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California justice rules Office of Personnel Management ‘does not have any authority whatsoever’ to remove probationary staff from any agency other than its own
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A California federal judge has ordered the U.S. government’s Office of Personnel Management to temporarily rescind directives ordering the mass firings of probationary employees at dozens of federal agencies, a major blow to the Trump administration’s efforts to drastically slash the size of the state being lead by Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
“Congress has given the authority to hire and fire to the agencies themselves,” U.S. District Judge William Alsup ruled in San Francisco on Thursday.
“The Office of Personnel Management does not have any authority whatsoever under any statute in the history of the universe to hire and fire employees at another agency.”
U.K. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer meanwhile became the latest foreign leader to visit Donald Trump at the White House yesterday, following in the footsteps of French President Emmanuel Macron and setting the stage for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s arrival on Friday.
While securing peace in Ukraine was top of the agenda between Trump and Starmer, the president also signaled there may be good news for Britain regarding a trade deal and accepted a historic second invitation for a state visit from King Charles III.
A California federal judge has ordered the Office of Personnel Management to temporarily rescind directives prompting the mass firings of probationary employees at dozens of federal agencies, a major blow to the Trump administration’s efforts to drastically slash the size of the government.
“Congress has given the authority to hire and fire to the agencies themselves. The Department of Defense, for example, has statutory authority to hire and fire,” U.S. District Judge William Alsup reportedly said from the bench on Thursday afternoon in San Francisco.
“The Office of Personnel Management does not have any authority whatsoever under any statute in the history of the universe to hire and fire employees at another agency. They can hire and fire their own employees.”
The decision also required the agency to inform certain agencies it lacked the power to order the mass firings.
The finding was the latest step in a lawsuit filed last week, after thousands of early-career government workers were terminated, part of the administration’s push with Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to drastically shrink the government’s spending and headcount.
Josh Marcus reports.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer on Thursday said any eventual peace deal to end Russia’s three-year-old war against Ukraine must not end up providing any sort of windfall for Moscow as he met with President Donald Trump at the White House.
Speaking during a joint press conference alongside Trump in the East Room following a bilateral meeting between the two leaders, Starmer recalled the Anglo-American alliance that brought about victory in Europe to end the Second World War and said he welcomed what he described as Trump’s “deep and personal commitment to bring peace and to stop the killing” in Ukraine.
Andrew Feinberg reports from the White House.
Richard Hall writes:
Keir Starmer came to the White House with a list of daunting objectives.
The British prime minister had to press Donald Trump to exempt the UK from import tariffs, draw him closer to Europe on a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, and convince him that the Chagos Islands are real.
Success would require an abundance of charm, which is not something the prime minister, a former human rights lawyer, is particularly known for.
But Starmer brought with him a secret weapon to meet the challenge…
Only two members of the Trump administration’s senior leadership are viewed favorably by the public, according to a new Economist / YouGov poll.
Josh Marcus reports.
David Maddox, The Independent’s political editor, reports from the Oval Office of the White House:
Sir Keir Starmer delivered a diplomatic success on Thursday as he appeared to charm Donald Trump into co-operation on major issues during his visit to the White House.
Even before formal talks had begun, the prime minister appeared to have secured a number of concessions on issues including trade and Ukraine.
In front of reporters and cameras in the Oval Office, their meeting began with a flourish from Sir Keir as he produced a letter from King Charles inviting him to a second state visit to Britain.
Read on…
Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick defended President Donald Trump’s proposed “gold card” visa program, touting that there were already “250,000 waiting in line” for the visa pathway that the gold card program could soon replace.
Just one day after announcing the proposed gold card program, Lutnick told Fox News host Bret Baier that if the “250,000” people were “willing to pay the $5 million” that the gold card requires, it would amount to “over $1 trillion dollars” in stimulating the U.S. economy and paying down the national debt.
But it’s unclear where Lutnick is obtaining the “250,000” number.
Or where to sign up.
Ariana Baio has the story.
When Keir Starmer met Donald Trump in the White House for Thursday’s high-stakes meeting over the future of US-UK relations, the messaging each projected wasn’t confined to words alone.
From the power of the handshakes, to their tender gestures during the televised Oval Office chat, and the way each stood apart during the later White House press conference, the pair could not be more “mismatched”, according to body language expert Caroline Goyder.
“Trump is the silverback, totally relaxed, totally grounded, you know, on his home turf. And the difference, it couldn’t be starker,” Ms Goyder told ITV on Thursday night after viewing footage of the US and UK leaders as they prepared to discuss advances in security and trade.
Read the full story.
Joy Behar has retracted her bold proclamation that the South African-born Elon Musk was “pro-apartheid” after she said she received flack for her comment.
While speaking about the tech billionaire’s working relationship with President Donald Trump on Thursday’s episode of The View, Behar remarked that Musk purely served as Trump’s ego-booster.
Inga Parkel has the story.
Watch Sir Keir Starmer and Donald Trump’s joint press conference after their crunch talks on Ukraine and defense on Thursday, 27 February.
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