Week 4
16 February 2025Day 28
Trump asked the supreme court to let him fire the head of a federal agency that protects government whistleblowers, marking his first appeal to the justices on America’s highest court since he took office. The justice department’s filing asked the conservative-majority court to lift a judge’s court order temporarily reinstating Hampton Dellinger as the leader of the office of special counsel.
Also on Sunday:
Trump told reporters that he believes he could meet “very soon” with the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, to discuss ending the war in Ukraine.
15 February 2025Day 27
Trump went on social media to signal continued resistance to limits on his executive authority in the face of multiple legal challenges. “He who saves his Country does not violate any Law,” the president wrote on his Truth Social network. The phrase, attributed to Napoleon, the French military leader who eventually declared himself emperor, drew immediate criticism from Democrats. “Spoken like a true dictator,” Senator Adam Schiff of California, a longtime adversary of Trump, wrote on X.
Also on Saturday:
14 February 2025Day 26
JD Vance, the vice-president, stunned the Munich Security Conference by accusing European leaders of suppressing free speech, failing to halt illegal migration and running in fear from voters’ true beliefs. Vance suggested that Europe was infected by media censorship, cancelled elections and political correctness.
“The threat that I worry the most about vis-à-vis Europe is not Russia, it’s not China, it’s not any other external actor,” the vice-president said. “And what I worry about is the threat from within, the retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental values.” The blistering remarks were condemned by the European Union and Germany but drew praise from Russian state television.
Also on Friday:
Members of Elon Musk’s “department of government efficiency” arrived at the Pentagon in what appeared to be their first meeting with defense department staff.
Under pressure from Trump’s justice department leadership, prosecutors in Washington asked a federal judge to drop bribery and fraud charges against the New York mayor, Eric Adams, rather than see the entire public integrity office be fired.
13 February 2025Day 25
Trump unveiled plans for the US to implement “reciprocal” tariffs on all countries with which it conducts trade. “They charge us a tax or tariff and we charge them the exact same,” he told reporters in the Oval Office.
Signing a memorandum called the “Fair and Reciprocal Plan”, the president admitted the tariffs could cause Americans some “some short-term disturbance”, adding: “Prices could go up somewhat short-term. But prices will also go down.”
Also on Thursday:
The Senate voted 52–48 to confirm the longtime vaccine sceptic Robert F Kennedy Jr as the next health and human services secretary. Senator Mitch McConnell, a polio survivor, was the only Republican to join all Democrats in opposition, saying he “will not condone the relitigation of proven cures”.
Trump was equivocal when asked what concessions Russia should be willing to make to secure a peace deal in Ukraine. He told reporters at a press conference: “It’s too early to say what’s going to happen. Maybe Russia will give up a lot. Maybe they won’t. It’s all dependent on what is going to happen.”
12 February 2025Day 24
Trump held separate phone calls with the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, and Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, in an effort to end the war that has raged for three years. The White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, told reporters at a briefing: “They were very good calls. They were very positive.”
Later Trump told reporters he expects to come face to face with Putin soon. “We ultimately expect to meet,” he said in the Oval Office. “In fact, we expect that he’ll come here, and I’ll go there, and we’re going to meet also, probably in Saudi Arabia. The first time we’ll meet in Saudi Arabia.”
Also on Wednesday:
The Senate confirmed the former Democratic congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard in a 52–48 vote to serve as director of national intelligence. Senator Mitch McConnell, the former Senate leader, was the lone Republican to join all Democrats in opposition.
The Senate budget committee voted 11–10 to approve a budget reconciliation bill intended to serve as a blueprint to get Trump’s border, energy and military agenda through Congress.
11 February 2025Day 23
Joined by his four-year-old son X in the Oval Office, Elon Musk claimed the ”department of government efficiency’s” (Doge) goal was to “restore democracy”, contending that the federal bureaucracy had amassed too much power.
The world’s richest man denied conflicts of interest. “You can see whether I’m doing something that’s benefiting one of my companies or not,” he told reporters. “I’ll be scrutinised nonstop.” Trump signed an executive order that seeks to “significantly reduce the size of government” by instructing agencies to undertake plans for “large-scale reductions in force”.
Also on Tuesday:
Trump stood by his plan for the US to take control of Gaza and redevelop it as a tourist destination while relocating 2 million Palestinians. During a meeting with Jordan’s King Abdullah II, Trump told reporters: “We’re going to take it. We’re going to hold it. We’re going to cherish it.”
The White House secured the release of Marc Fogel, an American teacher who had been imprisoned in Russia. The US released Alexander Vinnik, a Russian cybercriminal who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering, in exchange.
10 February 2025Day 22
Trump signed an order to impose 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports to the US while eliminating all country exceptions. He said: “It’s a big deal. This is the beginning of making America rich again.”
The chief executive of Ford, Jim Farley, said while he believed the president aimed to strengthen the US car industry overall, the tariff plans had “a lot of cost and a lot of chaos”. The move was also criticised by Canada, Mexico and other trading partners.
Also on Monday:
The justice department ordered federal prosecutors to drop corruption charges against the New York mayor, Eric Adams, arguing that the case was interfering with the mayor’s ability to aid the president’s crackdown on illegal immigration.
