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Trump 2nd term live updates: Dan Bongino named as deputy FBI director

He hosts the popular right-wing and pro-Trump podcast "The Dan Bongino Show."

Last Updated: February 23, 2025, 5:03 PM EST

President Donald Trump's administration is continuing its radical effort to cut much of the federal government and crackdown on immigration -- and is being met with dozens of legal challenges.

On the foreign policy front, Trump's press secretary said the White House believes it can reach a deal to end the war in Ukraine this week even as Trump attacks Ukraine's president and blames it for starting the war, which even some in his own party are calling him out over.

Meanwhile, heads of federal government agencies were telling employees not to reply to an email from Elon Musk, Trump's ally who he picked to cut government waste, which asked for them to list their accomplishments for the week or face termination.

Feb 18, 2025, 5:27 PM EST

Layoffs expected to hit IRS as soon as tomorrow: sources

The Trump administration is expected to begin layoffs at the Internal Revenue Service as soon as tomorrow, multiple sources told ABC News.

Management was informed on Tuesday to expect probationary employees to be affected and to prepare to collect ID cards and government-issued equipment, sources said.

A flag waves outside the International Revenue Service Building after it was reported the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is preparing to fire thousands of workers in the coming days, in Washington, Feb. 18, 2025.
Kent Nishimura/Reuters

It is not immediately clear how many probationary employees will be affected. ABC News previously reported that 15,000 IRS employees had been identified as probationary.

-- ABC News' Will Steakin, Olivia Rubin, and Anne Flaherty

Feb 18, 2025, 5:09 PM EST

Trump says federal firings is something ‘we have to do,’ says some people will be ‘put back’

When asked whether he was concerned about the thousands of federal employees fired over the weekend as part of his administration’s desire to cut costs, Trump said, “No, not at all,” telling reporters, “We have to just do what we have to do.”

President Donald Trump speaks at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, Feb. 18, 2025.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Instead, he focused on the “amazing” findings he claims they have uncovered, emphasizing that this is what he was elected to do.

“In some cases, they'll fire people and then they'll put some people back, not all of them, because a lot of people were let go,” he said in regards to the firing and rehiring of certain employees that occurred over the weekend.

Feb 18, 2025, 5:06 PM EST

Trump asked to clarify Elon Musk's role after contradictory statements

Amid contradictory statements about Elon Musk's position at the Department of Government Efficiency, Trump was asked directly what is Musk's role in the administration.

"Elon is to me a patriot," Trump responded. "You can call him an employee, you can call him a consultant, you could call him whatever you want, but he's a patriot."

President Donald Trump speaks at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, Feb. 18, 2025.
Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

Trump didn't clarify or elaborate, instead going on to praise Musk for his work. Trump listed examples of government spending he disagrees with, alleging without evidence it's fraudulent or corrupt.

The confusion over Musk came to a head after the administration contended in a court filing late Monday that he was not the DOGE administrator but rather a "special government employee" akin to a senior adviser to Trump.

Feb 18, 2025, 4:47 PM EST

Trump takes shots at Zelenskyy

Taking questions at Mar-a-Lago, Trump blasted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after his administration held talks earlier Tuesday with Russia to bring an end to Vladimir Putin's invasion.

When asked about Ukraine not being a part of those discussions, Trump criticized Zelenskyy's leadership.

"Well, you been there for three years," he said of Zelenskyy. "You should have ended it three years -- you should have never started it," he said, appearing to falsely blame Ukraine for the war. "You could have made a deal."

President Donald Trump speaks to the media at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, Feb. 18, 2025.
Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images

Trump implied Ukraine should have new elections if it wants a seat at the table.

"Well, we have a situation where we haven't had elections in Ukraine, where we have martial law, essentially martial law in Ukraine, where the leader in Ukraine, I mean, I hate to say it, but he's down at 4% approval rating and where a country has been blown to smithereens," he said.

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