Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s purge of the federal authorities is continuous, with 6,700 probationary workers of the Inner Income Service (IRS) set to be fired as tax season looms.
Talking on Fox Information on Wednesday night time, Trump’s commerce secretary Howard Lutnick, confirmed by the Senate earlier this week, stated the administration’s purpose was in the end to abolish the IRS solely.
Over on Fact Social, the president adopted his vicious assaults on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky yesterday by posting an endorsement of his place from Musk.
“The President’s instincts on Ukraine are completely proper,” Trump quotes Musk as saying.
“It’s actually unhappy that so many dad and mom have misplaced their sons, and so many sons their fathers on this pointless warfare.”
Earlier, the president had spoken on the Saudi-backed FII Precedence Summit in Miami at which he doubled down on his assault on Zelensky, whom he referred to as a “dictator” for not holding elections throughout the three-year warfare, after the Ukrainian chief accused him of dwelling in a Russian “disinformation area.”
Additionally yesterday, the president signed an government order calling for the scrapping of federal advantages for undocumented migrants, the newest skirmish in his crackdown on unlawful immigration.
Musk says he’ll help Trump ‘for so long as I could be useful’
The second a part of Sean Hannity’s interview with the facility couple aired on Fox final night time, with a lot extra backslapping and self-justification on show.
Listed here are just a few noteworthy clips:
Joe Sommerlad20 February 2025 10:45
Trump declares himself ‘king’ days after suggesting the legislation doesn’t apply to him
Days after suggesting he’s above the legislation by quoting Napoleon Bonaparte (form of), the American president has declared himself a “king” following his administration’s push to strike down New York congestion pricing, new tolls for Manhattan drivers meant to lift funds for town’s getting old mass transit system.
Joe Sommerlad20 February 2025 10:30
‘Does everybody know what a condom is?’ Trump asks baffled viewers as he repeats contraception assist lie
Mary Papenfuss has this on one other false declare repeated as soon as once more by the president at yesterday’s summit: the lie that Biden’s administration despatched $100m-worth of condoms to Hamas.
Joe Sommerlad20 February 2025 10:15
Trump repeats Zelensky assault, once more bemoans ‘rigged’ 2020 election and backs DOGE handout at Saudi-backed summit
As promised, listed below are just a few alternative pronouncements from the president’s look earlier than the FII Precedence Summit in Miami, Florida, yesterday, which was backed by the Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund.
Alex Woodward has this on Trump utilizing the event to endorse an concept from Musk and his supporters to chop Individuals a verify for “financial savings” recognized by the so-called Division of Authorities Effectivity (DOGE).
Talking on the Miami summit, the president backed giving 20 p.c of these alleged financial savings again to American taxpayers, with one other 20 p.c to “pay down debt.”
Joe Sommerlad20 February 2025 10:00
Zelensky is not any dictator, says Starmer in rebuke to Trump
Within the wake of Trump’s astonishing assault yesterday on the Ukrainian President, whom he referred to as a “dictator” for not holding elections throughout the three-year warfare after the chief accused him of dwelling in a Russian “disinformation area”, Sir Keir Starmer has leapt to the embattled Zelensky’s protection.
Right here’s Mille Cooke on what the British PM needed to say, probably risking pleasant relations with Trump within the course of.
Joe Sommerlad20 February 2025 09:45
Fact Social: Musk backs Trump over ‘pointless’ Ukraine warfare as president delivers necessary desk replace
Over on Fact Social, in amongst the same old deluge of favorable press clippings and excerpts from his look baty a Saudi-backed convention in Miami yesterday (extra on which in a second), the president adopted up his vicious assaults on Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky yesterday by posting an endorsement of his place from billionaire ally Elon Musk.
“The President’s instincts on Ukraine are completely proper,” Trump quotes Musk as saying.
“It’s actually unhappy that so many dad and mom have misplaced their sons, and so many sons their fathers on this pointless warfare.”
Additionally on the identical platform, the president posted an replace on the whereabouts of the Resolute Desk after it was faraway from the Oval Workplace for refurbishment, simply in case that was protecting you up at night time.
Joe Sommerlad20 February 2025 09:30
Donald Trump indicators order slashing advantages for unlawful immigrants
The president has signed an government order demanding the scrapping of federal advantages for individuals in america illegally, the newest skirmish in his crackdown on unlawful immigration.
The White Home stated the order seeks to finish “all taxpayer-funded advantages for unlawful aliens”, though a 1996 overhaul of welfare legislation already denies most public advantages to individuals within the nation illegally.
Trump’s order claims that the legislation has been “repeatedly undercut”, nonetheless, as soon as extra blaming the Joe Biden administration for squandering taxpayer’s cash.
“Over the past 4 years, specifically, the prior administration repeatedly undercut the targets of that legislation, ensuing within the improper expenditure of great taxpayer assets,” it states
Because it stands, unlawful immigrants to the U.S. are entitled solely to emergency medical care and their kids are entitled to free Ok-12 public schooling, no matter their immigration standing, below a 1982 Supreme Courtroom ruling, however that’s about it.
Trump’s order in the end seems to be directed at Biden’s intensive use of parole authority to permit individuals into the nation quickly, together with greater than 900,000 by an internet appointment app referred to as CBP One used at border crossings with Mexico and greater than 500,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans who flew to the U.S. at their very own expense with a monetary sponsor.
Trump instantly ended each applications.
Biden additionally granted parole to just about 300,000 individuals from Ukraine and Afghanistan.
Folks granted parole for no less than a 12 months are thought of “certified non-citizens”, making them eligible for some income-based advantages, however solely after 5 years.

Joe Sommerlad20 February 2025 09:15
IRS to fireside 6,700 employees in Trump and Musk’s DOGE purge weeks earlier than Tax Day
The layoffs concentrating on 6,700 probationary workers — that’s, these employed for lower than a 12 months — come in the course of tax season. That team of workers represents slightly over one-third of all probationary workers.
Oliver O’Connell20 February 2025 09:00
Commerce secretary says Trump’s purpose is ‘to abolish the inner income service’
In an look on Fox Information on Wednesday night, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick advised host Jesse Watters that President Donald Trump has a quite simple purpose: to abolish the IRS.
“Donald Trump introduced the Exterior Income Service and his purpose is easy: to abolish the Inner Income Service and let all of the outsiders pay,” stated Lutnick.
He continued: “We have now to make use of tariffs, we have now to make use of the Exterior Income Service to handle America and reduce the scams and the abuse, the waste, and let’s make America nice. Nice. Not nice like 20 years in the past. We imply nice as in no deficit and principally attempt to eradicate the Inner Income Service.”
Earlier within the section, talking about entitlements, waste, and fraud, and Elon Musk’s DOGE, Lutnick stated: “Give it some thought: we have now virtually $4 trillion of entitlements, and nobody has checked out it earlier than. Social Safety is incorrect, you already know Medicaid and Medicare are incorrect so [Elon’s] going to chop one trillion…”
Oliver O’Connell20 February 2025 08:30
,
#Trump #Musks #DOGE #purge #sees #IRS #employees #fired #weeks #tax #season #Stay,
https://static.the-independent.com/2025/02/20/04/TRUMP-INMIGRACIpercentC3percent93N_78749.jpg?width=1200&peak=800&crop=1200:800 ,