The Paper Trail: February 28, 2025

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Top stories for February 28, 2025

Judge orders Trump administration to rescind directives on probationary employee firings: A federal judge yesterday ordered the administration to rescind directives that called for the mass firing of recent hires and other federal probationary employees. The judge’s temporary restraining order didn’t appear to reinstate those who were already fired. (Eric Katz, Government Executive)

🔎 See Also: Board agrees to pause firings for some feds, potentially upending Trump’s widespread terminations (Eric Katz, Government Executive)

Trump to convert some top career roles to political appointments and evaluate execs on adherence to president’s agenda: The OPM on Monday called on all agencies to redesignate some of their Senior Executive Service employees as political appointees, rather than reserving those posts for career staff. On Tuesday, it announced a new performance appraisal system for career executives that will give more weight to how well they carry out the president’s policies. (Eric Katz, Government Executive)

Analysis: Trump team tightens control over government lawyers who might say “no”: The administration is moving aggressively to curb a critical internal check at the DOJ and Pentagon: independent legal advice. (Charlie Savage, New York Times)

VA chief may head watchdog office probing his own department: Pending the outcome of an ongoing legal battle, VA Secretary Doug Collins may soon simultaneously run the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, a watchdog office where a large percentage of cases come from VA employees alleging wrongdoing. (Nick Schwellenbach and René Kladzyk, Project On Government Oversight)

Harsh findings on Trump’s aid freeze kept secret by USAID watchdog: USAID’s inspector general has yet to release two reports outlining the dire consequences of President Trump’s funding freeze on Africa and the Middle East, fearing White House retaliation. “This is what happens with the wanton removal of 17 inspectors general at once, and the sudden removal of another one who did his job and kept the public in the know,” said Hannibal “Mike” Ware, who was fired last month as SBA’s inspector general. (Lisa Rein and John Hudson, Washington Post)

🔎See Also: Chief justice allows Trump administration to keep foreign aid frozen for now (Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney, Politico)

🔎 See Also: Comptroller general says impoundment violations are a "high priority" for GAO (Erich Wagner, Government Executive)

Farmers sue USDA after agency deletes climate change data: A group of farmers and environmental nonprofits claim the USDA’s removal of online data relating to climate change will hinder research and hurt farming initiatives. (Annabelle Timsit, Washington Post)

Hundreds in Park Service have opted to quit, agency memo says: More than 700 National Park Service employees accepted Elon Musk’s “fork in the road” resignation offer. Conservationists, outdoor enthusiasts, and park rangers warn that the workforce reductions threaten to leave hundreds of national parks understaffed during the busy summer season, and already are causing some parks to reduce hours, cancel tours, and close visitor centers. (Lisa Friedman, New York Times)

The Trump staffers who get paid by private clients: Over a dozen administration officials are special government employees (SGE), a designation that allows them to work for the government without having to relinquish their outside salaries and investments or publicly disclose their conflicts of interest. Trump’s SGEs have extensive corporate ties and are driving some of the country’s most important policies. (Josh Dawsey, C. Ryan Barber, and Katherine Long, Wall Street Journal)

Elon Musk’s business empire is built on $38 billion in government funding: Since 2003, Musk’s businesses have received at least $38 billion in government contracts, loans, subsidies, and tax credits. DOGE has sought to cut staff, slash budgets, and cut contracts at all of the agencies where Musk’s companies have ongoing contracts. (Desmond Butler et al., Washington Post)

🔎 See Also: Musk has inside track to take over contract to fix air traffic communications system (Byron Tau and Bernard Condon, Associated Press)

Trump DOGE order directs agencies to build tech to track government spending: The president ordered agency heads to work with DOGE to build centralized systems to record all payments issued through contracts and grants, along with “a brief, written justification for each payment.” The order also calls for each agency to develop a system that will record approval for federally funded travel. (Frank Konkel and Sean Michael Newhouse, Government Executive)

🔎 See Also: DOGE gains access to confidential records on housing discrimination, medical details — even domestic violence (Jesse Coburn, ProPublica)

🔎 See Also: Judge orders Trump administration officials to give sworn testimony on DOGE (Kyle Cheney and Josh Gerstein, Politico)

Other DOGE News:

→ Multiple groups file lawsuits to get DOGE records

→ The people carrying out Musk’s plans at DOGE

→ Musk isn’t DOGE’s chief. Who is Amy Gleason?

→ Federal technology staffers resign rather than help Musk and DOGE

→ One-third of the contracts DOGE killed saved no money: “Like confiscating used ammunition”

→ DOGE quietly deletes the 5 biggest spending cuts it celebrated last week

→ On X, conservative activists find a direct pipeline to Musk’s team

→ How Musk built DOGE: timeline and key takeaways

Israel-Hamas War

Trump posts video offering splashy vision of Gaza after his takeover plan: President Trump posted on his Truth Social account a 33-second video that offers a garish, AI-generated simulation of his plan to transform the Gaza Strip into an enclave of resorts and skyscrapers — including a Trump-branded hotel — in what it calls “Trump Gaza.” (Sabrina Rodriguez, Washington Post)

Classified Documents

Trump strips security clearances at law firm with ties to Jack Smith: President Trump issued an order suspending the security clearances of lawyers at the law firm Covington & Burling who are involved in representing former special counsel Jack Smith. The order also directed federal agencies to limit their interactions with Covington & Burling and examine the firm’s government contracts. (Perry Stein and Jeremy Roebuck, Washington Post)

Insurrection

Justice Dept. takes broad view of Trump’s Jan. 6 pardons: The DOJ is taking the position that separate crimes discovered during January 6 investigations — especially those involving illegal weapons — are covered by Trump’s pardon. (Alan Feuer, New York Times)

