| | | |  | | By Dasha Burns, Kyle Cheney, Holly Otterbein, Irie Sentner and Sophia Cai | Welcome to POLITICO's West Wing Playbook: Remaking Government, your guide to Donald Trump’s unprecedented overhaul of the federal government — the key decisions, the critical characters and the power dynamics that are upending Washington and beyond. Send tips | Subscribe | Email Sophia | Email Irie | Email Ben | Email Holly President DONALD TRUMP issued a stunning message to his Cabinet secretaries today, telling them in a private meeting that his billionaire adviser ELON MUSK is not in charge of their departments and has no authority to fire workers. The remarks immediately set off fierce speculation about the future of the Trump-Musk alliance that has so far defined the president’s second term. Are these real guardrails? Is Trump’s Cabinet reaching its limit with Musk? Or is it all just a legal strategy? And most interestingly: Is this the beginning of a breakup? The answers to those questions could have major ramifications for everything from the fate of rank-and-file federal workers to the 2026 midterms to foreign policy. Trump described Musk, who was in the room, as effectively an adviser who can make recommendations to the Cabinet but who lacks the ability to unilaterally make decisions about staffing or policy, two administration officials told POLITICO. The officials, like other people quoted in this report, were granted anonymity to speak about a sensitive matter. Trump’s remarks about Musk — who has been practically omnipresent in the president’s second term — come amid backlash from constituents against Republican lawmakers over the Department of Government Efficiency’s slash-and-burn approach to dismantling the federal government. Rep. RICHARD HUDSON (R-N.C.), the head of the House GOP’s campaign arm, told Republicans this week to stop holding in-person town halls after elected officials were bombarded at local events by residents angry about DOGE. “People are out on a limb. The polling is horrible,” said a person with ties to the White House. “Members can’t even hold town halls.” There has also been internal friction regarding Musk. Top department officials have pushed back and complained about DOGE’s actions. Trump’s chief of staff, SUSIE WILES, was annoyed by the initial email to federal employees asking them to detail five things they did in the last week and was not given a heads up about it, per a person. (KAROLINE LEAVITT, the White House press secretary, previously said it was “fake news” that Wiles was counting the days until Musk is gone.) But a Republican strategist close to the White House expressed skepticism that the president’s comments presaged an imminent split between Musk and Trump: After all, the 2026 midterms are around the corner, and Musk, the richest man in the world, was Trump’s top donor in last year’s presidential election. There’s good reason to stay close. Trump made his remarks at the same time the administration is facing legal scrutiny over Musk’s exact role. A pair of lawsuits argue that Musk has so much power that, without being confirmed by the Senate, it exceeds constitutional limits. The White House has claimed in court that Musk is not the leader of DOGE — something that was contradicted by Trump himself, who called him the “head” of the initiative during his joint address to Congress this week. Despite his administration’s mass firings, Trump said in the talk with his Cabinet that he wants to retain solid federal employees and not axe people en masse. It is unclear what his comments mean for the large group of already laid-off workers. In a post on the social media platform Truth today, Trump described the meeting as a “very positive one” and said the “relationships between everybody in that room are extraordinary.” Musk called it “productive.” True to form, the president later appeared to contradict himself, telling reporters that the White House will be watching the agencies. "Elon and the group are going to be watching them, and if they can cut, it's better. And if they don't cut, then Elon will do the cutting." But in front of his Cabinet, Trump signaled a break — rhetorically, at least — with Musk’s chainsaw-wielding approach to cutting the government. “We say the ‘scalpel’ rather than the ‘hatchet,’” he wrote in the Truth post. “It’s very important that we cut levels down to where they should be, but it’s also important to keep the best and most productive people.” MESSAGE US — West Wing Playbook is obsessively covering the Trump administration’s reshaping of the federal government. Are you a federal worker? A DOGE staffer? Have you picked up on any upcoming DOGE moves? We want to hear from you on how this is playing out. Email us at westwingtips@politico.com. Did someone forward this email to you? Subscribe!
| | Which president pardoned former Teamsters President JIMMY HOFFA? (Answer at bottom.)
| | DEATH BY 62,000 CUTS: The federal government announced 62,242 job cuts across 17 agencies last month, according to a report out today by the outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. That brings the total number of federal job cuts this year to 62,530 — a 41,311 percent increase compared to the same time last year. Across all U.S.-based employers, cuts last month are up by 103 percent compared to the same time last year — and with 172,017 cuts last month alone, that’s the highest total for February since 2009 and the highest total for any month since July 2020. AXING THE FOREST SERVICE: The Forest Service plans to shed as many as 7,000 additional employees in the coming months through force reductions and early retirements, our MARC HELLER reports for Pro subscribers. The Forest Service had about 30,000 total employees prior to this year’s reductions. “We are sheep headed to slaughter,” one employee said.
| | BATTING AVERAGE: During a meeting with House Republicans Wednesday evening, Musk told the conference DOGE “can’t bat a thousand all the time,” but promised to correct its mistakes, our MEREDITH LEE HILL and JENNIFER SCHOLTES report. “He said he’s making mistakes. He'll correct them, but his mission is to uncover where our tax money is. Let the chips fall where they may,” said Rep. RALPH NORMAN (R-S.C.). The meeting was called as a growing number of Hill Republicans have raised concerns about DOGE, but Musk received a warm welcome, according to four Republicans who were inside the room. Still, there was also some “blame-shifting,” according to one of the people. That person said Musk told Republicans he initially directed federal agencies to make cuts across their jurisdictions, but DOGE officials ultimately felt those agencies in some cases made the wrong cuts, forcing the administration to go in and course correct. And amid a spate of town hall backlash over Musk and the DOGE cuts, Musk told the Republicans that if their constituents have complaints, lawmakers should raise the matter with him.
