| | | |  | | By Ben Johansen, Sophia Cai and Irie Sentner | Presented by Bayer | Welcome to POLITICO’s West Wing Playbook, your guide to the power dynamics, personnel decisions and policy deliberations of Donald Trump’s White House. Send tips | Subscribe here | Email Sophia | Email Irie | Email Ben As ELON MUSK bulldozes his way through the federal agencies he views as wasteful while insisting he’s being “maximally transparent,” President DONALD TRUMP and his billionaire partner have taken steps to remove the very people tasked with keeping the highest in power accountable. Twenty-three days into his second term, Trump has dismantled many of the government’s strongest accountability guardrails.
- Trump fired multiple independent federal watchdogs in the first week of his term, including inspectors general at the departments of State, Agriculture, Interior, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, Education, Labor and Defense, as well as the Small Business Administration, the Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency.
- One day after he issued a blistering report criticizing the foreign aid freeze, the president fired PAUL MARTIN, the inspector general for the U.S. Agency for International Development.
- Trump on Monday paused enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, claiming the law makes businesses less competitive. The legislation made it illegal for U.S.-based companies to bribe foreign government officials.
- That same day, Trump pardoned former Illinois Gov. ROD BLAGOJEVICH, who was convicted in 2011 of several corruption charges, including trying to sell a Senate seat, and spent eight years in prison. Just this week, the Justice Department asked prosecutors in New York to drop bribery charges against another Democratic pol, New York City Mayor ERIC ADAMS.
- The person tasked with ensuring government workers comply with conflict of interest and ethics requirements, DAVID HUITEMA, was removed from his post on Monday. The former director of the Office of Government Ethics served just two months of his five-year term.
- This White House won’t release visitor logs of who meets with the president, the Washington Examiner reported on Tuesday.
- Workers at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, an agency established under BARACK OBAMA aimed at protecting Americans from abuse by financial firms, were ordered to halt much of its work last week. “CFPB RIP,” Musk posted on X.
- Trump removed the three Democrats on the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, another independent watchdog agency which investigates how national security issues can curtail civil rights, the NYT reported last month.
While Trump in his first term fired several inspectors general and dismissed former FBI Director JAMES COMEY while Comey was leading an investigation into his campaign’s ties to Russia, these recent dismissals are preemptive — a reflection of his desire to keep federal agencies, including the Justice Department, on a tight leash. Now, some of the recently dismissed federal workers — the inspectors general — are fighting back, suing the administration and arguing their dismissals were unlawful. “The firing of the independent nonpartisan inspectors general was a clear violation of the law,” MICHAEL MISSAL, who Trump removed as the top watchdog for the Department of Veterans Affairs, told our colleague KYLE CHENEY. “The IGs are bringing this action for reinstatement so that they can go back to work fighting fraud, waste and abuse on behalf of the American people.” One inspector general dismissed during Trump’s purge said IGs only give the president and Congress “the straight scoop” and the removal of these officials “runs the risk of eviscerating that oversight function.” “I'm concerned these firings, particularly the removal of the IG at USAID immediately following the release of a high-profile report, will have a chilling effect on their offices,” MARK GREENBLATT, the former inspector general for the Department of Interior, told West Wing Playbook. “That is exactly the opposite of what the president, Congress and the American people should want.” The watchdog role is important “even if much of the country is unaware of what they do or that those jobs exist,” OpenSecrets Executive Director HILARY BRASETH said. The judiciary is the strongest remaining check on the executive branch, but even it is facing challenges from Trump. For decades, when individual district court judges blocked a federal program they viewed as unconstitutional, the losing party appealed, and if necessary, took it to the Supreme Court. Now, the Trump administration is questioning whether to abide by their rulings. A federal judge in Rhode Island ordered the Trump administration to “immediately restore frozen funding” to the billions of dollars in grants, including to the National Institutes of Health. And on Monday, that same judge ruled that the Trump administration failed to comply with his order. Three federal judges have blocked Trump’s order ending birthright citizenship for the children of people who are in the U.S. illegally. And his efforts to put nearly 3,000 USAID workers on paid leave was blocked by a judge over the weekend. Trump and his allies have bristled at this pushback from the courts: “Judges aren’t allowed to control the executive’s legitimate power,” Vice President JD VANCE wrote on X over the weekend. White House press secretary KAROLINE LEAVITT on Wednesday said the administration will comply with the decisions, but the orders are “a continuation of the weaponization of justice that we have seen against President Trump.” MESSAGE US — Are you ROBERT STORCH, former Department of Defense inspector general? We want to hear from you. And we’ll keep you anonymous! Email us at westwingtips@politico.com. Did someone forward this email to you? Subscribe here!
