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)
Protesters held signs depicting Trump as Musk’s puppet. A number of signs referenced Musk’s “Fork in the Road” email, with some demonstrators even taping forks to their signs.
PHOTO: Protesters rally against the Trump administration during ‘Not My President’s Day’ protests at the Capitol Reflecting Pool, Feb. 17, 2025 in Washington. (Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)
-ABC News’ Fritz Farrow, Jay O’Brien and Kelsey Walsh
Feb 17, 2:48 PM
Judge appears inclined to deny states’ request to block DOGE
A federal judge in Washington Monday morning appeared inclined to deny an urgent request to temporarily block Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency from firing employees or accessing sensitive records from a half-dozen federal departments.
After a nearly hourlong virtual hearing, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan said she planned to issue a ruling within 24 hours on a request by 14 state attorneys general to issue a temporary restraining order that would block DOGE from firing employees or accessing data from the departments of Education, Labor, Health and Human Services, Energy, Transportation, Commerce, and the Office of Personnel Management.
PHOTO: U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan attends a farewell ceremony for Attorney General Merrick Garland at the Department of Justice, Jan. 16, 2025, in Washington. (Mark Schiefelbein/AP)
Describing the states’ request as “prophylactic,” Chutkan expressed skepticism about issuing a wide-reaching order while the plaintiffs struggled to prove a concrete harm stemming from DOGE’s conduct.
“The court can’t act based on the media reports. We can’t do that,” Chutkan said. “The things that I’m hearing are concerning indeed and troubling indeed but I have to have a record, and I have to make a finding the facts before I issue something.”
She said that in order to issue such an urgent temporary restraining order, the states would have to prove a threat of “extreme” and “imminent harm” that “can’t be undone,” but having to “scramble to rehire” might be difficult and challenging, but it can be done.
“I’m not seeing it so far,” Chutkan said.
Read more here.
-From ABC News’ Peter Charalambous, Mike Levine and Katherine Faulders
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