| | VA CUTS STRIKE A NERVE ON THE HILL: Military veterans have been disproportionately affected by the administration’s early cuts, and GOP lawmakers have unleashed a rare tide of public pushback that reached a crescendo this week with the possibility of mass dismissals of Veterans Administration employees, our MEREDITH LEE HILL and JORDAIN CARNEY report. Senate Veteran Affairs’ Chair JERRY MORAN (R-Kan.), who has been in close contact with VA Secretary DOUG COLLINS and White House staff about personnel issues for weeks, said in a statement that while the massive department is “in need of reform,” efforts to downsize “must be done in a more responsible manner.” And Senate Majority Leader JOHN THUNE alluded today to Moran’s interventions with the administration, saying that senators raised the issue directly with Musk during a lunch meeting at the Capitol on Wednesday. “I'm hoping there will be some clarification on that issue soon," Thune told a small group of reporters. MURK V. MUSK: Sen. LISA MURKOWSKI, the moderate Alaska Republican who has been critical of Musk and DOGE, said today on X that she met with U.S. Agency for International Development workers in her state who “informed me of the confusing and callous handling of personnel matters by OPM and DOGE” and “painted an incredibly troubling picture of what the world looks like without humanitarian assistance from the United States.” “America is great, because America is good,” Murkowski continued, quoting a doctor who has dedicated his career to treating tuberculosis. “It is imperative we not lose sight of that.” TRUTH TO POWER: The Intercept, the nonprofit news organization, published Musk’s White House email address today “to aid those seeking information on DOGE in the public interest,” its counsel announced. The news organization said it has already filed more than a dozen Freedom of Information Act requests to gain access to Musk’s emails. Musk’s email address, erm71@who.eop.gov, according to an anonymous Intercept source, differs from the standard format for other Executive Office of the President staffers, which typically include first and last name. E.R.M. are Musk’s initials, and the 71 appears to reflect his birth year, 1971. FOIA does not apply to some offices within the Executive Office of the President, and Musk’s address is housed within the White House Office, which typically comprises the president's closest advisers and has been held exempt. But filers who can't access Musk's emails through the White House may be able to get around that by submitting FOIA requests to agencies asking for their correspondence with Musk’s email address.
| | DAVID VS. GOLIATH: The United States African Development Foundation, a small agency with a budget of about $45 million, is pushing back against DOGE moves to effectively shutter it, our ALI BIANCO reports. DOGE notified the foundation that PETER MAROCCO, tasked with dismantling USAID, would be visiting. But WARD BREHM, USADF’s CEO and president, responded that he is out of office and would not allow his staff to meet with DOGE without him, effectively shutting it out, according to an undated letter obtained by POLITICO on Wednesday. POKING AROUND: DOGE representatives are seeking access to a database of nearly all federal workers’ income information, WaPo’s JEFF STEIN and DAN DIAMOND report. The database is kept by the health department’s child support office. A career civil servant rebuffed the DOGE staffers, according to two people familiar with the matter, and it wasn’t clear if DOGE had yet gained access to the data.
| | A LOSS FOR TRUMP: A federal judge repudiated Trump’s effort to remove the chair of the National Labor Relations Board, calling it an “illegal act” and “power grab” that misunderstands the limits of his authority, our KYLE CHENEY and NICK NIEDZWIADEK report. U.S. District Judge BERYL HOWELL issued an order today that reinstates GWYNNE WILCOX to the NLRB after Trump fired her on Jan. 27. A WIN FOR TRUMP: A federal watchdog for government workers is dropping his lawsuit challenging Trump’s attempt to fire him, our JOSH GERSTEIN reports. “I think my odds of ultimately prevailing before the Supreme Court are long,” Special Counsel HAMPTON DELLINGER said in a statement today, one day after a federal appeals court panel allowed Trump to proceed with his plan to remove him. Dellinger, appointed by former President JOE BIDEN, was serving a five-year term as the head of the Office of Special Counsel, an independent agency in the executive branch that investigates whistleblower complaints and alleged violations of civil service laws. TREASURY ASKS TO LIFT RESTRICTIONS: The Treasury Department plans to ask a federal judge to narrow an order blocking DOGE from accessing government financial systems, arguing the agency has put in place adequate vetting and training protocols to safeguard sensitive data, our MICHAEL STRATFORD reports for Pro subscribers. In court filings on Wednesday night, the Trump administration said it would seek to lift restrictions on one member of Treasury’s DOGE team while also disclosing that a former member of the team enjoyed more expansive access than it previously revealed.
| | A sensitive complex housing a CIA facility was on GSA’s list of US properties for sale (WIRED’s Dhruv Mehrotra, Tim Marchman, Leah Feiger and Andrew Couts) Trump Does Not Know How to Run an Empire (Robert D. Kaplan for POLITICO Magazine) Wall Street is turning its back on Elon Musk (CNN’s Chris Isidore) Why is Elon Musk so obsessed with 'ghost employees'? (NPR’s Bobby Allyn) ‘People Are Going Silent’: Fearing Retribution, Trump Critics Muzzle Themselves (NYT’s Elisabeth Bumiller)
| | In 1971, former President RICHARD NIXON pardoned Hoffa, the Teamsters president who was serving a 15-year prison sentence for jury tampering and fraud. Nixon had one condition, however: Hoffa should "not engage in direct or indirect management of any labor organization" until at least March 1980. But in 1975, Hoffa went missing, with many speculating the former labor leader had been trying to reassert his Teamsters influence — defying Nixon’s stipulation. He is generally believed to have been kidnapped and killed by the mafia. 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 Noah Bierman, Jennifer Haberkorn, Isabel Dobrin and Kaitlyn Locke. | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | |
