Lisa Murkowski

The Trump administration has laid off thousands amid cost-cutting efforts.

The White House has been clear that it intends to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education, and that it will be McMahon's job to oversee that effort.

There is a growing chorus of Republicans calling for new Ukrainian leadership following Friday's Oval Office meeting.

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s sweeping executive orders and Elon Musk’s push to feed federal agencies “into the wood chipper” are reshaping Washington — and according to staff, are burying congressional offices under a mountain of calls and casework.

Some federal agencies are once again pushing back against the new request.

As a deadline to avoid a partial government shutdown nears, hesitation is surfacing among Washington’s Republican lawmakers

Moscow is welcoming the apparent shift in U.S. relations with Ukraine following last week's tense Oval Office meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, President Trump and Vice President Vance. The big picture: Kremlin officials commended the U.S. on Sunday, with spokesperson Dmitry Peskov saying the United States' "rapidly changing" foreign policy configurations "largely coincides with our vision."Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also praised Trump for his "common sense," even if the U.S. and Russia are not aligned on everything.A spokesperson for Russia's foreign ministry said after the Oval Office meeting that it was a "miracle of restraint" that Trump and Vance didn't hit Zelensky.Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, now deputy chair of Russia's security council, crowed that "the insolent pig finally got a proper slap down in the Oval Office."Driving the news: For at least one Republican, the idea of the U.S. walking away from its allies is stomach-turning. But others in the GOP have dismissed the commentary from Moscow — and have taken their turn heaping on criticism for Zelensky.What they're saying: Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) wrote in a Saturday X post that she is "sick" as the Trump administration "appears to be walking away from our allies and embracing [Russian President Vladimir] Putin, a threat to democracy and U.S. values around the world."Her condemnation followed weeks of rhetoric from the White House signaling a softer approach to Putin and a brewing hostility toward Zelensky, whom the president called a "dictator" before walking it back last week. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union" that the "White House has become an arm of the Kremlin."Yes, but: The Trump administration has largely dismissed the concerns from some in Congress, instead praising Trump for bringing Putin to the bargaining table and arguing the president is the only person who can end the war."They're going to say what their position is," Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, said in response to Russian reactions on "Fox News Sunday." "What we should pay attention to here in the United States of America is the American people."Secretary of State Marco Rubio also waved off Murkowski's criticism. ''We're a free country. People have a right to these opinions," he said on ABC's "This Week" in response to her statement, later arguing if a Democrat had handled recent talks as Trump had, "everyone would be saying, well, he's on his way to the Nobel Peace Prize."House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) argued Trump has been "very clear" that Putin was the aggressor in the war (Trump has falsely blamed Ukraine for starting the conflict), saying Murkowski's view is "plainly wrong."What's next: While U.S. leaders seem to suggest the ball is in Kyiv's court in the wake of the spat, European leaders quickly organized to contain the damage."We have to find a way where we can all work together," UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who met with Trump the day before Friday's clash, told the BBC Sunday.He said the UK will work with other European nations to develop a plan to end the war supported by a "coalition of the willing" and present it to Trump, who Starmer says still wants a "lasting peace."But the seas between the U.S. and its European allies grow choppier — threatening to sink a longstanding bridge.Go deeper: Inside the Oval: How Trump sent Zelensky home with no deal and no meal

Republicans, who already have ruled out massive cuts to Social Security and Medicare, are turning their attention to siphoning as much as $880 billion from Medicaid over the next decade to help finance $4.5 trillion in tax cuts.

Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., arrives in his wheelchair for the cloture vote on FBI nominee Kash Patel on Thursday. McConnell has been the strongest GOP opponent of President Donald Trump's shifts in Russia policy.

Co-President Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency is causing yet more unnecessary chaos in the federal workforce. This is after he sent an email on Saturday demanding that every federal employee in the United States send him an email listing five things they accomplished in their previous week of work, or else be unceremoniously fired.The email has caused absolute mayhem, with already traumatized workers who have seen President Donald Trump and Musk fire their colleagues with no rhyme or reason getting mixed signals about how or even whether they should respond.Multiple Trump Cabinet officials are directing workers not to reply, as having employees who work with classified or sensitive information send an email listing their work could be a national security risk.For example, the Department of Defense told all of its employees to “pause any response” to Musk’s email.“The Department of Defense is responsible for reviewing the performance of its personnel and it will conduct any review in accordance with its own procedures,” Darin S. Selnick, acting under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness, said in a statement posted on Musk’s X platform.Director of National Intelligence Tulsi GabbardDirector of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard also instructed intelligence staffers not to reply, saying in an email obtained by The New York Times that, “Given the inherently sensitive and classified nature of our work, IC employees should not respond to the OPM email.”The FBI, State Department, Department of Homeland Security, and Department of Health and Human Services have also told employees not to respond, according to the Washington Post, which added that even that guidance has been confusing.From the Washington Post report:Employees at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency were told definitively to reply — a few hours before DHS sent a note saying the opposite. In some parts of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, staffers received instructions to draft a response but not send it yet. At other agencies, such as the Department of Health and Human Services, employees were first given one instruction only to be emailed later to pause and watch for more guidance Monday. But Musk—who the Trump administration ridiculously says isn’t even in charge of DOGE—is still saying that workers need to reply to the email.“Those who do not take this email seriously will soon be furthering their career elsewhere,” Musk wrote in a post on X at 5:38 AM ET on Monday.And Trump himself posted a meme making fun of workers who are upset that they have to send an email justifying their work, and saying that he wants Musk to get even MORE aggressive than he's already been—suggesting he is on Musk's side.“ELON IS DOING A GREAT JOB, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE HIM GET MORE AGGRESSIVE. REMEMBER, WE HAVE A COUNTRY TO SAVE, BUT ULTIMATELY, TO MAKE GREATER THAN EVER BEFORE. MAGA!” Trump wrote in an all-caps screed on Truth Social.Aside from the chaos the email is causing, experts say the intent behind the email is asinine and unhelpful.For example, Federal Aviation Administration air traffic controllers received the email. Those employees are already working 10-hour shifts, six days a week due to staff shortages, so making them use their time to write an email justifying their jobs is just busywork that won't make air traffic more safe in the wake of multiple deadly airline disasters since Trump took office.“This weekend's mass email is an unnecessary distraction to a fragile system," the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, the labor union representing air traffic controllers, said in a statement to CNN aviation and transportation correspondent Pete Muntean.And even some GOP lawmakers are saying the email demand is stupid.“If Elon Musk truly wants to understand what federal workers accomplished over the past week, he should get to know each department and agency, and learn about the jobs he's trying to cut,” Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) wrote in a post on X. “Our public servants work hard to ensure that our national security is protected; that planes land safely; that forest fires do not spread to our homes; that Social Security checks arrive on time; that research for the breakthroughs needed to cure diseases like cancer and ALS continues; and much more. Our public workforce deserves to be treated with dignity and respect for the unheralded jobs they perform. The absurd weekend email to justify their existence wasn’t it.”“Look, I don’t know how that’s necessarily feasible,” Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) said in an appearance on ABC’s “This Week” of the Musk email. “Obviously, a lot of federal employees are under union contract.”Federal employees are also speaking out.“Sometimes you want to take things with a grain of salt, but then you're slapped in the face,” an unnamed federal employee told a local Oklahoma television station. (Oklahoma has one of the highest populations of federal employees in the country.) “I have done more than Elon Musk has done tweeting while on Air Force One with the president.”Ultimately, Trump and Musk’s decimation of the federal workforce could have damaging impacts on the economy, according to experts, as the federal government is the largest employer in the United States.“The economic consequences of layoffs are like a domino effect that spread across local economies to businesses that seem to have no connection whatsoever to the federal government,” Ernie Tedeschi, director of economics at the Yale University Budget Lab, told CNBC, adding that these layoffs are one of the many things Trump is doing that could hurt the U.S. economy.“This was a healthy economy coming into 2025,” Tedeschi said. “And suddenly we have a number of serious potential headwinds that are stacking up. And this is one of them.”Thank you to the Daily Kos community who continues to fight so hard with Daily Kos. Your reader support means everything. We will continue to have you covered and keep you informed, so please donate just $3 to help support the work we do.

FBI Director Kash Patel, who was sworn in to the role last week, welcomes Dan Bongino, who will serve as deputy director of the law enforcement agency

Patel has fiercely criticised how the agency has been run, claiming it to be deeply politicised, and has vowed to reform it.

Multiple major agencies, including the FBI, State Department and Pentagon, have directed employees not to respond to Musk’s email.

WASHINGTON — House Republican cohesion ticked up just slightly last year, from a historically bad 2023, while Senate Democrats saw record success on votes that split the parties as both chambers dealt with narrow margins that left diminishing room for dissent.

President Trump has made clear he wants to close the U.S. Department of Education, but Republicans seem torn on just how far to go.

President Joe Biden arrives to deliver his State of the Union address in the House chamber on March 7, 2024. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call file photo)

On this "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" broadcast, Steve Witkoff and Gov. Kathy Hochul join Margaret Brennan.

When Bill Clinton came to Washington as president, his Democratic administration used corporate know-how and the new internet to streamline the federal bureaucracy as part of the “Reinventing Government” push

Patel is a controversial nominee, having long raged against the so-called Deep State and prioritized his loyalty to Trump.

The Senate voted to confirm Patel, a veteran of Trump's first administration who drafted the 'Nunes memo' on the Crossfire Hurricane probe.

President Donald Trump's nominee to lead the FBI, Kash Patel, was confirmed by the Senate on Thursday in a mostly party-line vote of 51-49, with two Republican senators voting no.

The Trump administration has laid off thousands amid cost-cutting efforts.

"It requires speaking out. It requires saying, 'That violates the law. That violates the authorities of the executive,'" Sen. Lisa Murkowski said.

Linda McMahon’s nomination to serve as President Trump’s education secretary has advanced out of Senate committee.

President Trump's direct criticisms of Volodymyr Zelensky have detonated on Capitol Hill, where Republicans are torn between their loyalty to their president versus honoring their promises to Ukraine."The president speaks for himself," Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) told reporters about Trump's latest comments.Why it matters: In the past 24 hours, Trump called Zelensky "a dictator without elections," falsely accused Ukraine of starting the war with Russia and said it "could have made a deal" to end the fighting.🥊 In response, some Republicans eviscerated Russian President Vladimir Putin."Putin started this war. Putin committed war crimes. Putin is the dictator," Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) wrote on X."Vladimir Putin is a vile dictator and thug," Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) wrote on X."Vladimir Putin is the Dictator without Elections," Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) wrote on X.Zoom in: Trump's slams today broke through the defenses of GOP senators, who had gotten smoother at dodging questions on Trump's social media posts."I would certainly not call Zelensky a dictator," said Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), as NBC News cataloged."It's not a word I would use," said Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.)."I wouldn't use the same word," said Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas).Between the lines: Some Republicans, including Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), agree with Trump that Zelensky should hold elections. They've been put off as allowed by the country's constitution because of martial law since Russia's 2022 invasion.

The GOP's recent and longest-serving Senate party leader has stood in opposition to his conference multiple times, demonstrating the party’s significant transformation in the age of Trump.

RFK Jr. passed a key Senate committee vote after a holdout GOP lawmaker, Sen. Bill Cassidy, backed him.

The Senate voted to advance Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s controversial nomination to serve as Health and Human Services secretary in President Donald Trump's Cabinet, sending him on a path to final confirmation.

The only "no" vote from a Republican came from Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.

RFK Jr. passed a key Senate committee vote after a holdout GOP lawmaker, Sen. Bill Cassidy, backed him.

After Gabbard faced a public questioning, she passed votes in the Senate Intelligence Committee and Senate.

Ensuring America fosters an entrepreneurial spirit was one of the reasons Begich ran for office.

Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest updates on the Trump administration, exclusive interviews and more Fox News politics content.

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are feeling the wrath of constituents as their phone lines light up with complaints, worries and confusion over Elon Musk's efforts to gut government programs and fire longtime civil servants.According to a report from the Washington Post, phone lines are jammed and there is no room in voicemail systems for voters to leave messages leading one lawmaker to admit, "It is a deluge on DOGE."Musk is causing no small amount of grief for House and Senate members with his announcements on X about which departments he will be targeting next as Donald Trump gives him free rein to create chaos.ALSO READ: 'Making America less safe': Democrats warn of disaster as Trump purges the CIA"Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said the Senate’s phones were receiving 1,600 calls each minute, compared with the usual 40 calls per minute," the Post is reporting. "Many of the calls she’s been receiving are from people concerned about U.S. DOGE Service employees having broad access to government systems and sensitive information. The callers are asking whether their information is compromised and about why there isn’t more transparency about what is happening, she said."Murkowski is particularly vulnerable because her state employs a larger than-normal number of federal workers.“Truly our office has gotten more phone calls on Elon Musk and what the heck he’s doing mucking around in federal government than I think anything we’ve gotten in years," Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN) complained. "People are really angry.”Sen. Angus King (I-ME) told reporters, "We can hardly answer the phones fast enough. It’s a combination of fear, confusion and heartbreak, because of the importance of some of these programs.”"Lawmakers, including Republicans, have asked for clarity from the White House about the scope of Musk’s team’s access to data, including classified and personal information, this week. Some also expressed confusion about what is going on," the report states with Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) confessing, "A lot of people think that Elon Musk is off the chain and causing all kinds of havoc."You can read more here.

On issue after issue — immigration, taxes, government spending, tariffs, DEI — Trump’s plans reflect genuine popular concerns but propose seriously misguided answers. His agenda cries out for a stiff dose of restraint and common sense.

Kennedy critics have concerns about the work he’s done to sow doubts around vaccine safety and his potential to profit off lawsuits over drugmakers.

RFK Jr. passed a key Senate committee vote after a holdout GOP lawmaker, Sen. Bill Cassidy, backed him.

After Gabbard faced a public questioning, two of three senators still on the fence now say they are a 'yes' vote.

'With the serious commitments I’ve received ... I will vote yes'

After the 14-13 committee vote, the nomination now goes before a full Senate vote.

Tulsi Gabbard is seeking to assuage senators’ concerns about her in a new opinion piece explaining why she thought "traitor" was too harsh a word for Edward Snowden.

The Republican senator from North Carolina announced Monday on X he would vote in favor of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s nomination.

Kennedy appeared before the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday and another Senate panel Thursday.

'Completely unhinged'

The top Republican on the Senate's health committee, Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., faced criticism from fellow Republicans after he suggested his vote for Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s confirmation as Health and Human Services secretary is not a lock.

After Pete Hegseth squeaked through the Senate by the thinnest possible margin, it will be another critical week for President Donald Trump’s nominees.