| | | | We’ve re-imagined and expanded our Inside Congress newsletter to give you unmatched reporting on Capitol Hill politics and policy -- and we'll get it to your inbox even earlier. Subscribe today. | | | | | | | Which president went crazy for a bowl of New England fish chowder? (Answer at bottom.)
| | COZYING UP: Trump said that he and Russian President VLADIMIR PUTIN had a “lengthy and highly productive phone call” on Wednesday morning in which they agreed to work together “very closely” on a diplomatic resolution to the war in Ukraine and to visit one another’s countries, our ELI STOKOLS reports. The contents of the phone call, which Trump laid out on Truth Social, marked a major shift in U.S. posture toward Russia, clarifying Trump’s desire to normalize relations despite the country’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine — and his willingness to take Russia’s leader seriously about his shared desire to end the war that he launched without provocation. “As we both agreed, we want to stop the millions of deaths taking place in the War with Russia/Ukraine,” Trump wrote. “President Putin even used my very strong Campaign motto of, ‘COMMON SENSE.’” Trump said in a follow-up post that he later spoke with Ukrainian President VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY. ALSO ON UKRAINE: Trump’s call with Putin comes as Defense Secretary PETE HEGSETH said Wednesday morning that a return to Ukraine’s old borders is an “illusory goal,” and called for a European military force to back any peace deal between Kyiv and Moscow, our PAUL McLEARY and VERONIKA MELKOZEROVA report. His comments, which came on his first trip abroad, signal that the Trump administration will support stopping Russian gains in Ukraine — as long as Europe takes the lead. “We will only end this devastating war and establish a durable peace by coupling allied strength with a realistic assessment of the battlefield,” Hegseth said, adding that “returning to Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders is an unrealistic objective.” OVER AT THE BRIEFING: Leavitt was asked during Wednesday’s press briefing which White House official made the decision to bar an AP reporter from the Oval Office last night over the wire service’s decision not to change its guidance on the Gulf of Mexico. “It’s a privilege to cover this White House,” Leavitt responded. “Nobody has the right to go into the Oval Office and ask the president a question. … We reserve the right to decide who gets to go into the Oval Office.” That challenges precedent, as the White House Correspondents’ Association has long overseen the makeup of the pool, which always includes the three major wire services. When CNN’s KAITLAN COLLINS asked whether this would set a dangerous new precedent, Leavitt said: “I was very upfront in my briefing on day one: If we feel that there are lies being pushed by outlets in this room, we are going to hold those lies accountable. It is a fact that the body of water off the coast of Louisiana is called the Gulf of America.” Earlier today, AP Executive Editor JULIE PACE sent a letter to White House chief of staff SUSIE WILES objecting to the decision and suggesting that her organization could seek a legal remedy if things don’t get worked out. "It is among the most basic tenets of the First Amendment that the government cannot retaliate against the public or the press for what they say,” Pace said. But the White House appears unmoved. AP chief White House correspondent ZEKE MILLER attempted to enter the Oval Office this afternoon for TULSI GABBARD’s swearing in (more on that below) but he was denied access. The White House said the event would be open to the “in-town pool,” which includes AP. Interestingly, as was the case on Tuesday when AP reporter CHRIS MEGERIAN was blocked from entering the Oval Office, the AP’s still photographer was again allowed to enter. CHRIS PAVLOVSKI, of the online video platform Rumble, was in the new media seat at today’s briefing. A ONE FOR ONE: A Russian national who pleaded guilty last year to money laundering charges was released in exchange for MARC FOGEL, an American teacher detained in Russia for possessing medical marijuana, Eli, AMANDA FRIEDMAN and ROBBIE GRAMER report. ALEXANDER VINNIK, who pleaded guilty in the U.S. after operating a cryptocurrency exchange, will return to Russia. WHY NOT? On Wednesday, Trump was unanimously elected chair of the Kennedy Center board of trustees, our DANIEL LIPPMAN reports. “It is a Great Honor to be the Chairman of The Kennedy Center, especially with this amazing Board of Trustees,” Trump said in a statement. “We will make the Kennedy Center a very special and exciting place!” On the same day, the board fired its longtime president, DEBORAH RUTTER, and added several Trump-linked trustees. Second lady USHA VANCE, Wiles and deputy chief of staff DAN SCAVINO will all serve as trustees.
| | | | A message from Bayer: In America, farming isn't just a profession; it's a purpose. With 880 million acres of farmland and more than 2 million people dedicated to producing our food in America, farmers are the backbone of our economy. In communities nationwide, Bayer employees work alongside farmers to bring cutting-edge innovations in breeding, crop protection, and technology to their fields. American farmers trust our tools because we have a purpose, too: helping farmers thrive. Learn more at Go.Bayer.com/Purpose. | | | | | TULSI GETS THE NOD: As mentioned above, the Senate voted to confirm Gabbard as director of national intelligence on Wednesday, our AMY MACKINNON reports. Sen. MITCH McCONNELL (R-Ky.) was the sole Republican to vote against Gabbard’s nomination. No Democrats supported the former member of their party. Gabbard has been one of Trump’s most contentious nominees because of her past remarks on foreign adversaries and concerns about whether she has the experience to do the job. But Republican senators — many of whom had expressed reservations about Gabbard as DNI — overwhelmingly backed her nomination. Another controversial nominee, ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR., advanced to a final Senate vote on Wednesday, setting up a confirmation that could come as soon as Thursday, our CHELSEA CIRRUZZO reports.
| | | | A message from Bayer:  
| | | | | A HEADACHE FOR POWELL: Trump called for lower interest rates to go “hand in hand” with new tariffs he’s planning on imports, teasing a possible conflict with Federal Reserve Chair JEROME POWELL, our SAM SUTTON reports. “Interest Rates should be lowered, something which would go hand in hand with upcoming Tariffs!!! Let’s Rock and Roll, America!!!” the president said on Truth Social. The post came just after the Labor Department reported that inflation came in higher than expected in January. His comments are in stark contrast to those of Powell, who on Tuesday told the Senate Banking Committee that policymakers do “not need to be in a hurry to adjust our policy stance.” So-called core inflation — which excludes volatile food and energy costs — climbed at a monthly rate of 0.4 percent last month, according to the Labor Department’s Consumer Price Index. Economists had projected growth of just 0.3 percent. NO NIL UNDER TITLE IX: The Trump administration is rescinding a JOE BIDEN-era memo that declared higher education institutions could violate federal anti-sex discrimination laws if they failed to provide “equivalent” opportunities to women student-athletes when paying them for the use of their name, image and likeness rights, our JUAN PEREZ JR. reports. “The NIL guidance, rammed through by the Biden Administration in its final days, is overly burdensome, profoundly unfair, and it goes well beyond what agency guidance is intended to achieve,” said CRAIG TRAINOR, the Education Department’s acting assistant secretary for civil rights.
| | Trump’s Envoy Lets Loose on the Panama Canal and ‘Imminent’ Change in Cuba (POLITICO’s Ben Schreckinger) ‘Anxiety provoking’: Government workers describe their DOGE interviews (POLITICO’s Danny Nguyen) At USAID, I Prioritized the Wrong Argument (The Atlantic’s Maany Peyvan)
| | | | A message from Bayer: The heartbeat of American agriculture can be heard at every farmer's market and every family's dinner table. The agriculture industry, spanning 880 million acres of farmland and supported by more than 2 million people, contributes $1.5 trillion to our economy.
Thousands of Bayer employees live and work alongside farmers in communities across America, ensuring they have access to breakthrough innovations and the support to implement them effectively, keeping that heart beating strong. Bayer's advanced breeding techniques, innovative crop protection offerings, and emerging digital technologies are reshaping the future of farming. We're more than a partner; we're part of the farming fabric of America, and we're invested in every field, every acre, and every harvest. Because at Bayer, we share the same purpose as American farmers: helping agriculture thrive so we can bring high-quality, abundant, and diverse food to millions of tables and help feed the nation. Learn more at Go.Bayer.com/Purpose. | | | | | OK, this one was easy. It was Massachusetts native JOHN F. KENNEDY, of course. In March 1961, a girl wrote to Kennedy asking what he likes to eat. Kennedy passed along his New England fish chowder recipe, which included 2 pounds of haddock, 2 ounces of salt pork, two onions and four large potatoes. You can read the full recipe here! A CALL OUT! Do you think you have a harder trivia question? Send us your best one about the presidents, with a citation or sourcing, and we may feature it! Edited by Jennifer Haberkorn, Noah Bierman and Kaitlyn Locke
| | | | A new era in Washington calls for sharper insights. Get faster policy scoops, more congressional coverage, and a re-imagined newsletter under the leadership of Jack Blanchard. Subscribe to our Playbook Newsletter today. | | | | | | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | |
