Judge issues stunning ruling temporarily blocking Trump and Musk's buyout offer to 2 million federal workers

Sarah Ewall-Wice, Senior U.S. Political Reporter:

A federal judge in Massachusetts paused the deadline for President Trump’s ‘buyout’ offer for federal workers.

The temporary hold came as federal workers were facing a midnight deadline tonight to make a decision on whether to accept the deferred resignation offer sent to millions of workers from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM).

The Trump administration made the offer as it looks to cut down the federal workforce in an effort led by billionaire Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) team.

But the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) union that represents 800,000 federal workers and other groups sued.

As of Wednesday, more than 40,000 workers had accepted the offer, or about 2 percent.

'We are pleased the court temporarily paused this deadline while arguments are heard about the legality of the deferred resignation program,' said AFGE National President Everett Kelley in a statement Thursday afternoon.

'We continue to believe this program violates the law, and we will continue to aggressively defend our members’ rights,' he added.

The judge set a Monday hearing for further arguments.

By Nikki Schwab, Chief Campaign Correspondent

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi gave a five-word reply when asked Thursday if she would be able to repair her relationship with former first lady Jill Biden.

Pelosi has been at odds with the Bidens since she helped push President Joe Biden out of the 2024 presidential race after his disastrous late June debate performance.

In an interview with The Washington Post before leaving the White House, Dr. Biden said of Pelosi: 'We were friends for 50 years.' 'It was disappointing,' the first lady said.

NBC's Andrea Mitchell brought up Dr. Biden's comments Thursday in a sit-down with Pelosi that aired on MSNBC, asking the former speaker if there was a way to patch things up.

The House passed a bill to reschedule the deadly synthetic opioid fentanyl on Thursday.

The HALT Fentanyl Act passed with resounding bipartisan support 312 - 108.

Lawmakers have argued that rescheduling fentanyl to a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act will help law enforcement crack down on the substance which has killed over 200,000 Americans.

The drug is so deadly that it is the leading cause of death for those aged 18 - 45, and it is responsible for up to 200 overdose deaths in the U.S. per day.

Jon Michael Raasch, Political Reporter for DailyMail.com

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were supposed to have a meeting at the Capitol today, but that never happened.

Johnson and Netanyahu were scheduled to meet around 1 pm ET, though that did not take place because the speaker is in a meeting with Donald Trump that has gone longer than anticipated.

Johnson and some other congressional leaders arrived at the White House for an 11 am ET meeting.

It appears the session with Trump is still ongoing as the lawmakers have not been seen or heard from all afternoon.

Netanyahu, who waited at the Capitol for Johnson for hours, has since departed the complex.

It is unclear if the Israeli leader and Johnson will meet this week.

Sarah Ewall-Wice, Senior U.S. Political Reporter on Capitol Hill:

Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's former chief of staff is running for office in a bid to oust former Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Saikat Chakrabarti announced on Wednesday he is running to represent San Francisco in Congress.

'I know some of you might be surprised that Speaker Emeritus Pelosi is running again, but she is — for her 21st term!' Chakrabarti said as he launched his campaign against the 84-year-old longtime Democratic leader.

His run comes as Democrats have been grappling with how best to take on President Donald Trump and Republicans who now have a GOP trifecta in Washington, controlling the White House and both chambers of Congress.

'Watching Trump and Elon freely unleash chaos in their illegal seizure of government, it’s become clear to me that the Democratic Party needs new leadership,' Chakrabarti wrote in his announcement.

'I don’t understand how DC’s Democratic leaders are so paralyzed and unprepared for this moment after living through President Trump’s first term — and after Trump and Elon warned us exactly what they planned to do,' he continued.

By Nikki Schwab, Chief Campaign Correspondent

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy clapped back at criticism from Hillary Clinton who warned that DOGE shouldn't meddle with the Federal Aviation Administration's computer system.

'Madam Secretary, with all due respect, "experienced" Washington bureaucrats are the reason our nation's infrastructure is crumbling. You need to sit this one out,' Duffy told Clinton Wednesday via an X post.

He savaged her even more on Thursday claiming she was concerned about DOGE, the Elon Musk-led group, because they were uncovering her 'family's obscene grifting via USAID.'

The CIA has provided another arm of the Trump Administration with an unclassified list of its employees –  sparking concerns their identities could be compromised and fears China or U.S. adversaries could gain insights into U.S. intelligence gathering.

The move came as the administration expanded the agencies being brought under a stunning offer to 2 million federal employees to get paid while deferring their retirement until the end of September.

It now includes the CIA as well as a host of other intelligence agencies that participate in intelligence gathering using satellite, monitoring, and human methods.

By Nikki Schwab, Chief Campaign Correspondent

President Donald Trump was gifted a golden pager by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after similar devices were used by Israel to blow up Hezbollah terrorists last year.

Netanyahu was the first foreign leader Trump hosted at the White House as he kicks off his second term.

Israeli media first reported the gift - with the Israeli prime minister's Hebrew language account sharing a picture of it on Thursday.

'Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented US President Donald Trump with a golden beeper at the successful summit meeting in Washington,' the post said via English translation.

Israel orchestrated an attack dubbed 'Operation Grim Beeper' on Hezbollah in September when they exploded thousands of handheld pagers and walkie-talkies simultaneously in separate events in Lebanon and Syria.

Federal workers have a midnight deadline to take the Trump administration up on its 'buyout' deal, but barely a fraction of those offered the deal have accepted so far.

More than 40,000 workers have accepted the deferred resignation offer as of Wednesday, according to an administration official. That's about 2 percent of the two million given the option.

That number is growing, but the official said they are not likely to give any additional figure update until Friday.

It comes as billionaire Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency team are trying to cut down the federal workforce as part of their directive to cut $2 trillion in federal spending. But their effort is already proving difficult.

The offer as presented by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) gave all federal workers the option to resign from their current position but remain on the payroll with all benefits until September 30.

The email gave notice that most federal employees were to return to work at offices five days a week. For those who took the offer, they would be exempted from in-person work requirements.

Federal workers were first sent an email with the so-called 'buyout' offer on January 28.

But many federal workers and some Democratic lawmakers have raised concerns over the validity of the offer.

Sarah Ewall-Wice, Senior U.S. Political Reporter on Capitol Hill:

The Senate Judiciary Committee delayed a vote to advance Kash Patel's nomination for FBI director.

Democrats had called for the delay so they could examine what they called 'misleading testimony.'

It comes after Patel testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee last week.

Sarah Ewall-Wice, Senior U.S. Political Reporter on Capitol Hill:

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has arrived on Capitol Hill for meetings with lawmakers as part if his larger visit to Washington, DC.

Netanyahu will meet with Senate Majority Leader John Thune this morning.

He also has a meeting with House Speaker Mike Johnson later this afternoon.

It comes after he met with President Trump at the White House on Tuesday where the president caused a frenzy for declaring the U.S. will takeover Gaza.

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle balked at the idea as administration officials spent Wednesday in cleanup mode trying to clarify.

Netanyahu also made a visit to the Pentagon on Wednesday.

By Emily Goodin, senior White House correspondent

Former first lady Jill Biden will attend the Super Bowl in New Orleans on Sunday.

The life-long Philadelphia Eagles fan will be on hand with her grandson Hunter to watch her team take on the Kansas City Chiefs.

It’s not clear if she’ll see President Donald Trump, who will also attend the game.

The duo set the internet on fire in December when they attended the reopening of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. They whispered to one another and Jill Biden smiled broadly at Trump as social media widely speculated on what they discussed.

Trump even posted a photo on social media of his interaction her, adding an advertisement for his line of $199 perfumes and colognes with a tagline that read: ‘A fragrance your enemies can’t resist.’

Jill Biden and grandson Hunter – the son of the late Beau Biden – also attended the 2023 Super Bown in Glendale, Arizona, where they watched the Chiefs narrowly defeat the Eagles.

Former President Joe Biden will not be in attendance at Sunday's game.

By Emily Goodin, senior White House correspondent

President Donald Trump announced new efforts by his administration to protect religious faith.

He is creating a new commission on religion and establishing a White House Faith Office.

‘I'm announcing that I will be creating a brand new presidential commission on religious liberty,’ he said. ‘It's going to be a very big deal, which will work tirelessly to uphold this most fundamental right.

‘Unfortunately, in recent years, we've seen this sacred liberty threatened like never before in American history. There's nothing happened like the last four years, what's happened with so many things have gone bad, but religion, what they've done, and the persecution that they’ve executed, have been just horrible,’ he said.

He also said he would sign an executive order directing Attorney General Pam Bondi 'to eradicate anti-Christian bias' inside the federal government.

Trump made his announcement at a prayer breakfast in Washington D.C.

By Emily Goodin, senior White House correspondent

President Donald Trump attacked Democrats in his comments at a second prayer breakfast on Thursday, saying they oppose God.

‘I can tell you the opposite side, the opposing side – they oppose religion, they oppose God. They've lost their confidence. They've lost their confidence. It's a different group of people than I remember,’ he said of the Democratic Party.

Trump took a notably different tone in the comments, his second speech of the morning. At the Capitol, for the bipartisan National Prayer Breakfast, Trump teased the Democratic and Republican lawmakers in the audience and spoke of his faith journey.

But, an hour later, down the road at the Hilton Hotel to speak to a private group, Trump went on the attack.

He repeated his false claim he won the 2020 election and also falsely claimed he brought presidential attendance back to the breakfast. President Joe Biden attended every year.

He noted to the crowd he got the Olympics and World Cup for the country, claiming ‘it all came due the presidency after what was, what should have been mine - really should have been. And they had a little election that, let's just say, didn't work out too correctly.’

But, he noted, he’d be at the events anyway now that he won the 2024 contest.

‘I'm going to be here for the Olympics and the World Cup. How about that? God works in very strange ways,’ he said.

He veered between several topics in his remarks. He praised his Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, who was in attendance and then jokingly told him to leave and ‘go find oil.’ He talked about the October 7th attacks on Israel by Hamas.

By Katelyn Caralle, Senior U.S. Political Reporter

President Donald Trump raged against the media on Thursday and accused Democrats of 'paying off' outlets for more flattering coverage.

He demanded CBS' mainstay Sunday night news-magazine program 60 Minutes be 'terminated' after the FCC released an unedited version of its sit-down with then-Vice President Kamala Harris.

The edit revealed the network favorably edited the interview, which Trump claimed was 'fraud' and 'election interference.'

Reports also emerged revealing USAID, which was shuttered this week, paid $8 million to Politico for employees' subscriptions, which Trump says this is further proof of the 'biggest scandal of them all' between Democrats, government bureaucracy and the media.

He questioned whether these entities are paying other media outlets, specifically The New York Times, to engage in activity that he claims amounts to 'election interference' and 'fraud.'

By Emily Goodin, senior White House correspondent

President Donald Trump got personal at the National Prayer Breakfast on Thursday, talking about his own faith journey, noting how last year’s assassination attempt ‘changed something in me.’

It was a rare moment of introspection from Trump, sprinkled with humor.

Trump noted, ‘God was watching me’ on July 13, 2024, when he was shot and wounded by an assassin's rifle bullet that clipped his ear during his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

He had turned to the side at the last moment to point to a chart on stage that showed the latest immigration numbers in the United States.

‘Immigration saved my life,’ Trump joked, before going on to talk about the bullet that whizzed by his head, striking his right ear.

‘It didn’t affect my hair. Can you believe it? It might have touched it, but not where it counts,’ he said as lawmakers laughed.

He then got serious.

‘But it's still, honestly, it's a very - it changed something in me. I feel even stronger. I believed in God but I feel much more strongly about it, something happened,’ he said.

It was an unusual moment for the president, who doesn't publicly show off his faith.

The National Prayer Breakfast is an annual event in the Capitol, where the president of the United States joins lawmakers from both parties for a morning of prayer and reflection.

The breakfast has been a tradition since 1953.

In his remarks at the annual event, Trump called for the return of religion, made a few jokes, and got personal about his faith. He also praised the memory of Billy Graham, mourned those lost in the DCA crash, called for a new air traffic control system and made an appeal for bipartisanship.

He noted ‘God was watching me’ on that day in Pennsylvania and added that the incident even changed his sons, Don Jr. and Eric.

‘God was watching me. The chances of me being here - my sons are shooters. They're really good shooters, Don and Eric and they said, the chances of missing from that range with that gun are - Don equated it to a one foot putt,’ he said.

He then cracked a joke: ‘That's pretty bad, two feet, I can see missing.’

He went on to say his eldest son Don ‘he gained some religion. He went up 25% and if you know him, that's a lot. But he said there had to be somebody that saved you, and I think I know who it is.’

The president also referenced last week’s deadly air crash that resulted in the deaths of 67 people, tying it to his assassination attempt.

‘But that event, like the tragedy last week, should remind us all that we have to make the most out of every single day,’ he said.

He also called on lawmakers to fund a new air traffic control system for the country.

‘I think what is going to happen is we're all going to sit down and do a great computerized system for our control towers, brand new,’ he said.

‘We have to get together and just as a single bill just pass, where we get the best control system.’

Trump started his speech by calling for the return of religion in the country.

‘We have to bring religion back,’ he said.

‘It's one of the biggest problems that we've had over the last fairly long period of time. We have to bring it back,’ he said.

He also talked about his accomplishments as president in the past three weeks, saying ‘our country is starting to do very well again. It's happening fast, little faster than people thought.’

He also got in a plug for his proposal to build a National Garden of American Heros. He wants to build a national park featuring statues of great Americans.

He needs Congress to fund the project and teased the lawmakers that he may add some of them to the park.

‘Some of you will be on that soon-to-be hallowed ground. Some of you,’ he said. ‘Let's see. I can pick a few of you right now, by looking. Here's a couple of you right now, I can see.’

The lawmakers burst into laughter as Trump scanned the room.

‘It will be something very special, and I hope that Congress will fully fund this wonderfully unifying project at the first possible opportunity,’ he added.

He also shared his memories of the Rev. Billy Graham.

‘He was something,’ he noted. ‘My father used to take me to watch the Crusades. He would take me to Yankee Stadium. I remember so well. I remember it more than I remember any Yankee game. And I've seen a lot of Yankee games. Can you believe it? And Billy didn't have a bat, so, you know, he's pretty good. It was amazing.’

And he had his own message for the Republicans and Democrats listening to him.

‘Never give up. Never ever give up. You can't,’ he said. ‘How about me? If I would have given up, I would not be here right now. Who the hell knows where I'd be? It might not be a good place. If it was up to the Democrats. It would not be a good place at all. Never ever give up.’

Elon Musk mercilessly mocked federal workers upset over DOGE's effort to transform multiple government agencies - even after the billionaire 'first buddy' suffered his first blow in an 11th-hour court showdown.

The Tesla founder updated his X bio on Wednesday to unveil his new government title as 'White House Tech Support' while his acolytes in the Department of Government Efficiency continued to mine large swaths of sensitive data.

Musk's latest troll sent a blunt message to critics about his prominence in President Donald Trump's orbit - even as Democrats scramble to limit his ever-expanding powers.

The Trump administration gave the former highest-ranking woman in the military just three hours to leave her home following her ouster for supporting diversity, equity and inclusion policies.

President Donald Trump fired Coast Guard commandant, Admiral Linda L. Fagan, almost immediately after he took office on January 20 - leaving her to discover the news while waiting to take a photo with him at the Commander in Chief ball that night.

Still, Fagan continued to live at her government-funded home on Joint Base Anacostia Bolling until she was abruptly evicted on Tuesday, NBC News reports.

President Donald Trump is speaking at the National Prayer breakfast in the Capitol on Thursday morning.

The annual event sees the president of the United States join lawmakers from both parties for a prayer service.

The breakfast has been a tradition since 1953.

By Katelyn Caralle, Senior U.S. Political Reporter

Donald Trump tore into USAID for their $8 million payment to Politico Pro for an inflated number of subscriptions compared to the number of employees at the agency.

The President and his ‘first buddy’ Elon Musk shut down the U.S. foreign aid agency on Monday and since then information has come out about what the administration sees as wasteful government spending by USAID.

Trump claims that the money was ‘stolen’ for ‘fake news’ and insists it was a way to get Politico to write favorable coverage of USAID and other agencies that were paying for subscriptions.

He questioned if other outlets – mainly The New York Times – were also receiving these ‘payoffs.’

‘THIS COULD BE THE BIGGEST SCANDAL OF THEM ALL, PERHAPS THE BIGGEST IN HISTORY!’ Trump wrote to Truth Social on Thursday morning in all caps. ‘THE DEMOCRATS CAN’T HIDE FROM THIS ONE. TOO BIG, TOO DIRTY!’

Left-leaning news outlet Politico was paid a staggering $8.2 million in 'government subsidies' uncovered amid Elon Musk's DOGE dragnet on wasteful spending.

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is in the process of cancelling the payments from several government agencies, including the embattled USAID.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the money given to Politico was spent on, 'essentially subsidizing subscriptions to Politico on the taxpayer's dime'.