Russia-Ukraine War

Trump says a minerals deal with Ukraine is worth billions. It might not be as valuable as he hopes: Ukraine might have turned the tide in its rocky relations with the U.S. by offering access to its critical minerals and other natural resources as part of peace negotiations, but experts warn that questions remain around the value and accessibility of those resources. (Holly Ellyatt, CNBC)

🔎 See Also: State Department officials pushing to release more frozen Ukraine funds (Nahal Toosi et al., Politico)

Defense and Veterans Affairs

Pentagon orders transgender troops to be separated from the military: Transgender service members will be removed from the military within 60 days unless they are granted a waiver based on “a compelling Government interest...that directly supports warfighting capabilities,” according to a new policy memo. (Brooke Migdon, The Hill)

DOGE to cancel government contracts that help veterans, records show: VA Secretary Douglas Collins said sweeping cuts to contracts would save nearly $2 billion without touching core services. Of the hundreds of contracts on the chopping block are those which help cover medical services, fund cancer programs, recruit doctors, provide burial services to veterans, and help safely dispose of chemical waste. (Emily Davies and Hannah Natanson, Washington Post)

Pentagon orders new purge of social media sites to dump diversity, inclusion mentions by March 5: The Pentagon sent out a memo requiring the military services to pore over decades of website postings, photos, news articles, and videos to remove any mentions of DEI. If they can’t do that by March 5, they were ordered to remove all content published during the Biden administration. (Politico)

🔎 See Also: Defense Dept. schools pause STEM club for girls and pride clubs (Sarah Mervosh, New York Times)

Defense Department police officers can’t get proper credentials nearly 2 years after Congress required them: The DOD missed a deadline to provide standardized credentials to its military and civilian law enforcement officers, hampering their ability to guard DOD-owned and -leased buildings and properties. (Sean Michael Newhouse, Government Executive)

Business and Finance

Egg prices are soaring. Bird Flu may not be the only culprit: As consumers confront empty egg shelves in their grocery stores and soaring prices, the concentration of egg production in the U.S. is raising concerns. Lawmakers called for federal regulators to investigate the industry. (Danielle Kaye and Julie Creswell, New York Times)

The CFPB drops its enforcement lawsuits against Capital One, Rocket Homes and more: The CFPB dropped lawsuits against Capital One, Rocket Homes, Vanderbilt Mortgage and Finance, owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, and others. The CPFB is in turmoil, with the White House ordering it to halt nearly all its work, firing scores of employees, and closing the agency’s headquarters. (Wyatte Grantham-Philips, Associated Press)

🔎 See Also: “There will continue to be a CFPB”: Trump administration says it won’t shut bureau (Katy O’Donnell, Politico)

Health Care

Trump administration struggles to rehire fired bird flu employees: The administration’s nearly $1 billion plan to combat the spread of avian flu comes as the USDA struggles to rehire employees working on the virus outbreak. The situation reveals how much easier it is to fire federal workers than to bring them back, even for jobs that are crucial to public health. (Marcia Brown, Politico)

EPA tells White House to strike down landmark climate finding: EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin privately urged the White House to strike down a scientific finding underpinning the government’s push to combat climate change. The 2009 finding concluded that planet-warming gases pose a threat to public health and welfare. (Maxine Joselow, Washington Post)

🔎 See Also: She lobbied for a carcinogen. Now she’s at the EPA, approving new chemicals (Hiroko Tabuchi, New York Times)

Organ transplant system “in chaos” as waiting lists are ignored: For decades, fairness has been the guiding principle of the U.S. organ transplant system. Officials now regularly ignore those safeguards, giving out organs to recipients who are not as sick, have not been waiting nearly as long and, in some cases, aren’t even on the waiting list. (Brian M. Rosenthal, Mark Hansen, and Jeremy White, New York Times)

ICYMI

Immigration and Border Security:

→ Trump administration says undocumented immigrants must register

→ Trump appears open to using private forces to help deport millions of undocumented immigrants

→ ICE awards $1B contract to private prison firm for major immigrant detention center

→ Trump prepares to use controversial 1798 “Alien Enemies” law to speed deportations

→ Trump plans “gold card” alternative to green cards for “high level people”

Other News:

→ Top House Oversight Dem goes after interim DC U.S. attorney

→ Prosecutors balk at FBI probe of Biden climate grant program

→ FBI Director Kash Patel wants to bring the UFC to the FBI

→ Advisory government transparency committee terminated

→ Gabbard fires intelligence workers over explicit chats

→ Vaccine meeting to prepare for coming winter’s flu season canceled

→ FEMA declines to test soil after California fires despite Newsom administration concerns

→ IRS to close more than 110 offices with taxpayer assistance centers

→ More than 70 million Americans are on Medicaid. This Is where they live

Because It’s Friday

Apple fixing bug that caused dictation feature to type the word “Trump” when users said “racist”: Apple said it’s fixing a bug that causes its voice-to-text system to incorrectly suggest the word “Trump” when users spoke words with “r” consonants. (Clare Duffy, CNN)

Upcoming Events

📌 Nomination of Elbridge Colby to be Under Secretary of Defense for Policy. Senate Committee on Armed Services. Tuesday, March 4, 9:30 a.m., 106 Dirksen Senate Office Building.

Hot Docs

🔥📃 GAO - High-Risk Series: Heightened Attention Could Save Billions More and Improve Government Efficiency and Effectiveness. GAO-25-107743 (PDF)

🔥📃 GAO - DHS Annual Assessment: Improved Guidance on Revised Acquisition Goals Would Enhance Transparency. GAO-25-107317 (PDF)

🔥📃 GAO - Oversight of EPA and DOE Spending: Implementing Remaining GAO Recommendations Could Help Address Identified Challenges. GAO-25-108135 (PDF)